Leonie interviews Jennifer Berkshire and Laura Pappano about the recent elections and what the results nationwide may mean about the future of our public schools

Leonie interviews Rima Izquierdo and Sara Catalinotto, parent advocates, about the numerous problems with school busing and the threat the bus companies are making to shut down on Nov. 1 if their contracts are not renewed for another five years. Daniel also interviews Tomas Fret, President of ATU local 1181, the union that represents NYC bus drivers and busing attendants.

Leonie interviews NYC teachers Liat Olenick, Martina Meijer, Lauren Monaco, Kyle DeAngelis on their views on the use of Artificial Intelligence in the classroom, and the multiple risks involved, including to privacy, the environment, creativity and the human connection central to a quality education.

Leonie interviews Ashana Bigard, the author of an eye-opening new book, “Beyond Resilience: Katrina 20”, on what happened to New Orleans and its schools after Hurricane Katrina hit the city 20 years ago.

Kaliris interviews Tom Sheppard, former CEC Bronx Representative on the Panel for Educational Policy, who reflects on his time on the Panel.

Leonie interviews Alexandra Freidus, former teacher and Professor at the University of Connecticut, whose fascinating and challenging book entitled “Unequal Lessons: School Diversity and Educational Inequality in NYC" explores whether integration efforts alone within the largely segregated NYC public school system would achieve true equity and education justice.

After a brief recap of national and local education news, Leonie continues with interviewing Diane Ravitch, famed education scholar, historian and advocate, about her evolution from a neo-conservative to a progressive leader in the fight to save our public schools.

Daniel shares the top stories affecting public schools in NYC and nationally. We also share news about a brewing internal UFT teacher crisis regarding the firings of 6 prominent union staffers and the backlash it is creating within school communities and educators. Daniel also replays his past interview with educator, unionist and blogger, Arthur Goldstein.

Daniel shares an interview with veteran educator, chapter leader, union organizer and social media influencer, Leah Lin. He also shares a replay of a past interview with comedian and educator, Gaspare Randazzo.

Leonie interviews Diane Ravitch, famed education scholar, historian and advocate, about her evolution from a neo-conservative thinker to a progressive leader in the fight to save public education, and what she thinks about Donald Trump's attempt to attack and dismantle education at nearly every level.

Co-host Daniel Alicea dove into the political earthquake caused by Zohran Mamdani’s victory in the NYC Democratic mayoral primary. With a bold education agenda centered on shared school governance, fighting poverty and more, Mamdani’s vision could redefine the city’s public school system. We also broke down the latest city budget agreement, including a $70 million investment in Pre-K special education and a massive $755 million boost to after-school programming. What does this mean for families, educators, and advocates? He also shared news and analysis about the latest SCOTUS decision regarding parental opt-outs of LGBTQ stories in school curriculums. Daniel had an in-depth interview with Marianne Pizzitola, President of the Organization of New York City Public Service Retirees. She shares critical updates on retiree healthcare battles, including the Benkowski case, legislative fights to protect earned benefits, her org’s political endorsement process and the latest healthcare developments in the MLC. It’s a must-listen episode for anyone who cares about justice in education and retirement.

After a brief recap of NYC education news, Leonie interviewed Gavin Healy, a NYC public school parent leader who was recently re- elected to his Community Education Council in District 2 in Manhattan, who will talk about the role of these Councils, how they've been caught up in the culture wars, and the results of their recent elections.

Kaliris Salas Ramirez interviews Matt Gonzalez of the New York Coalition for Racially Just Public Schools, and its education justice roadmap for NYC's next mayor.

After a brief recap of local news, Leonie interviews Naveed Hassan, a NYC public school parent leader, a member of the Panel for Educational Policy, and an advocate for immigrant rights about Trump's aggressive tactics to deport immigrants,, and how .a NYC student named Dylan was arrested at his court check-in appointment, taken out of state to a detention center in Pennsylvania, and now is at risk of deportation to Venezuela. They also discuss how the NYC Department of Education's loosening of their privacy regulations along with the Trump administration merging of confidential government databases, could put students at increased harm of identity theft, surveillance, commercial exploitation, and worse.

Leonie interviews Carol Burris, Executive Director of Network for Public Education, who explains the case recently argued before the Supreme Court about whether states will be forced to allow for the authorization of religious charter schools.

Leonie interviews Prof. Julian Vasquez Heilig about the authoritarian threats being made by the Trump administration to states, districts and schools, demanding that they eliminate their diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs or lose federal funding; as well as to colleges and universities, to not only eliminate their diversity programs, but also toe the administration line iby controlling who they admit, who they hire, and what they teach.

Leonie interviewed Robert Kim, the Executive Director of the Education Law Center, about the lawsuit they filed on behalf of the NEA, the NAACP, and AFCSME Maryland, to try to stop Trump from dismantling the US Department of Education.

Leonie interviews Michael Mulgrew, President of the United Federation of Teachers, on the upcoming Mayoral and UFT elections, his record as President and goals if re-elected for a sixth term, as well as the hot button issues of Medicare Advantage, class size, curriculum, and the Trump administration’s assault on our public schools.

Daniel interviews interviews Amy Arundell, a Bronx middle school teacher, union organizer and UFT official. In this first part, they discuss her historic decision to run for UFT president in the upcoming UFT election with the A Better Contract slate --emphasizing the need for a more member-driven approach and a unified city labor movement. She also expresses her concerns about the union's current transactional and service model strategy, inability to deliver raises that outpace the cost of living and the current leadership's mishandling of healthcare and Welfare Fund. Join us as Amy shares her evolution and journey to her decision to run against the 16-year incumbent, Michael Mulgrew, and his establishment Unity administrative caucus that has controlled the UFT for the last 60 years. In the upcoming segments, which will be available as a podcast later this week, Amy shares her thoughts and commitments to city retirees and traditional Medicare, ABC’s support for Intro 1096, the current plight of NYC paraprofessionals and their fight for a living wage, fixing Tier 6, the increased need for member voice in our political endorsements, the importance of placing members first above personal and partisan politics, and much more.

After a recap of local and national education news, Leonie spoke to the edtech scholar and critic Audrey Watters about how the growing use of AI in the classroom is undermining learning, privacy & human connection in NYC & globally.