208 Weeks Podcast

This week we discuss the further offloading of services from the Education Department to other departments. With the midterms coming up, there is something you can do, and we explain that at the end of the segment.

Then we discuss “The Scarlet Alchemist,” which Stueve finished, but Rowse did not—how many pages do you give a book before you send it to your DNF pile?

And while it is summer, we teachers do prep work for next school year, so we pull back the curtain on what that looks like.

Thanks for listening. We’ll see you again after school starts.

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This week we are talking about why teacher stereotypes lean negative so frequently. Here’s a compilation of the Education Department posts we reference in the episode, in all its copyright-infringed glory:

Here’s KTLA’s story about Tracy Morgan’s comment about teachers.

We haven’t posted a link to the whole Golden Sowers list in a while, so even if you aren’t into a book like “The Scarlet Alchemist,” check out the other nominees this summer! Spoiler: they have announced this year’s winners as well.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 208weeks.substack.com

First and foremost, there is a spoiler in here for “The Pitt,” so listen/watch at your own peril.

Social media is all a-chattering about America’s literacy crisis, so we weigh in. If you didn’t know, the Book-It program is back!

On a related note to the literacy discussion, we have the Wall Street Journal’s story about how much YouTube students are watching during school (sorry for the paywall—if you subscribe to Apple News, here’s that link instead).

Here’s a link to our latest Golden Sower pick, “The Scarlet Alchemist.”

And finally, as we’ve been revisiting our old vlog over the last 19 episodes of this podcast, here’s the last episode of our vlog from 2012. It is a must watch, if for no other reason than to see the t-shirt Stueve is wearing.

Thanks for listening. We’ll be back with an episode or two over the summer.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 208weeks.substack.com

This week we explain our unplanned hiatus and discuss our latest Golden Sower pick, “Give Me A Sign.”

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 208weeks.substack.com

This week we are talking about Adam Kirsch’s article in The Atlantic, “Reading is a Vice.” (That’s a gift link for you—please READ it!)

We reference a quote attributed to a CBC journalist early in the episode; sadly, I cannot find any actual print or video evidence it was uttered by anyone affiliated with the CBC. Social media strikes again.

Here’s a link to our next Golden Sower book, “Give Me A Sign”. If you want to see all the Golden Sowers for the year, check them out here!

If you want to watch the vlog where we talk about Marco Rubio (amongst other things), go wild.

As usual, we’d love for you to share, like, subscribe, etc.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 208weeks.substack.com

This week we have a few pieces of good news and our discussion of “Swarm” by Jennifer D. Lyle.

Here’s the stories we reference in the podcast—but beware falling down the Steve Hartman rabbit hole. My advice if you do? Take a box of Kleenex.

* This kid who ran against his high school teacher for a board of supervisors position.

* This coach who told his team they lost after they thought they won.

We hope you have a great holiday season, and we will see you in 2026!

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 208weeks.substack.com

We figured the time for us to yap about conferences was *not* around the time we are actually having them, so this week, we are sharing our thoughts on ye olde tradition of parent-teacher conferences.

Here is the dissertation Rowse references in the episode, if you’re into that sort of thing.

Don’t forget—our next episode is when we are discussing Jennifer D. Lyle’s “Swarm,” so you have two weeks to read it!

And you can always subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and listen to us there. We’d be honored.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 208weeks.substack.com

This week, we address trends we see in the physical health of our students, namely, vaccinations and energy drinks.

We reference the Americas losing measles eradication status, due to the number of cases in Canada. One point we talked about was barriers to vaccinations and cost, and someone I follow on Instagram who lives in Alberta posted after we taped this episode that for her family to receive the Covid-19 vaccine this year, it would cost $600.

I trust this person, but as a journalism teacher, I follow the adage “If your mom tells you she loves you, find two independent sources to verify,” and I found this story from the CBC, and this story about the MMR vaccine from the Calgary Herald. Both sources, it appears, show that cost may be a barrier for some.

Want read a terrifying YA book? Join us in reading Swarm! We’ll be talking about it on our December 9 episode of the podcast.

Thanks for hanging with us. Share with a friend, if you feel so obliged.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 208weeks.substack.com

This week we are back at it, talking about teachers’ mental health as our education issue of the week. So please, listen with care.

If you are experiencing a mental health crisis, please reach out to the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988.

Also, you can go to the National Alliance on Mental Illness for a variety of resources.

Here’s the link to the Golden Sowers that Rowse talks about. Read our first book with us: Swarm.

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This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 208weeks.substack.com

It took us most of the summer to get around to yapping, but we finally did, and it’s a doozy. We chat about AI and its impact on our day to day life, but also its infiltration into the education space. If you’re a teacher and you’re not sure how to talk about AI beyond “ugh it’s cheating,” we have some ideas for you in the last half of the episode. If you have more ideas, drop them in the comments!

REMINDER! Send us your favorite teacher info! We’d love to share your favorite teacher with our listeners. You can write to us at [email protected] or [email protected] and we will just read it on air or we are happy to schedule a recording session.

The articles we yap about are here, and yes they are paywalled. Support good journalism! If you have an Apple News subscription, a couple are available there.

Everyone is cheating their way through college from New York Magazine.

Reporting from NBC news about the Chicago Sun-Times article that was found to have been written in part by AI.

The Wall Street Journal’s reporting about the family business that makes blue books.

Sharon McMahon’s Substack about AI hallucinations.

Article about removing a ban on AI regulation from H.R. 1.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 208weeks.substack.com