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

45:32

Schools OUGHT TO BE Safe Spaces, for everyone

BustED Pencils ·

2025/02/08

Class, on Wednesday we talked with Randi Weingarten, president of AFT. With Randi, we discussed the very real threat of schools becoming 'wargrounds' for I.C.E. raids. Now, as Dr. Johnny quickly points out, we don't mean ice like frozen water. In this episode, our educated educators dive into the Immigration and Custody Enforcement (I.C.E.) and the history of schools being part of a designation as 'sensitive locations'. That designation barred I.C.E. activities except under extreme cases. No more,

en-US

19:24

Free Throws and Face Offs- Battling Bugs and Bruises

BustED Pencils ·

2025/02/07

Chad Holmes, host of the WXCO morning show and sports broadcaster for that station, joins us to bust some pencils! He brings updates on the winter sports season as we near the playoffs. With many teams battling illness and injury, games are being postponed and rescheduled. However, plan to catch Chad broadcast the Storm game this Saturday at 2pm on WXCO. You can catch that on your Civic Media app, online, or in central Wisconsin at FM 98.9 or AM 1230 terrestrial dials. Chad and our educated

en-US

18:47

Class in Session- Schools, not Wargrounds, with Randi...

BustED Pencils ·

2025/02/05

Randi Weingarten, President of AFT and a recurring Pencil Buster, joins us for this very special class in session. In the first days of his second term, President Trump's administration stripped schools of designation as ‘sensitive locations’. That means Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials are no longer prohibited from arresting individuals suspected of lacking proper migration documentation in schools. This will further turn schools away from being places of learning and community

en-US

20:44

Homeroom- Checking In Amidst the Chaos

BustED Pencils ·

2025/02/03

Class, it's been a chaotic two weeks since January 20th. That strange confluence of a day commemorated the legacy of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the second inauguration of Donald Trump to the presidency. It's important in these chaotic moments to take some time to check in with each other. Because as Educators Amplified's Teacher Joanna and Teacher Hallie often remind us, us educated educators need to be the regulated ones in the room. So take a few minutes. Breathe with us. Remember

en-US

21:58

Free Throws and Face Offs- It Doesn’t End Here, with...

BustED Pencils ·

2025/01/31

Class, you know the drill, get out your pencils and let's start busting! New Pencil Buster, Coach Jeff Matczak of Kaukauna High School's wrestling program, joins us. His style of coaching works to balance developing each athlete's physicality AND mentality for success. He focuses on working to train regulatory skills like steady breathing and recognition of anxiety. Coach Matczak teaches his wrestlers so much more than how to take down an opponent. He teaches how to build up, from the inside out

en-US

22:05

Class In Session- Overcoming Math Anxiety, with...

BustED Pencils ·

2025/01/29

For some of us, like Dr. Johnny, math comes easy. For many of us, like Dr. Tim, math brings intense anxiety and feelings of "I just can't!" Well, our newest Pencil Buster Dr. Aditya Nagrath knows a thing or two about mathematics anxiety. Aditya's business is helping students and teachers navigate through that anxiety into a place of empowerment. And he's literally written the book on it. Additionally, Aditya developed Elephant Learning, an online portal for math tutoring where students can learn

en-US

20:10

Homeroom- Unity

BustED Pencils ·

2025/01/27

Last Monday, the 45th and now 47th President of the United States took the oath of office and began a second term that looks more like a reign than an administration. Since the immediate aftermath of the election in November, we've tried to name the moment. In the limbo between election and inauguration, we've named this moment contradiction– hopelessness and perseverance. We named it despair and determination. And we grappled for what to name what comes next. Now here we are in what comes next, and

en-US

45:33

UnDesto AI- bridging the gap on artificial intelligence

BustED Pencils ·

2025/01/25

Class, please welcome our newest Pencil Busters, Myra Roldan and Leah Manoni! These sisters understand the challenge of labeling AI as good or bad, ethical or unethical. They know the enormous potential for AI to revolutionize our workforce and education systems for good. Just as well, they know the equally significant threats AI poses to privacy and genuine learning. How? Because they run UnDesto AI, a boutique AI company working with companies and schools to determine their AI readiness and build

en-US

20:21

Free Throws and Face Offs- Just Be Yourself, with...

BustED Pencils ·

2025/01/24

Civic Media sports editor, Jimmie Kaska- our very own Coach K- joins us to discuss the upcoming winter sports finale. With regionals just around the bend of the weekend for basketball, hockey, and wrestling, it's an exciting time for a sports broadcaster! On that note, we take a few minutes to commemorate Bob Uecker, Milwaukee hero and baseball broadcasting legend. As a fellow broadcaster, Jimmie learned so much from Bob- primarily to just be yourself. We'll miss Mr. Baseball when the Brewers'

en-US

22:28

Class In Session- Healthy Tension, with Heidi Siwak

BustED Pencils ·

2025/01/22

Class, WE think you're going to love our newest Pencil Buster! Welcome Heidi Siwak, an education consultant and Teacher Coach with I-Think. Heidi joins our new ranks of Canadian Pencil Busters working to make education more rewarding- check out our talk with Jason Buccheri last Saturday for more! I-Think is an education charity that works to empower children to tackle complex, messy problem solving with real world applications. Because the world– believe it or not– is a complex, messy place. And

