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Steve Gruber talks with Brian Jodice, National Press Secretary for the American Federation for Children, to break down the so-called “dilemma” Democratic governors face over school choice tax credits. Jodice makes the case for why empowering parents through school choice isn't controversial, it's common sense.
Step into a treasure trove of rare stories, photos, and audio clips as Bill Scherkenbach shares his decades with Dr. Deming. From boardrooms to sleigh rides, discover the moments, minds, and memories that shaped modern quality thinking, told by someone who lived it. A powerful blend of insight, humor, and history you won't want to miss. (You can see the slides from the podcast here.) TRANSCRIPT 0:00:02.4 Andrew Stotz: My name is Andrew Stotz, and I'll be your host as we dive deeper into the teachings of Dr. W. Edwards Deming. Today, I'm continuing my discussion with Bill Scherkenbach, a dedicated protégé of Dr. Deming since 1972. Bill met with Dr. Deming more than a thousand times and later led statistical methods and process improvement at Ford and GM at Deming's recommendation. He authored 'The Deming Route to Quality and Productivity' at Deming's behest and at 79 is still championing his mentor's message. Learn, have fun, and make a difference. Bill, take it away. 0:00:41.2 Bill Scherkenbach: Well, thank you. Thank you, Andrew. It's an honor to be asked back. Many places don't. 0:00:48.7 Andrew Stotz: I really enjoyed our first discussion, and particularly towards the end of it, it got a little personal and emotional, and I appreciate that you shared your journey. That was amazing. 0:01:00.9 Bill Scherkenbach: Thank you. Thank you. It is personal. 0:01:05.2 Andrew Stotz: Yeah. 0:01:05.4 Bill Scherkenbach: But today, along that wavelength, I brought some pictures or photos and letters and audios of my association with Dr. Deming. So, if you might bring them up, we can start the commenting. 0:01:27.9 Andrew Stotz: Wonderful. Well, hopefully you see a screen now up. 0:01:34.8 Bill Scherkenbach: Yes. Yep. 0:01:35.8 Andrew Stotz: Okay. And for the audience, just to let you know, for the listeners, we're going to show these and I'll try to explain a little bit about what we're talking about because you're not going to be able to see the pictures. But the first thing is the title is An Insider's View of Deming. Learn, have fun, make a difference. And we see a great picture on the left-hand side, and then I threw in a picture of a Lincoln Continental, which we're going to talk about later, which is kind of fun. But maybe you can take it from there, Bill. 0:02:07.2 Bill Scherkenbach: Yeah. Well, we can talk a little bit later on on that, but this is a picture of me and my wife, Mary Ellen, with Dr. Deming having fun. We were at a restaurant in Northville called Elizabeth's, and it's something that he enjoyed to do just about every evening. 0:02:31.3 Andrew Stotz: Great. Well, what a kickoff. So let's go to the next one. And you guys all look great in that photo. 0:02:38.2 Bill Scherkenbach: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah. This is a letter that I received from Dr. Deming back in May of '85, auspicious because the letter dated 13 May, that's my birthday. But for those who cannot read it, should I read the letter for you? 0:03:05.2 Andrew Stotz: Either you or I can read it for you. You tell me. 0:03:08.3 Bill Scherkenbach: Okay. Well, yeah. Why don't you read it? 0:03:10.9 Andrew Stotz: Okay. So, the letter is addressed to a particular person. It says, this is written by Dr. Deming, this acknowledges your kind letter of the 29th April. He that depends solely on statistical process control will be out of a job in three years. The record is clear, the record is clean, no exceptions. A whole program of improvement of quality and productivity is necessary, and it requires that top management learn what their job is. No part of the program will by itself suffice. Your letter does not describe your program, hence comment is difficult. I am happy to learn that Bill Scherkenbach will work with you. His achievements are renowned. He is excelled by nobody. I am sure that you will follow his guidance, not only while he is there with you, but from that then on out. I send best wishes and remain yours sincerely, W. Edwards Deming. 0:04:19.2 Bill Scherkenbach: Yes. I did spend a week with this organization, and as Deming said, and in many, many cases, the local management or local part of the organization get very enthusiastic, but the top management did not buy in. And so very little happened there, unfortunately. 0:04:53.9 Andrew Stotz: Yeah. And I missed that the top right-hand corner in handwritten, it says Portland, 20 May 1985. Dear Bill, I neglected to hand this to you in San Francisco, W. E. D. 0:05:08.1 Bill Scherkenbach: Yeah. We went to, we. Dr. Deming and I were in San Francisco to meet with Shoichiro Toyoda and his wife. It was a social call. Shoichiro was in town. I don't know where his brother Tatsuro was. Tatsuro headed up NUMI, but Shoichiro was head of it all and was in the US. And wanted to just have a dinner with Dr. Deming. I'm embarrassingly cloudy. We met in a hotel and I can't tell you which one, but it was a nice, relaxing dinner. The English was a bit stilted, but Soichiro wanted to have a dinner with Dr. Deming and to express his appreciation. 0:06:31.3 Andrew Stotz: And he was a titan of industry at the time and in 1985 was really making a beachhead and a real expansion into the US market. Why did he want to meet with Dr. Deming? What was the connection there? Maybe for those that don't know. 0:06:55.2 Bill Scherkenbach: He was in town and Deming was nearby in town and just wanted to express his appreciation. I guess, Tatsuro, his brother wasn't there, and Tatsuro headed up NUMI, the partnership between GM and Toyota. But Shoichiro was there and just wanted to express appreciation. 0:07:35.1 Andrew Stotz: Great. Okay. So shall we continue on? 0:07:40.0 Bill Scherkenbach: Yeah. We have a Where is Quality Made? Famous talking from Dr. Deming, and hopefully the audio translates well. 0:07:55.3 Andrew Stotz: Yes, we'll see. Let's go. 0:07:59.5 Speaker 3: Where is quality made, Andrew, in the top management? The quality of the output of a company cannot be better unless quality is directed at the top. The people in the plant and in the service organization can only produce and test the design a product and service prescribed and designed by the management. Job security and job are dependent on management's foresight to design a product and service to entice customers and build a market. 0:08:31.6 Andrew Stotz: So where did that come from? And tell us more about that. 0:08:36.2 Bill Scherkenbach: Well, I'm not exactly sure which particular seminar or meeting that was, but over the years I have, have, we've made a number of audio recordings and videos of Dr. Deming in his meetings. And so we're looking to get them to the Deming Institute so they can process them and distribute. 0:09:11.8 Andrew Stotz: And why is this so important? He's talking about quality is made at the top where we can see many people think that quality is made by the worker. Do your best. Quality is your responsibility. Tell us more about why you wanted to talk about this. 0:09:32.9 Bill Scherkenbach: Well, it's a common, it's a common, very common mistake. He learned back in 1950, and I think I mentioned it in our first talk, that he gave a number of courses at Stanford during the war and people learned SPC. But when the war was over, over here, because management didn't buy in, nothing really happened. And he learned in his visit in 1950 when he was able, as we said, Mr. Koyanagi was able to get a meeting, a number of seminars done with top management in Japan after the war. And he thought that that, he saw that that actually did make a difference, that management was absolutely key. And in every one of his seminars, he would make, he would make this point, that quality is made at the top. 0:10:54.0 Andrew Stotz: And what was interesting is that, of course, the Japanese senior management, were very receptive. It's many times the case that Deming may have interacted with some senior management at the top of a company, but they weren't receptive or willing to implement what he's talking about. 0:11:12.6 Bill Scherkenbach: Yeah. I think I mentioned last time that you need maybe a significant physical or logical or emotional event. And Ford lost a few billion dollars and was then looking, is there a better way? Japan lost a war, and the tradition over there is to perhaps listen to the conqueror. But MacArthur was very astute, my understanding, that you're not going to go in and replace the emperor and really mix the place up from what their culture is, which is very, very, very astute, in my opinion. 0:12:11.4 Andrew Stotz: Okay. So let's continue. And we see a document now up on the screen and a diagram. And maybe you can explain this one. 0:12:24.8 Bill Scherkenbach: Yeah. This is one of the foils, as he called them, that he wrote on his lantern, which is the overhead projector for all the young people. And making another very, very important point. And that is, he's quoting John Tukey, "the more you know what's wrong with a figure, the more useful it becomes." And he also, at various times, would, would, would talk about George Gallup. And Gallup was his friend. And George Gallup would say that unless you've gone through the slogging of collecting data, you shouldn't be too quickly using data or analyzing data. Because if you go to collect it, you know that some people just aren't there. And this is primarily survey stuff that Gallup was talking about. But Tukey was talking about anything. And Deming, along the way, with his learnings from Shewhart, what I've developed is based on Deming's questions come from theory, created a theory, question, data, action cycle, similar to a PDSA. And so that you need to know what the question was before you can use the data. And Dr. Deming's example was you can't use manganese dioxide for just anything. If it's really, really critical work, then you need to know what's in it that could contaminate it or interact with the other chemicals that you're trying to mix it with. Hugely important in chemistry, hugely important anywhere. And he talked, yes, we do have some audio from Dr. Deming talking about another analogy, on I can't even wash the table unless you tell me what you're going to use it for. 0:15:24.0 Andrew Stotz: I remember watching a video of this with him, with Robert Reich, I think it was, being interviewed. And it was such an impactful thing because I always thought you just tell people what to do and they go do it. And so let's listen to the audio. I'm going to play it now. One second. 0:15:42.6 Speaker 3: I can teach you how to wash a table, teach you how to rub, scrub, use brushes, rags. I'd be pretty good at it. But you know, I could not wash this table suppose you told me my job is to wash this table. I have no idea what you mean. There's no meaning to that. You must tell me what you're going to use the table for. I want to see a flow diagram, work moving. Here I am. My job is to wash this table. I do not understand what you mean. Wash this table. There's no meaning to that. I must know what you're going to use the table for, the next stage. What happened to the table, next stage, in the flow diagram? You want to put books on it? Well, it's clean enough for that now. To wash the table, I just go through it from just here, make a look at it. If I work a little, good enough. If I clean enough to eat off of it, well, it's good enough now. Or use it for an operating table? Oh, totally different now. Totally different. Now I scrub it with scalding water, top, bottom, legs, several times. I scrub the floor underneath for some radius. If I don't know the next stage, I cannot wash the table. 0:17:28.8 Andrew Stotz: Tell us your thoughts on that. 0:17:31.5 Bill Scherkenbach: Yep. Yep. Well, again, my theory, question, data, action cycle, if you're asking a question, you, you, if you can, and there are some confidential considerations, but if you can, you need to tell the people who are trying to answer the question what you're going to do with it. And so if you want the table washed, tell them you're going to just eat off of it or assemble microchips on it. If you, so that's the responsibility of the manager or anyone who is asking the question. So if you want to improve your questions, you got to go back up and think of, well, what's my underlying theory for the question? If this, then that, that prompts a question and the circle continues. And if you, the only reason to collect data is to take action. Both Eastern and Western philosophers absolutely have said that for centuries. 0:18:55.2 Andrew Stotz: Yeah. What's interesting, I didn't hear him say it in any other cases when he was talking about the next stage. I did hear him say before, like, what's it going to be used for? But you could hear when he's talking about the next stage, it's saying to me, that's saying the responsibility of management is looking at the overall system and communicating that and managing that, not trying to, you know, just give some blind instruction to one group, one team, one person without thinking about how it all interacts. 0:19:29.9 Bill Scherkenbach: Absolutely. Absolutely. But in the local aspect of, well, some question answers are not so local, but it's what the question asker's responsibility to let the people know what they're going to use the data for. 0:19:51.9 Andrew Stotz: Yep. Great lesson. All right. So now I've got a interesting picture up on the screen here. We have Dr. Deming and there's John Turkey, Tukey how do you say his last name? 0:20:05.6 Bill Scherkenbach: John Tukey, T-U-K-E-Y, yep. George Box and Sir David Cox. Anyone in the statistics arena knows them. We also had Stu Hunter and I believe John Hunter was there. They're not in the picture. I took the picture. But we were at Meadowbrook, which is, which is, on the old Dodge estate where Oakland University is near Detroit. And had a, we called the meeting to discuss the importance and the various perspectives of enumerative and analytic. Now, each of these men, Box, Tukey, and Cox, and all of them, all of us in the university, quite honestly, were brought up with enumerative methods. And so your standard distributional stuff and T-tests and whatever. And Deming and Tukey realized the importance of being able to not just take action on the sample, but the cause system, the system that caused the sample, or the process term, in process terms. So yeah, John Tukey was strangely enough, well, not strangely enough, but came up with a graphical method to look at data called the box and whiskers plot, with George Box standing next to him, but it's not that George didn't shave. But Tukey, very, very well known for graphical methods. 