Michael W. Apple is the John Bascom Professor of Curriculum & Instruction & Educational Policy Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1970-2018). He is the author and editor of over 50 books and the advisor of 119 doctoral students. His influence on global critical pedagogy and inclusive curriculum studies (in particular, a critique of “official … Continue reading "The Challenges Facing Teachers Today: A Conversation with Michael W. Apple" The post The Challenges Facing Teachers...
Nov 10, 2019•25 min
In the forward to their book, Reading the Rainbow, Mariana Souto-Manning asks, “Will you commit to justice in and through your teaching?” Jill and Caitlin challenge teachers at all levels to expand our own lgbtq literacy into our curriculum and pedagogical commitments. They discuss the uses of literature in creating inclusive classrooms through the use … Continue reading "Creating Equitable Classrooms: Jill M. Hermann-Wilmarth and Caitlin L. Ryan, Act 2" The post Creating Equitable Classrooms: J...
Oct 24, 2019•32 min
Caitlin Ryan with Jill Hermann-Wilmarth Reading the Rainbow, Act 1 Jill M. Hermann-Wilmarth (PhD UGA) is Professor of Social Foundations at Western Michigan State University in the Department of Teaching, Learning, and Educational Studies. Full disclosure: Jill majored in Religious Studies at Agnes Scott College, where she did a Directed Reading course in Paulo … Continue reading "Reading the Rainbow: A Conversation with Jill M. Hermann-Wilmarth and Caitlin L. Ryan" The post Reading the Rainbow:...
Oct 24, 2019•32 min
The impossible demand involves demanding the impossible—studying what freedom educators from Ella Baker to Christopher Emdin do to create a model for restorative justice in education. Love believes, “You can’t have liberation without queerness,” and it is queerness that allows us to push what society says is normal and do the work of freedom dreaming. … Continue reading "The Impossible Demand: Bettina Love on Freedom Dreaming with Students: Part 2" The post The Impossible Demand: Bettina Love on...
Sep 30, 2019•26 min
Act 1: Mattering Pedagogy Dr. Bettina Love is Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Theory & Practice (Early Childhood, Elementary Education) in the College of Education at the University of Georgia. Love is the creator of “Get Free: Hip Hop Civics Education” [http://getfreehiphopcivics.com/], and is the author of Hip Hop Li’l Sistas Speak: Negotiating … Continue reading "Abolitionist Teaching: A Conversation with Bettina L. Love" The post Abolitionist Teaching: A Conversation...
Sep 30, 2019•31 min
In Part Two Antonia Darder discusses the use of art and poetry in her engaged pedagogy. She raises key questions for talking about critical pedagogies and rethinking oppressive educational systems. What does an emancipatory pedagogy look like and how do we create the spaces to dream with our students? Outro music is by Paul Myhre, … Continue reading "The Courage to Engage: A Conversation with Antonia Darder, Part 2" The post The Courage to Engage: A Conversation with Antonia Darder, Part 2 appea...
Aug 23, 2019•31 min
The Courage to Engage, Act 1 Dr. Antonia Darder is the Leavey Presidential Endowed Chair in Ethics and Moral Leadership in the School of Education at Loyola Marymount University and Professor Emerita of Educational Policy, Organization, and Leadership at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Distinguished Visiting Faculty at the University of Johannesburg. Prof. … Continue reading "The Courage to Engage: A Conversation with Antonia Darder" The post The Courage to Engage: A Conversa...
Aug 23, 2019•32 min
Justice work requires reflection and resiliency. In Part Two Gordon asks the question: where does religion stand?—on the side of the status quo or the people most effected by injustice? He sees social change as a spiritual activity, and one that makes religion a force of unity in justice work. This activity means showing up … Continue reading "Speaking Truth to Power: A Conversation with Gordon Whitman, Act 2" The post Speaking Truth to Power: A Conversation with Gordon Whitman, Act 2 appeared f...
Jul 30, 2019•27 min
Organizing for a Just World, Act 1 This July 2019 podcast is a conversation with Gordon Whitman, senior advisor of the interfaith group Faith in Action: Building a People-Powered Movement (formerly PICO National Network; https://faithinaction.org). He has a B.A. in history and urban studies and a law degree from Harvard Law School. Gordon did his … Continue reading "Organizing for a Just World: A Conversation with Gordon Whitman" The post Organizing for a Just World: A Conversation with Gordon W...
Jul 29, 2019•30 min
In Part 2 of this conversation, share with us their strategies for creating open and democratic spaces in the classroom through specific games and other techniques such as storytelling, poetry, and the arts. They share their joy at being surprised at the creative innovation of their students, whether in k-2, university level, or k-12 teachers. … Continue reading "Rehearsing a Different Pedagogy: A Conversation with Mariana Souto Manning and Melisa “Misha” Cahnmann-Taylor, Act 2" The post Rehears...
