Despite some hopeful words from Al Gore about hope for our destiny, John and Gordy mope about the state of the country. To distract themselves, we cover the National Day Calendar, and joke about the latest headline: new CIA hires having their names exposed in an unsecured email. Later, we get a real education of what's going on as we talk with Dr. Tim Slekar, one half of the BustED Pencils team. They chat about the implications of dismantling the Department of Education, the demonization of teachers, and the policy of ICE raiding schools, the antithesis to a good learning environment. Wrapping up the hour, the conversation shifts to school choice, and a surprising but heartening pushback on the privatization of education by Republicans in some states.

The John and Gordy Show is a part of the Civic Media radio network and airs Monday through Friday from 6-8 am on WMDX in Madison. Subscribe to the podcast to be sure not to miss out on a single episode! To learn more about the show and all of the programming across the Civic Media network, head over to https://civicmedia.us/shows to see the entire broadcast line up. Follow the show on Facebook and X to keep up with John & Gordy!