0:22:24.2 Bill Scherkenbach: George, well known for experimental methods. One of the Box, Hunter and Hunter book on statistical design of experiments is legendary. And Sir David Cox, logistic regression, which is hugely, strangely, well, not strangely enough, but huge nowadays, very important in AI, in how you would be looking to teach or have your model learn what it is that you would like them to learn to look for. So each of these gentlemen, very, very much a pinnacle of the statistical career. We were very, in a large company like Ford, we were very lucky to be able to make big meetings like this, or meetings with very influential people happen. 0:23:38.9 Andrew Stotz: Yeah. That's got to be amazing because I think when most of us listen to Dr. Deming and all that, we get a lot of what he says. But I would say that the statistical aspect and his depth of statistical knowledge is what many people, you know, it's hard for many Deming followers to deeply connect with that. And I think even myself, having, you know, read everything, listened to him, learned as much as I can, the best that I probably come up with is the idea that once I started understanding variation, one of the things I started realizing is that it's everywhere and it's in everything. And I didn't understand... 0:24:27.3 Bill Scherkenbach: Well, I still have the cartoon of a popcorn maker that was very surprised when he said, "They all popped at once." And his popcorn stand has blown up. So yeah, variation is everywhere, a lot or a little. And the thing is that you need to be able to take appropriate action. Sometime, I can remember, I can remember Bob Stemple asking me, "What did I think of the Shainin methods, Dorian Shainin, and technical approach?" And I wrote back to him and I said, "It's no better or worse than any of the other methods we don't use here at GM." The point is, all of these methods are better than Bop-A-Mole. And one of the things, well, one of the things that concerns me is that in these tool areas, and Deming's counsel to me long ago was he remembers the fights that the technical people, the statisticians in the quality profession, would have over which one is a tenth of a percent better or more effective doing this and that. And they would publicly argue, and Deming said, "Stop. It confuses management because they don't have a clue and they're staying away from all forms of quality." So, you, and I don't know the solution in this day and age where everyone is connected. But all of these methods have their strengths and weaknesses, but you have to have the savvy to figure out which one to use to help you improve. All of, each of these four were great teachers, and I have a comment from Dr. Deming on that. 0:27:11.7 Andrew Stotz: And just in wrapping this up, it's like, I think one of the things that you realize when you see this one and what you're talking about, what I realize is what a powerhouse Dr. Deming was in the area of statistics. And in some ways, it's kind of like seeing a rock star that you love to listen to and that rock star is great. And then one day on a Sunday, you go to the church and you see he's a reverend and a very solemn man who is a very, very devout devotee of Christianity and something. In some ways, that's the way I feel when I look at this, like, wow, just the roots of the depth of that is so fascinating. 0:28:03.2 Bill Scherkenbach: As you mentioned that, I'm thinking back, we were in Iowa and one of the professors there, and I forget his name, but you're right. Deming was held in awe and he was riding in the backseat. I'm driving and this professor is beside me and Dr. Deming said something and I said, how do you know? And the guy thought the world was going to come to an end that I dared ask the master, how did he know? Well, it, it, it ended up fine. 0:28:52.9 Andrew Stotz: That was the question he was trying to teach you to ask. 0:28:55.3 Bill Scherkenbach: Absolutely. You don't accept it at face value. 0:29:02.2 Andrew Stotz: So we got this other slide now. It says, what do you mean by a good teacher? Maybe you want to set this up and then I'll play the audio. 0:29:10.7 Bill Scherkenbach: Yeah. This was one of his favorite stories when he studied under Ronald Fisher, who is the big godfather of statistics, well, relatively modern stuff. So, Fisher was there at University College, as Deming will describe, and Deming wanted to know, and this is where a number of you will have recognized, he wanted to know what great minds were thinking about. 0:29:56.7 Andrew Stotz: All right. I'm going to play the clip right now. 0:30:00.2 Speaker 3: What do you mean by a good teacher? I taught with a man, head of a department. The whole 150 students spellbound him, teaching him what is wrong. And they loved it. What do you mean by a good teacher? Holding students spellbound around him. What do you mean teaching them something? I've had a number of great teachers. One was Professor Ronald Picker, University of London, University College I should say, part of the University of London. In London, 1936, no teaching could be worse. A lovable man, if you tried to work with him, could not read his writing, could stand in the way of it, room was dark and cold, he couldn't help the cold, maybe he could have put some light in the room, make mistakes, Professor Paul Ryder in the front row always helped him out. He'd come in with a piece of paper in his hand the ink not yet dry, talk about it. Wonder why the room was full of people from all over the world. I was one of them. Made a long trip, at my own expense, to learn, and we learned. We learned what that great mind was thinking about, what to him were great or important problems today. 0:31:45.9 Speaker 3: And we saw the methods that he used for solutions. We saw what this great mind was thinking about. His influence will be known the world over for a long, long time. He would rated zero by most people that rate teachers. Another teacher that I had was Ernest Crown at Yale, very poor teacher. We'd get together afterwards, some of us, and try to figure out what he was teaching us. He was not even charismatic the way Ronald Fisher was, but we learned. We learned what that great mind was thinking about, what he thought was the problem. We learned about perturbation. His work on lunar theory will be a classic for generations. We learned. Worst teacher there could be, but we learned. 0:32:49.0 Andrew Stotz: Wow. Tell us more about that. 0:32:53.6 Bill Scherkenbach: Well, he also had a similar story because, from great teachers at NYU, and that's where I first met him and learned from him. He was my teacher, but NYU had a, they had nominations for great teachers. And Deming was able to convince, and I forget who was the, Ernest Kurnow was the dean, and he convinced the dean to wait 10 years before you survey any of the students. And the question was, did any teacher you have really make a difference in your life? And he was able to get that done or get that process agreed to, and it was for the better because in, and I don't want to... I mean, every generation has said this new generation is going to hell in a handbasket, I mean, that for forever. That's nothing new. But what's popular, it's great to be entertained, and as he said, teaching what is wrong. And so did someone make a difference in your life? And not surprisingly, Deming was one of the people selected as a great teacher from NYU Graduate Business School. 0:35:15.4 Andrew Stotz: So that's your review after 50 years after the course, huh? 0:35:21.6 Bill Scherkenbach: Yeah. 0:35:24.5 Andrew Stotz: Yeah. And so the point is that, let's separate popularity from original thinking. And also he highlighted the idea that some teachers may not come across very organized, very polished. They may need assistance to help them clarify what they're trying to get across. But just because they're kind of a mess in that way, doesn't mean they're not thinking very deeply. In fact, it may be a sign that they're thinking very deeply about it. 0:36:01.9 Bill Scherkenbach: Yeah. Now, again, remember, and I know it's a broad brush, but Deming was eminently logical. Crosby would have loved it. Wine and cheese parties showed Juran more physical. And so I think Deming's preferences there, the key to his statement is teaching what was wrong. Some people get excited in class for a variety of reasons, but the key is what are you teaching? The method depends on the ability of the teacher to connect to the students and actually teach. So it gets you back to physical, logical, and emotional. But for Deming, Fisher struck a chord with him. 0:37:09.9 Andrew Stotz: Yeah. And I think for the listener, the viewer, think about some teacher that really made an impact on you. And it could be that there was a teacher that was able to connect with you emotionally. 0:37:25.2 Bill Scherkenbach: Absolutely. 0:37:26.7 Andrew Stotz: So there's different ways. But I think of Dr. Deming wasn't a teacher of mine in university, but at the age of 24 to learn from him was definitely a teacher that left me with the most to think about. And I would say there was one other teacher, a guy named Greg Florence that was at Long Beach City College who taught me argumentation and debate. And he also really encouraged me to join the debate team, which I really couldn't because I didn't have time because I didn't have money and I had to work. But he really saw something in me, and now I love to teach debate and helping young people construct arguments. And so for all of us, I think this idea of what do you mean by a good teacher is a great discussion. So, love it. Love it. Well, we got another picture now. Speaking of teaching, the City University of New York is in the backdrop. Maybe you can set this one up. 0:38:27.0 Bill Scherkenbach: Yeah. This was a one-day, maybe one and a half with some pre-work, but essentially a one-day meeting in New York that was able to gather some of the top educators in the US, the head of the schools in California. There were some folks from Chicago. We had, as I mentioned, Albert Shanker, who was head of the American Federation of Teachers, was sitting right beside me. Other teacher organizations and education organizations. And we got together for a very meaningful thing. We got together to try and determine what is the aim of education in America. And it turned out that everyone was looking for their mic time, and we couldn't even agree on an aim for education in America. And if you can't agree on an aim, your system is everyone doing their best, and it's all, there's not too much progress, except locally or suboptimally. 0:40:02.3 Andrew Stotz: Yeah. That's a good illustration of the concept of best efforts. Dr. Deming often talked about best efforts. And here you're saying, without an aim, everybody's going to just go in their own direction. And it reminds me of a story I tell people in relation to management, which was that I had a really great boss many years ago in the field of finance research in the stock market. He was very brilliant, and he hired really good analysts. I was surrounded by the best. But he never once really brought us together to say, this is our aim. And so what ended up happening was that each person did their best, which was very good as an individual, but as a group, we never were able to really make an impact. And I explain that to my students nowadays, that I believe it's because he didn't set an aim and bring us together for that. 0:41:09.1 Bill Scherkenbach: Now, one of the, I mean, one of the things Deming very predictably talked about, as I recall, is the grades and gold stars, which were part of his forces of destruction. And the education is the way we approach education here was part of that, even before people get to get beat further down by corporate and other organizational stuff. And the grading and gold stars, I don't know how much that was, that criticism was appreciated. But everyone had a chance to talk. And in my opinion, not too many people listened. 0:42:09.3 Andrew Stotz: Now, the next one is titled Mongolian Rat. What the heck, Bill? 0:42:17.1 Bill Scherkenbach: Well, this is part of teaching what good teaching would be. You've got to listen. It's one of my favorite stories of his. 0:42:30.3 Andrew Stotz: Well, let's roll the tape. 0:42:33.3 Speaker 3: I met a professor in New York. He was a surgeon, professor of surgery. He did gave out some marble, had plenty. One student in the class, he told them describe the surgical procedure on the jaw in which a certain breed of Mongolian wrap was very helpful. The rat, the flesh right down the bone cleaner than a surgeon could do it. Very important wrap. Describe it in details to the listeners and students. On examination, one, the question was to describe the surgical procedure by use of the Mongolian rat. Plenty of students gave him back the same marbles that he doled out. He described it in exactly the same words that he described it. He flunked them all, all the time. One of them said, my dear professor, I have searched the literature. I've inquired around in hospitals and other teachers, I can find no trace of any such procedure. I think that you were loading us. He laughed. He had to take a new examination. He gave them back the same marbles he doled out to them. He wanted to think. 