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Brave New Teaching: A Podcast for High School and Middle School Teachers
Join hosts Amanda Cardenas (Mud & Ink Teaching) and Marie Morris (The Caffeinated Classroom) in discussions about being brave, trying new things, and all things teaching! As seasoned classroom teachers, Amanda and Marie bring their experience, insight, energy, and oh, so many opinions and ideas... It's time for all teachers to take their classroom and teaching practice into their own hands!
Episodes
391 episodes
We’re Building our ELA Units WRONG. Here’s how to fix it. - BNT Team Meeting [Ep 282]
What if our obsession with data is actually distracting us from the real work? In this team meeting, we dig into how a “data first” or “book first” approach can miss the human side of learning and why culture and engagement have to come first. ...
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19:30
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SEL and Organic Community Really Are This Simple - BNT Team Meeting [Episode 281]
Are you absolutely crawling through January molasses, too? I know I am! In this week’s Team BNT meeting we’re talking honestly about what happens when tired, overwhelmed students are trying (and failing) to keep everything in their heads as fin...
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20:08
New Year Teacher Trends for 2026: Goals, Books, and Real Talk - BNT Team Meeting (Ep 280)
New year, new team meeting, and it’s Amanda behind the mic kicking off 2026 with what’s been on my mind lately. In this episode, I share updates from my move into an elementary school library role, why curated is my word of the year, a...
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28:38
2026 Will Bring Uncomfortable Shifts, and That’s a Really Good Thing - BNT Team Meeting [Ep 279]
If you’re limping toward break and just trying to survive the week, this episode is a quick, honest team meeting and much-needed reality check. I reflect on how teaching has shifted since 2020, how AI and technology are changing our classrooms,...
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21:21
Kids Have Officially Forgotten How to Play, and We’re Going to Help Them Remember! - BNT Team Meeting [Episode 278]
If your algorithm has also been screaming “screens are ruining humanity!” at you lately, then you’re right at home with us in this week’s team meeting. We break down the tech panic, talk about why students are tech comfortable but not tech flue...
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15:23
Phones, Chromebooks, AI, and The Battle for Their Attention (Send Help!) - BNT Team Meeting [Episode 277]
Screens are running the show, and we need to talk about it! Phones, Chromebooks, AI - they’re everywhere, and they’re changing how students focus, work, and just be. I (it's Marie!) break down two articles, one on how kids think we can...
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23:59
Ok, but what if the secret to getting them to read is getting them to WRITE?? - BNT Team Meeting (Episode 276)
In this week's Brave New Teaching team meeting, Marie's going a bit off-script with an idea that has been bouncing around her head the last couple weeks about how to get students to engage with reading and the literacy epidemic that is pl...
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Episode 276
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28:14
Fine, We Can Game-ify Reading (But No Gimmicks!) - BNT Team Meeting [Episode 275]
Consider this your official invite to our Brave New Teaching team meeting! We’re catching you up on life, sharing what’s happening in our classrooms and libraries, and digging into why fun and whimsy are essential for bringing joy back to readi...
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29:25
TEACHING DYSTOPIA: Our NEW Favorite Stories & Protagonists [Ep 274]
Think you’ve seen all the dystopia books out there? Think again! In part three of our “Teaching Dystopia” series, we share hidden gems, fresh picks, and classics, from middle grade survival stories to YA novels exploring climate change and gove...
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29:48
TEACHING DYSTOPIA: A Spotlight for Juxtaposition [Ep 273]
Have you ever felt like dystopia is the genre that just keeps on giving? In part two of our dystopia series, we focus on the essential skills that make these texts come alive in your classroom, showing why depth beats covering everything superf...
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25:33
TEACHING DYSTOPIA: New Essential Questions to Try [Ep 272]
Ready to refresh your dystopia unit? In this episode, we explore how to make the genre feel fresh, relevant, and engaging for today’s students by rethinking essential questions and diving deeper into structure, theme, and skill connections. Fro...
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27:45
BACK TO SCHOOL: State of the BNT Union + Reading Update [Ep 271]
In this “State of the BNT Union” episode, we’re sharing where the Brave New Teaching podcast is headed next, from a new focus on YouTube and refreshed dystopia content to better-organized resources for teachers...plus a peek at the projects we’...