en-US

21:49

Homeroom- a momentous confluence of observances

BustED Pencils ·

2025/01/20

Today, January 20th, marks two very different occasions. This day, January 20th, is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. A day when many people stop their usual work to dedicate themselves to community service and reflect on on all that we as humans share with one another. Today is also the day when Donald Trump will be inaugurated to a second term as President of these United States. And that feels like a bitter combination to us. How can we hold both of these memorials on the same day and move towards

en-US

45:32

Making the Work More Rewarding, with Jason Buccheri

BustED Pencils ·

2025/01/18

Is AI good or bad? Well now that's just far too simplistic a question. Jason Buccheri, one of Canada's top education strategists and the host of the podcast, Education Matters. He's also our newest Pencil Buster, so let's be sure to give him a hearty, enthusiastic, American welcome! In his work, Jason strives to help educators connect and re-connect with what makes teaching rewarding. Specifically, he helps educators utilize tools that cut through the noise and slog of aspect of the job so that

en-US

21:33

FT+FO: Balanced on a Skate’s Edge, with Kane Paxton

BustED Pencils ·

2025/01/17

Happy Friday, Class! Today, we have a very special new Pencil Buster. Kane Paxton, one of Dr. Johnny's former hockey players on his Washington State University team, and now one of his assistant coaches, joins us. In playing hockey, Kane learned how to balance a full life. From schoolwork to athletics to a personal life, it was hockey that helped him develop the camaraderie and accountability to excel consistently across his pursuits. BustED Pencils: Fully Leaded Education Talk is part of Civic

en-US

25:00

Class In Session: Individuation and Pluralization...

BustED Pencils ·

2025/01/15

Class, this is a truly special session. Dr. Howard Gardner, renowned psychologist and educator who developed the Theory of Multiple Intelligences, now joins the ranks of Pencil Busters! In 1983, Dr. Gardner rattled the very foundation of education when he proposed that there were more ways to be "intelligent" than could be represented on the Stanford Binet IQ test. Rather, Howard asserted, every human being possesses natural strengths and affinities that we can term intelligence. Over 40 years

en-US

22:25

Homeroom: Education reform? Reform your expectations!

BustED Pencils ·

2025/01/13

Happy Monday, Class, let's get to some pencil busting! Our pal Michael Petrili- read the sarcasm on this, please- President of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute wrote a piece last week seeking to compare education reform in 'red' and 'blue' states. To put it bluntly, we're not impressed. Michael misses several key issues and dodders around pesky little issues such as accountability while bemoaning a supposed lack of accountability in public schools. The article leaves us wondering: Is either of the

en-US

45:33

Listening For The Music

BustED Pencils ·

2025/01/11

All music is political, so sayeth Dr. Johnny. This week, we're listening hard for the music being played about education. A new presidential administration will take office in just 9 days, and they're playing some loud discordant tunes when it comes to the department of education. What ramification might ensue from these chords? Is there any harmony to be found with the second Trump presidency? How can we tune out the noise and focus on what matters- getting to work to improve education, not to

en-US

24:10

Class In Session- From BustED to Business: The Nrdy...

BustED Pencils ·

2025/01/08

Behind every educated educator stands- well- another educated educator or two! Tune in for a very special Class in Session as Dr. Tim and Dr. Johnny interview the cofounders and directors of Nrdy Byrd, Lisa Weyandt and Michelle Slekar. Nrdy Byrd is a start-up graphic design brand support company built by and for educated educators. And they've been supporting BustED Pencils since the beginning- not least because Michelle is married to Dr. Tim! This episode brings us back to the early days of BustED

en-US

20:54

Homeroom: Jimmy Carter’s Educational Legacy

BustED Pencils ·

2025/01/06

Jimmy Carter, 39th President of the United States, died last week at the age of 100. He lived a full life devoted to the American people and leaves behind a legacy of a man who led with compassion and firm defense of our democracy. As President, he established the federal Department of Education, officially created in 1979. Education, as Dr. Tim and Dr. Johnny often remind us, is a state right. Yet Carter called for and followed through to create the federal department, primarily to enforce civil

en-US

45:34

How Schools Are Designed to Fail, with Ira David Socol

BustED Pencils ·

2025/01/04

Who designed our modern schooling system and what were their intentions? Ira David Socol is an educational provocateur, author of Designed to Fail: A History of Education in the United States, and our newest Pencil Buster! As Dr. Johnny often says, schooling too often gets in the way of education. We need to find ways to disrupt the patterns of the past that failed us and find new ways forward for us all. Ira joins BustED Pencils to offer perspectives on how the history of schooling in this country

en-US

22:57

Free Throws and Face Offs: Meshing Together, with...

BustED Pencils ·

2025/01/03

Let's welcome our newest Pencil Buster, Brian Brandt! Brian is President of the Wisconsin Hockey Coaches Association (WHCA), head coach of Wausau West's hockey program, and a tech ed high school teacher. My goodness, that's one educated educator, and he knows how to talk education! Because coaching sports is about so much more than training athletes for their particular activity. It's about educating them for life, putting athletes in challenging situations that help them grow as people. With his

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