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Karen Vaites, a curriculum expert and open-schools advocate from Covid days highlights the bright spots in the NAEP national report card in literacy in perhaps surprising places— Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Alabama. We talk how they did it, with LA and MS going from absolute bottom of the pack to 1 and 2 in results for underprivileged kids. It’s inspiring! Why isn’t it being covered more by national media? Listen and pass it on!
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What does a general education from an Ivy League mean? What structures produce the course catalogues that students can choose to customize their education from? Is a world-class degree a world-class education?
In this episode, we sit down with the three authors of Slacking: A Guide A Guide to Ivy League Miseducation (Encounter Books, 2025). Adam Kissel, Madison Marino Doan, and Rachel Alexander Cambre guide us through their process of collaboration and their argument that Ivy League institutions are not providing students with a quality education. Through the saturation of DEI-coded or hyper-specialized courses, they argue, students lack access to classical education and Western civilization–based instruction that would better serve their intellectual development. The authors discuss their approach to building the argument, the origins of their idea, and what students should keep in mind when selecting their schools and course lists.
Adam Kissel is a visiting fellow for higher education reform in the Center for Education Policy at The Heritage Foundation. He is a board member of the University of West Florida, Southern Wesleyan University, and the National Association of Scholars. Rachel Alexander Cambre teaches for Belmont Abbey College’s new Master of Arts in Classical and Liberal Education program. A visiting fellow in the B. Kenneth Simon Center for American Politics and Center for Education Policy at The Heritage Foundation from 2022 to 2024, she researches and writes on liberal arts education and American political thought. She held a research postdoctoral fellowship at the James Madison Program from 2019-2020. Madison Marina Doan is a senior research associate in the Center for Education Policy at The Heritage Foundation. Her work focuses on affordability and accountability reform in higher education and K-12 education choice initiatives. Her work may be found in Fox News, Washington Examiner, Washington Times, The Daily Signal, and the Educational Freedom Institute.
Madison’s Notes is the podcast of Princeton University’s James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions.
Contributions to and/or sponsorship of any speaker does not constitute departmental or institutional endorsement of the specific program, speakers or views presented.
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Chicken Soup for the Soul was the brainchild of two motivational speakers who preach the New Thought belief system known as the Law of Attraction. For more than 30 years, the self-help series has compiled reader-submitted stories about kindness, courage, and perseverance into easily digestible books aimed at almost every conceivable demographic: Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul, Chicken Soup for the Grandma’s Soul, Chicken Soup for the Golfer’s Soul, and on and on. Since 1993, these books have sold more than 500 million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling non-fiction book series of all time.
But in recent years, the company has become many other things that seem lightyears away from inspirational publishing: a line of packaged foods, a DVD kiosk retailer, and a meme stock. In this episode, with the help of journalist Amanda Chicago Lewis, we tell the story of how this feel-good brand went from comfort food to junk.
This episode was written by Willa Paskin and Max Freedman and produced by Max. It was edited by Evan Chung, Decoder Ring’s supervising producer. Our show is also produced by Katie Shepherd. Merritt Jacob is Senior Technical Director. Special thanks to Rachel Strom.
If you have any cultural mysteries you want us to decode, please email us at DecoderRing@slate.com, or leave a message on our hotline at 347-460-7281.
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MAGA is in full-on panic mode about the declining birth rate in the U.S., and so the doors of the West Wing are wide open to figuring out how to get more people to have more babies. That's right, Trump administration officials want you to get pregnant and stay pregnant. Nothing creepy about that! Carter Sherman, a reproductive health and justice reporter for The Guardian, explains the right-wing panic around predictions of a coming baby apocalypse.
And in headlines: President Donald Trump now says he has 'no intention' to fire Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, the DOJ asked a federal judge to force Google to sell off Chrome, and more migrant children are left to represent themselves in immigration court.
Show Notes:
The news to know for Wednesday, April 23, 2025!
We’re talking about the shakeup coming for another one of the most critical agencies in the federal government.
Also, two more rulings against the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown — and why the president says he can’t comply.
Plus, what’s behind a rally on Wall Street, why Elon Musk is planning more time away from the government, and how another popular streaming service is tackling password sharing.
Those stories and even more news to know in about 10 minutes!
Join us every Mon-Fri for more daily news roundups!
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Cluely’s founders got suspended for building an AI cheating app… but now it’s venture backed.
Home Depot’s biggest division will shock you… it’s their $20B/year secret garden.
President Trump tanked markets Monday for threatening to fire the Fed… so we explained central bank’s independence with a superhero.
Plus, using “please” and “thank you” in ChatGPT is costing the company tens-of-millions of dollars…
$HD $SPY $CMG
Want more business storytelling from us? Check out the latest episode of our new weekly deepdive show: The untold origin story of… The Ninja Turtles 🐢
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“The Best Idea Yet”: The untold origin stories of the products you’re obsessed with — From the McDonald’s Happy Meal to Birkenstock’s sandal to Nintendo’s Susper Mario Brothers to Sriracha. New 45-minute episodes drop weekly.
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Crafting. Motorcycle repair. Banjo lessons. Hobbies aren’t a reward, but tools to save your mental and physical health. Journalist/author of “The Connection Cure,” — and professional Salugenology expert — Julia Hotz explains the science behind going outside, rediscovering what makes you happy, scheduling time for hobbies if you have no time for hobbies, free support, how quarantine affected mental health, what if social interaction gives you the willies, what if depression keeps you from doing the things that lift depression, the scientific deal with cold-plunging, where to volunteer, saving money by joining knitting circle or fishing club, if protesting is a good hobby, how capitalism can literally kill us, and why she hates the title of her own book.
Visit Julia’s website and follow her on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Substack
Buy her book The Connection Cure: The Prescriptive Power of Movement, Nature, Art, Service, and Belonging
A donation went to GrowNYC
More episode sources and links
Smologies (short, classroom-safe) episodes
Other episodes you may enjoy: Dolorology (PAIN), Eudemonology (HAPPINESS), Critical Ecology (SOCIAL SYSTEMS + ENVIRONMENT), Post-Viral Epidemiology (LONG COVID), Disability Sociology (DISABILITY PRIDE), Ergopathology (BURNOUT), Biogerontology (AGING), Canistrumology (BASKET WEAVING), Domestic Phytology (HOUSEPLANTS), Ethnoecology (ETHNOBOTANY/NATIVE PLANTS), Dendrology (TREES)
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