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Susan Pendergrass talks with Cory Koedel, director of education policy at the Show-Me Institute, about who is in charge of public education in Missouri after the state commissioner’s resignation, the state’s new school letter grades, and why Koedel says the state needs to keep testing. They also discuss their new paper, Missouri Education Policy with Reduced Federal Oversight, including why Koedel believes Title I funding is poorly designed and what a different approach could look like, and more. Read the paper: https://showmeinstitute.org/publication/education/missouri-education-policy-with-reduced-federal-oversight/ Produced by Show-Me Opportunity

Susan Pendergrass talks with Collin Hitt, executive director of the PRiME Center at Saint Louis University, about the first research report on outcomes in MOScholars, Missouri’s education savings account program. Hitt discusses how many students are using the program, how its eligibility rules have changed, what the early test score data shows, what he learned from his work on Louisiana’s evaluation, and more. Read the report: https://www.primecenter.org/education-reports-database/moscholars-student-outcomes-2026 Produced by Show-Me Opportunity

Show-Me Institute Audio Briefs features audio versions of select articles, commentary, and publications from the Show-Me Institute. Learn more at showmeinstitute.org: https://showmeinstitute.org/article/state-and-local-government/what-to-know-about-amendment-6/ Produced by Show-Me Opportunity This episode was produced using AI-generated narration.

Susan Pendergrass speaks with Jim Epstein, director of the documentary Escaping Venezuela and executive editor of Reason magazine, about the film, the rise of Hugo Chavez, what happened to Venezuela’s grocery stores and oil industry, and more. Learn more about the film: https://escapingvenezuela.reason.com/ Produced by Show-Me Opportunity

Susan Pendergrass speaks with Jason Bedrick, senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation's Center for Education Policy, and James V. Shuls, senior fellow at the Show-Me Institute and head of the Education Liberty Branch of the Institute for Governance and Civics at Florida State University, about their new book, "The Phoenix Principles: Toward a Rebirth of American Education." They discuss the seven principles behind the Phoenix Declaration, why civic education has fallen apart, why truth and academic excellence belong at the center of schooling rather than equity of outcomes, and how school board members can put these principles into practice. Find the book, The Phoenix Principles: Toward a Rebirth of American Education: https://bit.ly/3VIl0ku Produced by Show-Me Opportunity

Susan Pendergrass speaks with Salim Furth, senior research fellow and director of the Urbanity Project at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, about the policy brief he co-authored with Emily Hamilton and Charles Gardner, "Housing Reform in the States: A Menu of Options for 2027." They discuss why home prices have risen faster than inflation, how states like Missouri may be able to lower costs by loosening lot size and permitting rules, why HUD code manufactured homes face local barriers, how single-stair apartment buildings and lower-cost elevators could make small-lot infill more feasible, and more. Produced by Show-Me Opportunity

Show-Me Institute Audio Briefs features audio versions of select articles, commentary, and publications from the Show-Me Institute. Learn more at showmeinstitute.org: https://showmeinstitute.org/article/corporate-welfare/even-questionable-royals-report-shows-the-stadium-wont-pay-for-itself/ Produced by Show-Me Opportunity This episode was produced using AI-generated narration.

Show-Me Institute Audio Briefs features audio versions of select articles, commentary, and publications from the Show-Me Institute. Learn more at showmeinstitute.org: https://showmeinstitute.org/article/education/prioritizing-political-ideology-over-educational-outcomes/ Produced by Show-Me Opportunity This episode was produced using AI-generated narration.

Susan Pendergrass speaks with Brian Kisida, associate professor in the Truman School of Government and Public Affairs and director of Mizzou's Open Minds Initiative, about what's missing from civics education in America. They discuss why current civics assessments test trivia rather than real understanding, why comparing the U.S. to authoritarian regimes could improve civic knowledge, whether teachers are to blame for declining faith in America among young people, and how Missouri could build better civics assessments and reporting. Produced by Show-Me Opportunity

Susan Pendergrass speaks with Avery Frank, senior policy analyst at the Show-Me Institute, and James V. Shuls, senior fellow at the Show-Me Institute and head of the Education Liberty Branch of the Institute for Governance and Civics at Florida State University, about their new report, "Understanding Missouri's Teacher Shortage: Evaluating Missouri's Teacher Pipeline to Inform Future Policy Strategies." They discuss whether Missouri actually faces a statewide teacher shortage crisis, why teacher hiring has grown even as enrollment declines, which subject areas and school districts face real shortages, the case for differential pay, and more. Produced by Show-Me Opportunity

Susan Pendergrass speaks with Colyn Ritter, research analyst at EdChoice, about the annual Schooling in America survey. They discuss why public confidence in K-12 education has been declining, the real reasons parents switch their kids' schools, why open enrollment polls at 80 percent support among parents, and what parents think about AI and cell phones in the classroom. Produced by Show-Me Opportunity

Susan Pendergrass speaks with Jon Bassett and Gary Shiffman, founding partners of 4QM Teaching, about their Four Question Method for teaching history and social studies. They discuss why so much history instruction fails to build lasting knowledge, the four questions that structure a well-taught history lesson (what happened, what were they thinking, why then and there, and what do we think about that), why "knowledge first" matters for both literacy and civic discourse, and how their approach could help address declining civics and history knowledge among young people. Produced by Show-Me Opportunity

Show-Me Institute Audio Briefs features audio versions of select articles, commentary, and publications from the Show-Me Institute. Learn more at showmeinstitute.org: https://showmeinstitute.org/publication/education/missouris-21st-century-public-school-personnel-boom/ Produced by Show-Me Opportunity This episode was produced using AI-generated narration.

Read the report and visit the data dashboard: https://bit.ly/46gaYZM Susan Pendergrass speaks with Avery Frank, senior policy analyst at the Show-Me Institute, and Cory Koedel, director of education policy at the Show-Me Institute, about their new report on staffing and enrollment trends in Missouri schools over the past 25 years. They discuss why teacher and administrator hiring has grown steadily even as student enrollment declines, what teachers could be earning if staffing levels had stayed flat, the shift in school spending from instruction to support services, whether pensions play a role in the hiring trend, and more. Produced by Show-Me Opportunity

Show-Me Institute Audio Briefs features audio versions of select articles, commentary, and publications from the Show-Me Institute. Learn more at showmeinstitute.org: https://showmeinstitute.org/article/state-and-local-government/missouris-ongoing-budget-problem/ Produced by Show-Me Opportunity This episode was produced using AI-generated narration.