From Listening to Leading: The Evolution of Our Mission

From our beginnings as a podcast focusing on the culture wars threatening America’s public schools, we're evolving into something broader and, we hope, more helpful to those concerned about the future of education in this country.

Since our first episode about indoctrination, we have published 18 more episodes on a broad range of issues, including book banning, how students learn about race and racism, sexual and gender identity, and balancing parent rights with student rights. We have interviewed distinguished writers like Amanda Ripley, Monica Guzman, and Peter Coleman about the culture wars and the bridging strategies school leaders can use to bridge divides and minimize the harm caused by toxic polarization. 

In one of our most popular episodes, Willie Carver, Kentucky Teacher of the Year in 2022 (who happens to be gay), has a fascinating conversation with Dov Fischer, a conservative rabbi from Orange County, California, and an outspoken opponent of policies allowing students to choose their gender identities.

We are delighted with the feedback we are getting about our podcast. About the episode mentioned just above with Carver and Fischer, Amanda Ripley writes that it is “… a fantastic example of how powerful it can be to get underneath the usual talking points of a culture war and start to glimpse the personal fears and worries at the heart of these debates.”

Erica Sanzi, Director of Outreach at Parents Defending Education, who participated in our first episode, shared this with us: “As a participant and frequent listener, I appreciate these conversations because they represent a sincere effort to bring together people with different views on a controversial topic. No sound bites, no raised voices, no assuming of bad intentions. Instead, people volunteer to have a conversation in good faith to share their views and better understand the opinions of others. Ken, the moderator, is an excellent model of what it means to listen to understand, and I'm grateful for his efforts.”

We’re also honored to have been named by Goodpods as one of the top 100 political podcasts and featured in the Hidden Gems collection of Amazon Music.

While producing our podcast, we've formed partnerships with like-minded organizations such as Living Room Conversations, Braver Angels, and the Listen First Coalition that strengthen our voice and expand our reach. We are also conducting on-the-ground and virtual workshops with education leaders; and facilitating "Schoolhouse Conversations" with parents, board members, and educators; on our website, we're sharing relevant books, articles, videos, and podcasts and keeping our followers informed about the latest newsworthy events; and, we've added this blog "Ken's Reflections," where I will share my thoughts about all of the above.

From now on, we will send out newsletters with much more information about the culture wars and the work being done by others (and, sometimes, my efforts, including in-person workshops and speaking engagements) to defuse them. The "In the News" section will include current stories of polarization affecting schools nationwide. The “Tools and Strategies” section will point you to depolarization efforts, in school settings and other contexts. And, of course, you will see a section highlighting our most recent podcast episodes.

Finally, another change you may have noticed is the fresh new look to our logo. In the coming weeks, you will also see changes to our podcast art and website design to better capture our new, broader mission.

We welcome your comments and suggestions on items we might include in our newsletter, our website, and on podcast episodes you’d like to see us produce. Please email us with your thoughts and sign up for our newsletter below to discover new ways to diffuse the culture wars in our schools. ↓↓↓