In this episode of Educating to Be Human, Sara Goldrick-Rab, author of Paying the Price: College Costs, Financial Aid, and the Betrayal of the American Dream, joins us to explore the critical issues of housing and food insecurity faced by young people in college. A senior fellow at Education Northwest and adjunct professor at the Community College of Philadelphia, Sara brings insight into how students are being underserved by the very system meant to support their educational journey. We delve into the impact of these financial challenges on students' academic success, well-being, and future aspirations, illuminating the urgent need for reform in financial aid and institutional support.

Our conversation launches a new arc in this podcast series, exploring the human capacity for change and adaptation. We reflect on humanity’s enduring ability to adapt across behavior, thought, and culture—essential traits for survival and progress. Sara's work urges us to consider a more adaptable, inclusive vision for college that supports students in both learning and life.

Sara Goldrick-Rab is a scholar-activist whose pathbreaking research, teaching, and advocacy has changed how higher education understands and supports college students. A sociologist, she focuses on reducing poverty by revealing unheard truths and sharing that knowledge with multiple publics. Sara’s award-winning book, Paying the Price: College Costs, Financial Aid, and the Betrayal of the American Dream, documents the failures of policymakers and higher education institutions to make college affordable. Her scientific studies identifying and addressing college students’ basic needs for food, housing, childcare, transportation, and health supports sparked the internationally-known #RealCollege movement and inspired federal and state data collection and legislation, as well as countless privately-funded programs.

Resources:

https://saragoldrickrab.com/

Sara's book "Paying the Price: College Costs, Financial Aid, and the Betrayal of the American Dream: https://www.amazon.com/Paying-Price-Financial-Betrayal-American/dp/022640434X

You can find Sara on X: https://x.com/saragoldrickrab

Mentioned in this Episode:

Scarcity: Why Having Too Little Means So Much: https://www.amazon.com/Scarcity-Having-Little-Means-Much-ebook/dp/B00BMKOO6S

In this episode of Educating to Be Human, Lisa is joined by Mihalis Eleftheriou, the creator of Language Transfer and the Thinking Method —a free, online language learning platform with a radical approach to language acquisition. Language Transfer challenges conventional methods of language learning, aiming not only to teach but to transform how we think and make connections.

In this conversation, Mihalis shares his journey, beginning with his own multicultural upbringing and early language encounters. Together, Lisa and Mihalis explore the power of language to deepen cultural understanding, break down mental barriers, and even transform our sense of self. Mihalis insightfully describes language learning as a tool that "breaks down the fourth walls" in our minds, encouraging introspection and broadening our sense of identity and spirituality. Creator and Founder of Language Transfer, Mihalis Eletheriou has also been involved in social work since he was a teenager. Originally a British Cypriot, Mihalis has spent half his life abroad and recently returned to the UK.

Resources:

Languagetransfer.org

Language Transfer is supported by donations, which can be made through Patreon at www.patreon.com/languagetransfer or directly on the website: https://www.languagetransfer.org/collaborate

Users can also contribute by sharing their stories about how LT helped them, either through video or audio.

In this episode of Educating to Be Human, Lisa is joined by Chris Miller, the co-founder of Life Plays, an organization that uses improvisation as a tool to cultivate leadership, creativity, and innovation. Together, they dive into the power of improv, not just as a performance technique but as a valuable life skill that can enhance how we work, lead, and connect with others. By tapping into our natural creativity and learning to embrace uncertainty, improv unlocks a mindset of openness and possibility, ultimately driving more meaningful change in both our personal and professional lives. Through this conversation, we explore how embracing improv helps foster a culture of innovation, empathy, and shared success, deepening our collective human experience.

Chris Miller co-founded Lifeplays in 2001 to bring the radically collaborative skills embedded in improv into innovative organizations. Chris has brought improv-based training to the MBA program at USF, The Big Ideas Fest, and Little Bets Labs, which uses Design Thinking to solve large intractable problems. He holds a degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and in his free time can most likely be found rock climbing, boogie boarding, or playing music.

