Half the Answer #50: Leaving Children Behind: Education Policy from Bush to Trump

Caitlin and Trent speak with educational policy researcher Derek Gottlieb about what it's like to research education in a country whose administration thinks public education shouldn't really even be a thing.

Half the Answer can be heard on Spotify, on Apple, on YouTube, on Amazon, and elsewhere via its RSS feed.

Resources:

https://www.derekgottliebphd.com/

"Building a Better Teacher" https://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/07/magazine/07Teachers-t.html

Kristof, "Obama and Our Schools" https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/13/opinion/13kristof.html

Cavell, "The Claim of Reason" https://academic.oup.com/book/49825

Malcolm Gladwell's quarterback problem https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/12/15/most-likely-to-succeed-malcolm-gladwell

Reduction in Force notices https://www.k12dive.com/news/education-department-layoffs-what-to-know-special-education-civil-rights-lawsuits/802779/

Reduction in Force halted https://www.npr.org/2025/10/28/nx-s1-5585083/government-shutdown-trump-rif-layoffs

Ahmed, "On Being Included" https://www.dukeupress.edu/on-being-included