Every year, students don’t complete or verify their FAFSA, leaving money on the table they could have used to go to college. Colleen Campbell from the Center for American Progress joins us to propose a one-time FAFSA and how it could help more students access higher education. As always, we end with our Moment of Hope.

The smoke from Election Day has (mostly) cleared, so we’re taking a look at what the results spell out for education, including school funding, the Higher Education Act, and oversight of Education Secretary Betsy Devos. Politico education reporter Caitlin Emma provides analysis on key gubernatorial races that could set the tone for education reform and what Democrats taking the House could mean for education policy. As always, we end with our Moment of Hope.

Submitting the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, is the first step towards college success. Michael McCormick, superintendent of Val Verde Unified School District, joins Eric in the studios to talk about how he helped start "Race to Submit," California's FAFSA completion competition. As always we end with our Moment of Hope.

The power students have to tell their own stories and mobilize voters shouldn’t be underestimated. This week, Eric and Stephanie talk to Alexis Morin, co-founder of the nonprofit Students for Education Reform, about how students can influence decisions made by elected officials and what some of the biggest issues are in state and local elections across the country. As always, we end with our Moment of Hope.

Stephanie and Kyle sit down with Chris Lu, former Obama White House Cabinet Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Labor to discuss hot-button issues in politics and education. We talk the upcoming midterm elections, the controversial Harvard affirmative action case, the movement to pay interns, and the need to prepare students for success in the twenty-first century workplace. As always, we end with our Moment of Hope.

With the midterm elections just weeks away, Americans are thinking about the issues in their communities that will inform their votes, including education. Our hosts sit down with Marlon Marshall, former special assistant to President Obama and founding partner at 270 Strategies, to talk about challenging our candidates to talk about education and getting voters and young people to organize around it. As always, we end with our Moment of Hope.

Today in the United States, only one in five students from low-income communities who enroll in college earn their degree. College Track CEO, Elissa Salas, shares how her organization is improving these odds by providing academic, financial, and social-emotional support from ninth grade through college graduation. As always, we end with our Moment of Hope.

We're back! First, we talk FAFSA and what the midterm elections mean for the future of education. Then former Secretary of Education Arne Duncan joins us to talk about his new book, "How Schools Work," serving in the Obama administration, and how he's championing change with Chicago CRED. As always, we end with our Moment of Hope.

This is it! In the final episode of our first season, we recap our favorite moments and revisit some important questions like “Is college worth it?” We talk about our conversation with Kumar Garg on the White House Science Fair and how we just can’t get over School Counselor of the Year Kirsten Perry’s amazing journey. As always, we end with our Moment of Hope. Thanks for listening and see you in the fall!

Secretary DeVos wants to roll back protections for defrauded students. We bring in James Kvaal, President of The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS) and former Deputy Domestic Policy Advisor in the Obama White House, to unpack the new Borrower Defense Rule and other policies designed to hold for-profit colleges and universities accountable. As always, we end with our Moment of Hope.