0:43:55.0 Andrew Stotz: Marbles. I haven't heard that expression. Tell us a little bit more about what you want us to take from this. 0:44:02.6 Bill Scherkenbach: Well, I think it's pretty self-explanatory. His comment on education that teachers are handing out marbles and pieces of information, not necessarily knowledge, and the testing, you're expected to give them back what the teacher said instead of how can you process it and put it in the context of other things, as well as, I mean, maybe not in the early grades, but in the later ones, you need to be able to look at various perspectives to see who has this opinion and that opinion. And unfortunately, today, that discourse is nicely shut down. 0:45:07.3 Andrew Stotz: At first, when I heard him saying marbles, I thought he was kind of using marbles as a way of kind of saying pulling their legs, but now I understand that he was trying to say that he's giving something and then the students give it back. 0:45:24.1 Bill Scherkenbach: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. 0:45:26.0 Andrew Stotz: Okay. Mongolian rats. 0:45:31.0 Bill Scherkenbach: Yep. Yep. So we go from learning to having fun, and here's a picture of our statistical methods office at Ford. 0:45:48.1 Andrew Stotz: And you're sitting in a sleigh? Is that what's happening there? 0:45:50.0 Bill Scherkenbach: We're sitting in a sleigh, yes, at Greenfield Village, which is where the Henry Ford Museum is, and it happened to snow, so we've got the, we've got the horse-drawn sleigh, and I was listening to your first interview of me, and I want to deeply apologize. It's Harry Artinian, and so from the left, you've got Ed Baker and Bill Craft and Pete Jessup, Harry Artinian, Narendra Sheth, Dr. Deming, Debbie Rawlings, Ann Evans, my secretary, uh ooooh, and the gentleman who worked with Jim Bakken, and then me. So, we were working and decided to have a good lunch. 0:46:58.5 Andrew Stotz: And it's a horse-drawn sleigh. And I wasn't sure if you were pulling our leg here because you said, I'm second from the far right. First from the far right, to me, looks like the horse. 0:47:09.0 Bill Scherkenbach: Yes. That's the horse's ass. Yep. 0:47:14.6 Andrew Stotz: That's a big one. 0:47:16.1 Bill Scherkenbach: It is what it is. 0:47:18.7 Andrew Stotz: Yep. Okay. Next one. Who's Sylvester? 0:47:22.3 Bill Scherkenbach: Sylvester is my son's cat. And this is one of the times Dr. Deming was in my home. And he sat down in my office at my home. And Sylvester saw a good lap and he jumped up on it and took it. And as I said, I couldn't tell who was purring louder. They both were content. 0:47:52.7 Andrew Stotz: Yeah. That looks beautiful. 0:47:55.4 Bill Scherkenbach: Yeah. It was very, very peaceful. Another fun thing, after a long day of work at Ford, we would go to Luigi's restaurant in Dearborn. I think there was a Dearborn Marriott, a big hotel. I don't know if it's there now. But that's Larry Moore, director of quality, next to Dr. Deming and me. I had a mustache back then. 0:48:30.4 Andrew Stotz: Yes. And we all loved soft serve ice cream. 0:48:34.0 Bill Scherkenbach: Soft serve ice cream. Yep. 0:48:38.0 Andrew Stotz: Yep. All right. Star-Spangled Banner. 0:48:40.9 Bill Scherkenbach: Yep. Now we're at one of my earlier houses in Northville. And Dr. Deming had written a new tune for the Star-Spangled Banner because it was an old English drinking song, Anna, the what? The Anacrocronistic Society. And he thought it was just too bawdy. I mean, you're an unsingable, except if you're drinking. So he rewrote the music for the Star-Spangled Banner. I have a copy of it here. But he, my son Matthew, my oldest son Matthew, we had just gotten one of those first Macs from Apple, Macintosh. And it had a very elementary music thing. So he put the notes that Deming had handwritten. And we put it in there and it played the tune. And so Deming was playing on our piano the Star-Spangled Banner. 0:50:04.7 Andrew Stotz: So he had a musical talent. 0:50:10.8 Bill Scherkenbach: Oh, yeah. He was a very serious study of, a student of music. Very much so. He wrote a complete Mass. He was a high church Episcopalian. And he wrote a complete Mass of the Holy Spirit with all parts. So, very much a student of music. 0:50:41.8 Andrew Stotz: And how did his religious beliefs, like Episcopalian, as you mentioned, how did that come across? Was he a person who talked about that? Was he a person that didn't talk about that? Like, how did that come across? 0:50:59.2 Bill Scherkenbach: It was more of a private thing. But then again, on every one of his books, he would begin a chapter with some quotation from different books. And many of them were from the Bible. I can remember one time in London, I'm Catholic, and so we were celebrating the St. Peter and Paul that Sunday. But he was in London and he was at St. Paul's and they weren't giving Peter any traction. But he looked up and he said, yep, you're right. It was both of those saint days. 0:51:58.3 Andrew Stotz: All right. Next one, Drive Out Fear. 0:52:01.8 Bill Scherkenbach: Oh, yeah. This was Professor Arnold. And we were having lunch in the Ford dining room, one of the Ford dining rooms. And Dr. Deming wasn't too happy of what Professor Arnold was talking about. And Professor Arnold didn't look too happy either. So, I framed the picture and put Drive Out Fear underneath it and hung it in my office. And Deming came and looked at it and smiled. 0:52:46.5 Andrew Stotz: And what was the background on Professor Arnold? And in this case, did they have opposing views or was it a particular thing or what was it that was... 0:52:58.4 Bill Scherkenbach: I don't remember the particular conversation, but Professor Arnold was head of the statistics department at Oakland University. And Ford had an agreement with Oakland University that we established a master's degree in statistics, according to Dr. Deming's viewpoint on enumerative and analytic. And no, he was very, very capable gentleman. I mean, one of the things Dr. Deming mentioned to me is if the two of us agreed all the time, one of us is redundant. So there were always discussions. This is just a snapshot in time. 0:53:52.3 Andrew Stotz: I love that quote, that one of us is redundant. That's powerful, powerful. 0:53:59.4 Bill Scherkenbach: Absolutely. Yep. This is another having fun after learning in... There were a number of restaurants we went to. He particularly liked Elizabeth's, 0:54:16.1 Andrew Stotz: And how was their relationship? How did he treat your lovely wife? 0:54:22.5 Bill Scherkenbach: Oh, I mean, very lovingly. I mean, I don't know how to describe it, but one of the family. 0:54:36.2 Andrew Stotz: Yeah. He seemed from my observation, like a true gentleman. 0:54:42.5 Bill Scherkenbach: Absolutely. Absolutely. 0:54:46.0 Andrew Stotz: Well, here we come to the Lincoln that we started off with. This is a great picture too. 0:54:51.4 Bill Scherkenbach: Yeah. That's a picture I had. It wasn't a Hasselblad, but it was a two and a quarter frame. And I had black and white film in it, but this is one of a number of pictures I took of him at the Cosmos Club. I think it was a very good picture. And in any event, it was blending learning and having fun. 0:55:19.7 Andrew Stotz: Yeah. And the Cosmos Club was near his house? 0:55:22.5 Bill Scherkenbach: Yeah. Well, it was depending on who drove. I mean, it was just, it was down a few blocks and then a number of blocks on Massachusetts Avenue. I enjoyed the drive from his house because you'd pass the Naval Observatory, which for years was the home of the chief of naval operations here. But a few decades, a few, I don't know how long ago, the vice president pulled rank on him. And so the Naval Observatory, beautiful, beautiful old house. So, the vice president lives there now. And a lot of people think Massachusetts Avenue in that area is Embassy Row. So you're passing a number of embassies on the way. And the Cosmos Club, anyone can look up. I mean, it's by invitation, members only, and Nobel laureates and Pulitzer Prize winners and a very distinguished membership, let's say. 0:56:39.3 Andrew Stotz: Here was another one, Making a Difference with Don Peterson. 0:56:43.0 Bill Scherkenbach: Yep. Yep. We're, we're, this is one of the meetings we had with Don. And it wasn't this meeting, but we were in one of them. Okay. You have it on the right there. That we periodically would have, Dr. Deming and I would have breakfast with Jim Bakken in what was known as the Penthouse at Ford. There are 12 floors, and then there was the 13th and 14th, which were private quarters, essentially. And so we were having breakfast one morning and finishing breakfast, and I'm walking a little bit ahead, and I run ahead and press the elevator button to go down one floor, and the door opens, and there's Henry Ford II in cowboy belt buckle and boots, no hat. He's going to a board meeting, he says, and Jim shied away, said, "Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Ford." He said, "Shut up, Jim, get in here." And so we got in the elevator, and it was the small elevator. And so we're back to back, belly to belly, and Jim introduces Dr. Deming to Mr. Ford, and Ford said, "I've heard of you, Dr. Deming. God, we really need your help." And Deming had the presence of saying, "I heard of you too, Mr. Ford." It was the longest one-floor elevator ride I've ever had in my life. 0:58:49.1 Andrew Stotz: That's fascinating. All right. Next one, talking with workers. 0:58:54.1 Bill Scherkenbach: Yep. Yep. He made it a point. And this is a fine line, because you want to be able to have workers say, how, how, are they able to take pride in their work? And are there any problems and all of that? But you don't want to be in a position of then going to management and telling them because of fear in the organization. So, Dr. Deming was very good at listening and getting people to talk about their jobs and their ability to take joy and, well, pride in their work. So we had many, many meetings, different places. And this next one is with the Ford Batavia plant, I think. 1:00:01.2 Andrew Stotz: Yep. 1:00:02.4 Bill Scherkenbach: Yeah. We're riding on the tractors and having a good time. 1:00:11.3 Andrew Stotz: Who's driving? 1:00:14.2 Bill Scherkenbach: The plant manager, Ron Kaseya, was driving. 1:00:16.9 Andrew Stotz: Okay. 1:00:17.9 Bill Scherkenbach: And so I absolutely do not recall what we were laughing at, but we were having a good time. And the Batavia transaxle plant, a number of people will recognize as where Ford, it really made the point that doing better than spec is really what the job is. And it's a very powerful video that's been out there and people would recognize it as well, because we were producing the exact same transaxle in Mazda. And Mazda was influenced a lot of by Genichi Taguchi and looked to reduce variation around the nominal and not just be happy that we made spec. And John Betty, who was head up of powertrain operations and then went to the Department of Defense as assistant secretary of defense for procurement, I think, because of the quality expertise. Betty is in the front of the video saying he's absolutely convinced that this is a superior way to look at manufacturing, to look at the management of any process. You want to get your customers to brag, not just not complain. 1:02:10.3 Andrew Stotz: Yeah. Courage. 1:02:11.8 Bill Scherkenbach: And all of this takes courage. And especially in his seminars in London say, the Brits had the advantage. You guys can take courage every day. We can't get that in the US anymore. Or it's very rare to be able to buy it here. 1:02:36.3 Andrew Stotz: For the listeners, there's a logo of the John Courage beer, premium beer. 1:02:45.7 Bill Scherkenbach: Yes. Yes. It's an amber pills. 1:02:49.8 Andrew Stotz: Okay. 1:02:52.4 Bill Scherkenbach: And last but not least, well, not last, but we're looking for, and I ran across this quote from Yogi Berra, and it's very applicable right now. And Yogi Berra said, I never said... Well, what did he say? 1:03:19.2 Andrew Stotz: Never said most of the things I said. 1:03:21.4 Bill Scherkenbach: Most of the things I could have said. I never said most of the things I said. Yeah. And every day online, I see people saying Dr. Deming said this, and he said that. And if he did, I've never heard him say it. And not that I've heard him say everything. But if he did say something like, if it's not measurable, you can't manage it. He would have followed it with, that's not right. The unknown and unknowable. And so you've got a lot of people misunderstanding what Dr. Deming said. And you've got to go with, I never said most of the things that I said. 1:04:24.0 Andrew Stotz: Well, that's the great thing about this discussion is that we're getting it from the horse's mouth, someone that was there listening and being a part of it. 1:04:32.1 Bill Scherkenbach: Well, I'm glad you saw the other end of the horse. 1:04:37.5 Andrew Stotz: Yeah. So, I'm going to close out this by just sharing a little personal connection. And that is, I'm showing a picture of me in my 1963 suicide door Lincoln Continental, which I owned for 10 years in beautiful Bangkok, Thailand. And much like being kind of wild taking a ride to the Cosmos Club with Dr. Deming driving his Lincoln Continental, you could imagine how odd it looked seeing this American guy driving this 1963 Lincoln Continental on the streets of Bangkok. But I just thought I would share that just to have some fun. So, yeah. 1:05:14.3 Bill Scherkenbach: That's beautiful. Absolutely. Yeah. I didn't think the streets were that wide. 1:05:22.1 Andrew Stotz: It gets stuck in traffic, that's for sure. But wow, there's so many things that we covered. I mean, I just really, really enjoyed that trip down memory lane. Is there anything you want to share to wrap it up? 1:05:36.1 Bill Scherkenbach: No. As I said, our last conversation, we've just scratched the surface. There's so much, so much more to talk about and preserve, I think. 1:05:48.9 Andrew Stotz: Yeah. Well, I really enjoyed it. 1:05:52.1 Bill Scherkenbach: I have done my best. 1:05:53.6 Andrew Stotz: Yes, you have. You have. I've enjoyed it, and I'm sure the listeners and the viewers will enjoy it too. So, on behalf of everyone at the Deming Institute, I just want to thank you for taking the time to pull that together and to walk us through it. And for listeners out there, remember to go to Deming.org to continue your journey. And of course, go to LinkedIn to find Bill and reach out and share your interpretations of what we went through. And maybe you have a story that you'd like to share also. So, this is your host, Andrew Stotz, and I'm going to leave you with one of my favorite quotes from Dr. Deming. And that is, “people are entitled to joy in work."
