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PODCAST

BustED Pencils

BustED Pencils; Fully Leaded Education Talk is a powerful radio show/podcast dedicated to public education. BustED Pencils is known for its commitment to the hard facts with a humorous twist. Hosts Dr. Tim Slekar and Dr. Johnny Lupinacci cover the “real” issues in education. The show establishes an alternative space and discusses education reform from an entirely progressive perspective. Our approach is funny, edgy, passionate, witty and gritty and features an array of guests. BustED Pencils

news news commentary

All Episodes

45:40

Stairw-A.I. to Heaven? with Britni Walz

BustED Pencils ·

2025/04/26

You know her, you love her, it’s Britni Walz! As the Instructional Services and Educational Technology Director at CESA 4, Britni has been at the forefront of integrating AI into rural Wisconsin classrooms. Fresh from the ASU+GSV Summit—a premier gathering of educators, innovators, and tech leaders—she's here to share insights on how the summit's discussions and discoveries will influence her work back home. From AI literacy to equitable access, we'll delve into how cutting-edge ideas from the

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29:20

Tim the Professor Hater- Class in Session

BustED Pencils ·

2025/04/23

Mighty serious accusations are flying in this week’s edition of Class in Session as Dr. Johnny Lupinacci strikes back at Dr. Tim Slekar and his vision for an AI dominated education utopia. Is AI going to revolutionize the way we learn? Are teachers becoming obsolete? Or is AI a powerful tool that requires a skilled teacher to use to its full potential? Find out the answers to these questions and more as Luddite Lupinacci and Tim the Professor Hater face off in a clash of titans!BustED Pencils:

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22:30

Our Schools, Our Choice-Homeroom

BustED Pencils ·

2025/04/21

With Dr. Johnny Lupinacci indisposed, Dr. Tim Slekar has no choice but to try to educate junior producer-in-training Jakob about the intricacies of school choice. What is Texas Governor Greg Abbot planning to do with so-called universal school choice rules in his state and why does Tim think that they might backfire on him? Does Jakob know that the nationwide school choice movement started right here in Wisconsin? And how does universal school choice create a whole new mess of problems for rural

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45:33

Talk About It Saturday, with Teacher Hallie

BustED Pencils ·

2025/04/19

Hail the conquering heroine! Friend of the show Hallie Newman Schmeling, or Teacher Hallie as we call her around these parts, is back on BustED Pencils for the first time since being elected to the Menomonee Falls school board! Drs. Tim Slekar and Johnny Lupinacci have a lot of catching up to do with Hallie as she discusses her journey from educator to deciding to run for public office, the good times and the tough moments of running a political campaign in 2025, and how to bring good old fashioned

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23:05

One to NIL, with Jimmie Kaska- Hurdles and Home Runs

BustED Pencils ·

2025/04/18

You've all been waiting for it, and we're finally delivering. For the first time in 28 DAYS sports whiz kid Jimmie Kaska has made his TRIUMPHANT return to the podcast to discuss the wide and wonderful world of Wisconsin sports. Jimmie informs our intrepid hosts Drs. Johnny Lupinacci and Tim Slekar about the WIAA's upcoming slate of reforms to high school athletics covering everything from allowing kids to earn money through NIL deals to coaches being allowed to give their players a few pointers

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29:11

Getting an A1 Education- Class in Session

BustED Pencils ·

2025/04/16

Secretary of Education Linda McMahon promises Americans an A1 education as she confuses A.I. with a popular barbecue sauce brand, Dr. Tim Slekar makes his triumphant return to the show after getting his pearly whites repaired, and Dr. Johnny Lupinacci takes a walk on the bright side by pointing out some of the opportunities presented by a rapidly shifting education landscape.With higher education facing a turbulent sea of challenges and threats, Tim and Johnny discuss the way that declining

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22:30

Everyone is Welcome-Homeroom

BustED Pencils ·

2025/04/14

Blue-collar scholars and warrior poets Dr. Johnny Lupinacci and producer Jakob overcome their grief over Tim’s absence to take a look at one of the perhaps not unexpected results of Donald Trump’s executive order banning “DEI” and “woke” from classrooms as in Idaho a 6th grade teacher finds herself in a difficult situation when her school’s administration asks her to take down a classroom poster that simply reads “everyone is welcome here.” When the definition of controversial changes, should our

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45:32

Diversity is American

BustED Pencils ·

2025/04/12

On a lonesome, Tim-less episode of BustED Pencils Dr. Johnny Lupinacci is joined by newly-minted producer Jakob. They discuss the paths people take along their education journeys, the Frozen Four, and sticking up for the idea that Diversity is American so we can all enjoy the country we love. Western Michigan’s teacher training program gets a shoutout. The ongoing battle for keeping diversity in our classrooms continues playing out, and they discuss the chilling effect that curbs on education and

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23:44

Pucks or Strikes- Hurdles and Home Runs

BustED Pencils ·

2025/04/11

Spring sports run the gambit between everything from track and field to baseball, softball, lacrosse, and so SO many more, but which spring sports are closest to OUR hearts? Today we look to get to the bottom of that very question as Dr. Johnny Lupinacci and new producer Jakob spend their Friday debating the merits of various spring sports, discussing the various paths that students take on their journeys to finding the right essential curricular activities for them, and the value of finding an

