Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 30:00 — 27.5MB)

Guest 1: Linda Nahan, author of The Hardest Questions Aren’t on the Test.
Topic: Lessons from an innovative urban school.
Issues: In the average urban school district, 50 percent of high schoolers graduate and go on to college—but at Boston Arts Academy, 94 percent of grades are accepted to college; how and why does a school develop a shared vision of what it stands for? What makes a great teacher? How can a principal help good teachers improve? What schools must talk openly about race and achievement.

Guest 2: Mike Mosiman, co author of The Smarter Preschooler.
Topic: Unlocking your child’s intellectual potential.
Issues: What kind of play teaches the most valuable skills? How can I make the most of reading time? Will listening to Mozart or watching educational TV make my child smarter? What is the right classroom experience for my child?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 30:00 — 27.5MB)

Guest 1: Andrew Park, author of Between a Church and a Hard Place.
Topic: One faith-free dad’s struggle to understand what it means to be religious (or not).
Issues: What it’s like to be irreligious in a deeply religious society; can peaceful coexistence with people of faith ever truly exist? How to embrace religion—or not—while still being a good role model, and staying try to yourself.

Guest 2: Larry Winget, author of Your Kids Are Your Own Fault.
Topic: Raising responsible, productive adults.
Issues: We’re in a crisis with our kids—they’re overindulged, over- entertained, underachieving, and under-disciplined. And the real problem is that parents aren’t paying attention.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 30:00 — 27.5MB)

Guest for both segments: Elizabeth Schmitz, coauthor of Building a Love That Lasts.
Topic: The seven surprising secrets of a successful marriage.
Issues: Why studying marriages that succeed is far more important than studying those that fail; how do successful couples keep the fire from going out? Successful marriage isn’t difficult to understand, but many couples fail to do the simple things required to make their marriage work—they either forgot to do them or haven’t learned them in the first place.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 30:00 — 20.6MB)

Guest 1: Leigh Oshirak, coauthor of Balance is a crock, Sleep is for the Weak.
Topic: Surviving working motherhood
Issues: Savoring every second of maternity leave; choosing almost-perfect childcare; how to hide morning sickness; mixing business and breastfeeding.

Guest 2: Tracy Mayor, author of Mommy Prayers.
Topic: The missing binkie, the late preschool pickup, the birthday party from hell . . . and other everyday absurdities.
Issues: Musings on motherhood; co-sleeping, redshirting, homeshooling, and other hot-button topics; plastic surgery for mothers; video games; culture wars; how to emerge from motherhood with your sense of humor intact.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 30:00 — 27.5MB)

Guest 1: Judy Mandel, author of Replacement Child.
Topic: The autobiographical story of a woman who was born as a “replacement” child, a child conceived as a way to heal the wounds from the loss of a previous child.
Issues: What it’s like to live life in the shadow of a sibling who died; creating your own identity; uncovering the complex layers of relationships with mother, father, and other siblings.

Guest 2: Rupert Isaacson, author of The Horse Boy.
Topic: The remarkable story of parents making sense of their child’s autism
Issues: How combining horses and healing brought a boy back from the depths of autism.