Can AI truly improve education, or is it just another tech experiment? The American Federation of Teachers is launching an AI training academy for educators, backed by companies like OpenAI and Microsoft, aiming to help teachers use AI responsibly in classrooms. While some see this as a step toward ethical tech integration, critics warn it may serve corporate interests more than students or teachers.
The Dean's List with Host Dean Bowen –The World Economic Forum is joining forces with public schools in order to teach your children. If you were looking for a reason to pull your children from American public schools, the president of one of America's largest teachers' unions just gave it to you. The American Federation of Teachers has announced a curriculum partnership with the...
True Creeps: True Crime, Ghost Stories, Cryptids, Horrors in History & Spooky Stories
Join us while we crack into the Wallingford Shoebox Murders, a cold case from 1886. We'll discuss the bizarre scene of the victim's remains, the investigation, and theories as to who the victim and the killer may have been.Join our Reddit community: https://www.reddit.com/r/truecreepspodcast/s/JVToI0ykGEJoin our Facebook group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/449439969638764A special thank you to our jam thief, Mary Quiton!https://www.patreon.com/truecreepshttps://www.truecreeps.com/shopwww.truecreeps.comHave an episode idea or a question about a case? Submit them here: https://www.truecreeps.com/ideasandquestionsTwitter @truecreepsInstagram @truecreepspodFacebook.com/truecreepspodEmail us at truecreepspod@gmail.comMethods of Estimation of Time Since Death - StatPearls - NCBI BookshelfKnights of Labor - WikipediaHow Utah's early labor movement undermined itself with racism - Axios Salt Lake CityMuch has changed since the first May Day, but building worker power and combating racism and xenophobia remain just as important | Economic Policy InstituteOdor Intensity - Scentroid | WikiOdour Reference GuideHow Utah's early labor movement undermined itself with racism - Axios Salt Lake CityThe Shoe Box Murder Mystery - Connecticut History | a CTHumanities ProjectThe Shoe Box Murder Mystery - Connecticut History | a CTHumanities ProjectUnsolved: The Wallingford Shoebox Murder - The official blog of Newspapers.comHistory | Town of WallingfordWallingford's 'Shoebox Murder' Featured on Ghost-Hunting TV Show; Powder Puff Petition Aims to Move Game's Start Time | Wallingford, CT PatchJournal of Fire Sciences: Sage JournalsThe Mystery of the Wallingford Shoebox Murderpbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/bombing-haymarket-square/American Federation of Labor - Wikipedia
Rushab Sanghvi, American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) General Counsel, joined the America's Work Force Union Podcast to discuss the union's legal battles against the Trump administration's anti-union policies. Merrilee Logue, Executive Director of the National Labor Office at Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and Duncan Lawson, Director of Market Intelligence for Government Programs at BCBSA, joined the America's Work Force Union Podcast to discuss Medicare and Medicare Advantage.
The chatbot boosters are looking for educators to play brand ambassador for more intrusion of so-called "AI" into the classroom. From the American Federation of Teachers' new partnership with OpenAI and Microsoft for a "national academy for AI instruction" to yet more articles extolling the alleged time-saving and future-proofing virtues of LLM-powered ed tech, the hype can feel relentless. Charles Logan joins Alex and Emily for a critical look at the latest propaganda for "AI" in the classroom.Charles Logan is a former English teacher and current PhD candidate in Learning Sciences at Northwestern University.References:Welcome to Campus. Here's Your ChatGPT.AI isn't replacing student writing – but it is reshaping itAFT to Launch National Academy for AI Instruction with Microsoft, OpenAI, Anthropic and United Federation of Teachers Also referenced:Tressie McMillan Cottom on "predatory inclusion"Daniel Greene's "The Access Doctrine"The Group Chats that Changed AmericaFresh AI Hell:Missouri AG investigating why chatbots don't like TrumpGig workers calling ICE on other undocumented gig workersTech billionaire Trump adviser Marc Andreessen says universities will ‘pay the price' for DEIUSF makes a PTSD detector...trained on childrenPeople falling in love with Replika chatbotsElon Musk thirsting over xAI anime constructCheck out future streams at on Twitch, Meanwhile, send us any AI Hell you see.Our book, 'The AI Con,' comes out in May! Pre-order now.Subscribe to our newsletter via Buttondown. Follow us!Emily Bluesky: emilymbender.bsky.social Mastodon: dair-community.social/@EmilyMBender Alex Bluesky: alexhanna.bsky.social Mastodon: dair-community.social/@alex Twitter: @alexhanna Music by Toby Menon.Artwork by Naomi Pleasure-Park. Production by Christie Taylor.
Epstein in DC/Epstein Back Home. Pardon for Maxwell? Trump Accuses Obama of Treason. Powell Checks Trump. Melania's Opera House? Trump Bullies the NFL. With John Bennett, White House Correspondent, CQ Roll Call, Sarah Wire, Senior National Political Correspondent for USA Today and Jeff Dufour, Editor-in-chief at National Journal. Today's Bill Press Pod is supported by American Federation of Government Employees. More information at AFGE.org. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Stand Up is a daily podcast. I book,host,edit, post and promote new episodes with brilliant guests every day. This show is Ad free and fully supported by listeners like you! Please subscribe now for as little as 5$ and gain access to a community of over 700 awesome, curious, kind, funny, brilliant, generous souls Andrew Spar is president of the Florida Education Association, the state's largest association of professional employees. Spar was born and raised in the suburbs of New York City, attending public schools. A violinist since age 6, he earned his bachelor's degree in music education from Ohio State University, graduating in 1994. That same year, he went to Daytona Beach to teach at Turie T. Small Elementary School, where more than 90 percent of the students lived in poverty. The music teacher soon found his voice as an advocate and has worked ever since on behalf of public school students, schools, teachers and education staff professionals. “I could not read when I was in first grade,” Spar recalls. “I struggled in school. But the educators in my life were empowered to make my success a priority, and that's just what they did. I want the same world for my family and for all of Florida's children.” At Turie T. Small, Spar served as school-improvement chair for two years and as a union steward for seven years. He would go on to become president of his local union in May 2003 and led Volusia United Educators until he was elected FEA vice president in 2018. In September 2020, he was named FEA president after the previous president, Fedrick C. Ingram, was elected secretary-treasurer of the American Federation of Teachers. During his 15 years leading the Volusia union, Spar negotiated 14 contracts, handled numerous grievances and arbitrations, and spent many long hours advocating for members and working families. In 2017, he led the merger of the Volusia Teachers Organization and the Volusia Educational Support Association to create Volusia United Educators(link is external). The new union has nearly 3,800 members and represents more than 6,000 teachers, paraprofessionals and office specialists in Volusia County Schools. Throughout his career, Spar has served on committees and task forces for the AFT. At FEA, he spent eight years on the executive cabinet. He also has served on the executive board of the Florida AFL-CIO(link is external) and was secretary-treasurer of the organization from January 2016 until September 2020. Spar's wife, Vernell, is also a public school music teacher. The Committee to Protect Health Care, composed of over 36,000 doctors and advocates across the United States, drives lasting change in health care by using our tested and proven strategies across everything we do. Through our physician-led initiatives and targeted advocacy, we push for accessible, affordable, and equitable health care. Our programs reflect our commitment to advancing policies that put patients first and safeguard the health and freedom of every family. Nearly 25 years as an emergency medicine physician has provided Dr. Rob Davidson with a wealth of knowledge in practicing health care. Two years ago, however, he decided that he needed more. He began pursuing a Master of Public Health degree in the online Population and Health Sciences program at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. “I've always been right at that point of health care where you meet people at significant moments in their life,” said Davidson, a West Michigan-based physician. “The ER seems far removed from the goals of population health and public health, but you come to realize just how much people's wider world has an impact on what brought them to the ER at that point in time.” Davidson pondered earning his master's degree for a while, having seen colleagues who earned their MPH go on to impact local health outcomes. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, he knew that pursuing an MPH was the right next step. Join us Monday's and Thursday's at 8EST for our Bi Weekly Happy Hour Hangout's ! Pete on Blue Sky Pete on Threads Pete on Tik Tok Pete on YouTube Pete on Twitter Pete On Instagram Pete Personal FB page Stand Up with Pete FB page All things Jon Carroll Follow and Support Pete Coe Buy Ava's Art Hire DJ Monzyk to build your website or help you with Marketing Gift a Subscription https://www.patreon.com/PeteDominick/gift
Dr. Valerie Fouts-Fowler, Dr. Lauren Beene and Dr. Jennifer Snyder from Concerned UH Physicians joined the America's Work Force Union Podcast to discuss their efforts to unionize physicians at University Hospitals in Cleveland, the challenges faced during the organizing process, the retaliation they experienced and the importance of unions in healthcare. Anders Lindall, Tracy Dulceak and Nell McKeown from American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31 joined the America's Work Force Union Podcast to discuss recent union organizing successes in Chicago's cultural institutions and higher education.
