Description (podcaster-provided):
How should we be thinking about ethical questions in education? Conversations and features with philosophers and education researchers. From classroom dilemmas to policy decisions, K-12 through higher ed.
We also make teaching guides to use in sociology, education, and philosophy classes. Available on our website.
Produced by the Center for Ethics and Education at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Funding from the Spencer Foundation.
Themes and summary (AI-generated based on podcaster-provided show and episode descriptions):
➤ ethical dilemmas in K-12 and higher education • philosophy of teaching and learning • trust, mentoring, classroom disclosure • admissions, costs, access, social mobility • equity, race, HBCUs • sex education, consent, campus assault • punishment, strikes, charter schools, testing opt-outs • college-in-prison programs • practical teaching methods, conversation-based learning
This podcast explores ethical questions that arise in education, drawing on philosophy, education research, and lived experience from classrooms and campuses. Across conversations with scholars, teachers, and students, it examines how values shape everyday educational practice as well as institutional policy, spanning K–12 through higher education. A recurring focus is how educators should reason about contested issues—what fairness, justice, and equal opportunity require, and how principles can (and cannot) guide decision-making amid real-world constraints.
In higher education, the show frequently takes up questions about what colleges are for and what they owe students: aims of higher education, access and rights, admissions and enrollment management, mentoring responsibilities, and the less-visible social and financial costs that can accompany attending college. Episodes also consider trust and credibility in educational relationships, including how faculty communication—such as political disclosure or social media use—affects learning environments and perceptions of legitimacy. Equity and inclusion appear as central themes, with attention to racial hierarchy, underfunding, institutional stratification, and the distinctive ethical challenges faced by different kinds of institutions, including HBCUs and prison education programs.
In K–12 contexts, the podcast addresses dilemmas around punishment, standardized testing and opting out, teacher strikes, charter schools, and sex education, often framing these topics in terms of duties to children, democratic citizenship, and relational responsibilities. Alongside these issues, it features discussions of teaching as a craft—how to foster curiosity, conversation, love of knowledge, and engaging pedagogy—and it provides accompanying teaching guides intended for use in philosophy, education, and sociology courses.
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Episodes:
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Philosophy With (and for) Children | (K-12)
2026-Jan-07
32 minutes
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Political Disclosure in the Classroom | Harry Brighouse and Tony Laden (Higher Ed)
2025-Jul-29
22 minutes
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Building Trust in Higher Education | Tony Laden (Higher Ed)
2025-Jan-28
34 minutes
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Why Mentoring Matters | Harry Brighouse and Diamond Lannaman (Higher Ed)
2024-Jun-10
26 minutes
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Touchy Subject: Thinking Better About Sex Education | Lisa Andersen and Lauren Bialystok (Book Talk)
2023-Dec-12
31 minutes
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Can College Level the Playing Field? | Sandy Baum and Michael McPherson (Book Talk)
2023-Mar-07
26 minutes
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Faculty and Social Media | Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, TJ Stewart, Harry Brighouse, and Jacob Fay | (Ethics in Higher Education Book Series)
2022-Jun-28
36 minutes
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HBCUs Present and Future | John Torrey, Joyce E. King, Felecia Commodore, and Corey Reed | (Ethics in Higher Education Book Series)
2022-Jun-21
48 minutes
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"Divisive Concepts" | Sigal Ben-Porath and Laura Dinehart (Ethics in Higher Ed Book Series)
2022-Jun-14
37 minutes
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Trailer--Ethics in Higher Ed: Case-Based Conversations (Ethics in Higher Education Book Series)
2022-Jun-07
2 minutes
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The Ethics of College in Prison (Controversial Issues in Education)
2022-May-24
45 minutes
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The Plumber Episode | Harry Brighouse and Grace Gecewicz (Teaching Better)
2022-May-17
42 minutes
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The True Costs of College | Nancy Kendall, Matthew Wolfgram, and Natnael Shiferaw (Higher Ed)
2022-Feb-22
42 minutes
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The Ethics of College Admissions | Joe Boeckenstedt and Harry Brighouse (Higher Ed)
2022-Feb-08
52 minutes
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The Right to Higher Education | Christopher Martin and Harry Brighouse (Higher Ed)
2022-Jan-25
45 minutes
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What Should the Aims of Higher Education Be? (Higher Ed)
2022-Jan-18
10 minutes
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The Ethics of Teacher Strikes | Tony Laden and Eleni Schirmer (Controversial Issues in Education)
2022-Jan-11
42 minutes
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Love and Teaching | Meghan Sullivan and Maria Salazar (Teaching Better)
2022-Jan-04
53 minutes
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Educational Opportunity with Jencks's Principles of Justice | Jaime Ahlberg (Popular Papers)
2021-Nov-16
27 minutes
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The Ethics of Punishment | John Tillson and Winston C. Thompson (Controversial Issues in Education)
2021-Oct-05
26 minutes
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Learning Through Conversation | Agnes Callard (Teaching Better)
2021-Sep-08
30 minutes
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Trailer - Season 2
2021-Aug-24
3 minutes
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Humor, Movement, and Multimedia | Jen Kling (Teaching Better)
2021-Apr-27
21 minutes
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Being in Love with Knowledge | Bailey Szustak (Teaching Better)
2021-Apr-20
9 minutes
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Argument and Curiosity as Skills | W. John Koolage (Teaching Better)
2021-Apr-13
17 minutes
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Interactive Methods and Feminist Critiques | Susan Kennedy (Teaching Better)
2021-Apr-05
19 minutes
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Teaching, Indoctrination, and Trust | Tony Laden (Controversial Issues in Education)
2021-Mar-24
31 minutes
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Why Principles? | Jaime Ahlberg (Thinking Better)
2021-Mar-09
19 minutes
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The Racial Consequences of Underfunding Universities | Laura Hamilton and Kathryn Joyce (Book Talk)
2021-Feb-23
26 minutes
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Education for Liberation | Quentin Wheeler-Bell (Teaching Better)
2021-Feb-09
17 minutes
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The Ethics of Doctoral Admissions | Bryan Warnick (Controversial Issues in Education)
2021-Jan-26
17 minutes
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Sexual Citizenship | Jennifer Hirsch and Shamus Khan (Book Talk)
2021-Jan-07
37 minutes
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The Ethics of Opting Out | Terri Wilson (Controversial Issues in Education)
2020-Dec-15
10 minutes
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The Ethics of Charter Schools | Harry Brighouse, Erica Turner, Gina Schouten (Controversial Issues in Education)
2020-Dec-08
30 minutes
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Higher Education and Social Mobility | Jennifer Morton (Book Talk)
2020-Nov-24
15 minutes
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The Case of the Privileged Poor | Anthony Jack (Book Talk)
2020-Nov-10
13 minutes
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Research Me-Search | Kellen Sharp (Student Episode)
2020-Oct-27
13 minutes
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Good Sex Education for Good Sex | Grace Gecewicz (Student Episode)
2020-Oct-20
11 minutes
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Just Teacher | Paula McAvoy and Lauren Gatti (Book Talk)
2020-Oct-13
28 minutes
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Teaching in a Pandemic | Paula McAvoy and Lauren Gatti (Book Talk Bonus)
2020-Oct-13
3 minutes
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Welcome to Ethics & Education
2020-Oct-05
1 minute
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