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Today we take stock of climate education, its past and its future. With me are Christina Kwauk and Radhika Iyengar, who have recently co-edited the book, Curriculum and Learning for Climate Action: Toward an SDG 4.7 Roadmap for Systems Change. They argue that COP26 has been disappointing in terms of education and climate action, and encourage everyone to focus on local action and change.

Christina Kwauk is the Research Director at Unbounded Associates and a non-resident fellow at the Brookings Institute. Radhika Iyengar is Director of Education at the Center for Sustainable Development, Earth Institute, Columbia University.

Citation: Kwauk, Christina, and Iyengar, Radhika interview with Will Brehm, FreshEd, 262, podcast audio, November 15, 2021. https://freshedpodcast.com/kwauk-iyengar/

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Today we explore foundational learning in low and middle income countries. My guest is Michelle Kaffenberger.

Michelle Kaffenberger is the Director of evidence translation at the What Works Hub for Global Education the University of Oxford. I Spoke with her on the sidelines of the Development and Education Conference (DevEd) held in Melbourne, Australia last week.

https://freshedpodcast.com/kaffenberger/

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Today we dive into the field of education in emergencies, highlighting its entanglements with colonialism, empire, and racial capitalism. My guest is Jess Oddy.

Jess Oddy is a researcher at the university of Bristol and has worked in various capacities in the field of education in emergencies. Her new article is “Retelling education in emergencies through the black radical tradition: on racial capitalism critical race theory and fugitivity,” which was published in Globalisation, Societies and Education.

Citation: Oddy, Jess with Will Brehm, FreshEd, 344, podcast audio, March 4, 2024. https://freshedpodcast.com/oddy/

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Ten years ago, on October 26, 2015, something special began in Japan. While working at the University of Tokyo, I launched the first episode of the FreshEd podcast, marking the start of what would become a cornerstone of conversations in comparative and international education.

Over the past decade, FreshEd has grown into a global platform – far larger than I ever imaged -- connecting listeners interested in education, equity, and social change. We’ve made over 400 episodes in that time. We’ve counted 200 universities that use our content and we have listeners, like you, in over 180 countries.

To celebrate our anniversary, we held a live event at Tohoku University in Sendai, Japan as part of the 2025 International Education Development Forum. I’ve like to thank Dr. Jing Liu for co-organizing this event.

Joining me on stage were Professors Iveta Silova and Yuto Kitamura, who are both board members of FreshEd. In our conversation, we take you behind the scenes of FreshEd’s development and reflect on what the podcast means for the wider field specifically and higher education generally. On a personal note, Iveta and Yuto are both mentors who have shaped my own career as an academic. So today we’ll air the conversation we had in Tohoku on October 18. I hope you enjoy the show and here’s to the second decade of FreshEd.

https://freshedpodcast.com/10years/

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Today we unpack the trend of micro-credentials in universities. My guest is Leesa Wheelahan who connects micro-credentials to the gig economy and discusses their implications for higher education credentials and qualifications.

Leesa Wheelahan is professor emerita at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. She is also an honorary research fellow at the Department of Education at the University of Oxford and a Honorary Senior Fellow in the Centre for the Study of Higher Education at the University of Melbourne.

She’s recently co-written with Gavin Moodie two articles: Gig Qualifications for the Gig Economy: Micro-credentials and the hungry mile and Revisiting Credentialism – Why qualifications matter: A theoretical exploration.

https://freshedpodcast.com/leesa-wheelahan/

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Today we explore the financialization of early childhood education and what it means for the welfare state. My guest is Ben Spies-Butcher.

Ben Spies Butcher is an Associate Professor in the School of Communication, Society and Culture at Macquarie University. His latest book Politics, Inequality and the Australian Welfare State after Liberalisation.

freshedpodcast.com/spies-butcher

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FreshEd is celebrating its 10th birthday on October 18 and you're invited! Sign up here: https://freshedpodcast.com/10years/

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Today we explore scholarly podcasting: what it is and why it matters. With me is Ian M. Cook, who has recently published the book Scholarly Podcasting: Why, What, How?

Ian M. Cook is Editor and Chief at Allegra Lab. He is an anthropologist whose work focus includes urban India, scholarly podcasting, open education, and environmental (in)justice.

Correction: In the episode, we say we will play a clip from Vincent Racaniello but the clip played is actually from Michael Bossetta.

Today we explore tax cuts as a form of government expenditure and what that means for social inequality, politics, and government services. My guest is Melinda Cooper.

Melinda Cooper is a professor in the School of Sociology in the Colelge of Arts & Social Sciences at the Australian National University. Her newest book is Counterrevolution: Extravagance and Austerity in Public Finance (Zone Books/Princeton University Press, 2024) . I spoke with Melinda in front of a live audience at the Manning Clark House in Canberra for the second part of an event called Taxing Times. I’d like to thank Claire Manning and Luciana Todd for organizing and hosting this event.

freshedpodcast.com/cooper

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Today we explore government taxes not as a technical, economic matter but rather as a political process that reflects social values. My guest is Elise Klein.

Elise Klein is an associate professor of public policy at the Crawford School at the Australian National University and the co-director of the Australian Basic Income Lab. I spoke with Elise in front of a live audience at the Manning Clark House in Canberra for an event called Taxing Times. I’d like to thank Claire Manning and Luciana Todd for organizing and hosting this event.

freshedpodcast.com/klein

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Today marks the 400th episode of FreshEd. That’s almost 10 years of work. It’s been an absolute privilege to make each episode. Sometimes I think I’m the luckiest person in academia because I get to talk about new ideas in education every week. Of course none of this would be possible without you, our listeners. So thanks for tuning in each week.

To mark this occasion, I wanted to spend time with another podcaster to talk about why we love podcasting so much. My guest is Sadie Ryan. Her podcast Accentricity was shortlisted for Best New Podcast at the British Podcast Awards and won the Steady International Media Award in 2019.

Sadie Ryan is a lecturer in Languages and Intercultural Studies in the School of Education at the University of Glasgow. She is founder and coordinator of the University of Glasgow Podcasting Collective.

freshedpodcast.com/ryan/

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Get in touch!

Twitter: @FreshEdpodcast

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Email: [email protected]