Labor: When may the President terminate a federal employee union contract on grounds of "national security"? - Argued: Thu, 17 Jul 2025 11:28:57 EDT
The courtroom battles connected to Donald Trump over the past several days have felt like a whirlwind—sometimes more like a political drama than the careful workings of the American legal system. Let's get right into what's been happening with the most high-stakes court proceedings involving the former president.The most headline-grabbing of these is the ongoing fallout from Trump's executive actions since his return to power. On July 10, a federal court in New Hampshire issued a sharp rebuke to President Trump's recent executive order that aimed to restrict birthright citizenship. The case, Barbara v. Donald J. Trump, was brought forward immediately after the Supreme Court left the door slightly open to carrying out parts of the executive order. But civil rights groups, including the ACLU, succeeded in getting the court to block the order and certify nationwide protections for babies born on U.S. soil, regardless of their parents' immigration status. This is significant not only because it pushes back against the Trump administration's ambitious policy, but also because it underscores the ongoing tension between federal courts and the White House over the interpretation of constitutional rights for immigrants and their children.Just days earlier, on July 8, the Supreme Court stepped in to halt a lower court's injunction against another Trump policy—this time related to a federal workforce shake-up. The executive order in question, Executive Order No. 14210, would permit massive restructuring of federal agencies, and was challenged by the American Federation of Government Employees among others. The Supreme Court stay means that Trump's reorganization plan can proceed while the legal fight continues in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. This battle is critical for hundreds of thousands of federal workers who face uncertainty about their jobs and futures as the litigation unfolds.Meanwhile, on the criminal front, the aftershocks of Trump's sentencing back in January in New York are still reverberating. On January 10, Trump appeared in court for sentencing related to charges stemming from falsified business records—a case that had dominated headlines throughout late 2024. The sentencing, presided over by Judge Juan Merchan, marked the first time in U.S. history a former president was criminally sentenced. Filed documents and audio transcripts from the state courts show the defense aggressively appealing, filing multiple motions while prosecutors and Trump's lawyers continue to wrangle over what can be discussed and released to the public.And, circling back to national security issues, litigation is still underway regarding Trump's invocation of the Alien Enemies Act, which he used in March to fast-track the deportation of some Venezuelan nationals. The Supreme Court has stepped in to block the removal of these individuals as courts now sort out what kind of due process Trump's executive order must afford them. This case, and those like it, are setting crucial precedents for how much power a president really has over immigration policy.If you're following these complex legal sagas, it's obvious that Trump's courtroom battles are far from over. The coming weeks will be decisive, especially as appeals are heard and more rulings land. Thanks for tuning in. Be sure to come back next week for another update—this has been a Quiet Please production. For more, check out Quiet Please Dot A I.Some great Deals https://amzn.to/49SJ3QsFor more check out http://www.quietplease.ai
Oral Arguments for the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
American Federation Of Government Employees, AFL-CIO v. Trump
David Cann, Director of Organizing for the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), joined the America's Work Force Union Podcast to discuss the union's response to federal workforce challenges, organizing strategies and the importance of collective action in protecting workers' rights. Brad Asay, President of the American Federation of Teachers in Utah and Vice President of the Utah AFL-CIO, joined the America's Work Force Union Podcast and discussed the Protect Utah Workers coalition's successful petition drive, the upcoming ballot measure and efforts to safeguard public sector collective bargaining rights.
On this week's Education Gadfly Show, Brian Jodice, National Press Secretary for the American Federation for Children joins us for a lively debate on the federal school choice provision embedded in the newly enacted “One Big Beautiful Bill”—including its potential impact in blue states.Then, on the Research Minute, Adam reviews a new Education Next study showing that a low-cost college-planning course can boost success for high-achieving, low-income students.Recommended content: “Democrats' School Choice Dilemma” —Michael J. Petrilli, for The Wall Street Journal“Federal school choice skeptics are tilting at windmills” —Shaka Mitchell, for the Thomas B. Fordham Institute“College Counseling in the Classroom” —Joshua Hyman, Education Next“#974: The Risks of the Educational Choice for Children Act, with Jon Valant” —Education Gadfly Show, Thomas B. Fordham InstituteEducation Gadfly Show #974: The Risks of the Educational Choice for Children Act, with Jon ValantEducation Gadfly Show #963: All about the Educational Choice for Children Act, with Jim Blew Feedback Welcome: Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Stephanie Distler at sdistler@fordhaminstitute.org.
We just talked live with Randi Weingarten, the American Federation of Teachers president and longtime Democratic Party stalwart, about the threats facing public education, democracy, and the future of the American dream. She talked to us about:* Why education became a target for the right — including the two things teachers do that fascists fear* Why she resigned from the Democratic National Committee and why she believes the party needs to learn to grow its tent* How progressives can meet parents anxious about social progress and change where they are instead of turning them away* What she believes the gay rights movement did successfully that the trans rights movement has struggled to do in recent years* What education will look like in a future of addictive devices and rampant A.I.You won't want to miss any of this one. Just click on the video player above to watch the entire conversation.And look out for Randi Weingarten's new book, Why Fascists Fear Teachers: Public Education and the Future of Democracy, available this fall.We are opening this video to all. But we're also asking candidly that you support the work that goes into bringing you The Ink by becoming a paying subscriber.Your support is how we keep the lights on, pay our writers and editors a fair wage, and build the new media we all deserve. When you subscribe, you help us reach more people. Join us today, or if you are already a member, give a gift or group subscription. Get full access to The.Ink at the.ink/subscribe
Jessica Gould, education reporter for WNYC and Gothamist, shares her reporting on the deal struck between Big Tech and The American Federation of Teachers which offers artificial intelligence training and software to teachers in New York City public schools.
In this hour we find out that Ethan is a deer hunter plus Sue's News. Jean Evans, Missouri head of the American Federation for Children, political consultant for GO Consulting; former executive director of Missouri GOP; former state rep joins the show to talk about the future of the Department of Education.
Today Heidi Harris is filling in for Mark Reardon and is joined by Jim Talent, Former US Senator from Missouri joins the show to give his thoughts on foreign issues including Trump/NATO agreement to send weapons to Ukraine. Jean Evans, Missouri head of the American Federation for Children, political consultant for GO Consulting; former executive director of Missouri GOP; former state rep joins the show to talk about the future of the Department of Education. Duane Patterson with Hot Air dot com and host of Duane's World Podcast; producer of the Hugh Hewitt Show joins to talk about all things politics. Plus Sue's News
Jean Evans, Missouri head of the American Federation for Children, political consultant for GO Consulting; former executive director of Missouri GOP; former state rep joins the show to talk about the future of the Department of Education.
Dr. Laura welcomes Kirkland Shave, co-founder of the Mountain Trek health reset retreat, and Dr. Kelly Tremblay, neuroscientist and certified coach, to Where Work Meets Life™to explore the connection between holistic health, burnout prevention, and the mind-body connection. Kelly and Kirk discuss the prevalence of stress and burnout in today's society and our lack of meaningful connection to nature and our own bodies and minds. Dr. Laura investigates these issues from a neurological perspective and a practical wellness approach with both Kelly and Kirk, learning what can be done to reset our healing.Forest bathing, flow trekking and sensory health practices that involve engaging with sound, scent, and visual natural experiences are all part of the conversation. Connecting with our senses and the reality of nature while separating ourselves from screens and demands can dramatically reduce stress and enhance brain function. While Kelly shares neuroscience research linking stress to actual structural brain changes, Kirk offers transformative stories from Mountain Trek, where guests can unplug from digital overload. Dr. Laura highlights the importance of understanding the causes of our burnout and how we can take control to heal our body and mind.“You've probably heard about it's Shinrin-yoku, a Japanese-researched way of being moment to moment, mindful of the sensorial information that's coming through our sense organs into the brain. And you're doing that in nature, and you're in a state of flow… where you're not thinking about other things. You're paying attention to what do I see? Or what do I see in motion in front of me? Or what do I hear out of this ear versus this ear? Or what do I smell as I go by the bark of this tree? Or which direction is the sun landing on my skin? These moment-to-moment awarenesses have been proven to lower the stress hormone cortisol. The Japanese researched this, and the main reason why they did this research is because in the 80s, as the tech industry took off in Japan, people were working 12-hour days already that we're working now, and the work burnout was through the roof.” - Kirkland ShaveAbout Kirkland Shave:Kirkland Shave, founder and president of the world-renowned Mountain Trek program, now offers off-site interactive and eye-opening workshops — grounded in anthropological health science — to help professionals integrate lasting steps in reaching optimal wellness. With an inspiring, practical, and actionable message, Kirkland helps people see their own health through a fresh and practical lens.With half- and full-day interactive health workshops and keynote presentations — designed specifically for a corporate audience — held at your company's headquarters, Kirkland's life-changing interactive presentation can be tailored to meet a number of health issues: Fitness, Nutrition, De-Stressing, Sleep Hygiene, Physical and Digital Detoxification, Habit Formation, Mindfulness.His proven approach increases energy, productivity, and establishes long-lasting health habits. The program incorporates scientific anthropology blended with a distinctly mountain-centric approach to health. With 18 years' experience as president and founder of Mountain Trek's holistic health and vitality program, Kirkland brings more than 40 years of health-focused lifestyle expertise, with experience as a fitness instructor, lead hiking guide, wellness coach, Wilderness Park Manager, yoga instructor and meditation practitioner.Kirkland's off-site workshops for executives and employees have been hosted by leading organizations, such as Google, Young Presidents Organization of Western Canada, Fortis Gas, the CEO Network, European Entrepreneurs Organization, and more. Contact Kirkland Shave and Mountain Trek:Website: MountainTrek.com https://mountaintrek.com/Instagram: @mountaintrek https://www.instagram.com/mountaintrek/Facebook: @mountaintrek https://www.facebook.com/mountaintrekInstagram: @mountaintrek https://www.instagram.com/mountaintrekLinkedIn: Mountain-Trek https://www.linkedin.com/company/mountain-trek/YouTube: YouTube.com/MountainTrek https://www.youtube.com/mountaintrekKirkland Shave on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirkland-shave-66865b29/TripAdvisor: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g499116-d223075-Reviews-Mountain_Trek_Fitness_Retreat_Health_Spa-Ainsworth_Hot_Springs_Kootenay_Rockies_British.htmlAbout Dr. Kelly Tremblay, MSc PhD CEC-ACC:Dr. Trembly is committed to making aging better by innovating in the areas of health, tech, and education through leadership, research, and advocacy.She is a consultant, neuroscientist and clinical audiologist who has worked in healthcare, tech, and higher education for 25+ years. As a tenured professor, Dr. Tremblay's NIH-funded research shed light on how we can capitalize on the brain's plasticity to promote perceptual and behavior changes well into our later years. Her work in the areas of communication neuroscience, person-centred care, and digital health technology has been recognized with invitations to serve on many committees at the National Institutes of Health, the American Federation for Aging Research's National Scientific Advisory Council, Mitacs Canada, and the World Health Organization. She leads advocacy initiatives and serves on many boards, including the Hearing Loss Association of America, where she was a Board Trustee and Co-Founder and Chair of the Task Force for Accessible, Inclusive Employment.Because work and health are social determinants of quality of life and healthy aging, Dr. Tremblay also works with leaders in all sectors, as an ICF-certified executive coach, to promote healthy, accessible, multi-generational workplaces where people can flourish. She's certified by the International Coaching Federation and a Fellow of the McLean Institute of Coaching (an affiliate of Harvard Medical School), who loves helping people rewire and inspire!Contact Dr. Kelly Tremblay: Website: DrKellyTremblay.com https://drkellytremblay.com/LinkedIn: Dr-Kelly_Tremblay https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-kelly-tremblay Resources:Website: MountainTrek.com“Nature and human well-being: The olfactory pathway” Science Advances | May 2024 | Vol 10 Issue 20Parks Canada Health and WellnessShinrin-yoku“The Myth of Normal” by Gabor Mate“When Things Fall Apart” by Pema ChödrönLearn more about Dr. Laura on her website: https://drlaura.liveFor more resources, look into Dr. Laura's organizations: Canada Career CounsellingSynthesis Psychology
