How'd You Learn That?

In 2020, investors pumped more than $16 billion into the edtech market – almost double the previous annual record. Last year, 2021, the industry reached another high, with almost $21 billion invested. Will 2022 be another blockbuster? Or is the bubble fit to burst? My guest today might just have the answer! Amit Patel is managing director of Owl Ventures, one of the biggest and most respected venture firms in the field.

In today's economy, we face two really big challenges. One is technological change, which is creating gaps between the skills employers need and those workers can offer. The other is rising inequality, which stifles talent – holding back not just individuals and families but whole societies. My guest today, Jobs for the Future CEO Maria Flynn, is tackling both of those problems at the same time!

"Innovation" might not be the first word that comes to mind when we think about education. But in recent years, the sector has seen an explosion in new technologies – like online learning – as well as new business models – like hire-train-deploy. My guest today, Wiley Education Services President Todd Zipper, is on the front lines of those developments.

Not every guest makes you rethink the premise of your show, but Tom Schaff managed it. An executive coach who trains Fortune 500 sales teams and collaborates with the likes of Tony Robbins and Robert Cialdini, Tom told me that, in his view, "Identity trumps skills every time." Whoa. Is that true? Listen to find out! 

The world has changed a lot since my dad came from Gujarat to the U.S. to study engineering in 1967; but Indians are more eager than ever to study overseas. Amit Garga helps them do just that. His company works with universities in the United States, Canada, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand to develop hybrid degree programs that can be completed partly online and partly on campus. Join us to discuss the past, present, and future of international student mobility.

Professor Tony Carnevale, founder and director of Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce and co-author of the seminal book The Merit Myth, has been advising U.S. presidents, both Democrat and Republican, for decades. In this episode, he addresses American colleges and the inequality he says they continue to stoke; and he discusses the Infrastructure Bill, which he sees as good for the working class... but only up to a point. The unifying theme, one we have encountered before on this podcast, is America's chronic disconnect between education and the economy.

So you have sold your business. You have $1 billion burning a hole in your pocket. What next? What skills do you need? Who is going to teach you? Join me and Tiger 21 CEO Tim Daniels as we discuss wealth management, philanthropy, and your "personal board of directors."

Humans are living longer; but thanks to technology, the useful life of any learned skill is getting shorter. No longer can we hope to complete all our education - K-12, college, grad school - by the age of 25! Enter Michele Weise, expert in adult learning and author of Long Life Learning: Preparing for Jobs that Don't Even Exist Yet. Join us to discuss the unbundling of credentials, the need for more widespread generalism, and crucially, who should pay!

Persuasion is one of the most in-demand skills. But how do you learn it? Bob Lehrman, veteran of the Clinton White House, professor of speechwriting at American University, and author of the seminal Political Speechwriter's Companion, has the answers!

Life coaching. Just a few years ago, it was the butt of jokes. Today, it seems everyone has a coach. Michael Huckaby founded his company, LifeRamp, in 2020 with the aim of bringing coaching to the masses. On this episode, we find out what coaching is, what it isn't, and how it can help millions of people navigate an increasingly volatile job market.