When you think of debate, you might picture presidential candidates interrupting each other, pointing fingers, and undermining their opponents. It often feels like a reflection of today’s fractured and tense civic discourse.

But in high school debate clubs, students are learning a different approach. These clubs provide a rare space where young people can engage with current events, articulate their ideas, and—perhaps most importantly—practice active listening. At a time when algorithms often reinforce a single perspective and fewer young people engage with the news, that’s no small thing.

A 2022 RAND report found that only 37% of schools have debate clubs. What are these clubs doing right, and should that number be higher?

Teacher Jess Lifshitz noticed that her students were more enthusiastic when they told her about their everyday life than when they wrote stories for their writing unit prompts. While listening to The Moth Radio Hour, she got the idea to use that format of spoken storytelling to an audience in her classroom. She tells you, our audience, about why she wanted to help energize her students in this way.

Mindshift returns with Season 10.

We’re exploring how to help kids find their voice, balance their identity, and just be kids. Hear practical tips and expert insights on how to better show up for young people in the classroom and beyond.

Follow Mindshift wherever you get your podcasts or visit https://www.kqed.org/podcasts/mindshift .

This month MindShift is sharing an excerpt of an episode from our friends at KQED's Forum. Forum tells remarkable and true stories about who we are and where we live.

KQED's Grace Won talks to linguist and author Michael Erard.  In his new book, Bye Bye I Love You: The Story of Our First and Last Words, Erard compiles stories from medical archives and ancient texts as well as first-hand accounts by doctors and doulas to examine why these particular words mean so much to us.

Listen to the full episode here: https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101909002/the-stories-behind-our-first-and-last-words

Host Nimah Gobir moderates the MindShift KQED: Can Better Conversations Improve Media Literacy Among Students? panel at the 2025 SXSW EDU conference.

Vietnamese children’s book illustrator Minnie Phan talks to KQED's Ki Sung about using art to process events and heal wounds in the Vietnamese diaspora.

KQED's Nimah Gobir talks to educator and language therapist, Dr. Nancy Cushen White about why handwriting is such a powerful tool for literacy learning.

KQED's Ki Sung talks to Jenny Anderson and Rebecca Winthrop, authors of "The Disengaged Teen: Helping Kids Learn Better, Feel Better, and Live Better." They discuss the different modes of engagement and how to support teens at home and in school.

Ruth Whippman, author of "Boy Mom: Reimagining Boyhood in the Age of Impossible Masculinity" talks to KQED's Nimah Gobir about the biggest challenges facing boys today, and actionable steps parents and educators can take to make a difference for the boys in their lives.

KQED's Ki Sung talks to host of The Stacks podcast, Traci Thomas, about rereading books she loved as a child with her own children, what's on her reading list as they grow and what she's learned about reading from all of her author interviews.