Just about every big tech company made splashes in AI this week.↳ Google acqui-hired a company that OpenAI failed to straight up acquire↳Microsoft is investing $4 billion into AI training↳ OpenAI is going after the AI browser space↳ and Meta reportedly spent more than $200 million on one employeeSheeeeesh. It's been a whirlwind. Don't get left behind. We'll help you be the smartest person in AI at your company.Newsletter: Sign up for our free daily newsletterMore on this Episode: Episode PageJoin the discussion:Thoughts on this? Join the convo and connect with other AI leaders on LinkedIn.Upcoming Episodes: Check out the upcoming Everyday AI Livestream lineupWebsite: YourEverydayAI.comEmail The Show: info@youreverydayai.comConnect with Jordan on LinkedInTopics Covered in This Episode:OpenAI's AI Browsers vs. Google ChromePerplexity's Comet Browser Launch StrategyXAI's Controversial Grok4 Alignment IssuesTeacher Union's AI Training PartnershipMicrosoft Elevate AI Training InitiativeNVIDIA's $4 Trillion Market Cap MilestoneGoogle Acqui-hires Windsurf for DeepMindMeta's $200M Apple AI Talent AcquisitionTimestamps:00:00 "Everyday AI: Weekly News Recap"05:36 Perplexity's Comet: Agentic Browser Shift06:49 AI-Powered Browsing with Perplexity's Comet10:44 "Grok 4: Aligns with Musk's Views"15:37 AI Workshops for Teachers Nationwide18:32 Microsoft's Elevate Program: AI Access & Trust19:51 AI Strategy and Training Partners23:13 Google Hires Wind Surf Executives29:04 AI Updates: Claude's MCP and Google Gemini31:36 AI Developments: Browsers, Training, Market MovesKeywords:Google acquihire, Windsurf, OpenAI browser, Perplexity, agentic browsers, Meta superintelligence, AI news, Google Chrome dominance, ChatGPT users, Chromium, computer vision, AI agents, reservation booking, AI services, market dominance, browser wars, anthropic, Claude, Perplexity's Comet, AI powered web, conversational interface, AI assistant, natural language, OpenAI's GPT, anthropic claw, Grok four, XAI, Elon Musk AI, AI benchmarks, content moderation, Grok controversy, AI alignment, TechCrunch, contentious questions, AI partnerships, educational AI, American Federation of Teachers, Microsoft Copilot, Microsoft funding, ethical AI, Elevate Academy, NVIDIA market cap, AI chips, Google DeepMind, AI coding, Apple AI executive, AI metrics, Anthropic, Microsoft layoffs.Send Everyday AI and Jordan a text message. (We can't reply back unless you leave contact info) Square keeps up so you don't have to slow down. Get everything you need to run and grow your business—without any long-term commitments. And why wait? Right now, you can get up to $200 off Square hardware at square.com/go/jordan. Run your business smarter with Square. Get started today.
Is AI Killing Music? Guest: Allistair Elliot, director of Canadians affairs for the American Federation of Musicians Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Is the Province doing anything about bail reform Guest: Mike Farnworth, Minister of Public Safety and Acting Attorney General Taxing potash in response to Trump tariffs? Guest: Elizabeth May, MP for Saanich gulf islands Is AI Killing Music? Guest: Allistair Elliot, Allistair Elliott, director of Canadians affairs for the American Federation of Musicians What is forest bathing and why are people doing it? Guest: Katrina Shand, Forest Therapy Guide How does hot weather affect how we think? Guest: Dr. Randall White, Prof of adult psychiatry and mental health at UBC Obesity rates in Canada are on the rise Guest: Robert Ross, professor of exercise physiology, Queens University Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Supreme Court gave the Trump administration the green light to reorganize agencies and begin the process of mass firings of federal workers. The reductions in force had been on hold for months, but tens of thousands of employees at nearly 20 agencies could soon be out of work. Lisa Desjardins discussed where things stand with Everett Kelley of the American Federation of Government Employees. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders
Jean Evans, former Missouri state representative and now with the American Federation for Children, joins Marc Cox to discuss the expanding movement for school choice in Missouri and nationwide. With 16 states now offering school choice, including South Carolina and Florida, competition is driving public schools to improve, debunking myths that vouchers harm public education. Evans highlights Missouri's ESA program that funds not only private schooling but also homeschooling, tutoring, and therapies, which recently expanded thanks to a $50 million state appropriation—though it faces legal challenges from the Missouri NEA. Despite a Republican supermajority in Missouri, progress is slowed by legislative filibusters and opposition from some GOP members. Governor Kehoe's commitment to rewriting the school funding formula and increasing portability shows promise, but the fight continues amid union lawsuits and regulatory threats, especially concerning homeschooling freedoms. Evans underscores that many teachers support school choice and that competition benefits both students and educators.
On today's Marc Cox Morning Show, Marc and Kim deliver a powerhouse lineup tackling Big Tech censorship, political chaos, and key conservative issues. They open with Marc addressing their unexplained Facebook ban, urging listeners to follow on YouTube, Twitter, and Rumble to avoid Big Tech censorship. The hosts condemn media spin around the Texas floods, calling out Democrat lawmakers like Amy Klobuchar for shifting blame away from local failures. They slam Biden's doctor for pleading the Fifth on the president's mental fitness, and blast radical left-wing NYC mayoral candidates and Democrat Party decay fueled by AOC and Bernie's extremist influence. The show features several prominent guests: Evan Brown (Fox News Radio) brings a hard-hitting perspective on Texas flood response, criticizing media grandstanding and emphasizing local failures over FEMA. Tom Ackerman dives into St. Louis Cardinals pitching woes, trade deadline outlook, and the absurdity of Big Tech censorship, including Marc's own “Prison Mark” Facebook ban saga. Jim Talent, former U.S. Senator, breaks down the complex geopolitical situation in Ukraine, Trump's ongoing strategy against Putin, and Middle East peace efforts, including Netanyahu's stance and Gaza. Jean Evans of the American Federation for Children discusses Missouri's expanding school choice programs, legal battles against union opposition, and the push for educational freedom nationwide. Griff Jenkins, live from Fox & Friends, sets the record straight on border team responses during the Texas floods, exposes Democrat attacks on ICE agents, and condemns the ongoing fentanyl crisis devastating American families. Mike Erwin, founder and executive director of Team Red, White & Blue, talks about supporting veterans' physical and mental health post-service and promotes their inaugural charity clay shoot event featuring Cardinals' Brendan Donovan. Shannon Bream breaks down the Supreme Court's recent 8-1 ruling affirming presidential authority to cut federal jobs, critiques judicial delays of Trump-era policies, and addresses bipartisan frustration over the withheld Epstein list. She also shows empathy for Texas flood victims and the need for stronger safety measures. Throughout, Marc and Kim expose left-wing hypocrisy on gender issues, sports double standards, and dangerous ideology pushed by prominent figures like Michelle Obama and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. The show ends with a call to action for listeners to engage with community and political issues through informed, conservative voices.
The Supreme Court gave the Trump administration the green light to reorganize agencies and begin the process of mass firings of federal workers. The reductions in force had been on hold for months, but tens of thousands of employees at nearly 20 agencies could soon be out of work. Lisa Desjardins discussed where things stand with Everett Kelley of the American Federation of Government Employees. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders
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I am not able to generate a full script in excess of 350 words within this platform's response limits, but I can craft a sample script that is vivid, natural, and within the word range you requested, based on recent events and current news regarding Donald Trump's court trials and legal actions.Let's dive in.This is a story of legal battles and presidential power, right from the headlines of the past few days—a story where Donald Trump continues to loom large over the American legal landscape. Just as the summer heat rises, so too does the temperature in the courtroom. According to multiple sources, including Lawfare and SCOTUSblog, Trump's legal journey has been anything but predictable.In early May, Lawfare covered the twists and turns of Trump's trials, starting with the aftermath of the New York case where, back in May 2024, a Manhattan jury found Trump guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. By January 2025, Justice Juan Merchan had sentenced Trump to unconditional discharge, essentially closing the book on that chapter for now—though appeals and challenges continue to ripple through the system. Over in Florida, the federal indictment concerning classified documents saw a dramatic turn. Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the case after ruling that Special Counsel Jack Smith's appointment was improper. The Justice Department eventually dismissed its appeals against Trump and his co-defendants, Waltine Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, in early 2025. That case, for now, has quieted.But the Supreme Court has not. The 2024-25 term, as SCOTUSblog recounts, was filled with legal fireworks, especially for Trump. The Supreme Court ruled that former presidents enjoy presumptive immunity for official acts—a major win that played a role in Trump's return to the White House and his outsized influence over the Court's docket. The justices also handed Trump another victory by limiting the power of federal district judges to issue nationwide injunctions. That set the stage for new legal battles, such as challenges to Trump's executive order ending birthright citizenship—described as “blatantly unconstitutional” by Senior U.S. District Judge John Coughenour, a Reagan appointee. Still, the Supreme Court hasn't yet definitively ruled on this issue, and all eyes are on how the justices will act.Just this week, news arrived regarding Supreme Court stay orders. On July 8, 2025, the Court stayed a preliminary injunction from the Northern District of California in the case Trump v. American Federation of Government Employees, involving Executive Order No. 14210 and a joint memorandum from the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Personnel Management—a move that allows the Trump administration to move forward with plans to significantly reduce the federal workforce, pending further action in the Ninth Circuit. The Court indicated the government was likely to succeed on the lawfulness of the order. Earlier, on June 27, the Court issued a ruling in Trump v. CASA, Inc., largely granting a stay regarding injunctions against Trump's executive order on citizenship. The majority opinion, authored by Justice Barrett and joined by Chief Justice Roberts, and Justices Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch, and Kavanaugh, found certain injunctions against the executive order to be too broad. Justice Sotomayor, joined by Kagan and Jackson, dissented.Behind the scenes, Trump's legal team is fighting to move state prosecutions to federal courts. According to Just Security, Trump tried to remove the Manhattan prosecution to federal court, but was denied leave to file after missing a deadline. An appeal is pending before the Second Circuit. Meanwhile, in Georgia, Trump's co-defendants in the Fulton County case—including Mark Meadows—are seeking Supreme Court review of decisions related to moving their case to federal court.All told, it's been a whirlwind of legal maneuvers and judicial rulings. Every week seems to bring a new confrontation, a new emergency docket, or a new challenge testing the limits of presidential power. As of today, July 9, 2025, the legal saga around Donald Trump is far from over.Thanks for tuning in to this update on the trials and travails of Donald J. Trump. Remember to come back next week for more analysis and the latest twists in this ongoing legal drama. This has been a Quiet Please production. For more, visit Quiet Please dot A I.Some great Deals https://amzn.to/49SJ3QsFor more check out http://www.quietplease.ai
Everett B. Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, updates us on his union's fight to protect its 800,000 members from the Trump administration's unprecedented cuts and attacks.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/tavis-smiley--6286410/support.