Resources:

https://lifeplays.com/

In this episode of Educating to Be Human, we begin the second arc of our inaugural season by exploring one of the most essential aspects of being human—our boundless curiosity and extraordinary creativity. Lisa talks with Nina Barbuto, founder and executive director of Assemble, a nonprofit organization in Pittsburgh that serves as a community space for arts and technology education. More than just a makerspace, Assemble is a place where education and community intersect, fostering innovation and confidence through making.

Lisa and Niina Assemble discuss how creation, curiosity and innovation are enhanced through hands-on learning experiences and engagement with Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics (STE(A)M) through hands-on learning experiences. They also dive into the concept of "social architecture," exploring how community spaces, like Assemble, can be flexible and adaptable to the needs of the people who use them, while allowing for self-expression and collaboration. Tune in to hear how architecture influences the way we experience space and community, and how Assemble exemplifies a unique blend of creativity, education, and innovation.

Nina’s passion for art, new media, and social learning led her to found Assemble, a community space for arts + technology, in 2011. On her own, Nina works in a variety of media including architecture, film, sound, and installation, often exploring the idea of recycling noise into a system or elevating the vernacular to the spectacular. Nina co-founded I Made It! Market in 2007. An idea based on urban acupuncture, this nomadic market partners with community, arts, and non-profit organizations to raise funds and awareness to assist in improving their communities while allowing local artists and crafters to sell their wares. Nina holds degrees in architecture from Southern California Institute of Architecture and Carnegie Mellon University, where she is also adjunct faculty.

In this episode of Educating to be Human, Lisa speaks with Joel Westheimer, a professor of education at the University of Ottawa, author of "What Kind of Citizen? Educating Our Children for the Common Good", and a leading voice on democracy and civic education. As democratic societies face increasing global challenges as well as radically diminishing commitments to the notion of democracy internally, this episode explores how schools can play a pivotal role in fostering democratic values, civic engagement, and critical thinking among students.

The role of education in democratic societies is unique, requiring more than just the standard curriculum of math, science, and literature, Joel argues. Schools must also teach students to ask hard questions, engage in the democratic process, and become informed citizens who can shape the future of their communities. How can schools balance these approaches to foster a more engaged and thoughtful citizenry, and how is this particularly vital in the face of current democratic challenges? With an incredibly pivotal presidential election around the corner, this discussion underscores the urgent need to rethink the role of civic education, preparing young people not only to succeed academically but to become effective, engaged citizens in a democratic society.

Joel Westheimer is Professor and former University Research Chair in Democracy and Education at the University of Ottawa. He is also education columnist for CBC Radio. In addition to researching civic engagement and the role of schools in democratic societies, Westheimer studies broader school reform, teacher education, and education policy and practice. His most recent book (2024) is What kind of citizen? Educating our children for the common good, 2nd edition.

"What Kind of Citizen? Educating Our Children for the Common Good" https://www.tcpress.com/what-kind-of-citizen-9780807769720

Follow Joel on X/Twitter @joelwestheimer

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Generation Citizen - https://www.generationcitizen.org/

I Civics - https://vision.icivics.org/

We the People curriculum - https://civiced.org/we-the-people

Mikva Challenge: https://mikvachallenge.org/

Lisa speaks with Ruth Mostern, Professor of History and Director of the World History Center at the University of Pittsburgh, to talk about the significance of place and space in the historical understanding of ourselves and our environments.

Through her groundbreaking project, the World Historical Gazetteer, Ruth enables historians and the public alike to visualize and contextualize historical events and relationships geographically, transforming static history into dynamic, place-based storytelling.

Sitting at the intersection of history, geography and technology, this episode is a must-listen for those who believe in the power of place to shape and deepen our understanding of the world.

