John Merrow began his journalism career in 1974 with National Public Radio, and retired this summer as special correspondent with PBS Newshour. Along the way he racked up a slew of awards, broke big stories, and created a documentary production company.

For this special 50th episode of EWA Radio, Merrow discussed lessons from his more than four decades on the beat, as well as encouraging trends he's seen evolve in both teaching and school design. Merrow also shared insights on why presidential candidates' big ideas for education don't always survive beyond the the election cycle.