reeducated

What happens when the questions we ask begin to change the person asking them?In this solo episode, I return to the camera setup I used for my first podcast, Burning With G, and reflect on what 250 episodes of Re-Educated have taught me. I revisit the questions about schooling that drew me to start the show at Georgetown, and how conversations across disciplines and cultures made me more aware of the limits of my own perspective.I also talk about why a student’s question about algebra can lead to a much bigger conversation about what we want from an education. I close with a note to my future self as I get ready to work on Re-Educated full time. Thank you to everyone who has listened and helped make that possible.Find more conversations at reeducated.org.

What does it mean to grow up knowing the planet is changing, while having little say in the decisions shaping its future?In this episode of Re-Educated, I’m joined by public health researcher and dancer Lexi Nutkiewicz to explore climate anxiety, the emotional weight young people carry, and how adults can help build a more hopeful future.We discuss what “eco-emotions” mean, how small acts of care and collective action can help us stay engaged, and why individual responsibility needs to sit alongside changes to the systems shaping our lives. Lexi also challenges the idea that you need a scientific background to care about climate change.Our conversation moves from education and community advocacy to dance, storytelling, and what it means to work with a community. Throughout, we return to a question that matters far beyond climate change: how do we stay connected to the world’s problems without becoming overwhelmed by them?Find more conversations at reeducated.org.

At a time when Kayla Moon was struggling with her health and addiction, her mother suggested she try growing something. Caring for a tiny garden began to change the way she cared for herself.Kayla is a floral artist and writer based in Melbourne, Australia. In this episode, we talk about how flowers helped her find hope, how discovering something she loved changed her relationship with learning, and the people who believed in her when she was struggling. She shares the messy reality of building a creative business and why making beautiful things and supporting her community have always been connected.We also talk openly about shame, sexuality, and the parts of ourselves we find difficult to face. Kayla reflects on how journaling helped her stop hiding the truth, how we learn to perform intimacy, and why a culture obsessed with making our bodies more desirable can leave us disconnected from them. Throughout the conversation, we keep returning to sensitivity: learning to notice what we feel, question what we’ve been taught, and care more deeply for ourselves and each other.

Daniel Ott had never beaten his twin sister at Clue. In 2024, we started asking whether math could change that. What began as a plan to write some code grew into more than two years of research, simulated games, tested strategies, and explorations of probability, psychology, and the history of Clue. We eventually turned the project into a 170-page book. The project led us to a bigger question: what happens when learning begins with something you genuinely want to figure out? Daniel reflects on following a question without knowing where it will lead, working through failed ideas, and discovering concepts because he needed them to solve a problem.As he prepares to leave high school, we also explore confidence, the value and frustrations of school, speaking up regardless of age, and the mixed feelings of leaving home. Daniel’s curiosity runs through it all, from a family game night to the possibilities ahead of him.

As artificial intelligence rapidly transforms education and work, what abilities will matter most for the next generation? In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Jennifer Berry, CEO of SmartLab, to explore how schools can prepare students for a future where knowledge is instantly accessible but curiosity, resilience, creativity, and human judgment become increasingly valuable. Rather than viewing STEM as simply science and technology, Jennifer argues that it is fundamentally about developing a mindset in which students believe they belong, can overcome difficult challenges, and know that their ideas matter.Our conversation explores the philosophy behind project-based learning, the importance of productive struggle, and why education should prioritize exploration over memorization. We discuss how AI should support rather than replace thinking, why failure is essential for developing the brain, and how hands-on learning helps students build confidence, collaboration, and critical thinking. Jennifer also explains SmartLab's vision for creating "STEM identity" through meaningful experiences rather than isolated classroom lessons.We also examine some of the biggest structural challenges facing education today, including standardized testing, grading systems, siloed subjects, and the difficulty of implementing meaningful change within large school systems. Throughout the conversation, Jennifer makes the case that education should ultimately help young people become thoughtful, compassionate, and adaptable human beings who are prepared not only for careers, but for life itself. Chapters (1:02:22 Episode)00:00 – Introduction02:18 – AI, Education, and the Purpose of Learning05:28 – Why Students Should Think Before Using AI08:18 – Productive Struggle and How the Brain Learns13:47 – What Is a STEM Identity?20:05 – Why Hands-On Learning Matters24:20 – Play, Curiosity, and Critical Thinking26:18 – Can Project-Based Learning Scale?30:02 – Why Schools Separate Knowledge into Subjects31:05 – Do Grades Actually Measure Learning?36:05 – SmartLab's Vision for Educational Change41:35 – Integrating Project-Based Learning into Schools47:48 – Why Educational Change Is So Difficult52:12 – Curiosity, Success, and the Purpose of Education54:00 – Empathy, Perspective, and Raising Better Humans58:05 – Finding Hope in Education01:00:12 – Coaching, Leadership, and Lifelong Learning01:01:15 – Final Reflections and ClosingOther Topics & Resources MentionedSmartLab and the concept of STEM IdentityProject-Based Learning (PBL)International Baccalaureate (IB) educationArtificial Intelligence tools (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini)Google Classroom

