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This Week with EdSurge

This Week with EdSurge

EdSurge Podcast 488 Episodes Aug 19, 2026

This Week with EdSurge is a weekly podcast that explores the human stories behind education, covering topics like artificial intelligence in classrooms, student well-being, policy changes, and the future of teaching. Hosted by Ira Apfel and EdSurge contributors, the show provides rigorous and empathetic journalism for educators, leaders, and curious listeners.

Episodes

Assignments, Invoices, and the AI Fix
Assignments, Invoices, and the AI Fix Aug 19, 2026 26:16 This week, two guests trace the true cost of AI, one in the classroom and one behind the scenes. Michael Hernandez explains how he taught himself to code so he could build a free tool that flags weak assignments before students ever think about cheating. Mi Aniefuna follows the electricity powering that same technology, tracing the invoice that lands on a district's desk long after the contract is
Supporting Early Childhood Educators
Supporting Early Childhood Educators Aug 12, 2026 22:26 What does it actually take to support the adults who shape our youngest learners? Nicol Russell, chief academic officer at Teaching Strategies, argues that early educators deserve the same intentional investment as engineers, not treatment as replaceable hires. Dr. Nneka McGee, founder of Muon Global, brings that same philosophy to how five year olds encounter AI, starting with conversation instea
Is AI Policy Just Guesswork?
Is AI Policy Just Guesswork? Aug 5, 2026 22:35 Today on This Week with EdSurge, we look at AI policy from two very different vantage points. One guest spent a year coding AI policy from more than 100 school districts across the country. The other helped write her own district's policy from the ground up. Listen as they both explore what happens when a policy leaves the page and is applied in an actual classroom.WHAT YOU'LL LEARNDistrict AI pol
Vinyl, Pencils, and Life Without AI
Vinyl, Pencils, and Life Without AI Jul 29, 2026 27:52 This week, two educators arrive at the same question from very different directions. Nathan Kraai, Director of Innovation and Design Thinking at The Fenn School, explains what a trip to the record store taught him about artificial intelligence and learning. Court Shuller, a middle school English teacher and EdSurge Voices of Change fellow, joins from ISTELive in Orlando to talk about what their cl
AI Cannot Fake This Kind of Learning
AI Cannot Fake This Kind of Learning Jul 22, 2026 21:31 Every few months, another headline declares the college degree dead. This Week with EdSurge puts that claim to the test with two guests defending something slow against something fast. Rita Finkel of the Armory Foundation argues that a four-year degree still holds value at a moment when artificial intelligence can produce a credential adjacent skill in minutes. Then Cobretti Williams of the EdSurg
3 Gaps Stalling AI in Classrooms
3 Gaps Stalling AI in Classrooms Jul 15, 2026 25:54 Microsoft just released the third edition of its global AI in Education report, and the numbers raise more questions than they answer. Ira Apfel sits down with Pat Yongpradit, General Manager of Global Education and Workforce Policy at Microsoft, on the floor at the ISTELive and ASCD Annual in Orlando. They dig into the delta between daily use and overall adoption of AI, a sharp drop in student op
ISTELive 26: Bans, Microdosing, and the Future of AI
ISTELive 26: Bans, Microdosing, and the Future of AI Jul 8, 2026 18:15 Ira Apfel wraps up a whirlwind week at ISTELive 26 in Orlando with Sarah McKibben, Editor-in-Chief of EdSurge. Together they unpack the buzziest ideas to come out of the conference, including why so many educators are pushing back on AI bans, and what one surprising theory about AI slop means for the future of student writing. From burnout to breakthroughs, this recap captures everything that stuc
Can an Algorithm Replace a Teacher’s Instinct?
Can an Algorithm Replace a Teacher’s Instinct? Jul 1, 2026 23:36 This week, two teachers take a hard look at what happens when you hand a problem to a tool and trust it to solve that problem. David Webb, a school teacher based in Jakarta, India, spent a year vibe coding an AI-powered library app called LibraryAid and discovered exactly where the algorithm ends and the educator begins. Then, California high school teacher Gabe Nitro makes a counterintuitive argu
Is TikTok Now a Teacher Training Tool?
Is TikTok Now a Teacher Training Tool? Jun 24, 2026 24:32 Two educators are reckoning with who is really in charge: technology or the teacher. First, a teacher notices her students are quietly forming their professional knowledge on TikTok and decides to lean in rather than fight it. Then a high school engineering teacher builds an AI grading tool so efficient that it sent feedback to students without him ever reading it, and confronts what that actually
Your Kids Know More About AI Than You Do
Your Kids Know More About AI Than You Do Jun 17, 2026 23:23 Schools are racing to write AI policies, but what if the policy is not the first step? This week, we hear from Aleta Margolis, founder and president of the Center for Inspired Teaching, who argues that real progress starts with a conversation, not a rule. Then EdSurge editor-in-chief Sarah McKibben brings it home with what AI actually looks like at her kitchen table, with two middle schoolers navi
Recess, Screens, and Absenteeism
Recess, Screens, and Absenteeism Jun 10, 2026 19:01 Schools have been quietly chipping away at recess for nearly a decade, and a sweeping new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics says it is time to stop. Meanwhile, the federal government has issued a formal advisory on screen time and children, raising urgent questions about how schools, parents, and tech companies should respond. This week, EdSurge reporters Lauren Coffey and Nadia Tamez
AI Is in Schools. Teachers Are Not Ready.
AI Is in Schools. Teachers Are Not Ready. Jun 3, 2026 22:34 Three-quarters of school districts now have AI guidelines, up sharply from just a year ago, yet 82 percent of teachers say they have never received formal guidance on how to use AI in their work. EdSurge reporter Lauren Coffey breaks down the 2026 CoSN State of Ed Tech report and what it reveals about AI adoption, cybersecurity gaps, and edtech vetting inside K-12 districts. Then host Ira Apfel ta

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