In this episode of Shifting Schools, Jeff and Tricia reflect on the 2025–2026 school year and what they are seeing as schools move into a more mature phase of AI work. The conversation moves beyond tools and prompt tips into the deeper questions now facing educators and school leaders: AI companions, student wellbeing, shadow AI use, schoolwide expectations, sustained professional learning, and the need to rethink pedagogy for a world shaped by information overload.

Jeff and Tricia discuss why AI support in schools can no longer be limited to one-off workshops. They share what they are hearing from school leaders, counselors, teachers, support staff, and districts that are beginning to ask for longer-term help. The episode also explores why honest, nonjudgmental conversations matter, especially when students and adults are already using AI in personal, social, and emotional ways.

00:00 — Opening reflection on the 2025–2026 school year Jeff welcomes listeners and invites Tricia to reflect on the year in AI and schools.

00:37 — AI companions become a serious school conversation Tricia shares why this was the year more school leaders became open to talking about AI companions.

02:39 — Companionship, loneliness, and parasocial relationships Tricia connects AI companion use to broader human patterns of connection, including parasocial relationship theory.

04:54 — Why school counselors need to be part of the AI conversation Jeff and Tricia discuss students turning to AI for advice and support, and how counselors can respond without dismissing students' experiences.

06:23 — Shadow AI use in schools Jeff explains why schools need to name the AI use already happening among staff, students, and support teams.

08:58 — Honesty, openness, and nonjudgmental conversations Tricia highlights what has not changed: the need for trust, honesty, and open dialogue.

09:18 — The "large breed puppy" problem Tricia explains why waiting to address AI is risky, using the analogy of training a large dog while it is still small.

10:00 — From one-off PD to sustained AI support Jeff describes a shift in what districts are asking for: longer-term cohorts, yearlong support, and multi-year planning.

11:49 — What can schools retire now? Tricia and Jeff discuss the chance to move away from outdated practices and ask more complex questions.

12:57 — From information scarcity to information overload Jeff argues that schools were built for a world where information was scarce, but students now need to be assessed on sense-making.

15:00 — New possibilities for learning Tricia points to opportunities for students to tell familiar stories in new ways and work with more complex problems.

15:28 — Summer episodes and favorite replays Jeff previews upcoming summer reflections and replays from the past year.

Looking for something thoughtful, funny, curious, and conversation-starting for Father's Day weekend? This episode may be just the thing.

We are welcoming back Brian Boone, a writer, researcher, and storyteller whose work reminds us that trivia is not really about random facts. It is about memory, meaning, surprise, and the pleasure of sharing something unexpected with someone else.

That makes this conversation especially fitting for Father's Day weekend. Trivia has a way of bringing people together across generations. It can turn into a car ride conversation, a dinner-table debate, a story you have heard before but somehow still want to hear again, or the kind of small shared fact that becomes part of a family's language.

In this episode, Brian talks about the research behind his work, the fandom that has gathered around it, and why his latest book could make a particularly good Father's Day gift for the dad, granddad, uncle, mentor, or curious person in your life who loves facts, stories, pop culture, puzzles, or simply knowing things no one else in the room knows.

This is a Father's Day weekend episode for anyone who has ever bonded over a weird fact, a favorite movie, a sports stat, a music memory, a book, a question, or the sentence: "Wait, did you know this?"

In this episode, we discuss:

Why trivia is not trivial How curiosity becomes connection Why odd facts often carry personal meaning The research and storytelling behind Brian Boone's work The fandom around his books and writing Why trivia makes such a good Father's Day weekend gift How shared knowledge can spark family stories, laughter, and conversation

Featured Guest: Brian Boone, writer, researcher, and author

Check out his book:

https://bathroomreader.com/

In this episode of Shifting Schools, Jeff and Tricia talk about vibe coding: the emerging practice of using AI tools to help turn prompts, sketches, hunches, and half-formed ideas into working prototypes. They look at what this shift means for educators, students, school leaders, and anyone trying to understand how AI is changing the relationship between imagination and production.

This is not a conversation about replacing technical skill. It is a conversation about what becomes possible when more people can test ideas, build small tools, and learn through making.

Jeff and Tricia explore the promise, the messiness, and the limits of vibe coding.

In this episode, Jeff and Tricia discuss:

How vibe coding changes the entry point into programming and prototyping.

Why prompting, testing, revising, and debugging still matter.

How AI-assisted creation can support curiosity, experimentation, and iteration.

How vibe coding connects to design thinking, computational thinking, and digital humanities.

Questions to discuss if you use this episode as a team meeting resource:

What should students understand before, during, and after using AI to help them code?

How might vibe coding give more students access to building tools, games, simulations, websites, or data projects?

Where might you experiment with vibe coding in one small way this summer?

For educators: This episode can be used as a conversation starter for teams thinking about AI literacy, computer science, project-based learning, media literacy, or assessment. It also connects directly to digital humanities work, especially when students use code to explore stories, archives, maps, texts, timelines, or cultural data in new ways.

