NYU historian Nicole Eustace reflects on the pivotal role teachers played in shaping her passion for history. She describes how, in 10th grade, an English teacher recognized her interest in history and encouraged her to write a...

In her book Covered with Night: A Story of Murder and Indigenous Justice in Early America, NYU historian Nicole Eustace tells the story of a 1722 murder of a Seneca man, Sawanteni, by two colonial fur traders, the Cartlidge brothers,...

Marci Shore, a historian specializing in Eastern European intellectual history and 20th-century totalitarianism, teaches at the Munk School at the University of Toronto as of July 2025. Drawing on her deep knowledge of Nazism and...

Marci Shore reflects on her experience attending a large, underfunded public high school in Allentown, Pennsylvania, where most teachers were disengaged, but a few stood out for their dedication. She highlights the profound impact of...

Peter Coyote explains his approach to effective, nonviolent protest, which he developed while teaching a class at Harvard called The Theater of Protest. Frustrated that many protests were misrepresented in political attack ads, he...

Peter Coyote reflects on three primary mentors who shaped his life. The first was Sue Howard-Nelson, a young African-American woman who cared for him after his mother’s breakdown. Growing up in a wealthy but emotionally silent household,...

Carl Hart, a professor of psychology and psychiatry at Columbia University, studies how drugs affect the brain and behavior. His research focuses on debunking common myths about drugs, such as the false belief that substances like crack...

Carl Hart reflects on the impact of one of his most important teachers, Rob Hakan, whom he met as an undergraduate at the University of North Carolina in Wilmington. Hakan told Hart that there was still a place in the world for people...

Steve Parks, a professor of English at the University of Virginia and director of the Democratic Futures Project, reflects on his 30-year mission to use education as a tool for strengthening democracy. He believes the classroom has a...

Lori Shorr, a professor of urban education and policy at Temple University and former Chief Education Officer for Philadelphia, shares how her experience shaped a unique course she co-teaches called School and Community Partnerships. The...

Leah Litman reflects on two influential teachers in her life. In high school, Steve Welkley taught her AP U.S. History, which later inspired her shift from chemistry to law and politics, especially during the pivotal time of Bush v....

Leah Litman, a professor at the University of Michigan Law School and co-host of the Strict Scrutiny podcast, introduces her book Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes. She explains...

Author Ralph White reflects warmly on the teachers who shaped his life, beginning with his mother, a fourth-grade teacher in Litchfield, Connecticut. Beyond her role as a parent, she fostered his love for writing and strong communication...

Author Ralph White recounts the real-life events that inspired his memoir, Getting Out of Saigon, published by Simon & Schuster in April 2023. At age 27, White was sent by Chase Manhattan Bank to manage its Saigon branch during the...

Daniel Levitin reflects on the many influential teachers he’s had throughout his life, from public school educators to university professors. He highlights his elementary school music teacher, Talmage Edy, as the first to teach him an...

Dr. Daniel J. Levitin, a neuroscientist and musician, discusses his book I Heard There Was a Secret Chord, which explores the profound effects of music on the brain and body. Drawing on neuroscience and aesthetics, he explains how music...

Scott Ellsworth is a writer and historian based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he also teaches at the University of Michigan. His new book, Midnight on the Potomac: The Last Year of the Civil War, the Lincoln Assassination, and the...

Holocaust survivor Irene Butter reflects on the person who had the greatest impact on her life: Manuel Antonio Muñoz Borrero, the Ecuadorian consul in Stockholm. During the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, Butter’s father sought to...

Dr. Irene Butter is a Professor Emerita at the University of Michigan’s School of Public Health, where she taught for over 36 years. A Holocaust survivor, she was born in Berlin and lived an idyllic early childhood before her family fled...

Earl Lewis reflects on the profound impact mentors and teachers have had on his life, highlighting two figures in particular. His first-grade teacher, Mrs. Cassell, encouraged him to dream big despite the constraints of segregation in...

Earl Lewis, founder and director of the Center for Social Solutions at the University of Michigan, created the center to address pressing issues such as diversity and democracy, slavery and its aftermath, water equity, and the dignity of...

Claire Bond Potter, Professor Emeritus at The New School, reflects fondly on her third-grade teacher, Doris Balant, as the most special educator in her life. Balant, who still lives in upstate New York, created a relaxed and supportive...

Claire Bond Potter, Professor Emeritus of History at The New School for Social Research, discusses her book Political Junkies, a history of how politicians have used media—especially social media—to gain power. Inspired by Donald Trump’s...

Ari Weinzweig reflects on a powerful influence in his life—Emma Goldman, someone he never met but considers a teacher through her writings and ideas. Goldman, a Lithuanian-born anarchist who immigrated to the U.S. in 1885, championed...