Grey Matters with Leah Mermelstein
Claim This Podcastby GreyMatters
Podcast Overview
<p>I started this podcast because I've spent years chasing the same question: what actually makes a practice best for learners?</p><p></p><p>The honest answer I keep arriving at? It depends.</p><p>But that answer isn't a dodge. It's the beginning of the real conversation.</p><p></p><p>I'm <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.leahmermelstein.com/" target="_blank">Leah Mermelstein</a> — a literacy consultant, coach and author of several books on the teaching of literacy. I work directly with students, teachers, schools, and districts. And the question I keep returning to isn't just what should teachers do differently in their classrooms. It's what does it actually take to change a system — to shift the conditions inside schools and districts so that real learning becomes possible for every child.</p><p></p><p>That question belongs to everyone in the building. Teachers. Coaches. Consultants. Principals. Superintendents. Curriculum directors. Anyone who has ever sat with the gap between what they know works and what the system actually makes possible.</p><p></p><p>Grey Matters is for those people.</p><p></p><p>Each season I invite guests who are genuinely still inside their own questions — willing to be in the uncertainty with me and to keep going after the recording stops.</p><p></p><p>We don't resolve the hard questions here. We stay in them long enough to understand them better.</p><p>Teaching and learning don't live at the extremes. They live in the grey.</p><p>That's why this podcast is called Grey Matters.</p>
Language
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Publishing Since
2/25/2026
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Recent Episodes
May 25, 2026
The Grey Space Within: Shame, Agency, and How We Grow as Educators
<p>Leah and Angela reunite for the season finale to debrief episodes 9–11 and weave together the month's biggest ideas. They reflect on Stella Villalba's concept of kid watching, Angela's solo episode on self-observation, and Leah's episode on seeing others more fully — and find a surprising thread connecting all three: the discomfort and richness of not knowing what you'll find when you slow down and look honestly.</p><h2><b>What we explore in this episode</b></h2><p><b>Kid watching as a gray space</b></p><p>Stella's words about kid watching are powerful precisely because they are unpredictable — and how that same messiness applies when we turn observation inward on ourselves.</p><p><b>Shame and the reading wars</b></p><p>How urgency to close research gaps has sometimes shamed educators who dedicated careers to doing their best — and why calling people out rarely creates the change we're hoping for.</p><p><b>Context, capitalism, and guru culture</b></p><p>A candid conversation about money, professional pedestals, and why research divorced from human context isn't as useful as it sounds.</p><p><b>Teachers have more power than they think</b></p><p>Leah shares a formative lesson from professor Sonia Nieto — and both hosts reflect on what it means to gather your own evidence, act without waiting for permission, and trust your classroom as a data source.</p><p><b>A season goodbye from Angela</b></p><p>Angela shares that she'll be stepping back as co-host, and both Leah and Angela reflect on what this first season has taught them about learning in public.</p><h2><b>Referenced in this episode</b></h2><ul><li>Episode 9 — Guest: Stella Villalba on kid watching</li><li>Episode 10 — Angela's solo reflection on self-observation</li><li>Episode 11 — Leah's episode on seeing others more fully</li><li>Kelly Cartwright's active view of reading</li><li>Sonia Nieto, educator and author</li><li>Olivia Wall, podcast mentor</li></ul><p></p><p>Grey Matters returns in September with Season 2. Until then — stay comfortable being in the gray.</p><p></p><p>For questions and thoughts about the podcast: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:greymatters26@gmail.com" target="_blank"><b>greymatters26@gmail.com</b></a></p><p>Ways to get in touch with Angela:</p><ul><li><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.angelastockman.com/" target="_blank"><b>Website</b></a></li><li><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.facebook.com/AngelaMStockman" target="_blank"><b>Facebook</b></a></li><li><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelastockman/" target="_blank"><b>LinkedIn</b></a></li><li><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.instagram.com/angela__stockman/" target="_blank"><b>Instagram</b></a></li><li><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://substack.com/@angelastockman" target="_blank"><b>Substack</b></a></li></ul><p>Ways to get in touch with Leah:</p><ul><li><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/3458003700963828" target="_blank"><b>Facebook</b></a></li><li><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/leah-mermelstein-consulting-042a8a18/" target="_blank"><b>LinkedIn</b></a></li><li><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.instagram.com/leahmermelsteinconsulting/" target="_blank"><b>Instagram</b></a></li><li><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://leahmermelstein.substack.com/" target="_blank"><b>Substack</b></a></li></ul><p></p>
May 18, 2026
Stretching Our Thinking — From Idea to Real Dialogue
<p><b>In this solo episode, Leah Mermelstein builds on insights from Stella Villalba (Episode 9) and Angela Stockman (Episode 10) to explore a question that feels simple but is profoundly complex:</b></p><p><b>What does it actually look like to learn from people who think differently than we do?</b></p><p><b>Leah dives into the “how” of meaningful dialogue, offering practical, human-centered strategies for educators and leaders alike, including:</b></p><ul><li><b>Suspending judgment as a deliberate, actionable protocol</b></li><li><b>Embracing humility and courage in professional conversations</b></li><li><b>Moving from parallel talk to mutual influence</b></li><li><b>Creating classrooms and workplaces where both teachers and students expect to be changed through dialogue</b></li></ul><p></p><p></p><p>For questions and thoughts about the podcast: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:greymatters26@gmail.com" target="_blank">greymatters26@gmail.com</a></p><p>Ways to get in touch with Angela:</p><ul><li><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.angelastockman.com/" target="_blank">Website</a></li><li><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.facebook.com/AngelaMStockman" target="_blank">Facebook</a></li><li><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelastockman/" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a></li><li><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.instagram.com/angela__stockman/" target="_blank">Instagram</a></li><li><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://substack.com/@angelastockman" target="_blank">Substack</a></li></ul><p>Ways to get in touch with Leah:</p><ul><li><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/3458003700963828" target="_blank">Facebook</a></li><li><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/leah-mermelstein-consulting-042a8a18/" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a></li><li><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.instagram.com/leahmermelsteinconsulting/" target="_blank">Instagram</a></li><li><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://leahmermelstein.substack.com/" target="_blank">Substack</a></li></ul><p></p><p><b>Next Up:<br />Episode 12 — Leah and Angela return together to continue exploring the gray spaces of learning and dialogue.