On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Jim Blew, co-founder of the Defense of Freedom Institute, joins Mike and David to talk about his work on the Educational Choice for Children Act—a federal proposal that could expand educational options for families through school vouchers. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber examines a study on how expanding broadband access for Chicago families during the pandemic benefitted high achieving students but hurt their lower-performing peers.

Recommended content: 

• Children’s Tuition Fund,  Federal Tax Credit: What You Need to Know About the Educational Choice for Children Act (2025). 
• Michael J. Petrilli, “Education reform in red versus blue states,” Thomas B. Fordham Institute (January 9, 2025).
• Dale Chu, “Education at an inflection point,” PPI (March 20, 2025).
• Jared N. Schachner, Julia A. Gwynne, Nicole P. Marwell, Elaine Allensworth, and Marisa de la Torre, Heterogeneous Effects of Closing the Digital Divide During COVID-19 on Student Engagement and Achievement, Annenberg Institute at Brown University (2025)

Feedback Welcome: Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to Stephanie Distler at sdistler@fordhaminstitute.org.