One hour. Once a month.
The question of education.
For people who can't stop asking why.
Tom Mahoney
Philosophy & Ideology
in Education
in Education
Ben Lawless
Education's Mascot
For people who can't stop asking why.
Latest Episode
Jane Caro argues that once you adjust for a student's background, the academic difference between public and private schools disappears. What we have built instead is one of the most segregated school systems in the OECD, and the most expensive in the world for parents.
Earlier Episodes
EP. 01 · Adam Voigt
Schools should be campfires, not vending machines
On school culture, restorative practice, and why competition brings out the worst in a classroom.
Upcoming Guests
Up next
Gert Biesta
Philosopher of education. Professor at the University of Melbourne.
If my students are satisfied, I have failed as a teacher. I haven't gone to more difficult places.
"Learning" and "education" are not the same thing - and the difference matters more than most schools admit.
Stephanie Wescott
Lecturer and researcher, Faculty of Education, Monash University.
The manosphere is not a fringe phenomenon - it is shaping the attitudes and behaviours of young people in very real ways.
How do teachers respond to misogyny that arrives already rehearsed from a screen?
Glenn Savage
Professor of Education Futures, University of Melbourne. Policy sociologist.
National reform promises revolution and delivers compromise. The gap between the two is where most policy actually lives.
Who is really steering Australian schooling - and do they agree on where it is going?
Amy Berry
Founder, EngagED Consulting. Author of Re-imagining Student Engagement.
Engagement is a skill that can be taught - not just a behaviour to be managed.
Dean Ashenden
Senior honorary fellow, University of Melbourne. Education writer and former ministerial adviser.
Why has school reform failed for forty years, and what would it take to actually shift it?
Ben Sacco
Founder, Education Economy. Author of Disruption in Schools.
What if the students we punish most are the ones telling us the most?
Miriam Reynoldson
Digital learning specialist, learning designer and PhD candidate, Melbourne.
What does learning look like beyond formal education in a postdigital world?
Rachel Parker
Senior Research Fellow, ACER. Leads Learning Through Play at School.
What would school look like if play was treated as rigour, not reward?
Al Fricker
Lecturer of Indigenous Education, NIKERI Institute, Deakin University.
First Nations educational practices are tens of thousands of years old. What does that mean for how we design schools today?
Your Hosts
Ben Lawless
Assessment Strategist & Learning Game Designer
Ben is a Melbourne-based assessment strategist, learning game designer, and author. He lectures in assessment at the University of Melbourne, has sold over 200,000 copies of his textbooks, and works with schools, education businesses and industry to build criterion-referenced learning progressions. His background in philosophy means he can't stop asking questions - including the ones about the systems and structures he works within every day.
lawlesslearning.com
Tom Mahoney
PhD Student, Philosophy & Ideology in Education
Tom is a teacher, school leader, and PhD student who has spent his career circling one question: what is education actually for? He coaches and mentors teachers and school leaders to align their practice with their values, and writes The Interruption - a Substack exploring the ideology behind contemporary education. He thinks the question most schools quietly shelve is the one they most need to sit with.
The Interruption on SubstackWhat they said
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