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44:13
INDEPENDENT READING: Breaking Down the Backwards Design for ELA Classrooms [Ep 270]
We’re calling it: independent reading is the back-to-school move of the year! In this episode, we’re getting honest about what it takes to build a reading culture that actually sticks, without burning you (or your students) out by October. We s...
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38:32
TJ KLUNE: A Conversation about The House in the Cerulean Sea [Ep 269]
In our final episode of Camp BNT, we got to sit down with none other than TJ Klune, author of The House in the Cerulean Sea—and let’s just say, it was everything we hoped for and more! We laughed, fangirled (a lot), and had the most me...
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1:22:02
HUDA FAHMY: A Conversation about Huda F Cares? [Ep 268]
We’ve been wanting to bring Huda Fahmy on the podcast for a long time, and this conversation was well worth the wait! From her journey as an English teacher to bestselling graphic novelist, to the power of humor, representation, and student voi...
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44:53
LIBBA BRAY: A Conversation about Under the Same Stars [Ep 267]
Some conversations leave a mark, and this one with author Libba Bray is exactly that. From the first few minutes, we found ourselves completely pulled in by her honesty, humor, and the kind of insight that makes you pause and say, “Yes, that’s ...
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56:22
KATIE BAYERL: A Conversation about What Comes After [Ep 266]
If you've ever daydreamed about writing a novel between grading essays, this one’s for you. In this episode, we chat with former English teacher turned YA author Katie Bayerl about her newest book, What Comes After—a laugh-out-loud, he...
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42:51
BREAK FOR THE 4TH: Amanda’s Road Trip Advice for Teacher Parents [Ep 265]
It’s Amanda here, and if you’ve ever hit the road with a car full of kids (or just your teacher brain trying to stay five steps ahead) you know that summer travel takes some serious strategy. In this solo episode, I’m sharing all my favorite ti...
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54:11
AARON H. ACEVES: A Conversation about This is Why They Hate Us [Ep 264]
This episode lit us up in the best way. Amanda sat down with Aaron H. Aceves, author of This Is Why They Hate Us, for a heartfelt conversation about identity and the power of honest storytelling. Aaron’s openness about his own journey ...
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45:00
AIMEE PHAN: A Conversation about The Lost Queen Part 2 [Ep 263]
We’re so excited to share part two of our conversation with Aimee Phan, author of The Lost Queen! If you caught part one, you already know how rich and thoughtful this discussion is. In this episode, we dive deeper into how retellings ...
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21:59
AIMEE PHAN: A Conversation about The Lost Queen Part 1 [Ep 262]
What if the legendary queens of Vietnamese history were reborn as modern-day teens in California? In this episode, we chat with author and educator Aimee Phan about her brand new YA fantasy novel, ...
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32:53
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SAMIRA AHMED: A Conversation About Internment, Part 2 [Ep 261]
In part two of our conversation with author Samira Ahmed, we deep dive into the genre of Internment—is it dystopian, speculative, or realistic fiction?—and why that label matters in the classroom. What starts as a conversation about sh...
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44:46
SAMIRA AHMED: A Conversation About Internment, Part 1 [Ep 260]
Camp BNT is back for year three, and we’re kicking things off with bestselling author (and former high school English teacher!) Samira Ahmed. In this episode, Samira shares how her time in the classroom shaped her writing, the inspiration behin...
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1:02:41
TEACHING THE HERO’S JOURNEY: A Fantasy Choice Unit Approach for 11- 12 Grade ELA [Ep 259]
We’re wrapping up our Hero’s Journey series with a fresh twist—this time through the lens of fantasy in eleventh-grade American Literature. Marie shares how she took a bold leap by introducing a fantasy choice novel unit, transforming student e...
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31:26
TEACHING THE HERO’S JOURNEY: Studying the Odyssey for 9-10 Grade ELA [Ep 258]
Teaching The Odyssey doesn’t have to be stuck in surface-level plot points. It can be the unit where students are guided through their own epic journeys!In this third episode of our Hero’s Journey series, we’re diving into how w...
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18:58