The Education Exchange

Clint Bolick, the 44th Justice of the Arizona Supreme Court, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy case, a religious education case that will be heard by the United States Supreme Court in their upcoming term.

Misty Gallo, Distinguished Doctoral Fellow at the University of Arkansas in the Department of Education Reform, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the 2025–26 Arkansas Education Freedom Accounts Program Annual Report.

Jim Blew, advisor to the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit Coaltion, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the new Federal Scholarship Tax Credit law, scheduled to go into effect in January 2027.

Dan Weisberg, Chief Program and Policy Officer at the Wallace Foundation and former deputy chancellor of New York City Public Schools, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how AI is being regulated in schools, and how technology could help teachers.

Steven Wilson, a Senior Fellow at the Pioneer Institute for Public Policy Research, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Nikole Hannah-Jones' recent essay, in which she wrestles with her decision to send her daughter to an under-performing public school.

Michael Kirst, professor emeritus of education at Stanford University, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss a recently passed law that gives California's governor more power over education in the state.

Angela R. Watson, a senior research fellow at the Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how regulations with the new Federal Scholarship Tax Credit may exclude home schools and microschools.

Dan Hamlin, the dean of the College of Education at the University of Texas, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Hamlin's latest research, which looks to measure the growth and impact of microschools in the United States.

Mike Miles, the superintendent of Houston Independent School District, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Miles' new book, By Design: How to Transform School Systems.

Paul DiPerna, the vice president of research and innovation for EdChoice, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the results in the latest EdChoice Schooling in America survey.

Ian V. Rowe, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Rowe's latest research, which investigates the role of family culture in student achievement. "Family Structure, a Key Factor Hidden in Plain Sight: The Case for Federal Reporting in Education," co-written with Brad Wilcox and Grant Bailey, is available now at AEI. https://www.aei.org/research-products/report/family-structure-a-key-factor-hidden-in-plain-sight-the-case-for-federal-reporting-in-education/

Michael Hartney, the Bruni Family Fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution and an associate professor of political science at Boston College, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how the Democratic Party has embraced teachers unions, and how that could impact education reform moving forward.

Dixie Lane joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Lane's new book,"Skipping School: A History of American Homeschooling and How It Went Mainstream."

Geoffrey Kocks, a research associate at Blueprint Labs and PhD student at MIT, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Kocks' recent report, "Two Decades of Massachusetts Charter School Effects." https://blueprintlabs.mit.edu/research/two-decades-of-massachusetts-charter-school-effects/

Michelle Rhee, a a Venture Partner at Equal Opportunity Ventures and the former chancellor of Washington, D.C., Public Schools, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the future of Washington schools under presumptive mayor Janeese Lewis George.

R. Shep Melnick, the Thomas P. O’Neill, Jr. Professor of American Politics at Boston College, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the Supreme Court's recent ruling, which allows states to restrict athletes’ participation in school and collegiate sports based on their biological sex.

Paul Carrese, the Director of the Center for American Civics and Professor at Arizona State University, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Carrese's new book, Teaching America: Reflective Patriotism in Schools, College, and Culture.

Lamar Alexander, the former United States Senator and Governor of Tennessee, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Alexander's new book, "The Education of a Senator: From JFK to Trump."

Martin R. West, the editor-in-chief of Education Next, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the recent release of the National Assessment of Educational Progress Long-Term Trends.

Jacob D. Light, a Hoover Fellow at the Hoover Institution, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Light's latest research, which looks into how artificial intelligence is gaining a foothold in higher education.

David Figlio, the Gordon Fyfe Professor of Economics and Education at the University of Rochester, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Figlio's recent article in Education Next, "Can Banning Cellphones Save Student Learning? Evidence from Florida, home of the first statewide mandate," co-written with Umut Özek. https://www.educationnext.org/can-banning-cellphones-save-student-learning-evidence-florida-mandate/

Michael Henderson, associate professor at Louisiana State University, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Henderson's paper, “Blowback or Buy-In: Public Opinion in Response to Charter School Penetration,” which was presented at “School Choice: Impacts on Participants, Non-Participants, Educators, and Entrepreneurs,” a conference hosted by the Harvard Kennedy School’s Program on Education Policy and Governance on May 7 and 8, 2026.

Patrick J. Wolf, a Distinguished Professor of Education Policy at the University of Arkansas, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Wolf's paper, "The Nation’s Achievement Inequality Report Card: An Assessment of Interquartile Test Score Gaps and Equality Trends in Traditional Public, Charter, Catholic, and Department of Defense Schools," which was presented at “School Choice: Impacts on Participants, Non-Participants, Educators, and Entrepreneurs,” a conference hosted by the Harvard Kennedy School’s Program on Education Policy and Governance on May 7 and 8, 2026.

