This month, we are treated to a rich conversation with Rene Arcilla (New York University). In our chat, we discuss the meaning of life, the value of friendship, and philosophy for amateurs. Arcilla is Professor of Philosophy of Education and the author of For the Love of Perfection: Richard Rorty and Liberal Education and Mediumism: A Philosophical Reconstruction of Modernism for Existential Learning.

Kal Alston (Syracuse University) joins us to discuss pushing the boundaries of philosophy of education. We also converse about the necessity of bringing embodied perspectives to one's scholarship and the very special insights made available to the philosopher of education working as an university administrator. To find the chapter mentioned in our conversation, please click here.

Eric Bredo (Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto) has charted a fulsome path through the natural sciences, social sciences, and the humanities. In this conversation he shares how these multidisciplinary interests and his pragmatist orientations inform his work on methodology and educational research.

Deborah Kerdeman (University of Washington) provides us with a stimulating account of an "accidental" entry into work in philosophy of education. In this conversation, we discuss the role of the social sciences, hermeneutic studies of identity, and the very familiar (and profound) feeling of "being pulled up short".

Barbara Thayer-Bacon (University of Tennessee) paints a vivid picture of the personal connections that led her to philosophy of education. In this episode, our conversation remembers Maria Montessori, reflects upon collaborative learning at any age, and references the enduring work of the Highlander Research and Education Center. Learn more about her work here.

Frank Margonis (University of Utah) joins the conversation and provides commentary on traditions of knowledge and the place of the philosopher in education. Key to his remarks are the importance of respect and resisting neocoloniality in the study of education.

Leonard J Waks (Temple University) converses with us about scholarship motivated by enduring emotions. In this conversation, Waks details the often unexpected and circuitous shape of an academic career.

We are delighted to converse with Cris Mayo (University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign) about intersectionality, identity, and the flexible interests of philosophy of education. Our discussion turns to the challenges and opportunities of educational work across difference and over time.

We start the new year with a terrifically thoughtful interview with Michael Merry (University of Amsterdam). In our conversation, we explore the value of an outsider's perspective in philosophical work in education – especially as this vantage point enables a wider-than-average scope of interdisciplinary inquiry. For more information on his scholarship, please access his work here.

We end the year on a high note with a wonderfully provocative conversation with Harvey Siegel (University of Miami). Through remarks on his long-standing commitments to epistemic rationality, a strong case is made for serious philosophical training in the field of philosophy of education. Graduate students may find these comments especially motivating.