At my school, the senior class always goes on a class trip the last week of high school. So next week, the school will be ¼ quieter while they’re gone to Puerto Rico! And hearing them talking about the trip made me realize… I know almost nothing about Puerto Rico. Well that’s not true. But …
Author: eglankler
215: Game of Thrones or, “The George R.R. Martin Historical Plagiarism Tour”
On the vast grasslands, a fierce warrior arose on horseback to become the leader of a great empire, uniting the previously warring clans together and molding them into a skilled army that stoked fear in all they encountered. He rewarded supporters with blood-oath loyalty and those who opposed him were destroyed savagely. One upstart in …
214: Brexit or, “Should Have Signed a Prenup”
Real talk: Theresa May and I are exhausted. I’ve been researching this episode on Brexit for one month and every time I think I’m ready to record and move on with my life, something dramatically shifts. I feel like I’m the only one in the world who truly understands what it’s like to be the …
213: 2019 Oscar Nominees or, “The Vice Favourite Green Panther Klansman from Bohemian Roma is Born”
Happy Spring Break! Oh what’s that? You have to go into work over spring break? That sucks. Well, at least you have summer to look forward to. What?! Normal adults just work in July?! That’s unfathomable to me. Well, while teachers around the country are basking in their one week between the school hellscapes that …
212: Saudi Arabia or, “Jared and the Crown Prince sitting in a tree”
As we speak, 10 women are going on trial for advocating their right to drive cars. Yeah, to drive cars. That thing that we do instead of walking ½ a mile to the bagel shop around the corner? That’s a freedom that these women are risking their lives for. They come from Saudi Arabia – …
BONUS: New Orleans
So this episode is specifically for my US History students. They are off on a weeklong class trip to New Orleans and I promised them I would teach them a little history before they went. Then, in true teacher fashion, I ran out of time so I made a podcast episode instead! Enjoy! I’ll make …
211: North Korea or, “If you give a Kim a country, he’s gonna want some nukes”
I had planned this big dramatic intro where I would go over all of the juicy details about the most recent U.S.-North Korea summit in Vietnam. I postponed this episode for a month just so that I could include the outcome of that meeting. And then… nothing happened. But, I guess it makes my job …
BONUS: SXSW EDU “Teaching in the Era of Fake News”
Emily was lucky enough to present at SXSW EDU 2019 with her friend and coworker, Emily Pool. We’ve made an episode of us talking through our presentation, “Teaching in the Era of Fake News“. We go over media literacy, fake news, and strategies for teaching current events in the classroom. If you weren’t able to …
210: Political Gridlock or, “Do Something, Congress!”
As I record this, the US Congress has just begun its 116th session and is, in theory, getting to work. Although, I don’t know who they got to swear in the new members because the government is shut down. I guess the guy reading the oaths is an “essential employee”… How does one “shut down” …
209: Thanksgiving or, “The Squanto Treatment”
Fair warning: I’ve given myself a challenge this episode. I’m going to try to teach you a story from American history without cynicism. I’ve realized that my US history class has become a Who’s Who of land stealers, exploiters, and politicians and, while I’m confident that I’m teaching our history the right way; it can …