NEW NEWS THAT'S NEWSWORTHY:
Basic Books (Sowell's publisher) is teaming up with The Genius of Thomas Sowell Podcast to offer listeners a chance to win 4 Sowell books. Enter at SowellBooks.com for a chance to win!

In the previous episode, we listened to a 1993 interview with Thomas Sowell about his book “Inside American Education,” and we let Sowell himself introduce us to the main themes of that book.

In this episode, I’d like to present a more structured summary of “Inside American Education” and discuss my thoughts on some of the key arguments of the first half of the book. Later in the show I interview an elementary school teacher named Ramona Bessinger about her take on the arguments in Sowell’s book and whether or not the trends identified by Sowell are still happening today, 30 years later.

Here's a LINK to the original book on Amazon.

Here's a LINK to my favorite quotes from the book.

You can find Ramona Bessinger on Twitter: @RamonaBessinger

Special thanks to Priyanka Wolan for reading the Sowell quotes used in this episode.

Finally, if you recognized the background music which fades in at the end of this episode, you got a special treat. This is a guitar version of Pink Floyd's "We Don't Need No Education" masterfully played by Gabriella Quevedo. Look her up on YouTube, you'll be glad you did.

Here are some useful resources to help enjoy the show:

1) TomSowell.com is the show website, chock full of useful information.

2) Thomas Sowell quotes sticky post it notes are still in stock! Up until now we have been offering the pads for free, but beginning April 1, 2022 we will be charging $3 per pad, which includes postage. Each pad has 50 different Sowell quotes to stick around the house as a daily inspiration or as a way to introduce your friends and family to Sowell's ideas. You can find all 50 digital images of the post it notes HERE, feel free to download them and use them however you like. To get your free pad of printed post it notes, just email your mailing address to WolanAlan@gmail.com, and please put the word "Sowell" in the subject line. Remember, this free offer is only valid until the end of March 2022. Thereafter there will be a charge!

3) If you’d like to actively participate in this podcast, make a comment or ask a question, just record your comment or question using the Voice Memos app on your smartphone, then email the recording to me at WolanAlan@gmail.com. On a future episode I’ll play your comment and respond to it.

4) Please rate and comment about the show on your podcast platform; it helps new listeners find the show.

Thanks for listening, and see you for Episode 16 where we will be analyzing the second half of Sowell's "Inside American Education."

PS: In an upcoing episode we will be hosting a debate between two terrific scholars about Sowell's views on Affirmative Action, as presented in chapter 6 of "Inside American Education." If you would like to maximize your enjoyment of this debate, I encourage you to read chapter 6 in advance, you can find the full chapter

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Ramona Bessinger on Sowell's "Inside American Education" • Part 2

The Genius of Thomas Sowell