Jun 28, 2019•36 min
Rehearsing a Different Pedagogy, Act 1 Misha Cahnmann-Taylor and Mariana Souto-Manning are “rehearsing for the revolution” (Augusto Boal’s term) in their creative teaching. In Part One of this podcast they share with us their stories of using theatre “as a way to train new teachers, and ourselves,” as well as create democratic spaces in classrooms … Continue reading "Teachers Act Up! A conversation with Melisa “Misha” Cahnmann-Taylor & Mariana Souto Manning" The post Teachers Act Up! A conve...
Jun 28, 2019•29 min
For the May 2019 podcast we welcome Jerome Scott, co-founder of Project South: Institute for the Elimination of Poverty and Genocide (f. 1986). Jerome visited my REL/EDU 385: Religion, Education, and Activism class in April and told his story of what led him to become an activist/scholar educator. He shared about his work in voting … Continue reading "Jerome Scott: Organizing for the Future" The post Jerome Scott: Organizing for the Future appeared first on Nothing Never Happens ....
May 23, 2019•45 min
In Part 2 of our conversation Martusewicz moves from root metaphors and their destructive, patriarchal force. With Wendell Berry she shows us how to write a better story to create a different world. For example, she discusses her pedagogical style of having a conversation with her students about how to teach a subject (such as, … Continue reading "“Can critical pedagogy be greened?” : A Conversation on Ecopedagogy with Rebecca Martusewicz, Act 2" The post “Can critical pedagogy be greened?” : A ...
Apr 30, 2019•37 min
Ecojustice Pedagogy, Act 1 Rebecca Martusewicz (pronounced: marta-savage) is Professor of Social Foundations and Community Education in the Department of Teacher Education at Eastern Michigan University. She was a founder and director of the Southeast Michigan Stewarship (SEMIS) Coalition, developing “citizen stewards of the Great Lakes.” I spoke with Prof. Martusewicz about her new book, … Continue reading "Ecojustice pedagogy: A Conversation with Rebecca A. Martusewicz" The post Ecojustice ped...
Apr 30, 2019•33 min
In Part 2 Ben Speight talks about the practices of “combing our forces” in the fight for worker justice. These current times require ever more coalition building and organized resistance to the status quo. Ben uses examples from his own decades of union organizing to show that “the people united will never be divided!” Theme … Continue reading "Organizing for Change: A Conversation with Ben Speight, Act 2" The post Organizing for Change: A Conversation with Ben Speight, Act 2 appeared first on N...
Mar 31, 2019•37 min
Workers Unite!, Act 1 This March 2019 podcast is for anyone who teaches/studies social movements, movement building, labor history, union organizing, non-violent activism, social justice teaching, and direct action for social change! Hear Teamster Local 728 Organizing Director Ben Speight give an overview of union organizing and connections to our current times. He visited my … Continue reading "Workers Unite!:: A Conversation with Ben Speight" The post Workers Unite!:: A Conversation with Ben S...
Mar 31, 2019•27 min
Rev. Noelle Damico (United Church of Christ) is an activist educator and movement builder with the Alliance for Fair Food.[http://www.allianceforfairfood.org/]. She coordinated the 2 million member Presbyterian Church USA’s involvement in the Coalition of Immokalee Worker’s Campaign for Fair Food [https://ciw-online.org/], among many other food justicecampaigns. This podcast takes place in an actual class setting, my … Continue reading "Teaching Sustainability: A Conversation with Rev. Noelle Da...
Mar 01, 2019•58 min
“United, Unafraid, Undefeated, Unstoppable Leaders.” That is the description by the students of U-Lead Athens. Since August 2014 they meet every Thursday night at Oconee United Methodist Church, on the boundary of the University of Georgia (a university that bans undocumented students). Mentors and allies from the university (the UGA Undocumented Student Alliance) and the … Continue reading "U-Lead Athens: Educating Un(der)documented students" The post U-Lead Athens: Educating Un(der)documented ...
Feb 01, 2019•55 min
In Part Two Leopando continues to explore the theological influences on Freire’s thought and activism that sustained him through exile and institutional work (in government and higher education). We discuss the institutional boundaries on using a Freirean method in the college or university classroom, and I admit to being a “failed Freirean.” We talk about … Continue reading "Teaching as “Vocation”: Part Two of a Conversation with Irwin Leopando" The post Teaching as “Vocation”: Part Two of a Co...
Dec 21, 2018•37 min
Freire and Faith, Act 1 Irwin Leopando is Associate Professor of English at LaGuardia Community College, (CUNY) in Queens, NY. He is the author of the book we discuss in this podcast, A Pedagogy of Faith: The Theological Vision of Paulo Freire (Bloomsbury, 2017). Leopando came to study Paulo Freire (1921-1997) in graduate school classes … Continue reading "Freire and Faith: A Conversation with Irwin Leopando" The post Freire and Faith: A Conversation with Irwin Leopando appeared first on Nothing...