In this solo episode, Goutham reflects on a month spent living inside an Aikido dojo in Montreux, Switzerland, exploring what the experience revealed about education, learning, and human development. Rather than focusing on martial arts techniques, he examines the philosophy behind Aikido and the lessons it offers for teaching, mentorship, and personal growth. Drawing comparisons with his own experiences studying Indian classical music, he argues that the best teachers do more than teach skills; they help students discover why a practice matters and connect technical mastery with deeper philosophical questions. Throughout the episode, Goutham explores three central lessons from his time at the dojo. First, he reflects on the importance of purpose in education, suggesting that meaningful learning begins when students understand why they are learning rather than simply treating education as a means to an external reward. Second, he discusses the power of role models and community, explaining how living alongside practitioners from around the world reshaped his understanding of leadership, masculinity, trust, and mentorship. Finally, he argues that modern education has become overly dependent on intellectual knowledge while neglecting the intelligence of the body, sharing how Aikido helped him rediscover intuition, embodied learning, and the wisdom that can only emerge through direct experience. Ultimately, this episode is an invitation to rethink what it means to learn. Goutham suggests that education should move beyond classrooms, textbooks, and abstract knowledge toward immersive experiences that transform both the mind and the body. Whether through martial arts, music, travel, or other deeply embodied practices, he argues that some of life's most important lessons cannot simply be read; they must be lived.

Why do people resist change? And what separates organizations that successfully adapt from those that struggle to survive?In this episode, I sit down with Rosabeth Moss Kanter, one of the world's leading scholars of leadership and organizational change. Drawing on decades of research at Harvard Business School, Rosabeth explains why change is rarely resisted because people dislike improvement itself. Instead, resistance often comes from feeling excluded, uncertain, or powerless throughout the process. She argues that successful change depends less on announcing a new strategy and more on empowering people to become active participants in shaping it.Our conversation explores organizational culture, leadership, innovation, collaboration, long-term thinking, and the importance of empathy in building resilient institutions. We discuss why organizations fail during periods of transformation, how leaders create cultures of trust, what sustainable companies have in common, and why purpose, values, and storytelling often outlast products, technologies, and even generations of employees.Whether you're leading a business, a school, a nonprofit, or simply trying to navigate change in your own life, this conversation offers practical insights into how people, organizations, and societies can adapt while remaining true to their core values.Chapters:00:00 – Introduction01:35 – How Rosabeth Began Studying Organizations02:26 – What Is an Organization?03:40 – Why People Resist Change06:10 – Empowerment vs. Top-Down Leadership09:00 – Communicating Change Without Resistance11:20 – Why Training Matters During Change12:40 – Change Is a Journey, Not an Announcement14:10 – Collaboration and Community Leadership17:05 – Why Great Leaders Lead with Empathy19:15 – Building a Culture That Embraces Change23:10 – The Three Pillars of Organizational Culture27:30 – Leading by Example30:05 – Long-Term Thinking and Sustainable Institutions35:00 – IBM, Innovation, and Organizational Identity38:45 – Stories, Purpose, and Shared Values41:10 – Collaboration Across Organizations43:15 – Lessons from Sports Teams and Winning Cultures45:20 – Teaching Leadership to Children48:00 – Leadership, Self-Awareness, and Humility49:45 – What Makes a Great Leader?51:55 – Kanter's Law and Never Giving Up53:20 – Final Leadership Advice & Closing Books MentionedThe Change Masters — Rosabeth Moss KanterConfidence — Rosabeth Moss KanterSuperCorp — Rosabeth Moss KanterMen and Women of the Corporation — Rosabeth Moss KanterThink Outside the Building — Rosabeth Moss Kanter

