Be a Better Ally: Critical Conversations for K12 Educators

Horror is where some of today's boldest, most creative storytelling is happening — and author Ryan La Sala has a theory about why. In this conversation, the author of The Dead of Summer (now in paperback) unpacks how horror reveals what we value: who's worth saving, how we survive together, and why the queer com...

Jerry Spinelli wrote four novels nobody wanted and spent twenty-five years getting rejected before his first book was published — he's now on book thirty-nine. The Newbery Medal-winning author joins Tricia Friedman to talk about perseverance, why kids never really change from one generation to the next, and the writing advice he gives every young person who asks: pay attention. He opens up his actual process, from pages of br...

What happens when a teacher replaces textbook exercises with a real, unsolved problem?

In this episode, Tricia speaks with Alex Campbell, the Tennessee high school teacher featured in Prime Video's limited documentary series Murder 101. The series follows Campbell and his sociology students at Elizabethton High School as they investigate the Redhead Murders, a series of killings involving unidentified women whose cases had received...

Award-winning author Christina Diaz Gonzalez joins Tricia to discuss her new middle-grade graphic novel, Offside, a bilingual story about soccer, friendship, ambition, identity, and the power young people have to create change.

Christina explains why she wanted the young characters in Offside to question the assumptions, gender stereotypes, and ambitions they may have inherited from adults. Their lives are more complex than they fi...

You may know Cristo Fernandez as Danny Rojas from Ted Lasso, but this conversation reaches far beyond one beloved role.

In this episode, Cristo talks with Tricia about dreaming big, trying again after failure, staying generous, and remembering that we all have something powerful to bring to the table. From his early life in Guadalajara to his years in football, acting, storytelling, and now children's books, Cristo reflects on the ...

In this episode, we explore what it means to educate young people in a time of deep civic division. Students are growing up surrounded by polarization, yet schools remain one of the few places where people are still asked to learn and engage across differences.

Joining the conversation is Colin Woodard, Director of Nat...

If creativity, curiosity, and connection matter to you, this episode is a good one to queue up for Father's Day weekend.

This week, we welcome back writer and researcher Brian Boone for a conversation about trivia, fandom, and why the facts we collect are often connected to the people, places, stories, and memories we care about most.

Brian writes across genres, but his work has a throughline: he knows how to make research feel pla...

Award-winning author Aida Salazar joins us to discuss Stream, her new middle grade novel in verse featuring Celi and Elio, two teens sent to rural Mexico after a viral catfishing incident exposes how much of their lives has been shaped by screens.

Salazar describes Stream as part of an unintended loose trilogy that began with The Moon Within and continued with Ultraviolet. In this new standalone story, she brings Celi and Elio...

What does it really mean to "be yourself"?

In this episode, Tricia speaks with Meredith Walker about her new book and the deeper work of self-discovery. Meredith's motto, "get your hair wet," becomes the perfect entry point for a conversation about joining the moment instead of protecting the version of ourselves we think we need to present.

Together, they explore why identity is not something we solve once, but something we keep r...

Tricia Friedman speaks with Keala Kendall, author of That Which Feeds Us, a gothic novel that begins with a missing sister and opens into a larger conversation about Hawaii, diaspora, colonialism, memory, and the stories we are taught to accept about place.

Keala describes her writing process as a kind of "ingredient fora...

This week, Tricia Friedman welcomes New York Times bestselling author Dr. Brittney Cooper to the podcast for a conversation about her new picture book, Mama Says I'm Fine.

Based largely on Cooper's own childhood, Mama Says I'm Fine is a heartwarming story about family, resilience, and the powerful force of a mother-daughter bond. The book carries Cooper's well-known feminist sensibility, offering young readers a story rooted i...

Bestselling author Patricia Cornwell joins Tricia Friedman to discuss True Crime: A Memoir, her deeply personal account of the life behind the books. Cornwell is known around the world for the Kay Scarpetta series, which has sold millions of copies and helped shape the modern forensic thriller. Her memoir, published by Grand Central Publishing on May 5, 2026, turns that same investigative int...

In this episode, Tricia speaks with Dr. Kimberly Becker, an applied linguist and social scientist, about what shifts when AI enters the world of writing, research, and communication. Their conversation moves past the usual panic about cheating and detection and instead asks a deeper question: what happens when language is no longer written first and foremost for other humans?

Dr. Becker explains the difference between theoretical a...

Special call out, months back we were thrilled to host Shilpi Chhotray, of A People's Climate on the pod, and Shilpi's show is SO close to winning a WEBBY.

This is a big big deal, so we need you to show your support.

A People's Climate is a top 5 Webby nominee (out of 13,000+ entries) and currently in a tight race for the People's Voice Award.

This is one of those rare moments where an independent project...

What can a graphic novel teach educators about belonging, friendship, and the inner lives of young people?

In this episode, Tricia speaks with actor and author Sara Amini about Mixed Feelings, her semi-autobiographical middle grade graphic novel. Together they explore how stories can help adults better understand what students...

What if "What do you want to be when you grow up?" is not the best question to ask young people?

In this episode, Tricia speaks with beloved author and illustrator Peter H. Reynolds about creativity, identity, student voice, and his latest book, When You Dream Big. Together, they explore why educators matter so deeply in h...