Dr. Allison Lester sits down with Dr. Emily M. Bender and Dr. Alex Hanna for a conversation about what ChatGPT is, what it is pretending to be, and what we lose when we treat it like an all-knowing answer engine.

Together they ask: What is a large language model, actually? Why does “search engine” framing mislead people so quickly? What gets erased when we focus on convenience, from labor and surveillance to environmental cost?

They talk resistance, agency, and the classroom, including why banning is a dead end, how to protect learning without turning teaching into policing, and what it means to be human together in an era of synthetic text.

In this episode of Thinking Through, Dr. Allison Lester sits down with Dana Stephenson, co-founder of Riipen, to explore how AI is reshaping the workforce and what that means for students entering an increasingly uncertain job market.

Together, they unpack the quiet disappearance of traditional entry-level roles, the limits of skills lists, and why experiential learning matters more than ever. This conversation moves into the complex realm of learning by doing: building confidence, practicing uncertainty, iterating through feedback, and learning to trust your voice. Dana shares how students, educators, and employers can co-learn in real time, using AI to amplify human judgment rather than replace it.

The episode centers on a core question: How do we prepare students for futures we cannot fully see while keeping humanity at the center of learning and work?

#FutureOfWork #AIinEducation #ExperientialLearning #HigherEd #CareerReadiness #EdTech #HumanCenteredAI #LearningByDoing #WorkforceDevelopment #CriticalThinking #Education #AI

In this episode of Thinking Through…, Dr. Allison Lester talks with Dan Fitzpatrick about what it feels like to live inside a moment where AI keeps arriving faster than our ability to make sense of it. Rather than focusing on tools or predictions, they explore the widening mindset gap between those immersed in AI’s rapid evolution and those encountering it from the outside.

The conversation moves through hype cycles, shock moments, and why AI may behave less like a single innovation and more like an underlying infrastructure reshaping daily life. They also wrestle with digital equity, access, and what happens when speed outpaces support. Along the way, they unpack why “AI and cheating” keeps surfacing in education and what that debate reveals about trust, assessment, and learning itself.

This episode invites listeners to slow down, sit with uncertainty, and think more carefully about how we adapt to AI without losing curiosity, agency, or human connection.

In this episode of Thinking Through…, Dr. Allison Lester sits down with Ken Shelton to unpack the conversation around AI and cheating and why it often misses the point. Together, they explore what teachers are really holding right now: fear, fatigue, pressure, and the weight of constant “innovation” demands.

Ken challenges the framing of cheating as the core problem and invites a deeper look at power, assessment, and control in education. They talk about burnout, culture-building, and what it means to center humans in the loop when AI enters classrooms. The episode closes with a shift from compliance to curiosity, asking how educators can design learning that protects student voice, honors teacher expertise, and uses AI as a support rather than a shortcut.

Digital citizenship often shows up in schools as a checklist of rules. Do not cyberbully. Do not overshare. Be careful online. In this episode of Thinking Through, Dr. Allison Lester is joined by Dr. LeeAnn Lindsey to ask a deeper question: what if digital citizenship were not about compliance, but about agency?

Together, they trace the origins of digital citizenship back to internet safety laws and fear-based policies, unpack how it evolved into surface-level “digital hygiene,” and explore why those approaches no longer meet the moment. From AI chatbots and social media algorithms to student voice, conflict, and ethical decision-making, this conversation reframes digital citizenship as a living, values-driven practice that belongs across all content areas, not in a single lesson or unit.

LeeAnn and Allison dig into what it means to help young people become thoughtful digital decision-makers, how educators can model curiosity instead of control, and why avoiding hard conversations only leaves those decisions in the hands of people outside education. Along the way, they reflect on AI, mental health, social media lessons we learned too late, and what students themselves are asking for from school right now.

What is real anymore, and who do we trust in an AI-shaped media world?

In this episode, Dr. Allison Lester and Dr. Tony Silvia dig into deepfakes, fake news fatigue, shrinking attention spans, and the way overwork and corporate culture make critical thinking harder to sustain. They explore how AI is reshaping journalism, raising urgent questions about regulation, bias, and job loss, while also opening space for powerful new tools. Throughout the conversation, they return to what still matters most: core journalistic values, historical and social context, human judgment, and storytelling that helps people care about the truth again.