Ruth Mostern is Professor of History and Director of the World History Center at the University of Pittsburgh and Vice President of the World History Association. She is the author of Dividing the Realm in Order to Govern: The Spatial Organization of the Song State, 960-1276 CE (Harvard Asia Center, 2011), and The Yellow River: A Natural and Unnatural History (Yale University Press, 2021), winner of the Joseph Levenson Prize from the Association for Asian Studies in 2022, co-editor of Placing Names: Enriching and Integrating Gazetteers (Indiana University Press, 2016), and Principal Investigator and Project Director of the World Historical Gazetteer. Ruth received her Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley in 2003 and was Founding Faculty at the University of California, Merced, where she spent 13 years before moving to Pitt in 2017.

Resources:

World Historical Gazetteer: whgazetteer.org

Ruth Mostern at University of Pittsburgh: www.history.pitt.edu/people/ruth-mostern

"There's more to me than you can see"

It is only human to hide behind a mask. In this episode, Lisa speaks with Ashanti Branch, Educator, Mentor and Founder of the Ever Forward Club, who has spent decades mentoring young men of color, building trust, and bringing confidence and empathy into their lives to help them achieve their true potential. Through his more recent project, the Million Mask Movement, we learn how sharing “our masks” help us to gather a deeper understanding of ourselves, others, and how connected we really are when it comes to the masks we live in.

Ashanti Branch is a master in building healthy relationships in schools, a pioneer in education reform, and in youth mental health, with over 18 years of experience. He is the Founder and Executive Director of the Ever Forward Club (EFC), a non-profit organization dedicated to seeing marginalized students graduate high school by providing them with emotional tools and mental health support. Ashanti is a keynote speaker, advisor to the US Surgeon General, a Fulbright Fellow, and 4x Tedx Speaker and has created the global #MillionMaskMovement

Resources from today's episode:

Million Mask Movement: millionmask.org

Ever Forward Club: https://everforwardclub.org/

Sticks and Stones E70 with Ashanti Branch(SPECIAL EPISODE)

A young man reflects after his first ‘Taking off the Mask’ workshop. "I Remember I Went Back" | Taking Off The Mask | Branch Speaks https://youtu.be/qIPbNrGoxxs

TEDx Marin - The Masks We All Wear

Wisdom 2.0 - Ashanti Branch and young men from The Ever Forward Club speak about growing up as young men today - https://youtu.be/8bPOd2Esbrk

Ashanti Branch speaks about young men's emotional toolbox at Big Ideas Fest 2014 - http://youtu.be/sGzauoDEEVk

The Ever Forward Club's work is featured in a documentary by The Representation Project called "The Mask You Live In" that premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival http://youtu.be/hc45-ptHMxo

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In our premiere episode of Educating to be Human, Lisa Petrides speaks with Erin O'Connell, a university classics professor, who has used her expertise over the years as a teacher of Ancient Greek and Ancient Greek culture to delve into the world of Monsters, how we define them, where we can find them, not just under our beds, and the perspective they bring us in thinking about being human in today's world. Erin O’Connell’s academic background is in Classics and Comparative Literature, teaching Greek and Latin languages and literature as well as a broad range of Humanities courses to all ages.

Erin earned a PhD at UC-Santa Cruz, taught at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City for 20 years where she was a tenured professor, and has come full circle by returning to California to teach at UC-Santa Cruz and Cabrillo Community College. As a scholar and teacher Erin is keen on integrating her scholarly expertise with the interests and needs of all learners in the contemporary educational and cultural context.

Educating to be Human is hosted by Lisa Petrides, produced by Helene Theros, recorded by Nathan Sherman, edited by Ty Mayer, with music by Kathy Sherman.

Please subscribe and listen to Educating to Be Human on Apple Podcast, Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts, leave a review, tell your friends and share our episodes on social media. And don’t forget to follow @edutobehuman on Instagram and on X/Twitter @edutobehuman

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