</b></p><p></p><p><b>Research and References:</b></p><p></p><ul><li><b>Dr. Katy Anthes’ </b><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.pebc.org/dr-katy-anthes-to-lead-groundbreaking-new-initiative-forward-from-polarization-to-progress/" target="_blank"><b>Forward Framework</b></a><b>: strategies for turning polarization into productive disagreement</b></li><li><b>Research from </b><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.moreincommon.com/" target="_blank"><b>More in Common </b></a><b>on reducing division and fostering understanding</b></li><li><b>Additional </b><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/1890886/episodes/16877813?fbclid=IwY2xjawQ6bkZleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFiVFNEUmFmQ2R6eWl4OTVIc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHhZYE9LS7p1pp6UXyXsk29K1M44GjSCsjj1-XqLBgyQcMY4xd-fQOxjtN_Up_aem_WK0qQtC-nioAtHqmcRV7Iw" target="_blank"><b>podcast</b></a><b> about this topic by the amazing Olivia Wahl</b></li><li><b>Leah's </b><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://leahmermelstein.substack.com/p/weve-been-missing-half-the-conversation?r=4uwjft" target="_blank"><b>Substack article</b></a></li></ul><p></p><hr /><p></p><p><br /></p>
May 11, 2026
Watching Ourselves Grow: Building Identity Capital in Circumstances We Didn't Choose
<p>If you're following us here on Grey Matters, then you're likely a teacher who watches learners closely. You pay attention, and you lean in to listen. You've likely built your whole practice around that quality of attention. </p><p></p><p>But when did you last turn it on yourself?</p><p></p><p>In this episode, Angela reflects on a day of writing and making alongside educators in Dublin, Ohio and what it surfaced about the habitats we come from, the constraints we're living inside of right now, and the identity capital we're building whether we've chosen our circumstances or not. </p><p></p><p>She explores naturalist writing as a tool for self-knowledge, the difference between accepting difficult circumstances and elevating them, and what happened when she brought AI into her graduate classroom this semester in ways that made her a closer reader of her students' work and a more present teacher, too. </p><p></p><p>This one is for those of you who are doing a lot and feeling the weight of it all. The educators who are still curious, still growing, still trying to stay true to something — even inside of conditions you likely wouldn't have chosen.</p><p></p><p>For questions and thoughts about the podcast: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:greymatters26@gmail.com" target="_blank">greymatters26@gmail.com</a></p><p></p><p>Ways to get in touch with Angela:</p><ul><li><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.angelastockman.com/" target="_blank">Website</a></li><li><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.facebook.com/AngelaMStockman" target="_blank">Facebook</a></li><li><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelastockman/" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a></li><li><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.instagram.com/angela__stockman/" target="_blank">Instagram</a></li><li><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://substack.com/@angelastockman" target="_blank">Substack</a></li></ul><p></p><p>Ways to get in touch with Leah:</p><ul><li><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/3458003700963828" target="_blank">Facebook</a></li><li><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/leah-mermelstein-consulting-042a8a18/" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a></li><li><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.instagram.com/leahmermelsteinconsulting/" target="_blank">Instagram</a></li><li><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://leahmermelstein.substack.com/" target="_blank">Substack</a></li></ul>
12 total episodes available
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Frequently asked questions
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- What is Grey Matters with Leah Mermelstein?
<p>I started this podcast because I've spent years chasing the same question: what actually makes a practice best for learners?</p><p></p><p>The honest answer I keep arriving at? It depends.</p><p>But that answer isn't a dodge. It's the beginning of the real conversation.</p><p></p><p>I'm <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.leahmermelstein.com/" target="_blank">Leah Mermelstein</a> — a literacy consultant, coach and author of several books on the teaching of literacy. I work directly with students, teachers, schools, and districts. And the question I keep returning to isn't just what should teachers do differently in their classrooms. It's what does it actually take to change a system — to shift the conditions inside schools and districts so that real learning becomes possible for every child.</p><p></p><p>That question belongs to everyone in the building. Teachers. Coaches. Consultants. Principals. Superintendents. Curriculum directors. Anyone who has ever sat with the gap between what they know works and what the system actually makes possible.</p><p></p><p>Grey Matters is for those people.</p><p></p><p>Each season I invite guests who are genuinely still inside their own questions — willing to be in the uncertainty with me and to keep going after the recording stops.</p><p></p><p>We don't resolve the hard questions here. We stay in them long enough to understand them better.</p><p>Teaching and learning don't live at the extremes. They live in the grey.</p><p>That's why this podcast is called Grey Matters.</p> - How often does this podcast release new episodes?
This podcast updates daily.
- Where can I listen to this podcast?
This podcast is available on 4 platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more. You can also use the RSS feed directly.
- Does this podcast accept guests?
Yes, this podcast regularly features guests.
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