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23:34

A Hill to DEI On- Class in Session

BustED Pencils ·

2025/04/10

This week on a very special episode of BustED Pencils Doctors Johnny Lupinacci and Tim Slekar discuss the politicization of the education landscape as states like New York choose to sacrifice federal funding in order to uphold their DEI policies while others like Kentucky and Ohio move in the exact opposite direction as they now BAN DEI outright.Do we live in a country of separate states with separate truths? How do states’ rights interact with students’ rights to an education? And will producer

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23:47

This Is Not Ok(lahoma)- Homeroom

BustED Pencils ·

2025/04/07

Today Dr. Tim Slekar comes fully leaded with a perplexing story out of Oklahoma as the state makes a controversial decision to begin teaching 2020 election denial as part of its official state social studies standards, a move that even David Griffith from the conservative think tank the Fordham Institute called “disappointing.” But is there an opportunity to come at this problem from another angle while insisting Oklahoma's haphazard implementation is just not ok? Dr. Johnny Lupinacci responds with

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45:33

An Educated Educator goes on to more Education!

BustED Pencils ·

2025/04/05

Pencil Busters, this episode is a little different. Today, we celebrate 10 incredible months of Producer Jess's time with BustED Pencils. Why? Because this educated educator is going on to more education! Over the past 10 months, I- that is Jess- have learned and grown so much. I planned and produced each episode of the show and wrote each of these podcasts. It's a bit surreal to write this last one. For today's show, Dr. Tim and Dr. Johnny interview me about my educational journey. From where I've

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21:14

For the American Dream, with Randi Weingarten- Class...

BustED Pencils ·

2025/04/02

Randi Weingarten, President of AFT, joins us to discuss the lawsuits her organization is pursuing against the Trump administration's reckless and harmful policies. She shares the deliberations she and AFT undertake when considering which lawsuits to pursue. It comes down to two simple factors. First- is the policy actively hurting people and standing in the way of people attaining the American Dream? Second- does AFT have standing to file? If so, they're suing. This isn't what AFT wants to spend

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22:41

The Trajectory Shift from COVID, 5 years in- Homeroom

BustED Pencils ·

2025/03/31

The COVID-19 pandemic changed the trajectory all of our lives. Now, five years since the onset of the pandemic, we look at all that we've become. So often, we hear the endless clarion call of "learning loss" in education. Rarely do we hear about all of the learning students, teachers, and families gained. Nor do we take time to celebrate and honor how some trajectory shifts stemming from Covid led to spectacular growth and achievement for us personally. So today, we look not only at the loss- which

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45:31

Assistant Instructors (AI) in Rural WI Schools, with...

BustED Pencils ·

2025/03/29

Class, we talk about AI a lot here. Is it good or bad? Well, it's technology, so it is neither and both depending on the user. But what if we could consider it as *more* than a tool, and far less than a replacement for a teacher? Britni Walz, Instructional Services and Technology Director for CESA4, like Dr. Tim, views proper AI as an assistant. Today, Britni joins us to discuss the exciting work CESA4 is doing to bring AI to rural school districts in Wisconsin. These schools seek ways to engage

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21:38

Sounds of Spring- Hurdles and Home Runs

BustED Pencils ·

2025/03/28

Class, welcome to our next season of covering essential curricular activities! We began this weekly segment in fall with First Downs and Friday Night Lights. Then, we transitioned into Free Throws and Face Offs. Now in spring, we introduce Hurdles and Home Runs! You can expect to catch up on the classic spring sports of track and field, lacrosse, baseball, and softball. But spring isn't just for sports. In this episode, Tim, Johnny, and Jess reminisce on their favorite vernal essentials including

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22:28

Amplify THIS Educator by electing her to School...

BustED Pencils ·

2025/03/26

Class, we are so excited to share that our friend Hallie Newman Schmeling is running for School Board! Teacher Hallie- as we call her around here- and Teacher Joanna are Educators Amplified, a podcast dedicated to raising up the voices of educators. Hallie joins us today to discuss why she chose to run for School Board in the Menomonee Falls district. She sees and hears the needs of teachers, students, and families in her district. With her background as a classroom educator, we know she will truly

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23:08

Declining Expectations- Homeroom

BustED Pencils ·

2025/03/24

Class, welcome to another new week! Despite our best efforts at cheer, we're finding it hard to be all smiles to start this week. And we find that sentiment reflected in our nation's continually declining happiness index. For the second consecutive year, America ranks at a new low on the World Happiness Report. Why is our happiness declining? Well, when we look around at the uncertainty in the economy, willful denial of climate catastrophe, and lack of investment in the future the answer appears..

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23:46

“Sprinter” Sports- Free Throws and Face Offs

BustED Pencils ·

2025/03/21

Class, welcome to sprinter- that delightful damp windy transition from winter to spring. Chad, host of the WXCO morning show and Civic Media sports broadcaster and Jimmie, Civic Media sports editor, have been two of our favorites for this Friday segment. Today, they bring us a final update on the winter sports and a preview of spring activities. The winter season wrapped with a few location issues that reveal the interconnectedness of these essential activities and local economies. All in all

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23:39

PETE: Personalizing Training- Class in Session, with...

BustED Pencils ·

2025/03/19

Class, we've all experienced terrible trainings, right? Modules drier than a desert and handbooks that leave us bored to tears while not providing any actual knowledge of the company's methodologies or values? Well, thank goodness for educated workplace educator and brand new Pencil Buster Luis Garcia, co-founder and president of PETE-Personalized Education, Training, and Enrichment! Luis joins us today to discuss the intersection of great training and education.With co-founder and CTO Jacques

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429 results

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