Ben Scafidi, a Professor and Director of Education Economics Center at Kennesaw State University, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss his paper, “Enrollment, Fiscal, and Resource Changes in American Public School Districts, 1998 to 2019,” which was presented at “School Choice: Impacts on Participants, Non-Participants, Educators, and Entrepreneurs,” a conference hosted by the Harvard Kennedy School’s Program on Education Policy and Governance on May 7 and 8, 2026.

Patrick Graff, a Senior Fellow with the American Federation for Children, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Graff's paper, "Declining Public School Enrollment and the Rise of Universal Private School Choice Programs," which was presented at "School Choice: Impacts on Participants, Non-Participants, Educators, and Entrepreneurs," a conference hosted by the Harvard Kennedy School's Program on Education Policy and Governance on May 7 and 8, 2026.

John Moscatiello, founder of Marco Learning, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Advanced Placement exams and how they've transformed through the past three years.

Samuel Abrams, professor of politics at Sarah Lawrence College, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Abrams recent op-ed in Real Clear Politics, "The Real Crisis in Higher Education Isn't Just Ideology, It's Faculty Decline."

Jeremy B. Ney, Adjunct Professor of Business at Columbia Business School, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Ney's recent Substack post, "How the Wealthy Game Disability Laws for Ivy League Gains."

Carlos Carvalho, the president of the University of Austin, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss the institution's mission to bring back free inquiry to higher education.

Amber Northern, a senior advisor to the Secretary at the U.S. Department of Education, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss her efforts on reforming the Institute of Education Science. The full report, "Reimagining the Institute of Education Sciences: A Strategy for Relevance and Renewal," is available now. https://ies.ed.gov/ies/2026/02/reimagining-ies

Jon Shields, a professor of American politics in the government department at Claremont McKenna College, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Shields' latest research, which uses the Open Syllabus database to see how contentious issues are being taught on college campuses.

Paola Sapienza, the J-P Conte Family Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how political opinions are represented on college campuses, with more students closer to the center than not.

Richard D. Kahlenberg, Director of the American Identity Project at the Progressive Policy Institute, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Kahlenberg's new report, which investigates how American Quarterly has covered American studies and history in the wake of President Donald Trump's one-sided treatment. "The Distortion of American Studies: How the Field’s Leading Journal Has Embraced a Worldview as Slanted as Donald Trump’s," co-written with Lief Lin, is available now at Progressive Policy Institute. https://www.progressivepolicy.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/PPI_The-Distortion-of-American-Studies.pdf

Jeff Denning, an associate professor at the University of Texas at Austin LBJ School of Public Affairs and Department of Educational Leadership and Policy, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Denning's latest research, "Easy A’s, Less Pay: The Long-Term Effects of Grade Inflation," co-written with Rachel Nesbit, Nolan Pope, and Merrill Warnick.

Julie Young, the former Vice President of Education Outreach and Student Services for Arizona State University, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss her upcoming book, Say Yes: How Virtual Became Reality.

John Schilling, representing the 50 State Federal Scholarship Tax Credit Coalition and Defense of Freedom Institute, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss new Federal scholarship tax credit program, and how states are preparing for its launch in 2027.

John Singleton, an Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Rochester, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Singleton's latest research, which uses large-language AI models to determine the viewpoints and priorities  of school board members in California. "Identity and Ideology in the School Boardroom," co-written with Barbara Biasi, Minseon Park, and Seth D. Zimmerman, is available now at NBER.org.

Marlon Marshall, the Chief Executive Officer of City Fund, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how City Fund and Bloomberg Philanthropies are committing $20 million to create new charter schools in connection with Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

M. Danish Shakeel, a Professor and the director of the E. G. West Centre for Education Policy at The University of Buckingham, UK, joins Paul E. Peterson to Shakeel's latest research, which investigates achievement and inequality trends in the United States between 2005 and 2024. "The Nation’s Achievement Inequality Report Card: An Assessment of Test Score and Equality Trends in Traditional Public, Charter, Catholic, and Department of Defense Schools," co-written with Misty Gallo and Patrick J. Wolf, is available now. https://edworkingpapers.com/sites/default/files/ai26-1378.pdf

Emily Putnam-Hornstein, the John A. Tate Distinguished Professor for Children in Need at the School of Social Work at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss how funds are distributed to foster children in the United States. "No, States Aren’t “Stealing” from Foster Children," co-written with Naomi Schaefer Riley, is available now at AEI. https://www.aei.org/op-eds/no-states-arent-stealing-from-foster-children/