In this episode, Susan Wise Bauer and Susanna Jarrett are joined by Karen Swallow Prior to discuss selecting university education, particularly for Christians homeschool graduates.

• Dr. Prior’s substack
• Dr. Prior’s website
• You Have a Calling: Finding Your Vocation in the True, Good, and Beautiful by Karen Swallow Prior
• The Evangelical Imagination: How Stories, Images, and Metaphors Created a Culture in Crisis by Karen Swallow Prior

• (00:00) - Intro with Dr. Karen Swallow Prior
• (00:35) - The purpose of this conversation
• (02:47) - Susan and Karen's backgrounds
• (05:48) - Personal experiences
• (12:34) - How to evaluate universities with your student
• (17:26) - Differences between secondary and university Christian roles
• (20:48) - Education being "safe"
• (25:06) - The four-year degree and the readiness of a student
• (27:29) - The college litmus test
• (29:54) - Break
• (30:55) - The fear of indoctrination
• (44:54) - How to ensure a vigorous education
• (49:16) - "The search for truth" as a basis for education
• (51:13) - Looping back around to Karen's tenure as a principal
• (53:13) - Going back to teaching at an institution?
• (54:42) - What Karen's up to now
• (56:18) - Outro

In this episode, Susan Wise Bauer and Susanna Jarrett welcome Rachael Denhollander to the podcast to discuss homeschooling and abuse.

• Illinois case mentioned in the episode
• Book mentioned: Homeschooled by Stefan Merrill Block
• Links on biblical counseling movement
  • When Restoration Hurts via Christianity Today
  • The Rise of Biblical Counseling via Pacific Standard

• (00:00) - Introduction with Rachael Denhollander
• (03:36) - Understanding abuse in homeschooling
• (05:10) - Defining the categories of abuse
• (08:38) - Isolation and ultimate authority
• (17:33) - How to teach when authority is overstepping
• (22:48) - How to teach when and how to say "no"
• (27:40) - Break
• (28:17) - Authority is not absolute
• (32:04) - What to look for
• (36:52) - What is reasonable government oversight?
• (54:23) - What to look out for
• (57:38) - What should we be asking ourselves?
• (01:01:31) - Outro

In this episode, Susan Wise Bauer and Susanna Jarrett talk about parenting styles and discipline strategies with psychologist and homeschool veteran Dr. Melanie Wilson. Dr. Wilson has her own podcast, The Homeschool Sanity Show. She also sells curricula and homeschool tools at Fun to Learn Books.

• (00:00) - Intro with Dr. Melanie Wilson
• (00:47) - Revisiting FlyLady
• (01:50) - Discipline and parenting style in homeschooling and how it has changed
• (10:04) - "Too hard" vs "Too soft" discipline styles
• (14:38) - How to set boundaries in a non-authoritarian way
• (20:38) - Break
• (21:38) - How to setup healthy boundaries?
• (28:45) - How to model behavior for a toddler
• (39:55) - Acknowledging childhood trauma
• (46:34) - Try to relax. Pay attention. Make tweaks.
• (49:54) - Outro

In this episode, Susan Wise Bauer and Susanna Jarrett talk to Marissa Franks Burt and Kelsey Kramer McGinnis the authors of The Myth of Good Christian Parenting: How False Promises Betrayed a Generation of Evangelical Families.

Find the book on Amazon

Order directly from Baker

Bookshop book link

Audible link

• Instagram: @mburtwrites | @kelseykmcginnis
• Threads: @mburtwrites | @kelseykmcginnis
• Facebook: @mburtwrites | @kelsey.kramermcginnis
• Bluesky: @mburtwrites | @kkramermcginnis
• TikTok: @mburtwrites | @kelseykmcg
• Substack: @mburtwrites | @kelseykramermcginnis
• YouTube: @mburtwrites
• Website: Marissa

In the Church Library podcast

Links to additional interviews with Marissa and Kelsey

Marissa’s novels: Storybound, Story’s End, A Sliver of Stardust, A Legend of Starfire, and The 12 Dares of Christa

• (00:00) - Introduction with Marissa and Kelsey
• (06:14) - Children are human beings
• (07:16) - How a certain kind of theology can impact parenting
• (19:59) - Break
• (20:58) - Talking about sin
• (36:45) - The myth of instilling a worldview in adults
• (43:13) - Things Christians need to rethink
• (45:53) - Impactful stories
• (53:26) - Evaluating resources
• (54:41) - Check out "The Myth of Good Christian Parenting"
• (56:10) - Outro

In this episode, Susan Wise Bauer and Susanna Jarrett announce the upcoming release of The Story of the World, Volume 1: Ancient Times, 25th Anniversary Expanded Edition!