About the Guest

Dr. Tony Silvia is an emeritus journalism professor and former television news anchor and consumer reporter. He has produced media issues programs for PBS, worked as a correspondent for CNN, and received national recognition from the Broadcast Education Association, along with multiple Emmy nominations and an Associated Press Award for best documentary. Tony has authored several books on journalism and media, including biographies of CBS correspondent Robert Pierpoint and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame musician Felix Cavaliere, and his most recent work explores journalists who live with dyslexia.

What is real in an AI-mediated world?

In this episode of Thinking Through, Dr. Allison Lester sits down with AI educator and thinker Carla Aerts to explore how technology, social media, and AI reshape our sense of reality, presence, and connection. From Monet’s lilies and Van Gogh “immersive” shows to concerts lit by a sea of phones, they trace how synthetic mediation fragments experience, bends memory, and fuels both loneliness and awe. Together they wrestle with anthropomorphized AI, data driven “personalization” in education, the need for tech breaks and tactile community, and why the slow art of asking better questions may be one of our most important forms of human intelligence.

Digital Equity or Digital Divide? with Colin Rhinesmith

Centering equity in digital spaces is about access to broadband and devices, and agency, inclusion, and co-creation.

In this conversation, Dr. Colin Rhinesmith, founder of the DEAR Lab and longtime scholar-practitioner in digital equity, joins host Dr. Allison Lester to reflect on what gets overlooked in conversations about the digital divide. Together, they explore the complicated intersections of public infrastructure, AI literacy, participatory research, and lived experience. They discuss candidly about funding failures, co-design, and the hard emotional labor of translating between community realities and institutional demands.

This is a conversation about slowing down, listening differently, and rethinking what gets counted as “impact.”

In this episode, José Antonio Bowen joins me (Dr. Allison Lester) for a conversation that moves with heart, clarity, and a deep commitment to what learning can become. We talk about the moments that shape us as educators, the wisdom we carry from our communities, and the quiet courage it takes to imagine teaching differently. José brings stories from his classroom, the tensions he holds, and the dreams that guide him as he works alongside young people. Together, we think through the role of care, curiosity, and reflection in a world shaped by uncertainty and possibility. This is an invitation to slow down, listen closely, and remember why our work matters.

About the Guest:

José Antonio Bowen has won teaching awards at Stanford and Georgetown, served as dean and president, has written over 100 scholarly articles and appeared as a musician with Stan Getz, Bobby McFerrin and others. He is the author of Teaching Naked (2012, awarded Best Book on Higher Education), Teaching Change (2021) and Teaching with AI with C. Edward Watson (2024). Stanford honored him as a Distinguished Alumni Scholar (2010) and he has presented keynotes and workshops in 22 countries. In 2018, he was awarded the Ernest L. Boyer Award (for significant contributions to American higher education). He is a senior fellow for the American Association of Colleges and Universities and does consulting for a wide variety of Fortune 500 companies. 

What happens when the line between connection and code blurs?

Dr. Allison Lester talks with Sarah Manago about her story “My AI Boyfriend” and the growing world of AI companions. They explore how people build emotional relationships with AI, why these bonds feel so real, and what this says about the way we seek love and understanding in the digital age.About the Guest: Sarah Manago, a seasoned tech professional and writer who has spent decades in the industry. Sarah understands the build, the backend, and the logic behind these systems. She’s also the creator of the Tech Job Watch Report, where she tracks emerging trends in AI, cloud computing, and data science.About the Host: Dr. Allison Lester is an academic and thought leader at University College, Arizona State University, specializing in digital/media literacy and AI ethics. Learn more here: www.linkedin.com/in/allisonjoann#ThinkingThrough #AIEthics #DigitalIntimacy #HumanTechnology #AIFutures #PodcastConversation #AIandEmotion #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #ASU #Innovation #AIBoyfriend #Podcast #AIEthics