Podcast
Cultural Context of Knowledge
Dr. Donald Easton-Brooks, Ph.D.
Now Streaming
The Cultural Context of Knowledge
A podcast connecting research and educator practice to explore how understanding develops through our cultural lens. Dr. Easton-Brooks uncovers the cultural context that gives knowledge its meaning — and what that means for building classrooms, curricula, and institutions that serve every learner.
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- S2 E3March 9, 2026
Why Some Knowledge Is Marginalized: The Evolution of Ethnic Studies
Explores the history of ethnic studies and how student movements challenged universities to recognize marginalized histories and perspectives — and how expanding participation reshapes the boundaries of legitimate knowledge.
- S2 E2March 9, 2026
From Knowledge to Legitimacy: How Institutions Decide What Counts
How do ideas become legitimate knowledge? Drawing on Foucault, Kuhn, Merton, and Bourdieu, this episode examines how universities, journals, and academic institutions decide what counts as credible through power and gatekeeping.
- S2 E1February 21, 2026
Knowledge, Power, and the U.S. Demographic Pivot
The classroom has changed — has education? For the first time in U.S. history, children under 18 are the majority non-white. Season 2 opens with the question: who decides what counts as knowledge?
- S1 E11January 20, 2026
Learning Is a Struggle (Learner Edition) — Part 7: From Studying to Transfer, Confidence, and Long-Term Growth
Closing the seven-part series: how to move beyond short-term studying and build learning that transfers across new classes, new problems, and real-life decision-making.
- S1 E10January 19, 2026
Learning Is a Struggle (Learner Edition) — Part 6: Build Your Personal Learning System
A simple, repeatable learning system you can use for any subject — especially when motivation is low and pressure is high. Consolidates the series into one method matched to individual needs.
- S1 E9January 19, 2026
Learning Is a Struggle (Learner Edition) — Part 5: When Learning Delays Happen, How to Catch Up Without Panic
What's really happening when you feel behind, stuck, or like nothing is clicking — especially under time pressure. Common sources of learning delays and recovery routines that avoid cramming or quitting.
- S1 E8January 19, 2026
Learning Is a Struggle (Learner Edition) — Part 4: What to Do When You're Stuck
Turns Bloom's Taxonomy into a practical toolkit. Simple strategies matched to each phase of learning — from recall through creation — so you stop studying the same way for every class.
- S1 E7January 19, 2026
Learning Is a Struggle (Learner Edition) — Part 3: How to Diagnose What You Don't Understand Yet
Most people don't struggle because they're 'not smart' — they struggle because they study in a way that doesn't match what the task requires. Introduces Bloom's Taxonomy as a diagnostic tool.
- S1 E6January 19, 2026
Learning Is a Struggle (Learner Edition) — Part 2: Memorization vs. Learning, How to Make Studying Actually Stick
Studying as memorization leaves information that disappears on tests or can't be used in real problems. Breaks down the difference between memorizing and learning so what you study actually sticks.
- S1 E5January 19, 2026
Learning Is a Struggle (Learner Edition) — Part 1: How Your Brain Makes Room for New Information
Why learning naturally feels difficult — and why that struggle is not a sign something is wrong with you. A 'mental storage room' metaphor opens the seven-part Learner Edition series.
- S1 E4January 16, 2026
From a Cultural Context: Rethinking STEM
Challenges the common assumption that STEM is neutral. If 'math is objective' and 'data speaks for itself,' what gets hidden is the cultural design of many STEM classrooms — speed, linearity, and whose way of knowing counts.
- S1 E3January 16, 2026
The Foundation — Whose Knowledge Counts? Culture, Power, and Learning
A foundational question most schools rarely name: what counts as knowledge, and who gets to decide? Moves beyond the myth that curriculum and assessment are neutral to examine how knowledge is shaped by culture and power.
- S1 E2January 12, 2026
Learning Is a Struggle AI Must Not Skip (Non-NotebookLM Version)
Dr. Easton-Brooks compares Episode 1's NotebookLM output with his own narration to examine a central truth: genuine learning is a productive struggle that moves us from uncertainty to understanding through a sequence of steps.
- S1 E1January 7, 2026
Learning Is a Struggle AI Must Not Skip (NotebookLM Version)
The inaugural episode, produced with NotebookLM to create a fully AI-narrated conversation exploring Dr. Easton-Brooks' view that learning is a productive struggle — a process of moving from confusion toward clarity.