This week, Eddie and Steph welcome Parker Molloy, a writer covering media, politics, and the world around us on her Substack, The Present Age (10:20). Parker begins by explaining her journey to becoming an independent journalist and how watching hours upon hours of Fox News helped shape her thinking. Next, she explains why it feels like there’s too much news, the tactic of “Flooding the Zone,” and how the hollowing out of the Washington Post, CBS, and other institutions are making it worse (25:55). Parker then makes the direct connection between media narratives on the trans community, and the ability of activist legislators to enact real harms against the trans community (40:44). Then we delve into Trans Athletes In Sports and how nearly everything about that conversation has been misguided (50:40).

• Parker Molloy (Bluesky)
• The Present Age (Parker’s substack)
• Extracurricular Podcast
• Stephanie Vanos
• Eddie Geller

Steph and Eddie are back after a week off feeling refreshed and ready to go (eventually). They start off the show with a bit of table setting for our interview—including a definition of EdTech (it’s a portmanteau!). They then dip into Steph’s latest trip to Tallahassee with some legislative updates, a short recap of the latest State Board of Education meeting, and Eddie rants about the importance of Student protests.

Then, Eddie and Steph bring on author and former educator, Anne Lutz Fernandez. In addition to co-authoring a book about education, Anne created the resisting Resisting School AI Mania Help Sheet which has a great list of resources and research about the issues with AI integration into our schools (14:08). After walking through an intro into Anne’s own experiences with EdTech, the conversation moves into a few of the specific issues regarding AI in education (29:39). Anne addresses whether we’re seeing a “vibe-shift” on AI (46:25), and finally, what a vision for a robust public education system looks like (58:55).

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• Anne (Bluesky)
• Nobody Wants This (Anne’s newsletter)
• Extracurricular Podcast
• Stephanie Vanos
• Eddie Geller

After spending an unusual amount of time discussing sports, Eddie and Steph welcome Louell to the pod to share her perspective as a young person navigating the world and actively trying to make it a better place for everyone (10:46). A junior in high school, Louell walks us through her early influences (shout out to her incredible mom!) and her work as a community organizer. Her values are deeply rooted in believing in the humanity of all people which led her to organize an Inclusivity Walkout at her school (28:57). The group shared their perspectives on the proposed ICE detention facility in Orlando (37:30) as well as the Florida Board of Education letter that was sent to all schools and parents in response to recent student walkouts and protests around the state (41:55). Lou ends the episode talking about what she would like to see from elected officials (49:41).

Mentioned on the Pod: The Story Of The Mayor of Ohrdruf

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• Louell
• Extracurricular Podcast
• Stephanie Vanos
• Eddie Geller