FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Will Whitmire, teacherscollege@skdknick.com, (954)-439-3395

NEW YORK — As students, families, educators and communities prepare for a new academic year, Teachers College, Columbia University is launching the second season of its “Pursuing the Public Good” podcast, featuring leading experts, educators and journalists in timely discussions about artificial intelligence, youth mental health and climate education. At a moment of uncertainty across education and society, the new season examines how research, professional experience and public dialogue can help people understand these challenges and identify practical paths forward.

In three episodes, Teachers College faculty, journalists, educators and national experts explore how artificial intelligence, youth mental health and climate change are reshaping learning, relationships and communities. Each episode is led by a different host: Teachers College President Thomas Bailey, The Hechinger Report’s Jill Barshay, and Caroline Preston. Bailey also appears throughout the season, framing the conversations within Teachers College’s broader commitment to the public good. Guests include Amanda Lenhart of the Joan Ganz Cooney Center, Dr. Claudia Fernandes of Born This Way Foundation and New York City educators confronting these challenges through their work. “As a new academic year begins, educators, families and communities are looking for clear guidance on issues that are changing how we learn, connect and prepare young people for the future,” said Teachers College President Thomas Bailey. “I am excited to launch the second season of ‘Pursuing the Public Good’ and showcase the depth of expertise across Teachers College alongside the perspectives of journalists, educators and practitioners. We hope listeners come away with a clearer understanding of these challenges, practical ideas they can apply and a sense of what is possible when researchers and practitioners across disciplines work together can help move society forward. That is at the heart of our Public Good Initiative: leveraging Teachers College’s expertise and collaboration across disciplines to address the most pressing issues facing education and society.”

“Pursuing the Public Good” is part of Teachers College’s broader Public Good Initiative, launched by Teachers College President Thomas Bailey which brings together the College’s research, teaching and partnerships across four priority areas: digital innovation, mental health and wellness, sustainability, and teacher education. The podcast extends that work by making TC expertise accessible to a wider audience and bringing researchers into conversation with educators, practitioners and communities addressing these challenges firsthand.

Season two features the following episodes:

• How AI Is Changing Learning, Childhood and Human Connection: Hosted by Jill Barshay, senior reporter at The Hechinger Report, the episode features Lalitha Vasudevan, vice dean for digital innovation and managing director of the Digital Futures Institute at Teachers College, and Amanda Lenhart, senior fellow at the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop. The conversation examines how educators and families should respond to AI that is already embedded in young people’s academic, creative, and social lives. Vasudevan and Lenhart discuss why adaptable guidelines may be more effective than rigid rules, how AI could interrupt the productive struggle required to develop skills such as writing, and the mixed messages students receive when adults use tools they are told to avoid. They also explore the growing use of chatbots for companionship and emotional support, raising urgent questions about how to preserve judgment, meaningful relationships, and human agency as the technology becomes more powerful.
• Bringing Climate Education Into Every Subject: Hosted by Caroline Preston, managing editor of The Hechinger Report, the episode features Oren Pizmony-Levy, associate professor of international and comparative education and founding director of the Center for Sustainable Futures at Teachers College; Erica Blake, a special education teacher at the Women’s Academy of Excellence in the Bronx; and Judith Phyllis, a math teacher at George J. Ryan Middle School in Queens. The conversation challenges the idea that climate change belongs only in science classes. Through examples from English and mathematics classrooms, the guests demonstrate how climate education can build research, data analysis, communication and civic-engagement skills while helping students see their own ability to make a difference. They also explain why mandates alone will fall short without teacher training, resources, funding and educator support, and how even small changes to existing lessons can turn climate concern into meaningful learning and action.
• Addressing the Youth Mental Health Crisis Through Connection: Hosted by Teachers College President Thomas Bailey, the episode features Mel Collier-Meek, associate professor of school psychology at Teachers College, and Dr. Claudia Fernandes, Vice President of Research and Evaluation at Born This Way Foundation. The episode examines the youth mental health crisis that can appear not only through anxiety and depression, but also through loneliness, absenteeism, disruptive behavior, and disengagement. They argue that prevention begins with connection and that already overextended educators and parents should not simply be asked to do more. Instead, the conversation explores how communities can work differently by strengthening peer support, creating environments built around belonging and joy, and surrounding young people and families with trusted adults before challenges become crises.

Season 2 of “Pursuing the Public Good” is available today at The Public Good Initiative | Teachers College, Columbia University and wherever podcasts are available.

The podcast is produced by the Office of the President, the Digital Futures Institute, and the Office of Institutional Advancement at Teachers College, Columbia University.

About Teachers College, Columbia University
Founded in 1887, Teachers College, Columbia University, the first and largest graduate school of education in the United States, is perennially ranked among the nation’s best. Teachers College’s mission is to create a smarter, healthier, more equitable, and peaceful world. Teachers College engages in research and prepares professionals in its three main areas of expertise — education, health, and psychology — to work with public and private entities in local, national, and global communities and inform public policy. Students choose from among 150 separate programs to earn graduate degrees. While it is closely affiliated with Columbia University, the College is an independent, autonomous institution with a separate, independent governing board, president, and financial endowment.