Getting Smart Podcast

On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast, Tom Vander Ark is joined by Annie Murphy Paul author of the new book The Extended Mind: The Power of Thinking Outside the Brain. 

For the past decade, Annie has been a leading brain science writer on The Brilliant Blog. 

Let’s listen in as Tom and Annie discuss the importance of the body in using the mind, how this can be better applied in schools and distributed cognition. 

On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast, Tom Vander Ark is joined by Kiko Suarez, VP of Higher Education and Workforce Development at Territorium, a global edtech company connecting learners with recommended jobs. Territorium recently launched its AI-powered Comprehensive Learner Record (CLR), into the U.S. to break down the barriers between universities and employers.

Let’s listen in as Tom and Kiko discuss why learner records are so important, the state of higher education and who decides which skills are most important. 

On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast, Tom Vander Ark is joined by Clifton Taulbert, an acclaimed author, speaker and entrepreneur. His life story, Once Upon a Time When We Were Colored became a critically acclaimed 1996 movie and one of his books was sent to Nelson Mandela as a gift for his release from prison in 1990. 

His most recent book, The Invitation, was chosen by the Architect of the United States Capitol as part of the 50 the anniversary celebration of the signing of the 1964 Civil Rights Legislation. Taulbert has written fourteen books in total, produced a major motion picture, and served as a consultant on several documentaries, including the Emmy-award-winning Boomtown: An American Journey, which details the birth of Tulsa, Oklahoma.

On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast Tom Vander Ark is joined by Christine Ricci and Leo Morton, two business leaders from Kansas City who recently met with Tom at a Kauffman Foundation-sponsored real-world learning event. 

For the last five years, Christine served as CEO of Phone Medic, also known as UbreakIfix, an electronics repair chain. She has had twenty years of executive leadership in healthcare and tech with companies like HCA, Cerner, Sprint and more. 

Leo Morton is a private equity investor and President of DeBruce Companies, a family office managing a diverse investment portfolio. He started his career as an AT&T engineer and has had numerous executive roles in manufacturing and energy. He also served as the Chancellor of the University of Missouri Kansas City for nearly a decade. 

Let’s listen in as they talk about connecting school to industry, where entrepreneurship comes from, how to have better school and business partnerships and much more.

On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast, Mason Pashia is joined by a very special guest — Luke Harris. Luke is a Junior at Horace Mann high school and has described himself as “enjoying  taking things apart and not quite getting them back together.”  For the past two years, he has been developing a design engineering curriculum for kids, created to teach real-world entrepreneurial and engineering skills. 

Let’s listen in as they talk about the design process, why problem solving and finding both need to be taught to engineers and much more. 

On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast, Tom Vander Ark is joined by Carla Marschall, co-author of the new book Worldwise Learning: A Teacher's Guide to Shaping a Just, Sustainable Future, which is a guide focused on supporting K-8 learners in gaining a better understanding of how to be global citizens. Carla has held leadership roles in international schools in Switzerland, Germany, Hong Kong, and Singapore over the past ten years and currently works as the Director of Teaching & Learning at UWC South East Asia, with the mission to make “education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future.

This episode of the Getting Smart Podcast is sponsored by the Getting Smart newsletter: Smart Update. 

On this episode of the Getting Smart Podcast, Tom Vander Ark is joined by Robert Simmons III. Robert is a scholar and activist on diversity, equity and inclusion. Robert serves as a Scholar in Residence and a Scholar of Antiracist of Antiracist Praxis in the School of Education at American University and as a member of the Diversity Scholars Network at the National Center for Institutional Diversity at the University of Michigan.

Let’s listen in as they discuss new social contracts, longtime DEI advocacy, compounding crises, food programs and much more.