x

75% of people globally want unbiased news (Pew Research) but are concerned they're not getting that.

Get balanced coverage with Symby. See how stories are covered across diverse outlets and spot when one side covers a story the other skips.

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

22:20

Suing for Students- Homeroom

BustED Pencils ·

2025/03/17

Happy Monday Class, let’s bust some pencils! In last week’s homeroom, we covered the lawsuit filed by 8 Attorneys General in opposition to the cancellation of hundreds of millions of dollars in teacher training grants. Now, their efforts in suing pay off- at least temporarily- as a federal judge orders those grants reinstated in the 8 states. This is a temporary measure, but it shows the power of our elected officials fighting in the necessary courts for our students. Do we wish suing wasn’t

en-US

45:32

Public Good vs. Public Goods in Higher Ed, with...

BustED Pencils ·

2025/03/15

What makes something a public good? In short, inclusion and access. It cannot exclude anyone- regardless of background, socioeconomic status, or creed. Dr. Jonathan Gyurko, repeat Pencil Buster, joins us to discuss his recent article on higher education's status as a non-public good. Although our institutions of higher education- even those that call themselves "public"- aren't at this moment public goods, but they can be. Making them so will more closely align their missions with democracy, which

en-US

21:06

Becoming- Free Throws and Face Offs, with WSU Hockey...

BustED Pencils ·

2025/03/14

Pencil Busters, we made it through another week! So let's take some time to reflect on how essential-curricular activities contribute to the "becoming" of young adults. Two weeks ago, we talked with the managers of WSU Hockey's award-winning social media team. Today, we hear from Kianna Hamer and Katherine Bresani, members of the team who produce incredible video and photography to support the hockey team. Together with Giancarlo Bresani, dedicated WSU parent and supporter of the social media team,

en-US

21:37

Rebranding Humanities Majors- Class In Session, with...

BustED Pencils ·

2025/03/12

Humanities majors have been in decline for well over a decade. In an age when the two words "liberal" and "arts" are separately hot-button, putting the two together doesn't sell well to a broad audience. But you know what does? "Marketability" "job-readiness" and "communication skills". And that's why schools are beginning to rebrand their humanities majors as preparation for students to enter business with the skills employers desperately want. Jon Marcus, senior higher-education reporter at the

en-US

22:46

Focus on the Effects- Homeroom

BustED Pencils ·

2025/03/10

We apologize for being tardy to Homeroom today, Class! While we don't have a parent note, we do have trending education news to share with you! Let's focus in, because policy changes are coming fast, loud, and confusing. First, more labor unions representing educators join the AFT in their lawsuit against the federal Department of Education. The lawsuit follows the federal department's release of a Dear Colleague letter on February 14th outlining threats to funding for schools engaged in "DEI"

en-US

45:33

Advocating for public schools, now and always!

BustED Pencils ·

2025/03/08

Happy Saturday, Pencil Busters! Today, we catch up with the incredible work the Wisconsin Public Education Network is doing, led by Executive Director Heather DuBois Bourenane. With 86 of Wisconsin's 421 public school districts already going to referenda in the spring elections, WPEN's been busy. They held a Day of Action at the state capitol on February 28th, amplifying the voices of educators, and advocating for all of us. Watch this powerful video, where you can see the jaw-dropping unrolling of

en-US

20:42

Playoffs Galore- Free Throws and Face Offs, with Chad...

BustED Pencils ·

2025/03/07

Pencil Busters, can you believe we're in the playoffs for winter sports already? Today, we catch up with Chad Holmes, host of the WXCO morning show and Civic Media sports broadcaster. He's been extremely busy covering playoffs for wrestling, hockey, and basketball. With the end of the season upon us, he shares updates, surprises, and lessons learned. As we discuss here at BustED Pencils, these school sports are not extra-curricular. They are essential curricula for students to learn and practice

en-US

23:37

Dear Colleague Letters- Class in Session

BustED Pencils ·

2025/03/05

Welcome to class, Pencil Busters! Today, we're discussing "Dear Colleague" letters, following up on our Homeroom session from Monday. Last week, the Office of Civil Rights within the federal Department of Education sent out a "Dear Colleague" letter to all schools subject to the department. So today, Dr. Tim and Dr. Johnny break down what these letters are and why they matter. Ultimately, at least according to Johnny, these letters are antithetical to a healthy democracy- especially with contents

en-US

19:15

When did equity become harmful?- Homeroom

BustED Pencils ·

2025/03/03

Class, let's get into the news for this week. President Trump's administration made clear that they do not value diversity, equity, or inclusion. Though those words "diversity," "equity," and "inclusion" separately rarely prompt any vitriol, together they form a rallying cry of- ironically- discrimination from some. Diversity is a basic truth of life, none of us is exactly the same. Inclusion should be a uniting force, where each individual is valued. And equity, equity is fairness incarnate. Equity

en-US

45:33

Ed Tech- honoring teacher labor and student...