Possible staff discussion prompt: If students can now build working digital projects before they have mastered traditional coding, what do we want them to learn from the process?

Listen for: The difference between making something that works and understanding why it works.

Links we refer to:

https://triciafriedman.com/comedy-as-evidence-a-media-and-data-literacy-look-at-what-we-watch/

https://nextturnleadership.site/

What do we really mean when we tell young people to "be yourself"?

In this episode, Tricia Friedman speaks with Meredith Walker, co-founder of Smart Girls with Amy Poehler and author of Be Yourself and Other Bad Advice. Together, they question one of the most common phrases young people hear from adults: "be yourself." It sounds kind. It sounds simple. But for many young people, especially those still figuring out who they are, the advice can feel vague, confusing, or even impossible.

Meredith invites us to slow down and ask better questions. What does it mean to become yourself? How do young people sort through the noise of expectation, comparison, performance, and pressure? And how can adults offer support that feels more useful than a slogan?

The conversation also explores one of Meredith's favorite mottos: "get your hair wet." It is an invitation to join in, to stop waiting until everything looks perfect, and to enter the messy, joyful, human parts of life. For educators, caregivers, and anyone who works alongside young people, this episode is a reminder that becoming yourself is not a polished final product. It is a practice.

In this episode, you'll hear about:

How Meredith Walker thinks about the phrase "be yourself"

Why some well-meaning advice can leave young people without enough guidance

What adults can do instead of offering vague encouragement

How Smart Girls has helped shape conversations about curiosity, courage, and identity

Why "getting your hair wet" is a powerful metaphor for participation, joy, and self-discovery

How young people can begin defining identity on their own terms

Join us as Keala Kendall, author of the compelling gothic novel That Which Feeds Us, takes us through her creative process, the importance of representation in storytelling, and how horror can serve as a mirror to society's fears and unresolved histories. This conversation uncovers the layers behind her work, blending culture, history, and genre to provoke thought and evoke emotion.

• Kendall's artistic process and how the novel evolved from initial inspiration
• The significance of Hawaiian history, colonialism, and land in her storytelling
• How research and world-building influenced the succinct yet powerful narrative
• The role of horror in exploring societal fears and marginalized voices
• The creative benefits of genre fiction, especially horror, in addressing difficult truths
• Personal journey: reading influences, media inspiration, and her experiences as a Pacific Islander author
• The novel's reception, including selection by Reese Witherspoon's Book Club, and its impact on conversations about Hawaii
• The importance of representation and amplification of Pacific Islander stories in publishing
• How fiction can be a tool for education and social change

00:00 - Introduction to the novel That Which Feeds Us 00:30 - The inspiration and artistic process behind the book 01:25 - Use of horror to tell stories rooted in colonial history 02:16 - Hawaii as a gothic setting and its historical echoes 03:00 - How the novel balances brevity with depth and world-building 06:13 - Introducing the protagonist, Lihua, and her connection to Hawaii 07:03 - The significance of the book's title and themes of reciprocal land relationships 07:53 - The impact of the Reese Witherspoon Book Club selection 08:28 - What readers might discuss after reading the book 10:05 - Amplifying Pacific Islander voices and stories in publishing 11:17 - The concept of ghosts and history as a collective haunting 12:49 - Confronting Hawaii's dark history and media portrayals 13:17 - The influence of reading and media on her writing, including White Lotus and horror films 14:05 - Early ideas for the novel and Hawaiian cultural motifs in her stories 15:36 - How horror makes space for taboo topics and societal critique 16:24 - Early stories about sisters and the significance of land in Hawaiian culture 17:22 - Her transition from Massachusetts inspiration to homeland storytelling 18:07 - Influences from film and media, including Moana and Hollywood's depiction of Hawaii 19:02 - The intersection of media representations and authentic cultural narratives 20:58 - The pandemic's role in shaping her perspective on Hawaii's infrastructure 22:12 - Why horror's capacity for boundary-pushing makes it vital today 23:58 - The societal fears reflected in horror, from Godzilla to Get Out and Us 25:26 - The power of horror in sparking conversations and societal reflection 26:20 - Closing remarks and thoughts on the book's impact and importance

Keala Kendall is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of How Far I'll Go and Nobody Gets Left Behind in Disney's A Twisted Tales series. Hapa Native Hawaiian, she is a co-founder of Pacific Islanders Publishing and a past organizer of the charity Books for Maui.

This week, Tricia Friedman speaks with Veronica Roth, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Divergent series and the author of Seek the Traitor Son, the first book in a new epic romance dystopian fantasy series.

In this conversation, Veronica shares how watching Taylor Swift perform during the Eras Tour helped her reflect on her own earlier work, her growth as an artist, and what it means to keep creating after a hugely successful series. She also talks about world-building, writing for young readers, creative confidence, and the challenge of beginning again as an author.

For educators, librarians, parents, and anyone supporting creative young people, this episode offers a rare look at how one of today's most widely read writers thinks about imagination, reinvention, and the stories that stay with readers.

