Advertise on podcast: MindShift Podcast

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 decisions in a rapidly automating world. In this episode , MIT education researcher Justin Reich walks host and science writer Dr. Jess Love through different technical innovations of the last century to show what actually changed in classrooms, and what didn’t.

As confidence in higher education shifts and economic pressures intensify, young people are navigating increasingly complex decisions about life after high school. In this episode, college students share their financial realities and experts examine the tension between cultural expectations around college and emerging conversations about economic mobility, dignity of work, and long-term stability.

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 bridge into it? In this episode, we follow a group of high school students earning a phlebotomy certification and hear researchers and school leaders unpack how modern CTE programs are evolving beyond outdated stigma toward stackable credentials, college alignment, and career mobility.

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 off his school-issued iPad. In classrooms across the country, districts have banned phones, but the screens haven’t disappeared. They’ve just shifted to Chromebooks and tablets that students are required to use all day long. And for some families and educators, those devices are raising uncomfortable questions. On this episode of MindShift, we dig into the promises of education technology and whether they’ve actually paid off. This episode features voices ranging from parents and ed-tech researchers to school leaders redesigning students' reliance on tech.

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 programs, and staff meetings across the country. But what does it actually take to live out that message in today’s classrooms when teachers are stretched thin, burnout is high, and the emotional demands of the job can feel relentless? In this episode, we go beyond the viral talk to meet the people who knew Rita best, the educators who carry her philosophy forward, and the researcher studying what happens to our bodies and minds when we lead with love.

At Redwood Heights Elementary in Oakland California, educators participate in workshops with the Teaching Well, a professional support organization focused on teacher sustainability and emotional resilience. This episode explores how supporting teacher well-being directly impacts classroom culture and student outcomes to show how teacher sustainability is foundational rather than a “nice-to-have.”

Inspired by Finland’s student-first approach, Copper Island Academy in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula prioritizes inclusion, early intervention, and teacher autonomy to create a learning environment where support is built into the classroom rather than siloed in separate rooms. This episode explores how Copper Island blends Finnish pedagogy with local culture, showing what’s possible when schools design systems around people, not paperwork.

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 Education, and shifting public trust, this season asks: who sustains the people responsible for sustaining students? Across six episodes, we'll move from teacher support and relationship-centered learning to technology, workforce preparation, and postsecondary pathways. Follow MindShift wherever you get your podcasts or visit https://www.kqed.org/podcasts/mindshift Subscribe to receive new episodes starting July 14.

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 wondering how to navigate authentic conversions with young people.

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. Greene explains his Collaborative & Proactive Solutions model, which shifts the focus away from rewards and punishments and toward identifying the unmet needs and unsolved problems behind student behavior.

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. Principal Nina Craig explains how the loss of tutors affected instruction and student relationships, while new AmeriCorps members, Maya Nurse and Elena Zeoli, describe stepping into classrooms with limited time and resources. This episode explores how even a few missed months of literacy support reduces how many students can be served.

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 retiring after 40 years in Oakland Unified schools. Porter shares how introducing students to experimental jazz, including the music of Sun Ra, helps young musicians explore creativity and possibility.

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, about why school boards matter more than ever. Levy’s new book, Why School Boards Matter: Reclaiming the Heart of American Education and Democracy,  explains how school boards function, how their power has shifted over time and how school boards can serve as a rare space for civic engagement and democratic participation.

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-judgmental advice on saving and investing. Zhang talks to KQED's Marlena Jackson-Retondo about the tips she gives to young people managing their own finances for the first time.

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 how the debut of ChatGPT and Generative AI is actually playing out in schools.  They’ve compiled their learnings into a mini series called the Homework Machine. Listen to more episodes here: https://www.teachlabpodcast.com/