Rethinking Education

About Rethinking Education

"Civilisation is a race between education and catastrophe." (HG Wells) In this podcast, we take Wells at his word. Hosted by Dr James Mannion and David Cameron, Rethinking Education features long-form conversations with fascinating guests about how we might create a more diverse, intelligent, responsive educational ecosystem that works for *all* young people. If this sounds interesting to you, welcome to Rethinking Education: Education's Critical Friend: https://rethinking-ed.org/podcast

Publisher

Dr James Mannion

Category

education

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

27 Nov 2020

Latest episode

2 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

122 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   2 Oct 2026

   It’s time to end the academic obsession – with Sugata Mitra

   What if our obsession with academic achievement is getting in the way of broader human development? James and David are joined by Sugata Mitra to question some deeply entrenched assumptions about what schools are for, what children really need to know, and what happens when technology changes the rules. They explore: - Why do we privilege academic subjects over everything else? - What does the “end of knowing” mean in the age of AI? - What did Sugata’s famous Hole in the Wall experiments actually show? - Can children really learn without being taught? - What is the “grandmother method” – and how can adults spark thought rather than simply provide answers? - Why does Sugata think assessment is the key to changing the whole education system? - What happens when you give children AI instead of Google? - And perhaps the biggest question of all: what is education actually for? A provocative conversation about knowledge, curiosity, exams, AI, self-directed learning and the future of education – with some surprisingly radical answers. Links Sugata’s TED talks – His talks on child-driven education, self-organised learning and the School in the Cloud - https://www.ted.com/speakers/sugata_mitra Hole in the Wall research paper – The 2005 research paper examining children’s acquisition of computing literacy through shared public computers - https://ajet.org.au/index.php/AJET/article/view/1328 The Delors Report – Learning: The Treasure Within – The UNESCO report that introduced the four pillars of education: learning to know, do, be, and live together - https://www.unesco.org/en/futures-education/visions-education Support the show This podcast is brought to you by Crown House Publishing. Get 20% off all titles at https://www.crownhouse.co.uk with the promo code REPOD20 (excludes bundles and existing promotions). Become a patron at https://www.patreon.com/repod or make a one-off donation at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/repod – and help us keep these conversations coming.

2. 

   5 Sept 2026

   10 EDUCATION BOMBSHELLS FOR 2026/7 | #REPOD SEASON 6 (!) TRAILER

   James and David provide a quick preview of the year ahead. Like and subscribe here and on your fave pod player: https://pod.link/1546512828

3. 

   12 Aug 2026

   “We feel, therefore we learn!” Why education needs to get embodied - with Guy Claxton and Emily Poel

   What if one of the biggest assumptions underpinning modern education is simply wrong? We tend to think of the mind as the place where the important stuff happens – thinking, reasoning, remembering and learning – while the body is something we carry around with us. But what if there is no meaningful separation between the two? In this episode, James and David are joined by Guy Claxton and Emily Poel, authors of Bodies of Learning: How Embodiment Science Transforms Education, to explore what happens when we take the body seriously as part of intelligence and learning. The conversation begins with the historical roots of the mind-body split and its influence on education. Guy argues that the hierarchy of subjects in schools – with mathematics and other highly abstract subjects traditionally occupying the top of the pecking order, while PE, dance, drama and practical subjects are given lower status – reflects a much deeper cultural assumption that intelligence belongs primarily to the mind. We then explore the emerging field of embodiment science and the idea of 4E cognition – embodied, enactive, embedded and extended. Rather than seeing the brain as a detached command centre controlling the body, this perspective sees intelligent behaviour as emerging from the constant interaction between brain, body, environment and other people. Guy explains why predictive processing provides such a powerful way of thinking about learning. We are constantly making predictions about the world, and learning happens when those predictions are disrupted – when we are surprised, confused, frustrated or uncertain. Learning, in this sense, is much more than committing information to memory. We also discuss: Why the language of “bodymind” feels so strange at first – and why we should persevere with this term. How our emotions, bodily states and sense of salience influence what we learn. Why the brain may be better understood as a “chat room” than a command centre. What embodiment science tells us about the limitations of purely cognitive explanations of children's behaviour and learning. Why progressive approaches such as inquiry, experiential, project-based and hands-on learning may have more in common than we realise. Whether schools should deliberately cultivate learning dispositions such as curiosity, persistence, empathy and collaboration – rather than focusing primarily on examination performance. Why promising approaches to education have often remained isolated rather than being scaled. The 87 practical things to try in Bodies of Learning, from increasing body awareness to using movement, physical space, play and imagination as part of learning. What an embodied approach might actually look like in different subjects, classrooms and schools. And, finally, Guy's suggestion for the poster that should hang in every teacher training institution and staffroom. This is a wide-ranging conversation about neuroscience, psychology, philosophy, education and human development. But ultimately it comes back to a deceptively simple question: What are schools actually for? If education is partly about helping young people become more capable, curious, resilient, empathetic and intelligent human beings, perhaps we need a much richer conception of what intelligence and learning actually are. About our guests Guy Claxton is Emeritus Professor of the Learning Sciences at the University of Winchester Centre for Real-World Learning, UK, and author of The Future of Teaching and Intelligence in the Flesh: Why Your Mind Needs Your Body Much More Than It Thinks. Emily Poel is a Berlin-based embodiment practitioner and trainer with a background in somatic practices, contemporary dance and history. She develops approaches that show how movement and physical awareness shape learning, thinking and creativity, and has taught internationally for over 15 years.

Who has been a guest on Rethinking Education

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Mike Goves
• Kate McAllister
• Sophie Smith-Tong
• Dee Nic Sitric
• Sue Roffey

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.3 / 5

6 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

13 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 53 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

69

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

92

Contact Rethinking Education

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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