Dec 21, 2018•34 min
Nicolazzo asks us, “How do we think about the most vulnerable students on our campuses,” especially those who are multiply marginized? How do we work toward “a practice of freedom” (hooks)? Nicolazzo shows us a broader vision of trans*studies and pedagogies in higher education, and how attention to these intersections of oppression and freedom benefit … Continue reading "Z Nicolazzo: Part 2: The Trickle Up of Social Justice Education" The post Z Nicolazzo: Part 2: The Trickle Up of Social Justic...
Nov 30, 2018•30 min
From the field of studies in higher education come deep insights into pedagogical theory and practice. In the second of a series on trans*pedagogies, and on the recommendation of Dr. T.J. Jourian, I invited Dr. Z. Nicolazzo to talk about teaching and activism. Nicolazzo is assistant professor of Trans*Studies in Education in the Center for … Continue reading "Trans*Pedagogies: A Conversation with Dr. Z Nicolazzo" The post Trans*Pedagogies: A Conversation with Dr. Z Nicolazzo appeared first on No...
Nov 30, 2018•34 min
This October podcast is a bit self-serving. Our Religious Studies Department has been on a 30+ year journey into what it would be to live into Freire’s vision for democratic education. How can liberatory pedagogies inform our work at the department level? In what ways can we model our commitment to an education for freedom … Continue reading "What would we be doing if we weren’t doing this?: A Freirean Focus Group on a Democratic Departmental Journey" The post What would we be doing if we weren’...
Nov 02, 2018•46 min
In Part 2 Torres talks about the origins and work of the UCLA Paulo Freire Institute in social justice education. He discusses his many influences (Gramsci, Marx, liberation theology, Alves, Dussell, Habermas, Bourdieu, Illich, Rawls, Dewey, Gadotti, to name a few), and the new theoretical directions of his graduate students in ecopedagogies and anarchist pedagogies. … Continue reading "Education for Global Citizenship: An Interview with Carlos Alberto Torres: Part 2:" The post Education for Glo...
Sep 29, 2018•31 min
Freire’s First Critic, Act 1 Carlos Alberto Torres is Professor of Social Sciences and Comparative Education at UCLA (2009-present), past Director of the UCLA Latin American center (1995-2005) and founder of the Paulo Freire Institute in São Paulo, Brazil (with Freire in 1991), Buenos Aries, Argentina, and UCLA (since 2002). Prof. Torres is also … Continue reading "Freire’s First Critic: An Interview with Carlos Alberto Torres" The post Freire’s First Critic: An Interview with Carlos Alberto Tor...
Sep 29, 2018•34 min
In the second half of our conversation Victoria Rue talks about the importance of theatre in the classroom as a way to break out of the ruts and old habits of traditional teaching. She offers suggestions for tools on the journey, as well as stories of her own experiences of transformative teaching and learning with … Continue reading "Theatre as Pedagogy: Victoria Rue Interview Part 2" The post Theatre as Pedagogy: Victoria Rue Interview Part 2 appeared first on Nothing Never Happens ....
Aug 29, 2018•42 min
Theatre as Pedagogy, Act 1 Victoria Rue is a professor, author, playwright, theatre director and workshop leader, and Roman Catholic womanpriest. She has taught at San Jose State University from 2004 to the present in Comparative Religious Studies and Women’s Studies. In the Fall of 2018 she will be at Dar Al Calamar University College … Continue reading "Theatre as Pedagogy: A Conversation with Victoria Rue" The post Theatre as Pedagogy: A Conversation with Victoria Rue appeared first on Nothin...
Aug 29, 2018•29 min
In Part Two: Theatre for Systemic Change, Marc talks about his experiences with Forum Theatre and Legislative Theatre in addressing community issues. With over 30 years experience, Marc shows the successes, opportunities, and future vision of his theatre work. The Mandala Center for Change: “Founded in 1999, the Mandala Center is a multi-disciplinary arts education … Continue reading "Marc Weinblatt: Part Two: Theatre for Systemic Change" The post Marc Weinblatt: Part Two: Theatre for Systemic C...
Jul 30, 2018•36 min
Marc Weinblatt has been a professional educator, theatre director, activist, and workshop facilitator since 1980 having extensive experience with both adults and youth. An internationally recognized leader in the use of Augusto Boal’s renowned Theater of the Oppressed (T.O.) to stimulate community dialogue and social change, Marc has worked with diverse communities ranging from police … Continue reading "Theatre of Liberation: Marc Weinblatt of the Mandala Center for Change" The post Theatre of ...
Jul 30, 2018•41 min
In Part 2 of our podcast on ecopedagogies, Laurel Kearns and Tim Van Meter take us through several concrete pedagogical practices in ecoliteracy and ecopedagogy. They discuss the use of autogeographies in their classrooms to enable students to examine their place in the world. And they take us through the interdisciplinary pedagogical practices and commitments … Continue reading "Ecopedagogies: Part 2" The post Ecopedagogies: Part 2 appeared first on Nothing Never Happens ....
Jun 21, 2018•44 min
