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The Learning Curve

The Learning Curve

Join Pioneer every Wednesday for in-depth insights on education, learning trends, school choice, and public policy. Our hosts and guests bring thought-provoking commentary as they engage with school leaders, innovators, bestselling authors, policymakers, and more in lively interviews. Stay informed and inspired with fresh perspectives each week! 

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Hubwonk

Hubwonk

Hubwonk is a weekly podcast from Pioneer Institute, a Boston-based think tank. 

In each episode, Joe Selvaggi connects you to regional and national leaders in healthcare, education, transportation, and industry to explore policy choices that promote liberty, free market dynamism, and human flourishing for everyone. 

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JobMakers

JobMakers

JobMakers is a podcast produced by Pioneer Institute that delves into the world of risk-taking immigrant entrepreneurs. These innovators are creating new products, services, and jobs, driving economic growth in New England and across the United States. Tune in to hear inspiring stories of how immigrants are shaping the future of business and making a lasting impact on the economy.

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Browse Recent Episodes

The Learning Curve
November 5, 2025

MA Teacher Kelley Brown on Founding Documents, U.S. History, & Civics

In this week’s episode of The Learning Curve, co-hosts Center for Strong Public Schools’ Alisha Searcy and American Federation for Children’s Walter Blanks interview Kelley Brown, an award-winning civics and government teacher at Easthampton High School and former Massachusetts Teacher of the Year. Ms. Brown discusses her background as an educator, her work with the “We the People": The Citizen and the Constitution program, and how it helps students engage with America’s Founding Documents, U.S. history, and enduring civic ideals.
Host: Editorial Staff
The Learning Curve
October 29, 2025

Harvard’s Leo Damrosch on Robert Louis Stevenson & Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

In this week’s episode of The Learning Curve, co-hosts U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng and Great Hearts Academies’ Dr. Helen Baxendale interview Leo Damrosch, Ernest Bernbaum Professor of Literature Emeritus at Harvard University, and acclaimed biographer of some of the world's greatest literary figures. Prof. Damrosch discusses his newest book Storyteller: The Life of Robert Louis Stevenson. He reflects on Stevenson's childhood in Scotland and the close relationship he maintained with his nanny, Alison Cunningham. He shares how Stevenson lived an adventurous life, with his travel inspiring classics like Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and A Child’s Garden of Verses.
Host: Editorial Staff
The Learning Curve
October 22, 2025

Stanford's Anna Lembke, MD, on Dopamine Nation & Addiction

In this week’s episode of The Learning Curve, co-hosts U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng and Center for Public Schools’ Alisha Searcy interview Dr. Anna Lembke, MD, professor of psychiatry at the Stanford University School of Medicine, chief of the Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic, and author of the NYT bestselling book, Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence. Dr. Lembke explains how dopamine functions in the human brain and contributes to addictive behaviors. She explores how modern American life fuels a culture of addiction, drawing parallels between past waves of opioid and alcohol abuse and today’s dependence on the internet and smart phones.
Host: Editorial Staff
The Learning Curve
October 15, 2025

AZ Trinity Arch Prep's Jack Johnson Pannell on Educating Boys

In this week’s episode of The Learning Curve, co-hosts U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng and Center for Public Schools’ Alisha Searcy interview Jack Johnson Pannell, founder and head of Trinity Arch Preparatory School for Boys in Phoenix. Mr. Pannell discusses his career as an educational leader, including founding a nationally recognized charter school in Baltimore, and shares how his background in the liberal arts and law has informed his approach to schooling.
Host: Editorial Staff
The Learning Curve
October 8, 2025

U-Ark's Robert Maranto & BASIS Ed Texas' Sean Woytek on Academically Intensive Charter Schools

In this week’s episode of The Learning Curve, co-hosts U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng and Walter Blanks of the American Federation for Children interview Prof. Robert Maranto and Sean Woytek co-authors of the Education Next piece, “Why Academically Intensive Charter Schools Deserve Our Attention.” They explore how rigorous charter school networks like BASIS Ed have achieved exceptional outcomes and what their success can teach policymakers and educators nationwide about improving academic performance nationwide.
Host: Editorial Staff
The Learning Curve
October 1, 2025

U-Ark's Randall Woods on John Quincy Adams: Statesman of the Early Republic

In this week’s episode of The Learning Curve, co-hosts U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng and Center for Public Schools’ Alisha Searcy interview Randall Woods, John A. Cooper Distinguished Professor of History at the University of Arkansas, and author of John Quincy Adams: A Man for the Whole People. Prof. Woods shares the life and career of American statesman John Quincy Adams, the “first son of the Republic,” whose upbringing in the household of John and Abigail Adams shaped his lifelong devotion to public service.
Host: Editorial Staff
The Learning Curve
September 24, 2025

FEE's Kerry McDonald on Joyful Learning, Microschools, & Homeschooling

In this week’s episode of The Learning Curve, co-hosts U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng and the Center for Public Schools’ Alisha Searcy interview Kerry McDonald, Senior Education Fellow at the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE), host of the LiberatED podcast, and author of Joyful Learning: How to Find Freedom, Happiness, and Success Beyond Conventional Schooling (2025). As a leading advocate for alternative schooling, McDonald shares how her educational background shaped her philosophy of learner-driven schooling and traces the history of homeschooling in America, highlighting the hurdles families have overcome in recent years.
Host: Editorial Staff
The Learning Curve
September 17, 2025

Dr. Gil Troy on Theodor Herzl - Father of Zionism & Combating Antisemitism

In this week’s episode of The Learning Curve, co-hosts U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng and Eos Foundation’s Andrea Silbert interview Dr. Gil Troy, senior fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute, Distinguished Scholar in North American History at McGill University, and editor of Theodor Herzl: The Collected Zionist Writings and Addresses of Israel's Founder. He offers an overview of Herzl’s upbringing in 19th-century Vienna, the antisemitic events that shaped his worldview, and how the infamous Dreyfus Affair spurred his determination to establish a Jewish State.
Host: Editorial Staff
The Learning Curve
September 10, 2025

UK's Dr. Kathryn Hughes on George Eliot, Middlemarch, & Victorian Novels

In this week’s episode of The Learning Curve, co-hosts U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng and Great Hearts Academies’ Dr. Helen Baxendale interview Dr. Kathryn Hughes, academic historian and award-winning author of George Eliot: The Last Victorian. Dr. Hughes discusses the significance of 19th-century novelist Mary Ann Evans, better known by her pen name George Eliot, in shaping British literature and capturing the societal tensions of the Victorian era.
Host: Editorial Staff
The Learning Curve
September 3, 2025

Florida's John Kirtley on School Choice

In this week’s episode of The Learning Curve, co-hosts U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng and American Federation for Children Senior Fellow Shaka Mitchell interview John Kirtley, Managing Partner and co-founder of Keswick Partners, and founder and Chairman of Step Up for Students, a nonprofit that manages Florida’s state-funded K-12 scholarship programs serving over half a million students. Kirtley shares his journey from the private sector into education reform in the late 1990s, and why business leaders must actively engage in shaping K-12 policy.
Host: Editorial Staff