00:00 — Welcome to the Show 01:00 — Veronica Roth's New Book, Seek the Traitor Son 03:00 — Looking Back at Divergent 06:00 — What Taylor Swift's Eras Tour Helped Veronica See 10:00 — Creative Reinvention After Huge Success 14:00 — Writing for Young Readers 18:00 — Building Dystopian and Fantasy Worlds 23:00 — What Inspires Veronica's Creative Process 28:00 — Advice for Creative Young People 32:00 — Why Stories Still Matter

This week, Tricia Friedman welcomes Dr. Brittney Cooper to the podcast to talk about her new picture book, Mama Says I'm Fine, illustrated by Tamisha Anthony. The conversation explores the story behind the book, the emotional weight of the phrase "you're fine," and how children's literature can hold care, resilience, identity, and family love.

Dr. Cooper also reflects on what it means to write with intention and to collaborate with artists, editors, and readers in mind. Known for her work as a New York Times bestselling author, cultural critic, professor, and public thinker, Dr. Cooper brings a layered perspective to writing for young readers and the adults who read alongside them.

Mama Says I'm Fine by Brittney Cooper, illustrated by Tamisha Anthony. Dr. Brittney Cooper's Rutgers faculty profile. Dr. Brittney Cooper's TED Talk, "The racial politics of time."

Patricia Cornwell joins Tricia Friedman for a conversation about memory, writing, curiosity, forensic science, and the memoir she never expected to write.

In this episode, Cornwell reflects on the childhood experiences that shaped her imagination, including the early encouragement that helped her begin to see herself as a writer. She talks about learning to "populate the world with imagined characters," the role of journaling and archival memory in writing memoir, and why finding the opening hook still begins with one question: what am I seeing in my head?

The conversation also turns to the ethical weight of writing about violence. Cornwell explains why crime is not abstract to her, why she refuses to treat death as entertainment, and how her work through Kay Scarpetta has influenced readers, forensic science, law enforcement, and public awareness.

This is also a conversation about curiosity. Cornwell discusses her need to see, study, and understand things for herself, from forensic settings to archaeology, mummies, research trips, and the physical details that help stories come alive.

The episode closes with a reminder that feels especially timely: even as the forms of storytelling change, humans will always need stories.

Patricia Cornwell discusses:

How childhood imagination became a survival tool and a writing foundation

Why a fourth-grade teacher's encouragement still matters decades later

How she finds the "hook" for a book, including her memoir

The journals and early autobiographical writing that helped her reconstruct memory

Why writing about crime requires moral care, not exploitation

How Kay Scarpetta influenced forensic science, law enforcement, and reader behavior

Why curiosity keeps driving her research and creative life

The story behind the Annie Leibovitz photograph used for the memoir cover

Why stories will continue to matter, even as formats change

Tricia and Jeff talk about what AI literacy actually looks like in K-12 — past the policy memos, past the vendor pitches, past the "ban it or adopt it" debate that keeps stalling schools out.

They were very excited to receive questions from a student, and they used those as the structure for this conversation.

The conversation uses the Shifting Schools BAKE framework as a loose map: Balance, Adaptability, Knowledge-sharing, Empathy. A mindset-first approach for leaders who want to think clearly instead of react fast.

What Jeff and Tricia get into:

• How to explain AI to a 10-year-old without overcomplicating it (and why metaphors help)
• Where kids still need to struggle on their own — and why productive friction is identity-forming work
• The first habits to teach when a child gets AI access: check it, don't trust it; notice when your thinking shuts down
• Whether AI can actually make education more inclusive, and what has to be in place before it does
• The mistakes schools and parents are making right now: banning instead of teaching, adopting without training, treating AI like an IT rollout instead of a relationship shift

Check out the free one-pager:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/17ny-mD1QY450NdG5J4gVZzZE01qyFfOM/view?usp=sharing

This week Jeff and Tricia share their five top gifts to celebrate the special educator in your life.

They take you through why these five gifts celebrate creativity, learning, wellness, and show personal recognition during Teacher Appreciation Week.

Featured on the show:

WoofPack

https://woofpacks.ca/

SketchBox

https://getsketchbox.com/

PlantWave

https://plantwave.com/en-ca/products/plantwave

Back To The Roots

https://backtotheroots.com/collections/organic-mushroom-kits

Waking Up App

https://dynamic.wakingup.com/

What happens when you stop talking about students and start talking with them?

In this episode, Jeff Utecht sits down with high schoolers and asks a question most adults skip: what do you actually need from school right now? Not what teachers think they need. Not what the policy documents say. What the students themselves would name if someone gave them the mic.

What they share is honest, specific, and worth slowing down for. Some of it will confirm what you already suspected. Some of it will catch you off guard. All of it is a reminder that the people closest to the experience of learning have been telling us things we haven't always made room to hear.

If you're a school leader, classroom teacher, or anyone shaping the conditions students learn inside, this is a conversation worth bringing into your next team meeting.

What would shift in your school if student perspective wasn't a survey question, but the starting point?