The Harvard EdCast

Why Half of College Students Feel Alone and How to Fix It | Alexis Redding

April 08, 2026

00:00 – Rethinking the “Best Years” Narrative 01:30 – Are Students in Crisis—or in Transition? 03:00 – What the Data Really Says 05:00 – Loneliness as a Normal Developmental Experience 07:00 – The Expectation Gap 09:00 – When Language Gets Complicated 11:30 – The Institutional Dilemma 13:30 – Meeting Students Where They Are 15:00 – The W-Curve Explained 17:30 – Why the W-Curve Matters 19:00 – Beyond the Traditional Student 20:30 – Building Connection in Online Learning 22:00 – From Theory to ...

Why Moving Ahead in Math Isn’t Always the Right Move | Jon Star

April 01, 2026

00:00The case for rethinking how we challenge advanced math students 00:49Why focus on high-performing students during a time of learning recovery 01:09The tradeoff: prioritizing struggling students vs. supporting advanced learners 02:51Inside the classroom: the real challenge of differentiation 03:17Why accelerating students can make teaching more difficult 05:21The downside of treating math like a race 06:37A better approach: depth over speed 07:44When accelerationdoesmake sense (and for wh...

The Pressure to Chase Prestige in College Admissions | Jeff Selingo

March 25, 2026

00:00 Why families fixate on elite colleges—and the rise of the “panicking class” 01:15 How rankings shape decisions (and why they mislead) 03:10 The truth about differences between top-ranked schools 04:45 Why choosing a college feels so confusing 06:15 How test-optional, early decision, and the Common App changed everything 08:20 Inside the “black box” of holistic admissions 10:05 Who makes up the “panicking class” 11:40 Reality check: most colleges accept most students 13:00 Prestige press...