MindShift Podcast

Flag Football Is Having a Moment. This High School Team Is Finding Belonging.

Flag football has seen a recent rise in popularity. The California Interscholastic Federation added girls flag football as a varsity sport to high schools across the stat

From Life, Automated: Why AI Might Not Change Education Much at All

KQED is distributing a new podcast called Life, Automated from our partners at the Ryan Institute on Complexity that explores what it means to live, work, and make decisi

Why the Costs of College Go Beyond Tuition

As confidence in higher education shifts and economic pressures intensify, young people are navigating increasingly complex decisions about life after high school. In thi

Career Training Is on the Rise and These High Schoolers Are Out for Blood

As skepticism about the cost of college grows, Career and Technical Education (CTE) is gaining renewed attention. But is CTE a shortcut around higher education or a bridg

Has Ed Tech Gone Too Far? Parents Want to Hit Pause.

When a middle schooler started bringing home his worst grades ever, his parents were stunned. His teachers said he understood the material. The problem? He couldn’t stay

The Lasting Legacy of Rita Pierson’s ‘Every Kid Needs a Champion’

More than a decade after Rita Pierson stepped onto the TED stage and declared, “Every child deserves a champion,” her words still echo through schools, teacher prep progr

Teachers are Burning Out. Can Former Educators Help?

At Redwood Heights Elementary in Oakland California, educators participate in workshops with the Teaching Well, a professional support organization focused on teacher sus

How Finnish Education Inspires U.S. Schools, Still

Inspired by Finland’s student-first approach, Copper Island Academy in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula prioritizes inclusion, early intervention, and teacher autonomy to creat

MindShift Season 11 Is on the Way!

This season we explore the ecosystems of support that shape student success. At a time when schools are facing staffing shortages, disruptions to the Department of Educat

Shafia Zaloom: Sex Ed and Becoming the Askable Parent

KQED’s Ki Sung talks to health educator Shafia Zaloom about her book Getting Real About Sex Ed: What Today's Students Need. Zaloom shares advice for parents and educators

Ross Greene: What if Bad Behavior Isn’t the Problem?

KQED's Ki Sung talks with clinical psychologist and author Ross Greene about why traditional discipline strategies often fail students, and what educators can do instead.

Who Misses Out When Tutoring Starts Too Late?

KQED’s Marlena Jackson-Retondo reports from Bellevue Elementary in Santa Rosa. Abrupt cuts to AmeriCorps funding last year impacted the school-based tutoring there. Princ

Randy Porter’s Middle School Jazz Band

In this episode, KQED’s Marlena Jackson-Retondo visits the band room at Roosevelt Middle School in Oakland and speaks with longtime music teacher Randy Porter, who is ret

Scott R. Levy: How School Boards Can Strengthen Our Democracy

In this episode KQED’s Marlena Jackson-Retondo speaks with Scott R. Levy, adjunct lecturer at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education and a former school board member, abo

Financial Literacy in The Digital Age With Lillian Zhang

Lillian Zhang is a financial and career educator. Her book, "The New Money Rules: The GenZ Guide to Personal Finance" covers how to eliminate debt and offers non-judgment

MIT's TeachLab Presents The Homework Machine

This month MindShift is sharing an episode from MIT's TeachLab podcast. Hosts Jessie Dukes and Justin Reich have interviewed teachers, school leaders, and students about

Deborah Farmer Kris: How Awe Helps Us Flourish

KQED's Ki Sung talks to longtime MindShift contributor and child development expert Deborah Farmer Kris. In her book "Raising Awe-Seekers: How the Science of Wonder Helps

What Can Teachers Do About AI? Three Approaches in the Classroom

This month MindShift is sharing an episode from our friends at KQED's Close All Tabs. Close All Tabs breaks down how digital culture shapes our world through thoughtful i

Why Teens Love to Hang Out at the Library

Host Ki Sung takes listeners inside some of the public libraries that have made significant transformations to better serve community needs. Inspired by Chicago’s pioneer

Can Talking to Older Adults Make Students Better Citizens?

Interacting with people from different generations has been shown to accelerate students’ social skills, improve literacy, and provide valuable lessons about history and