• Available everywhere February, 2026!
• The audiobook and/or PDF of the main text are available NOW at welltrainedmind.com
• Learn more about the Story of the World Vol 1: 25th Anniversary Expanded Edition HERE

• (00:00) - An announcement!
• (04:14) - What is different?
• (08:27) - More new features!
• (10:25) - The Instructor Guide and Student Book
• (15:29) - We're excited!!!

In this episode, Susan Wise Bauer and Susanna Jarrett react to listener responses to this season’s interview questions!

Note on Audio: Due to a technical issue, Susanna’s audio in this episode isn’t as clear as usual. Thanks for bearing with us—we think you’ll still enjoy the conversation!

• (00:00) - Intro
• (02:05) - How we're organizing the episode
• (02:39) - Favorite memories being homeschooled
• (02:49) - Cake doughnuts on snow days
• (05:16) - Hands-on projects
• (06:57) - Co-ops can be good!!!!
• (08:10) - One of the biggest challenges of homeschooling
• (08:45) - Hard relationships with parents
• (12:11) - The story of socialization
• (14:43) - Making the transition out of homeschooling
• (19:56) - Being self-motivated in a subject you hate
• (26:29) - Break
• (26:55) - If you could change one thing, what would it be?
• (27:02) - Us vs. Them
• (32:45) - Structure and technology
• (37:35) - Biggest challenges as a homeschool parent
• (37:48) - Career/school balance
• (44:26) - One piece of advice
• (44:36) - It will not look like the picture in your mind
• (45:39) - Try things!!
• (47:31) - Trust your gut
• (48:59) - Outro

In this episode, Susan, Susanna (and Susanna's teething one-year-old), interview Colleen Sharpe who went college for the first time after graduating two students from homeschool.

• Article by Colleen about her experience starting college at 55 years old.
• Research Susan Mentioned: A twenty-year study found that the amount of books available in a home had a bigger impact on a child's level of education than parent income, nationality, or parent level of education.

• (00:00) - Intro with Colleen Sharpe (and another special guest!)
• (00:42) - How Colleen and Susan know each other
• (04:29) - Colleen's homeschooling journey
• (07:19) - Fears and worries
• (09:20) - A Susanna check-in
• (09:51) - Colleen's second act
• (16:45) - How is homeschooling in Canada?
• (19:14) - Break
• (19:39) - Evolutions that stand out
• (24:01) - "Staying steady by staying curious"
• (26:40) - The role of books
• (29:14) - Finding room for curiosities and hobbies
• (31:23) - Instilling wisdom
• (34:30) - Colleen brags
• (38:07) - Outro

We will be back next week with a new episode! In the meantime, enjoy this re-release of our episode featuring Dr. Anika Prather.

Show notes:

Dr. Prather’s Website

Dr. Anika's Suggested Authors to Include in Your Study of the Cannon:

• Octavia Butler
• Anna Julia Cooper
• James Baldwin
• Martin Luther King
• Corretta Scott King
• Ralph Ellison
• Richard Wright
• Alain Locke
• Langston Hughes
• Carter G. Woodson
• Other Harlem Renaissance Author

• (00:00) - Intro with Dr. Anika Prather
• (02:22) - Is there Eurocentrism in classical education?
• (09:01) - Finding a better word than "eurocentrism"
• (12:33) - Marxist philosophy in classical education
• (15:42) - How to get to synthesis
• (38:58) - Classical education is understanding the human condition
• (43:02) - Wrapping up
• (43:21) - Outro