BustED Pencils ·

2025/03/01

From smart boards to grading systems and email, teachers rely on ed tech- education technology- to optimize their workloads. As we discussed with Chris Hull on Wednesday, all of those disparate systems can be overwhelming. That's why he created Otus, a one-platform solution to all the noise, giving teachers more of their most valuable resource: time. Today, we look back on some of the history of ed tech, from chalkboards to comprehensive teaching portals. With decades of teaching experience, our

en-US

19:16

Creativity and Connections- Free Throws and Face Offs

BustED Pencils ·

2025/02/28

Class, this is an extra special session. On many prior Fridays, we've talked with coaches, players, and sports directors and editors. Today, we hear from two young women who support a sport team. They are essential contributors to an essential part of an educational experience. Natalia Nayes and Mallory Brock, award-winning social media managers for the Washington State University men's hockey team join us as brand new Pencil Busters! Natalia is a current Sports Manager major at WSU and former

en-US

22:49

Class in Session- Otus: Giving Data a Good Name, with...

BustED Pencils ·

2025/02/26

Data, as we've discussed frequently on BustED Pencils, is neither good nor evil. Whether we like it or not, actors both beneficent and hostile collect and analyze and use our data constantly. From healthcare records to social media networks, our personal data circulates each day. In schools, students' data- test scores, attendance and class participation, preferences for name and pronouns, and interests- can help educators to individualize their teaching to each child. But only when teachers can

en-US

24:33

Learn About How You Learn

BustED Pencils ·

2025/02/24

Pencil Busters, let's get into this new week! In this time of absolutely overwhelming and frankly scary news regarding the funding of our schools and democracy itself, let's focus on what we do best. We're educated educators, talking education. So that's what we have for you today, a Homeroom lesson on ways to learn. Coming from Arizona, two new schools set to open in which students will learn for two hours a day with an AI tutor. What about the rest of the day? Well, they'll have time to learn

en-US

45:29

Growing, Learning, and Eating Good- with 100 Gardens

BustED Pencils ·

2025/02/22

Class, welcome our newest Pencil Busters, our friends at 100 Gardens! Co-founder and Executive Director, Sam Fleming, and Education Director, Kelli Howe, join us to share the incredible education and community work of 100 Gardens. Founded in 2011 as a humanitarian aquaponics nutrition program in Haiti, 100 Gardens began growing into the education world naturally. Because children, in their infinite capacity for curiosity, observed the natural and scientific phenomena at work and wanted to learn and

en-US

22:04

Free Throws and Face Offs- Change Abounds, with...

BustED Pencils ·

2025/02/21

Jimmie Kaska, Civic Media sports editor and recurring Pencil Buster, joins us to talk change. Change abounds for Wisconsin's essential curricular sports for high school. From adjustments to gender requirements for sports teams by the WIAA to playoff changes for next year's football, Jimmie's got the details. Plus, it's playoff time for the winter sports! This is one of Dr. Johnny's absolute favorite times in the year, as hockey (especially), wrestling, and basketball build to season finales and

en-US

22:28

Class in Session- Opt OUT of testing and IN to...

BustED Pencils ·

2025/02/19

With an average public school student in the United States facing down at least 100 standardized tests in their k-12 years, it's no surprise some families have said "Enough, no more." For all those who've seen their children's love of learning drained away by high-stakes test after high-stakes test, this one's for you. There is a way out. Today, we shine light on the Opt-Out movement. This group formed in the early 20-aughts in response to a surge of standardized testing. Rather than improve

en-US

21:10

Homeroom- The Nation’s Report Card

BustED Pencils ·

2025/02/17

Welcome to a new week of Pencil Busting, Class! We begin where we left off last week, with the "Nation's Report Card", NAEP. The National Assessment of Educational Progress is a standardized test for students across the country in 4th and 8th grade. So why are we talking about yet another standardized test? Because it's part of the National Institute of Education Sciences that President Trump gutted last week. Don't worry, the test will continue. But the people who interpret the data and make it

en-US

45:33

Radical Literacy Scholarship, with Paul Thomas

BustED Pencils ·

2025/02/15

Returning Pencil Buster Dr. Paul Thomas joins us to help us break down the "science of reading." This is a topic we've covered frequently, most recently with Dr. Nancy Carlsson-Paige this week. But Dr. Paul brings a uniquely nuanced and deep knowledge of the marketing scheme/regressive conservative political tool masquerading as a curriculum set to the show. Because Dr. Paul's dug deep, and with his 40+ year career as a literacy educator, writer, and speaker he is one educated educator on the topic

en-US

28:19

Class In Session- Complex Literacy, with Nancy...

BustED Pencils ·

2025/02/12

Dr. Nancy Carlsson-Paige, educated educator to the extreme, Pencil Buster extraordinarie, and also Matt Damon's mom, joins us. We begin by checking in with Dr. Nancy. Since we last spoke, President Trump began his second term in office with a barrage of anti-education executive actions. Hold strong, educated educators. Then, we turn to a favorite discussion on BustED Pencils: literacy pedagogy. Nancy, with Julie Hackett, published this piece last week on "the fallacy of settled science in literacy."

en-US

21:30

Homeroom- Consider the Source

BustED Pencils ·

2025/02/10

Dr. Tim and Producer Jess look at trending news concerning the federal Department of Education. President Trump ran on a platform that included dismantling this department. He's tapped a wrestling media megabillionaire to lead it in order to end it. And we wait with bated breath for an executive order declaring it's death. On Friday morning, Democratic lawmakers in Washington DC attempted to enter the Department of Education main building and were denied access. News sources differed widely in how

en-US

429 results

Similar Podcasts

Expres Ráno

Expres FM

PBS News Hour - Full Show

PBS News

CD Voice

China Daily

Israel Today: Ongoing War Report

Noa Levi

Jeffrey Epstein: The Coverup Chronicles

Bobby Capucci