The Golden Table

Episode

• 
  #6 The Failure of Grit 14.09.2026 44mnt

  What if we've been teaching kids to succeed when we should be teaching them how to fail? Failure is inevitable. Trying something and getting it wrong is inevitable. So why do we spend so much time designing schools, classrooms, and even lives around avoiding it? In Episode 6 of The Golden Table, we sit with failure—not as a motivational poster or a buzzword, but as one of the most important parts of learning. What does it actually mean to learn from failure? How do we teach kids to fail without turning failure into trauma, shame, or another box they have to check? And then there's grit. We love grit. We praise the kid who keeps going, pushes through, and refuses to quit. But what happens when "never give up" becomes the wrong lesson? Is grit always courage—or can it sometimes become an excuse to keep doing something that clearly isn't working? Maybe the goal isn't simply to teach kids to keep going. Maybe it's to teach them when to keep going, when to change course, and how to become better because they failed. Pull up a chair. Support the show and get more episodes here. 
• 
  #5 Contradictions in Our Identity 08.09.2026 48mnt

  Episode 5 of The Golden Table sits in the uncomfortable, beautiful mess of identity, finding yourself, and learning to trust the process when you have absolutely no idea where it's going. We talk about the versions of ourselves we leave behind, the contradictions we carry, and the strange reality that maybe being a complete person means containing multitudes rather than having everything figured out. Neil deGrasse Tyson reminds us that we are, quite literally, stardust—chemically connected to everything around us. Walt Whitman tells us, "I am large, I contain multitudes." So maybe the goal isn't to finally "find yourself." Maybe it's to embrace the mess, accept the contradictions, and trust whatever this is becoming. Pull up a chair.
• 
  #4 What Happens When We Stop Caring? 31.08.2026 56mnt

  What if indifference is more dangerous than failure? This week on The Golden Table, we start with music, listener letters, and the albums currently fighting for space in my headphones. Then a letter from Jaziel—one of my former students—forces a much bigger question onto the table: What happens when we stop caring? Not just about school. About people. About ourselves. About becoming someone worth becoming. We talk about the strange power of finding the right book for the right kid, why one story can completely change how a young person sees reading, and the uncomfortable process of figuring out who you actually are. And along the way, we get into something I think we desperately need more of: Caring about something. Music. Books. Former students. Identity. And the question of whether we're still willing to care. Pull up a chair.  Support the podcast here. 
• 
  #3 Kids Want to Learn, They're Disengaged 24.08.2026 54mnt

  What if students aren't actually tired of learning? What if they're tired of outdated strategies, predictable routines, and crusty curriculum? In Episode 3 of The Golden Table, we take a hard look at student engagement—and start by looking at ourselves. What pulls us into something? Interest. Mood. Novelty. Discovery. The tension between what's familiar and what's new. So why do we expect students to be engaged by lessons that often ignore those same forces? Should education be fun? What are students really looking for? Are endless teacher trainings on "best practices" actually helping—or are we creating practice fatigue that makes learning feel even more predictable? And what do I see happening every single day in schools? Most importantly, we build a framework for engagement around a simple idea: great teaching starts with great knowledge. A rigorous topic that matters. Strategies that actually facilitate learning. Novelty that creates curiosity. And enough freedom for students to discover something for themselves. Because maybe the answer to student engagement isn't another strategy. Maybe it's giving students something worth being engaged with.
• 
  #2 Growth as Self Acceptance 17.08.2026 58mnt

  What does it mean to grow when the thing you've built your life around starts to feel stagnant? In Episode 2 of The Golden Table, Jacob Chastain sits down at the table to explore growth—the uncomfortable, exhilarating, sometimes painful process of becoming something different than what you were. We talk about the feeling of being stuck in teaching, work, or life, and why novelty matters—but novelty without follow-through is ultimately just play. We wrestle with the cost of change, the sacrifices required to pursue something meaningful, and the uncomfortable truth that sometimes staying where we are hurts more than leaving. Along the way, Jacob responds to a listener, digs into Isabel Ibañez's Graceless Heart and its ideas about growth and self-acceptance, and explores the extraordinary music of Moroccan-Canadian artist Faouzia—including her decision to leave her label and choose herself over the version of herself she could have become. Because growth isn't always about becoming more. Sometimes, growth is finally accepting who you are. Write in and share your thoughts. Pull up a chair. Join the table. 
• 
  #1 What is Knowledge? 09.08.2026 53mnt

  Hello and welcome everyone to the first ever episode of the Golden Table. We are getting right to it in this episode. After a brief overview of the show, we dive into essential questions around what knowledge is, who gets to access it, and who decides what knowledge is worth having.  Along the way we unpack why gold is precious and timeless, The New Colossus, and even touch on Tool's famous song, Schism. Join me at the table and explore knowledge and what it really means (or doesn't) to KNOW the world around us. Of course, the table is not meant to be lonely. Write in and share your thoughts on this episode and what it triggered in your thinking. Comments, questions, and musings are all welcome.