The Education Gadfly Show
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 [email protected].
- Update frequency
- every 7 days
- Average duration
- 24 minutes
- Episodes
- 505
- Years Active
- 2015 - 2025
#964: Why states should keep testing, with Scott Marion
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Scott Marion, Executive Director of the Center for Assessment, joins Mike and David to discuss why states should maintain annual assessments—even if the …
#963: All about the Educational Choice for Children Act, with Jim Blew
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Jim Blew, co-founder of the Defense of Freedom Institute, joins Mike and David to talk about his work on the Educational Choice for Children Act—a federa…
#962: Replacing DEI with something better, with Richard Kahlenberg
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Richard Kahlenberg, author of Class Matters: The Fight to Get Beyond Race Preferences, Reduce Inequality, and Build Real Diversity at America’s Colleges,…
#961: How “No Excuses” charter schools went off the rails, with Steven Wilson
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Steven Wilson, senior fellow at the Pioneer Institute, joins Mike to discuss his new book The Lost Decade: Returning to the Fight for Better Schools in A…
#960: Why Secretary McMahon shouldn’t waive federal testing requirements, with Charles Barone
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Charles Barone, Senior Director of the Center for Innovation at the National Parents Union, joins Mike and David to discuss the future of federal assessm…
#959: Are GPAs the key to measuring school quality? with Jing Liu and Seth Gershenson
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Jing Liu (University of Maryland) and Seth Gershenson (American University), authors of our latest report, Ready or Not? A New Way to Measure Elementary …
#958: Louisiana’s NAEP gains and the power of a strong curriculum, with John White
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, John White, former Louisiana superintendent of education and current CEO of Great Minds PBC, joins David and Amber to discuss the reforms he led in Louis…
#957: DOGE, IES, and the future of education research
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Mike and David discuss what’s really going on with DOGE, including its cuts to IES research grants and the implications for education policy. Then, on th…
#956: How schools can manage deportation fears, with Delia Pompa
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Delia Pompa, Senior Fellow for Education Policy at MPI’s National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy, joins Mike and David to discuss how the potenti…
#955: Critical race theory: The student perspective with Brian Kisida
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Brian Kisida, Associate Professor at the Truman School of Government & Public Affairs at the University of Missouri, joins Mike and David to discuss his …
#954: Should America prioritize its struggling students? with Tim Daly
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Tim Daly, CEO of EdNavigator, joins Mike and David to discuss whether America should refocus its efforts on helping our lowest-performing students and ex…
#953: From Biden to Trump: Rank punditry, with Rick Hess
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Rick Hess, the director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, joins Mike and David to discuss education reform (or the lack t…
#952: Unpacking the impact of Wisconsin's Act 10 on teacher pay, with Barbara Biasi
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Barbara Biasi, assistant professor at the Yale School of Management, joins Mike and David to discuss Wisconsin’s Act 10 and its impact on teacher compens…
#951: The future of federal education policy under Trump, with Alyson Klein
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Alyson Klein, assistant editor at Education Week, joins Mike and David to discuss how President Trump could weaken the U.S. Department of Education witho…
#950: The best and worst of ed reform in 2024, with Checker Finn
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Checker Finn, Fordham’s president emeritus—and the original Education Gadfly—joins Mike and David to discuss the best and worst news in education reform …
#949: Building positive school cultures, with Philip K. Howard
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Philip K. Howard, chair of Common Good and a bestselling author, joins Mike and David to discuss what it takes to create positive school environments, as…
#948: School choice setbacks: Interpreting the referenda losses with Colleen Hroncich
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Colleen Hroncich, a policy analyst with the Cato Institute’s Center for Educational Freedom, joins Mike and David to discuss why pro–school choice ballot…
#947: MCAS no more: High school in the post-exit-exam era, with Jim Peyser
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Jim Peyser, former Massachusetts Secretary of Education, joins Mike and David to discuss voters’ recent decision to eliminate the MCAS graduation require…
#946: Is there hope for education reform after the election? with Dale Chu
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Dale Chu, a senior visiting fellow at the Fordham Institute, joins Mike and David to discuss how the election results could impact education and whether …
#945: What happened when Tennessee colleges dropped remedial courses, with Jill Barshay
On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Jill Barshay, author of The Hechinger Report’s “Proof Points” column, joins Mike and David to discuss her recent article on the surprising effects of col…