In case you missed it at first (as I did), Jane Williams’ weekly education news radio show Bloomberg EDU isn’t back for another year. Launched in 2011, the show wrapped up this past spring.
It’s not that there aren’t lots of other things to listen to about schools these days. Christine Schneider from Education Cities (@edcities) noted the other day that there are a lot of mainstream education-related audio segments and podcasts that have come out recently. Some examples:
*Note To Self (WNYC) Half the teachers in America use one app (Class Dojo) to track kids.
*The Beginning Of The End – the end of self doubt – about one amazing Detroit high school teacher (pictured above). Also from TBOTE – the end of high school (also from WDET).
*Freakonomics – preventing crime for pennies on the dollar. Follows the Becoming a Man (BAM) program.
*Curious City (WBEZ) – were Chicago Public Schools ever any good? WBEZ also did one on truancy that was super interesting.
In contrast with most of these, Williams’ show didn’t feature many field segments. Usually it was just her and others in the studio or on the phone talking about the issues of the day. But it was weekly, and it was broadcast as well as podcast, and it didn’t take a strong ideological stance despite being housed in the Bloomberg empire. Williams and her producers (including Susan Sawyers) got big-name guests, journalists, and advocates to show up and talk. (I was on the show a few times.)
It would have been nice if the show could have gotten another year or even run through the 2016 campaign, but four plus years is a good run. I’m hoping to talk to Williams about what she learned and what the show’s biggest hits and misses were, and will let you know when that happens.