What is money? Most of us think of it simply as something we earn, save, and spend. But according to cultural anthropologist Bill Maurer, money is far more than a medium of exchange it is a technology for creating relationships, preserving memory, organizing society, and expressing political authority.In this episode, I sit down with Bill Maurer, Dean of the School of Social Sciences at UC Irvine and one of the world's leading scholars of the anthropology of money. We explore the surprising history of money, from ancient clay tablets and cowrie shells to credit cards, mobile payments, cryptocurrencies, and artificial intelligence. Along the way, we discuss why money is deeply connected to politics, law, trust, and social relationships rather than simply economics.Our conversation also explores inequality, generational wealth, capitalism, debt, financial technologies, education, and why understanding money requires perspectives from anthropology, sociology, history, philosophy, and economics. Above all, Bill challenges us to see money not as an object we possess, but as a system of relationships that shapes nearly every aspect of human life. Chapters:00:00 – Introduction01:35 – How Bill Maurer Became an Anthropologist of Money08:20 – From Tax Havens to Financial Technology10:30 – Why Money Is a Technology of Relationships16:05 – Money, Authority, and the Power of the State20:15 – Wealth, Inequality, and Generational Advantage24:05 – Cash, Digital Payments, and Cryptocurrency29:10 – Money, Politics, and Global Financial Systems33:20 – Why We Have Such a Complicated Relationship With Money36:20 – Hoarding Wealth, King Midas, and Human Connection39:00 – Meritocracy, Capitalism, and the Origins of Modern Wealth44:50 – What Would Happen If Money Disappeared?48:20 – How Economics Should Be Taught51:20 – The First Forms of Money in Human History54:40 – Love, Relationships, and the Social Meaning of Money58:20 – Curiosity, Everyday Money, and Learning to See01:00:40 – Recommended Books on Money01:02:10 – Closing ReflectionsBooks MentionedThe Memory Bank — Keith HartThe Social Meaning of Money — Viviana ZelizerOverinvested: The Emotional Economy of Modern Parenting — Nina BandeljA Cultural History of Money (6-volume series, edited by Bill Maurer)

What kind of economy creates a healthy democracy? And can markets ever truly reflect our values?In this episode, Goutham sits down with Lisa Herzog, Professor of Political Philosophy at the University of Groningen, to explore the philosophical foundations of economics. Together they examine why economic systems are never value-neutral, how ideas about competition and incentives shape our institutions, and why democracy should extend beyond elections into our workplaces, markets, and everyday lives.They discuss meritocracy, inequality, workplace democracy, intrinsic motivation, education, collective action, and the relationship between individual success and the common good. Along the way, Lisa challenges many of the assumptions underlying modern capitalism, arguing that flourishing societies depend not only on efficient markets, but on justice, cooperation, and democratic participation.Whether you're interested in economics, philosophy, politics, or education, this conversation offers a thoughtful look at how the systems we build ultimately shape the people we become. Chapters:00:00 Introduction to Lisa Herzog02:28 Growing Up Between Two Economic Systems05:05 Why Economics Needs Philosophy09:20 The Hidden Values Inside Economic Theory12:27 Markets, Morality, and Intellectual Property17:31 Does Economics Shape Human Behavior?19:02 Incentives, Competition, and Collective Action24:45 Silicon Valley, Meritocracy, and the Fear of Falling Behind30:36 The Myth of the Self-Made Individual32:28 Value, Wages, and Why Money Doesn't Measure Contribution35:34 What Really Motivates People to Work?39:28 Why Economic Inequality Threatens Democracy44:27 What Would a Democratic Economy Look Like?49:10 Freedom, Equality, and the Purpose of Work53:43 Should Democracy Shape the Economy—or Vice Versa?56:08 Meritocracy, Luck, and Equality of Opportunity58:31 Individual Success vs. the Common Good01:01:40 Migration, Community, and Shared Responsibility01:04:21 Final Reflections Books MentionedCitizen Knowledge: Markets, Experts, and the Infrastructure of Democracy — Lisa HerzogThe Democratic Marketplace: How a More Equal Economy Can Save Our Political Ideals — Lisa HerzogDrive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us — Daniel H. Pink

History is often taught as a collection of dates, names, and events. But historians rarely see it that way. Instead, they assemble incomplete fragments of evidence into narratives that help explain how societies change, why institutions endure, and how the past continues to shape the present.In this episode, I speak with historian Joshua Rothman about the craft of historical research, the history of slavery in the United States, and the challenge of interpreting the past without reducing it to simple stories. We explore how historians construct meaning from limited evidence, why history is always an act of interpretation, and how economic systems, political institutions, and cultural beliefs emerge through centuries of gradual change.We also discuss why conversations about slavery remain difficult today, the role history should play in education, the relationship between patriotism and historical honesty, and why understanding the past requires humility rather than certainty. Throughout the conversation, Joshua argues that history is most valuable not when it reinforces comforting narratives, but when it helps us ask better questions about ourselves and the societies we inherit.Chapters:00:00 Introduction to Joshua Rothman01:42 Discovering history through stories rather than theories08:00 What historians actually do with historical evidence13:55 Narratives, interpretation, and making sense of the past19:28 Causation, contingency, and why history is never a straight line24:45 Why people love history after leaving school26:30 The origins of slavery and the Atlantic world32:35 Slavery's lasting influence on economic and social structures36:25 Studying the psychology of slave traders39:10 Why conversations about slavery remain so difficult48:55 Teaching painful history in schools and universities55:05 Patriotism, national identity, and historical honesty01:01:10 Final reflections on why history still matters Books MentionedThe Ledger and the Chain — Joshua D. RothmanThe Flush Times and Fever Dreams — Joshua D. RothmanBeyond Freedom — Joshua D. RothmanHistorical Figures ReferencedAbraham Lincoln