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In this thought-provoking episode, Mike Palmer welcomes education journalist Laura Pappano to discuss her new book School Moms: Parent Activism, Partisan Politics and the Battle for Public Education. Laura shares her experiences attending Moms for Liberty summits, witnessing alarming rhetoric portraying public schools as indoctrination centers. She also touches on the work she is doing at the New Haven Student Journalism. While marketed as a grassroots parent movement, we learn Moms for Liberty is well-funded by far-right groups aiming to shift the political balance of local school boards. Laura recounts the transformation from 2022 to 2023 summits, with protestors surrounding the latter event in Philadelphia amid heightened tensions. The conversation highlights how extremist tactics like book bans and policies stripping educator authority threaten public education's democratic foundations. We explore the concerning nationalization of these trends, with local school boards becoming partisan battlegrounds dis