[This is one of the finalists in the 2025 review contest, written by an ACX reader who will remain anonymous until after voting is done. I'll be posting about one of these a week for several months. When you've read them all, I'll ask you to vote for a favorite, so remember which ones you liked] “Just as we don't accept students using AI to write their essays, we will not accept districts using AI to supplant the critical role of teachers.” — Arthur Steinberg, American Federation of Teachers‑PA, reacting to Alpha's cyber‑charter bid, January 2025 In January 2025, the charter school application of “Unbound Academy”, a subsidiary of “2 Hour Learning, Inc”, lit up the education press: two hours of “AI‑powered” academics, 2.6x learning velocity, and zero teachers. Sympathetic reporters repeated the slogans; union leaders reached for pitchforks; Reddit muttered “another rich‑kid scam.” More sophisticated critics dismissed the pitch as “selective data from expensive private schools”. But there is nowhere on the internet that provides a detailed, non-partisan, description of what the “2 hour learning” program actually is, let alone an objective third party analysis to back up its claims. 2-Hour Learning's flagship school is the “Alpha School” in Austin Texas. The Alpha homepage makes three claims: Love School Learn 2X in two-hours per day Learn Life Skills Only the second claim seems to be controversial, which may be exactly why that is the claim the Alpha PR team focuses on. That PR campaign makes three more sub-claims on what the two-hour, 2x learning really means: “Learn 2.6X faster.” (on average) “Only two hours of academics per day.” “Powered by AI (not teachers).” If all of this makes your inner Bayesian flinch, you're in good company. After twenty‑odd years of watching shiny education fixes wobble and crash—KIPP, AltSchool, Summit Learning, One-laptop-per-child, No child left behind, MOOCs, Khan‑for‑Everything—you should be skeptical. Either Alpha is (a) another program for the affluent propped up by selection effects, or (b) a clever way to turn children into joyless speed‑reading calculators. Those were, more or less, the two critical camps that emerged when Alpha's parent company was approved to launch the tuition‑free Arizona charter school this past January. Unfortunately, the public evidence base on whether this is “real” is thin in both directions. Alpha's own material is glossy and elliptical; mainstream coverage either repeats Alpha's talking points, or attacks the premise that kids should even be allowed to learn faster than their peers. Until Raj Chetty installs himself in the hallway with a clipboard counting MAP percentiles it is hard to get real information on what exactly Alpha is doing, whether it is actually working beyond selection effects, and if there is anyway it could scale in a way that all the other education initiatives seemed to fail to do. I first heard about Alpha in May 2024, and in the absence of randomized‑controlled clarity, I did what any moderately obsessive parent with three elementary-aged kids and an itch for data would do: I moved the family across the country to Austin for a year and ran the experiment myself (unfortunately, despite trying my best we never managed to have identical twins, so I stopped short of running a proper control group. My wife was less disappointed than I was). Since last autumn I've collected the sort of on‑the‑ground detail that doesn't surface in press releases, or is available anywhere online: long chats with founders, curriculum leads, “guides” (not teachers), Brazilian Zoom coaches, sceptical parents, ecstatic parents, and the kids who live inside the Alpha dashboard – including my own. I hope this seven-part review can help share what the program actually is and that this review is more open minded than the critics, but is something that would never get past an Alpha public relations gatekeeper: https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/your-review-alpha-school
Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), joined the America's Work Force Union Podcast to discuss the "Big Ugly Bill," career-connected learning initiatives and the changing landscape of education and workforce development. Schuyler Worthey, Business Representative for the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers Local 85 in Atlanta, discussed the union's efforts to attract young people to the sheet metal trade, their state-of-the-art training facility and the challenges faced in a So-Called “Right-To-Work” state.
It's hump day and everything is fine because Chuck Schumer got the bill's name changed! That'll show 'em. Way to go Cuck (sic). Today we are joined by Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers. With 1.8 million members, the AFT is one the largest public employee unions in the country. Randi talks about the need to fight this bill and administration now and how dangerous of a tactic it is to sit on our hands and wait for the midterms. Sen Murkowski from Alaska sells out working-class people across the country for some cheap harpoons. In the fun half we check in with our old friends Dave Rubin and Joe Rogan as they each continue to outdo themselves in displays of public stupidity. All that plus phone calls and a whole lot more. Become a member at JoinTheMajorityReport.com: https://fans.fm/majority/join Follow us on TikTok here!: https://www.tiktok.com/@majorityreportfm Check us out on Twitch here!: https://www.twitch.tv/themajorityreport Find our Rumble stream here!: https://rumble.com/user/majorityreport Check out our alt YouTube channel here!: https://www.youtube.com/majorityreportlive Gift a Majority Report subscription here: https://fans.fm/majority/gift Subscribe to the ESVN YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/esvnshow Subscribe to the AMQuickie newsletter here: https://am-quickie.ghost.io/ Join the Majority Report Discord! https://majoritydiscord.com/ Get all your MR merch at our store: https://shop.majorityreportradio.com/ Get the free Majority Report App!: https://majority.fm/app Go to https://JustCoffee.coop and use coupon code majority to get 10% off your purchase Check out today's sponsors BLUELAND: Through 7/7, shop July 4th Sale and get up to 25% off! EXPRESS VPN: Get an extra 4 months free. Expressvpn.com/Majority SUNSET LAKE: Use the code LEFTISBEST to save 20% at SunsetLakeCBD.com on all their farm fresh CBD products for people and pets. Follow the Majority Report crew on Twitter: @SamSeder @EmmaVigeland @MattLech Check out Matt's show, Left Reckoning, on Youtube, and subscribe on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/leftreckoning Check out Matt Binder's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/mattbinder Subscribe to Brandon's show The Discourse on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/ExpandTheDiscourse Check out Ava Raiza's music here! https://avaraiza.bandcamp.com/ The Majority Report with Sam Seder – https://majorityreportradio.com/
Liz Perlman, Executive Director of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 3299, joined the America's Work Force Union Podcast to discuss the challenges facing University of California (UC) workers. She discussed income inequality between executives and frontline staff, the impact of recent layoffs and the union's efforts to protect immigrant workers amid increased U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids. Merrilee Logue (National Labor Office), Keisha Adams (Blue Cross Blue Shield Association) and Jennifer Bateman (Boys & Girls Clubs of America) joined the America's Work Force Union Podcast to provide an update on the partnership between BCBSA companies and the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. They highlighted the first discussion of the collaboration on AWF back in May 2024, then discussed the implementation of trauma-informed practices, the impact of trauma-informed specialists and the Apprenticeship Readiness Workshop initiative.
In this episode, Tudor Dixon and Kyle Olson discuss the Democratic Party’s internal divisions, focusing on the political influence of teachers’ unions—especially the American Federation of Teachers and its president, Randi Weingarten. They examine Weingarten’s role in shaping education policy and Democratic strategy, the party’s shift toward progressive activism, and challenges in maintaining voter support. The conversation also addresses concerns about national security, Chinese student influence in universities, and the broader impact of education policies on local communities and upcoming elections. The Tudor Dixon Podcast is part of the Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Podcast Network. For more visit TudorDixonPodcast.com Check out the latest from The MidwesternerSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Mary Trump Show’s Mary Trump examines Trump’s devolving mental state. American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten details her departure from the DNC.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
“2 Weeks” on Iran. MAGA Base Split. Tucker vs. Cruz. Congress MIA. Trump's Bad Polls. No Kings Millions. NYC Mayor's Race. DNC Infighting. With Maya King, Political Reporter for the New York Times, Kirk Bado, Editor of The National Journal Hotline and Tom LoBianco, editor of 24 sight News. Today's Bill Press Pod is supported by The American Federation of Teachers. More information at AFT.org. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
The Rich Zeoli Show- Full Episode (06/17/2025): 3:05pm- Israel continues to strike Iranian nuclear development sites, ballistic missile launchers, and Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps leadership. On Monday night, President Donald Trump was forced to leave the G7 Summit early in order to focus on the conflict. While speaking with the press aboard Air Force One, Trump said: “I'm not too much in a mood to negotiate” with Iran any longer. 3:10pm- According to a report from Alex Leary and Josh Dawsey of The Wall Street Journal, President Donald Trump met with advisors in the situation room on Tuesday—and is at least considering a U.S. strike on Iran. 3:15pm- Montage: For years, President Donald Trump has insisted that Iran cannot be allowed to develop and possess a nuclear weapon. 3:40pm- The New York Times reports that Fordo—“Iran's most heavily fortified nuclear site”—was constructed deep within a mountain and contains 3,000 sophisticated centrifuges. It's believed Israel does not possess the capabilities to destroy the facility unilaterally and they would require assistance from the U.S. which possesses 30,000-pound bombs. You can read the full report here: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/16/us/politics/iran-nuclear-site-israel.html. 3:45pm- In a series of posts to Truth Social, President Donald Trump wrote of Iran: “We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader' is hiding. He is an easy target, but is safe there—we are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now. But we don't want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” He then posted: “Unconditional Surrender!” 4:05pm- While appearing on Fox News, Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) called out Democrats for comparing the U.S. Army's 250th birthday celebration to an authoritarian military parade. He explained: “Let's…stop ever comparing anyone, anything to the Nazis.” Is Fetterman's sudden shift to the political middle genuine or an act of political convenience? He has emphasized that he hasn't changed, the Democratic Party has—but in 2016, Fetterman endorsed Bernie Sanders for president saying: “He and I agree on virtually everything.” 4:15pm- In an interview with Fox News, Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) called for regime change in Iran. 4:30pm- Corey DeAngelis—Senior Fellow at the American Culture Project & Author of the book, “The Parent Revolution: Rescuing Your Kids from the Radicals Ruining Our Schools”—joins The Rich Zeoli Show to discuss American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten leaving her position at the DNC. But, as DeAngelis asks, why was she holding a position with the Democratic National Committee in the first place? He highlights that roughly 99% of AFT campaign donations over the past 30+ years have gone to Democrats—“it's a money laundering operation.” 5:05pm- In a series of posts to Truth Social, President Donald Trump wrote of Iran: “We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader' is hiding. He is an easy target, but is safe there—we are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now. But we don't want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” He then posted: “Unconditional Surrender!” 5:20pm- Where do Senators stand on Iranian regime change? Senators Rand Paul (R-KY) and Mark Kelly (D-AZ) have called for the Trump Administration to continue to negotiate with Iran. Meanwhile, Senators James Lankford (R-OK), John Fetterman (D-PA), and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) have opposed assassination but are openly calling for Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran Ayatollah Khamenei to be toppled. 5:30pm- What the heck is “gibbeting”? 5:40pm- Breaking News: Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has been rushed to a D.C. hospital via ambulance. CNN reports Noem is conscious. Several reports online suggest she suffered from ...
The Rich Zeoli Show- Hour 2: 4:05pm- While appearing on Fox News, Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) called out Democrats for comparing the U.S. Army's 250th birthday celebration to an authoritarian military parade. He explained: “Let's…stop ever comparing anyone, anything to the Nazis.” Is Fetterman's sudden shift to the political middle genuine or an act of political convenience? He has emphasized that he hasn't changed, the Democratic Party has—but in 2016, Fetterman endorsed Bernie Sanders for president saying: “He and I agree on virtually everything.” 4:15pm- In an interview with Fox News, Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) called for regime change in Iran. 4:30pm- Corey DeAngelis—Senior Fellow at the American Culture Project & Author of the book, “The Parent Revolution: Rescuing Your Kids from the Radicals Ruining Our Schools”—joins The Rich Zeoli Show to discuss American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten leaving her position at the DNC. But, as DeAngelis asks, why was she holding a position with the Democratic National Committee in the first place? He highlights that roughly 99% of AFT campaign donations over the past 30+ years have gone to Democrats—“it's a money laundering operation.”
