School change, tied to real futures.
Disrupt Education Podcast treats education reform as practical work, not a slogan. Peter Hostroser and Allie Dahl move through CTE, AP, internships, grading, student voice, and industry trust with a fast, conversational urgency.
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Disrupt Education Podcast is a school-change show with its feet in classrooms, career pathways, and the complicated space between education and work. It is not tidy. That is part of the point. Peter Hostroser and Allie Dahl talk like educators who are still working through the implications of what they are hearing, especially when a guest or a news item points to a larger shift in how school should operate. The recurring question is relevance. Why are students learning this? How do they show what they can do? What changes when aptitudes, internships, industry partners, and durable skills are treated as central rather than extra? Recent episodes spend a lot of time around CTE, AP, College Board's move toward career-connected learning, Teamship, Career Kickstart, and the trust gap between education and industry. The show also keeps circling back to grades. Some of its sharpest moments come from arguing that meaningful learning is often ungraded, messy, hands-on, and easier to remember than a clean score in a gradebook. A chemistry project, a physics build, or a student facing two internship offers becomes evidence, not filler. The hosts like examples that reveal a system problem. They also like roles and structures: boundary spanners, conveners, partnership designers, talent pipeline specialists, and school leaders who can build something that survives beyond one enthusiastic person. The tone is warm, but it does not soften every edge. Direct lecture, vague partnerships, and old college-versus-career boundaries are all treated as problems worth naming. YouScience BrightPath appears frequently as a sponsor and as part of the show's career-readiness conversation, especially around helping students connect aptitudes to future decisions. The pacing is brisk, with quick callbacks, side comments, and practical takeaways stacked into the conversation. It suits listeners who already understand the education world well enough to want the useful part quickly. For school leaders, CTE directors, classroom educators, and workforce partners, the show offers a live-sounding record of people trying to make education more connected, more honest, and more useful for students before graduation.
Made for: For school leaders, CTE educators, classroom teachers, workforce partners, and education innovators who care about student engagement and career-connected learning. It especially suits listeners who prefer practical examples over polished theory.
What sets it apart: The show stands out by treating education jargon as something to translate into real school decisions. CTE, AP, internships, grading, student voice, and industry partnerships are discussed as connected parts of one system, not separate reform lanes.
Disrupt Education began in 2015 when Peter Hostrawser, inspired by an EF Tour to Europe, saw students reimagine education and heard Sir Ken Robinson challenge the status quo. This sparked Peter’s mission to rethink the stagnant system.The podcast shares diverse stories from learners, educators, and EdTech innovators, offering fresh perspectives and pushing boundaries to create an education system that truly empowers students.Join Peter Hostrawser and co-host Alli Dahl today!
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Disrupt Education Podcast turns work-based learning and school reform into concrete questions about partnerships, classroom practice, and student opportunity.
Peter Hostrawser and Alli Dahl keep Disrupt Education Podcast focused on the practical machinery of changing schools. Their conversations ask how academic learning connects with work, how high schools and colleges coordinate programs, and how employers can become durable…
The mystery-sludge project went wrong, and your argument for learning beyond grades got stronger.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A classroom-memory conversation that values process as much as answers.
Disrupt Education Podcast opens with Jason Van Nus announcing a new CEO role at the Wynn College and Career Academy, then settles into a conversation about the school lessons that tend to stay with people.
A grounded CTE case for ungraded learning, student attention, and clearer choices.
The conversation frames grade pressure as a real burden and makes a steady case for de-emphasized grades, ungraded learning, and CTE as ways to support student meaning and attention.
College Board, AP, and Teamship sharpen the question of what school is for.
Episode 428 uses the College Board as a way to ask what counts in learning, putting durable skills, professional learning, and the AP path in the same frame.
A practical look at how boundary spanners keep CTE pathways from depending on one person.
Disrupt Education Podcast opens with a clear run through CTE, AP, and IB before settling into a grounded conversation about boundary spanning across high schools and post-secondary institutions.
Jason Van Nus makes school funding part of the employer case for building and retaining talent.
Jason Van Nus gives talent pipelines a practical business frame, asking employers to treat schools as the place where future hires are found, developed, and prepared.
Work based learning pushes back on a college-first script and uneven access to hands-on experience.
This episode frames work based learning as a question of access as much as curriculum. It argues that a college-first script can leave students behind when they need earlier hands-on experience and clearer ties to real-world connections.
Disrupt Education Podcast episode 372 centers on Jason Van Nus's claim that schools should turn tax dollars into talent through work-based learning.
Hosts discuss winter as a planning season for educators and preview upcoming content on innovation from within the education system.
Kristy Volesky, author of 'Work Based Learning' and a former Iowa Department of Education official, joins the Disrupt Education Podcast to share practical strategies for integrating work-based learning into K-12 education.
In this impromptu part two of an interview, the hosts continue their conversation with Jason Van Nus about work-based learning, after a week-long break.
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Peter and Allie introduce a new series and guest Dr.
Jason Van Nus announces his new role as CEO of Wynn College and Career Academy on a podcast about disrupting education.
Peter Hostroser and Allie Dahl discuss rethinking CTE, literacy, and student engagement, emphasizing ungraded learning and the need for interactive teaching methods.
The episode discusses the need to integrate durable skills and professional learning into AP classes and high school education, emphasizing student voice and the value of teamship.
Peter and Allie introduce an episode about College Board's surprising move into career and technical education, hinting at a guest reveal.
Peter and Allie discuss how partnerships in education must be designed, not hoped for, to build trust and scale effectively.
Chris Brida, CTE director for Portland Public Schools and doctoral candidate, introduces 'boundary spanning' — a 1977 organizational theory he is applying for the first time to Career and Technical Education — on the Disrupt Education Podcast.
This episode discusses how ViewScience bridges the gap between education and industry by helping students understand their aptitudes, increasing engagement, and building critical talent pipelines.