Kumar Garg, President of Renaissance Philanthropy, rejoins host Mike Palmer for his third appearance on Trending in Ed, earning his highly coveted refrigerator magnet. Kumar discusses RenPhil’s growth and its mission to help donors invest effectively in science and technology research areas like AI, climate, and education.
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In this special edition of Trending in Education, former colleagues reunite as Mike Palmer interviews Lorin Thomas-Tavel, the CEO of BrainPOP. We explore the evolution of a major brand in EdTech and discuss how it continues to simplify complex topics for students and teachers alike.
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LIVE! from the Harbor Terrace at ASU+GSV 2026 in San Diego, Mike Palmer sits down with Victoria Weinfeld, Vice President of Enrollment, Marketing, and Sales at Edconic. In this fast-paced environment of “drinking from a fire hose,” Victoria shares the evolution of Edconic (formerly known as BrandED) and its unique mission to bridge the gap between traditional education and the future of work.
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Recorded LIVE! on the Harbor Terrace at the ASU+GSV Summit in San Diego, Mike Palmer is joined by Dr. Steven Taylor, Policy Director and Senior Fellow for Economic Mobility at Stand Together Trust. Steve brings a unique perspective to the table, combining a national philanthropic lens with his roles on the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia and the National Advisory Committee for Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI).
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Mike Palmer catches up with Ruth Bauer, President of Inside Track, amidst the sun and high-stakes energy of San Diego for the ASU+GSV conference. Ruth shares her transition from a first-generation college student and mall-employed English major to an e-learning “OG” (like Mike) to leading a powerhouse in student success at Inside Track.
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Coming to you live from the harbor terrace in sunny San Diego, Mike Palmer sits down with Karl Rectanus, the new CEO of Really Great Reading, amidst the buzz of the ASU+GSV Summit. Between views of sailboats and silver-lined clouds, the duo digs into why literacy remains the fundamental building block of the educational system and how we might finally be cracking the code on systemic improvement.
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LIVE! from the ASU+GSV Summit, Mike Palmer catches up with College Board President Jeremy Singer against the backdrop of the San Diego marina to dive into the launch of Jeremy’s new podcast, The Education Equation. Produced by Mike, this new series aims to bring a much-needed level of scientific rigor to the education space, drawing inspiration from data-heavy health and fitness media to identify scalable, evidence-based practices that actually move the needle for students.
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We’re back in Austin for the 2026 SXSW EDU “March Madness of Learning Trends” LIVE panel. Host Mike Palmer is joined by AJ Gutierrez (CEO of Equal Opportunity Schools), Jasmine Maze (Senior Managing Director at Teach for America’s Reinvention Lab), and Justin Serrano (CEO of Littera Education) to reveal a bracket of 16 trends shaping the future of education.
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When the house is on fire, you don’t want to be reading the manual for the first time. On this episode of Trending in Education, Mike Palmer sits down with Jeff Hunt, the founder of Legend Labs and a professor at the University of Texas, to discuss the high-stakes world of crisis communication in higher education .
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Mike Palmer and virtual co-host Nancy are back from the podcast stage at SXSW EDU in Austin, Texas. In this special update, we break down the Sweet 16 of Learning Trends and announce which four have fought their way into the Final Four. This episode explores the collective zeitgeist of the education world, from the challenges of chronic absenteeism to the futuristic potential of vibe coding and agentic intelligence.
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How do we bridge the communication gap between schools and families in an increasingly fragmented digital world? In this episode of Trending in Education, Mike Palmer is joined by Anu Vaid, the founder of ParentSquare, to explore the evolution of school-home partnerships over the last 15 years. Anu shares her journey as a computer engineer and immigrant parent who was overwhelmed by the disjointed tools of the K-12 system, from papers stuffed in backpacks to disparate robocalls and long emails.
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