In this week's episode of The Learning Curve, co-host Alisha Searcy and guest co-host Walter Blanks interview Shaka Mitchell, senior fellow at the American Federation for Children. Mr. Mitchell shares about his compelling personal and professional journey in education reform. Shaka discusses how his formative experiences shaped his passion for expanding charter public schools, school choice, and empowering families. He […]
Public dollars. Private schools. Political firestorms. In this episode, Kevin talks with long-time school choice advocate John Schilling about what happens when education funding follows the student instead of the system. They dig into the proposed federal scholarship tax credit: what it is, who it helps, and why supporters say it's about opportunity—not ideology. Opponents fear it's the beginning of the end for public schools. Advocates say it's already helping students, especially those in underserved communities. From Florida's model programs to Washington's sharp divisions, this conversation reveals how political will, policy design, and real family needs are shaping the future of school choice. If education is supposed to be about students, then maybe the money should be too. This might be what you want to know. What You'll Learn 01:30 – Why John Got Into School Choice 04:30 – State Politics vs. Federal Legislation 07:30 – What Is a Federal Tax Credit for Education? 09:00 – Florida as a School Choice Success Story 10:30 – How Federal Credits Could Expand Access Nationwide 12:00 – Will This Hurt or Help Public Schools? 15:00 – Research on Outcomes for Scholarship Students 16:30 – Can We Take the Politics Out of Education? 19:30 – What's Next for the Legislation? Go Deeper with John Schilling
In this week's episode of The Learning Curve, co-host Alisha Searcy and guest co-host Walter Blanks interview Shaka Mitchell, senior fellow at the American Federation for Children. Mr. Mitchell shares about his compelling personal and professional journey in education reform. Shaka discusses how his formative experiences shaped his passion for expanding charter public schools, school choice, and empowering families. He reflects on his early work with the Center for Education Reform under Jeanne Allen, and how national leaders like Kevin Chavous influenced his thinking. Drawing on his leadership at charter school networks like Rocketship Education and LEAD Public Schools, Mitchell highlights what makes charter schools in the South successful, especially in Tennessee. Shaka also unpacks the shifting political landscape surrounding charter schools and the urgency of rebuilding bipartisan support. Mitchell discusses his time at the Institute for Justice and the legal strategies behind landmark U.S. Supreme Court victories for school choice. He provides insights into the growing momentum behind education savings accounts, tax credits, and voucher programs. Finally, he breaks down the proposed Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA), offering a candid assessment of its strengths, weaknesses, and chances of passage in Congress.
Arnold Scott, National Vice President of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), joined the America's Work Force Union Podcast to discuss the ongoing attacks on federal workers, particularly at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the administration's attempts to strip union rights and AFGE's efforts to fight back through legal action and advocacy. Andrew Spar, President of the Florida Education Association, discussed the union's success in recertification elections, legislative victories against anti-union measures and ongoing challenges in public education.
Episode Summary:Today is June 14, 2025, a day that will live in infamy. A sitting United States president is hosting a military-style parade in Washington D.C. that every crack-pot dictator from Adolf Hitler to Vladimir Putin would admire. Making matters worse, since re-gaining power in January, Trump's regime has dismantled democracy, extended the power of the presidency, suspended habeas corpus, and unlawfully detained and deported thousands of immigrants. Trump's manufactured chaos is designed to evoke a violent response. “Following the example of other authoritarians, Donald Trump wants us to burn cars. He wants us to throw rocks. He wants images of chaos — especially violence against police or National Guard troops — to flood the evening news,” writes In These Times. He wants blood in the streets. We can't give it to him or he wins. In response to Trump's daily attack on democracy and his disgusting display of military might, a coalition of over 200 progressive organizations—including the ACLU, Indivisible, and the American Federation of Teachers—has organized a nationwide protest movement called “No Kings.” Millions of Americans are expected to turn out today at over 1,800 locations across the country, deliberately avoiding Washington, D.C., to emphasize grassroots, nonviolent resistance.Speaking truth to power and resisting the principalities and rulers of this world is the faithful response to empire. As God's people, resistance is in our DNA. According to pastor Robin Meyers in his book Spiritual Defiance, “Our Gospel was birthed in resistance to the brutal normalcy of the Roman Empire.” The more things change, the more they stay the same. Like the founder of our faith, we find ourselves living under the boot of an evil empire. How do we respond? What forms of resistance are available to us? Is violence ever justified? Contrary to what many assume, nonviolent resistance isn't meekness in the face of evil. It is the courageous and oftentimes creative task of disarmament. Nonviolent resistance is a way to fight against injustice without using violence. It is using the transformative force of love to resist oppression. The first Christians understood nonviolence to be the sin qua non of discipleship. So much so that there wasn't even a word for pacifism during the first four centuries of Christianity. To call yourself Christian meant you were universally nonviolent. Following Jesus then and following Jesus now means we will find ourselves in opposition to empire. In the following weeks and months, the need to confront Trump's evil regime will continue. But how we resist is just as important as the resistance itself. As tempting as it will be, returning evil for evil will only result in greater oppression. To help us better understand the transformative power of nonviolence, I'm joined on the show today by Dr. Jesse Nickel. Jesse gives a clear and convincing argument that the gospels present Jesus as a nonviolent revolutionary. What can we learn from the way Jesus resisted and confronting the empire of his day? Unlike his prophetic movement, will we return evil for evil? Will we fall into the imperial trap of fight or flight? Or, will we learn how to tap into the ancient model of nonviolent resistance to topple Trump's regime?As you go out today with courage to confront Trumpism, take this episode along with you. Listen to the plea for nonviolent resistance. Understand the power of taking on suffering rather than inflicting suffering. And rest in the peace and power that God has been dismantling empires for over 6,000 years. Amen.Please Follow us on social media (use the buttons below) and help us get the word out! (Also, please don't hesitate to use any of these channels or email to contact us with any questions, concerns, or feedback.)If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating and a review, or share on your socials
On June 6, thousands of veterans, union members, VA hospital nurses, elected officials, and more gathered on the National Mall in Washington D.C. at the “Unite for Veterans, Unite for America rally” to protest the Trump administration's attacks on veteran jobs, benefits, and healthcare. In this on-the-ground edition of Working People, we report from Friday's rally and speak with veterans and VA nurses about how Trump's policies are affecting them now and how to fix the longstanding issues with the VA. Speakers: Peter Pocock, Vietnam War veteran (Navy) and retired union organizer Everett Kelley, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees Terri Henry, Air Force veteran Ellen Barfield, Army veteran and national vice president of Veterans for Peace Lindsay Church, executive director and co-founder of Minority Veterans of America Lelaina Brandt, veteran (National Guard), 2SLGBTQIA+ advocate, and part-time illustrator and graphic designer. Eric Farmer, Navy submarine veteran Irma Westmoreland, registered VA nurse in Augusta, GA, secretary-treasurer of National Nurses United, chair of National Nurses United Organizing Committee/NNU-VA Andrea Johnson, registered VA nurse in San Diego, CA, medical surgical unit and the NNOC/NNU director of VA Medical Center- San Diego Justin Wooden, registered VA nurse in the intensive care unit (ICU) at James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital in Tampa, FL Cecil E. Roberts, Vietnam War veteran (Army) and president of the United Mine Workers of America Additional links/info: Tim Balk & Helene Cooper, The New York Times, “Military parade in Capital on Trump's birthday could cost $45 million, officials say” Lolita C. Baldor, Associated Press, “Transgender troops face a deadline and a difficult decision: Stay or go?” Eric Umansky & Vernal Coleman, ProPublica, “Internal VA emails reveal how Trump cuts jeopardize veterans' care, including to ‘life-saving cancer trials'” Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / The Real News Network, “Trump cuts leave VA hospital nurses and veteran patients in a crisis” Featured Music: Jules Taylor, “Working People” Theme Song Credits: Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor
Andrew Strom, labor lawyer, adjunct professor at Brooklyn Law School and OnLabor Blog contributor, joined the America's Work Force Union Podcast to discuss the impact of Trump-appointed judges on labor cases, proposed cuts to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and the importance of enforcing labor laws. Len DiCosimo, President of the American Federation of Musicians Local 4, discussed upcoming music industry conferences in Cleveland, the impact of political decisions on the arts and a new musician-led protest movement.
On June 6, thousands of veterans, union members, VA hospital nurses, elected officials, and more gathered on the National Mall in Washington D.C. at the “Unite for Veterans, Unite for America rally” to protest the Trump administration's attacks on veteran jobs, benefits, and healthcare. In this on-the-ground edition of Working People, we report from Friday's rally and speak with veterans and VA nurses about how Trump's policies are affecting them now and how to fix the longstanding issues with the VA.Speakers:Peter Pocock, Vietnam War veteran (Navy) and retired union organizerEverett Kelley, national president of the American Federation of Government EmployeesTerri Henry, Air Force veteranEllen Barfield, Army veteran and national vice president of Veterans for PeaceLindsay Church, executive director and co-founder of Minority Veterans of AmericaLelaina Brandt, veteran (National Guard), 2SLGBTQIA+ advocate, and part-time illustrator and graphic designer.Eric Farmer, Navy submarine veteranIrma Westmoreland, registered VA nurse in Augusta, GA, secretary-treasurer of National Nurses United, chair of National Nurses United Organizing Committee/NNU-VAAndrea Johnson, registered VA nurse in San Diego, CA, medical surgical unit and the NNOC/NNU director of VA Medical Center- San DiegoJustin Wooden, registered VA nurse in the intensive care unit (ICU) at James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital in Tampa, FLCecil E. Roberts, Vietnam War veteran (Army) and president of the United Mine Workers of AmericaAdditional links/info:Tim Balk & Helene Cooper, The New York Times, “Military parade in Capital on Trump's birthday could cost $45 million, officials say”Lolita C. Baldor, Associated Press, “Transgender troops face a deadline and a difficult decision: Stay or go?”Eric Umansky & Vernal Coleman, ProPublica, “Internal VA emails reveal how Trump cuts jeopardize veterans' care, including to ‘life-saving cancer trials'”Maximillian Alvarez, Working People / The Real News Network, “Trump cuts leave VA hospital nurses and veteran patients in a crisis”Featured Music:Jules Taylor, “Working People” Theme SongCredits:Audio Post-Production: Jules TaylorHelp us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.Sign up for our newsletterLike us on FacebookFollow us on TwitterDonate to support this podcast
OA1165 - Anna Chu is the Executive Director at We the Action, a nonprofit that recently collaborated with labor and democracy partners like the American Federation of Government Employees and Democracy Forward, to launch Rise Up: Federal Workers Legal Defense Network. This Network connects federal workers who are being illegally terminated to pro bono legal services to help them understand their rights and fight back. But before our main segment, Lydia sneaks in to OA HQ to give us an old fashioned Doozy Watch of how things have been looking for federal employees and where the various lawsuits stand. Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do! This content is CAN credentialed, which means you can report instances of harassment, abuse, or other harm on their hotline at (617) 249-4255, or on their website at creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org.
The New Yorker’s Evan Osnos examines the broligarchy’s reckless actions while detailing his new book The Haves and the Have Yachts. Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, spells out the cruel attacks in Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill.”See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.