Listen by clicking HERE.
Episode Summary
Public schools are essential for democracy—and they’re under attack. But the very policies being championed as their salvation may have a catastrophic impact on American education for generations. Public education advocate and historian Diane Ravitch unpacks how school choice policies like vouchers and charter schools are dangerous for democracy.
Diane Ravitch is a former assistant secretary in the United States Department of Education. She is the author of several books on the history and policy of American public schools. Her memoir, about her life as a leading public education reformer, will be published this fall. It’s called An Education: How I Changed My Mind About Almost Everything.
Alex Lovit is a senior program officer and historian at the Kettering Foundation. He hosts and executive produces the Kettering Foundation podcast The Context.
The Context is a podcast from the Charles F. Kettering Foundation, about the history, trends, and ideas shaping democracy in the United States and around the world. Every episode, host Alex Lovit, a senior program officer and historian with the foundation, interviews someone who has seen it all—scholars, politicians, journalists, and public servants.





















Heyward’s love of animals is a big part of who she is—her two poodles are often around during Zoom calls and strategy meetings. (Erin Brethauer for The 19th)
In the NAACP, Heyward is holding lots of strategy sessions and meetings to organize how they are going to canvas to get out the vote in upcoming elections and fight for the protection of voting rights in North Carolina. (Erin Brethauer for The 19th)
Heyward said she learned about justice-love from her beloved late horses Breaker, who had green eyes, and Feather. She keeps framed photos of them; they were like her best friends, she said. (Erin Brethauer for The 19th)