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Explore the Series: Five Pathways From Deep Understanding to Practical, Reflective Action
The series helps listeners understand and leverage the complexity of learning and development in ways that are clear, reflective, and actionable. Each episode brings together multiple voices to explore an important theme in depth, often illuminating connections across all five pathways. At the same time, each episode has a primary focus within one pathway, giving listeners an accessible way to enter the series, follow their interests, and put what they learn into practice.
To read about the five major thought lines and discover which episodes are linked to those thought lines click here.


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Episode 5: Building Conditions for Learning, Well-being, and Thriving
Eight individual discussions with Megan Bang, Zaretta Hammond, Stephanie MacMahon, and Kim Schonert-Reichl by David Osher Description Learning is not just the transfer of information. It is not just memory, cognition, or skill acquisition narrowly understood. Learning is deeply human. It involves emotion and attention, identity and meaning, culture and context, relationships and belonging, the body and the brain, the present moment and the histories that young people bring
5 min read


Episode 4 -How to Leverage the Science of Learning and Development to Foster Robust Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning
It is in five parts, plus a short introduction to the episode. The discussions are with: Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, Stephanie Jones, Annemaree Carol, Jim Pellegrino, and Carol Lee. What also makes these conversations so important is that they bring together many of the leading scholars who have helped define, extend, and translate the science of learning and development across disciplines, institutions, and countries.You will hear from researchers whose work spans development
4 min read


Episode 3 - John King with commentary from Linda Darling-Hammond and Robert Pianta: Creating safe, nurturing environments that engage learners and foster thriving and robust learning.
Welcome to a framing conversation, one that provides intellectual orientation and a cornerstone conversation in the architectural sense upon which the entire podcast series rests. John reminds us that the school at its best is not merely an academic institution. It is a sanctuary, a place of safety, a place of intellectual challenge, a place where a young person is known, and that knowing can change a life trajectory. His story is not abstract. It's grounded in his lived expe
1 min read


What's the Next Podcast? Discover the topics and discussants for episodes 6 - 30.
Episode 5: Building Conditions for Learning, Well-being, and Thriving
This podcast will discuss how to build strong conditions for learning, well-being, and thriving in schools and communities.
58 min read


Episode 2 -Supporting Social, Emotional, and Academic Well-being and Thriving in Challenging Times and Contexts
Description This episode is in three parts that explore how to support social, emotional, and academic well-being and learning in connected ways. Listeners will learn and be able to think about practices that integrate SEL and academics, understand why whole-person approaches deepen engagement and achievement, and explore principles of application across classrooms and community settings. Organizations, tools, materials, and research will be identified that can support implem
4 min read


Episode 1- Addressing Educational Inequities in the wake of covid-19 is in three parts.
Episode 1 Part 1: Addressing Educational Inequities in the wake of Covid-19 Description: This episode Equity, Evidence, and the Full Meaning of Learning examine how the COVID-19 pandemic widened longstanding educational inequities and what it will take to address them. Part 1 is an interview with Gloria Ladson-Billings and Michael Feuer on the purpose of the National Academy of Education Commissioning three papers to examine significant issues impacting schools and learning e
3 min read


Why were these podcasts made?
David Osher outlines why this podcast series was created and structured to translate the science of learning and development into practical, actionable knowledge for educators, policymakers, community leaders, families, and practitioners working with young people. Building on papers commissioned by the National Academy of Education in response to COVID, the series addresses long-standing equity challenges that have been intensified by pandemic disruption, political polarizat
1 min read
List of Posted Podcasts and Transcripts
Episode 4 – How to Leverage the Science of Learning and Development to Foster Robust Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning It is in five parts, plus a short introduction to the episode. The discussions are with: Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, Stephanie Jones, Annemaree Carol, Jim Pellegrino, and Carol Lee. What also makes these conversations so important is that they bring together many of the leading scholars who have helped define, extend, and translate the science of lear
5 min read


About Jane Sapp and the music - There's A River Flowing in my Soul -- from Brandeis University's Peace Building Through the Arts
https://www.brandeis.edu/peacebuilding-arts/current-projects/jane-sapp/index.html Sapp's music reflects the blues and gospel sounds of her Georgia youth and is deeply rooted in the spiritual, religious and historical experiences of the African American world. She has recorded four albums and has performed in concert halls (including Carnegie Hall, with Pete Seeger), colleges and community centers throughout the U.S. and in Sweden, Canada, Senegal and Mali, West Africa. As an
1 min read


Recent Publications of David Osher
Curriculum Vita of David Osher Books, Monographs, & Guides (1990–Present) Osher, D., Jagers, R., & Jones, W. (2025). How schools can promote student well-being and thriving in the racialized post Covid context. National Academy of Education. Osher & Pittman (2024). Equity-Centered Thriving. Arlington, VA: American Institutes for Research. Alexander, P. et al., Bridging Sciences: An Integrated Approach to Supporting Student’s Literacy Development (2024). Collaborative for Soci
7 min read


Youth Today Blogs
A flashlight on the life spaces of young people By David Osher, Thriving Youth Knowledge Exchange Posted on July 22, 2026 Every afternoon, millions of young people leave school and head to camps, libraries, sports fields, arts programs, jobs, youth organizations, faith communities, neighborhoods and homes. But millions do not. More than 3 in 4 of the children whose parents want them in afterschool programs — 22.6 million — are not enrolled because of cost, lack of availab
8 min read
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