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Hosted by Unknown Host · 🇺🇸 US · EN
Established thought leaders with verified media credentials.
For more than 15 years, the Fordham Institute has been hosting a weekly podcast, The Education Gadfly Show. Each week, you’ll get lively, entertaining discussions of recent education news, usually featuring Fordham’s Mike Petrilli and David Griffith. Then the wise Amber Northern will recap a recent research study. For questions or comments on the podcast, contact its producer, Stephanie Distler, at sdistler@fordhaminstitute.org.
Unknown Host hosts The Education Gadfly Show.
Mike Petrilli is solo once again to revisit the college-for-all debate and consider whether the backlash has become an overcorrection. He considers the risks of steering academically underprepared students toward four-ye
Andrew Camp and Collin Hitt join Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss Moving Target: The Success and Failure of Missouri’s Charter School Funding Surge , a new Fordham report by David, Andrew, and Collin. They exa
Congressman Josh Harder joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss his push to revive the National Reading Panel and advance the READ Act. They consider whether a new panel could update the evidence base on readin
Mike Miles, superintendent of Houston Independent School District, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to talk about his new book, By Design: How to Transform School Systems , and how districts can use systemic thinki
Tyrone Holmes, chief impact officer at Curriculum Associates, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss the growing parent backlash against education technology and why i-Ready has become one of its most visible
David Griffith talks with neuroscientist and educator Jared Cooney Horvath, author of The Digital Delusion , about whether schools have put too much faith in classroom technology. They discuss what the evidence says abou
Mike Petrilli takes the mic to consider whether America’s schools need a renewed sense of urgency around raising achievement and closing gaps. He revisits the test-based accountability era, debates whether its biggest co
Stefanie Sanford, president of Civic Ventures at Alithi Consulting and Humanitae Philanthropy Advisors and a trustee of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, joins Mike Petrilli to discuss how America’s 250th anniversary coul
Charles Barone of the National Parents Union joins Mike Petrilli to debate the Senate’s bipartisan READ Act. Would additional federal funding help states strengthen teacher preparation and expand evidence-based reading i
Mike Petrilli flies solo to discuss the latest Long-Term Trend NAEP results and why the bounce-back among nine-year-olds deserves more attention. While America’s education recovery is far from complete, especially for ol
Patrick McAlister, principal of PM Strategies and former director of the Indianapolis Mayor’s Office of Education Innovation, and Shaina Cavazos, the office’s current director, join The Education Gadfly Show to discuss c
Jonathan Plucker, a research professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Education, and Fordham’s own Alicia Anderson, policy and editorial associate, join The Education Gadfly Show to discuss new research on how little sta
Melissa Arnold Lyon joins The Education Gadfly Show to discuss Fordham’s new report, A Crowded Table: Teacher Union Strength in 2026, and what has changed in state education politics since Fordham’s 2012 analysis of teac
On this week’s solo episode of The Education Gadfly Show, Mike Petrilli discusses President Trump’s Education Freedom Tax Credit, including how it works, why he has concerns about its design, and why he still thinks stat
Arkansas Education Secretary Jacob Oliva joins The Education Gadfly Show to discuss the sweeping Arkansas LEARNS reforms, from early literacy and teacher pay to career pathways, parent empowerment, and new approaches to
Christy Wolfe, director of K–12 policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center, joins the Education Gadfly Show to discuss a new report on the American workforce—and what it means for K–12 education. As policymakers call for a c
On this week’s episode, Mike Petrilli is joined by David Griffith and Brian Fitzpatrick to discuss Fordham’s latest report, From the Teacher’s Desk: A Science of Reading Progress Report. Drawing on a nationally represent
On this week’s solo episode, Mike Petrilli explores a big question: What would it look like to define an evidence-based model for American elementary schools—and could AI help us get there? Drawing on his long view of sc
Jay Plasman of The Ohio State University joins the Education Gadfly Show to discuss Fordham’s latest report on industry-recognized credentials—and whether they actually deliver for students. As Ohio has pushed more high
Jean-Claude Brizard, president and CEO of Digital Promise, joins the Education Gadfly Show to discuss the promise—and the pitfalls—of artificial intelligence in education. Drawing on what he’s seen in classrooms abroad,
Brian Fitzpatrick
House Intel member, former FBI agent, national intelligence subcommittee chair · Maritime Applied Physics Corporation
1 appearance on this show
David Griffith
Client Chief Investment Officer and Head of Multi Asset Solutions · Thomas B. Fordham
3 appearances on this show
Eric Tucker
CEO and president · Radio station 104.7 KDUK
1 appearance on this show
Mike McShane
basketball legend in Salem, former head girl’s basketball coach at McNary High School · McClardy McShane Partners
1 appearance on this show
Ben Austin
Education Civil Rights Now
1 appearance on this show
Mike Miles
Houston Independent School District
1 appearance on this show
Robert Pondiscio
Thomas B. Fordham Institute
1 appearance on this show
Amber Northern
American Enterprise Institute
1 appearance on this show
Thomas S. Dee
NBER
1 appearance on this show
Michael J. Petrilli
Thomas B. Fordham Institute
3 appearances on this show
Jonathan Plucker
Johns Hopkins School of Education
1 appearance on this show
Alicia Anderson
Fordham University
1 appearance on this show
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The Education Gadfly Show is hosted by Unknown Host. The show is categorised under Education (news) and has published 0 episodes.
The Education Gadfly Show regularly covers Education, How To, News, Politics. It sits in the Education category, with a news focus.
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