In this episode of LiberatED, Kerry McDonald is joined by Neal McCluskey, Director of the Center for Educational Freedom at the Cato Institute, and co-editor of the new book Fighting for the Freedom to Learn: Examining America's Centuries-Old School Choice Movement, to explore the history of educational freedom in the U.S.

Neal also talks about the Public Schooling Battle Map that he maintains, and explains how allowing families to choose learning environments aligned with their values has long helped preserve social peace. He challenges the assumption that centralized schooling unifies society, and instead makes the case that pluralism, decentralization, and freedom offer a more stable and harmonious foundation.

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Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at edentrepreneur.org.

Kerry's latest book, Joyful Learning: How to Find Freedom, Happiness, and Success Beyond Conventional Schooling, is available now wherever books are sold!

In this episode of the LiberatED Podcast, Kerry McDonald is joined by Christina Stead and Hanna Lay, two homeschool mothers from St. George, Utah. Together they founded Desert Blossom Resource Center, a nonprofit created to support homeschooling families through community-led resources, monthly panel discussions, local events, and a growing online hub that now connects more than 80 families across southern Utah.

Originally envisioned as a physical community space, Desert Blossom has evolved into a virtual and community-driven model while the founders work toward securing a permanent location for future lending libraries, microschools, co-ops, and collaborative learning spaces. Christina and Hanna share how their idea began over a decade ago, how COVID reshaped their plans, and how Utah's rapid homeschooling growth has created both opportunity and urgency for better support systems.

This episode is a must-listen for familes and founders who are eager to build the ecosystems that help homeschoolers and microschoolers truly thrive.

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Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at edentrepreneur.org.

Kerry's latest book, Joyful Learning: How to Find Freedom, Happiness, and Success Beyond Conventional Schooling, is available now wherever books are sold!

In this reload of one of our most popular episodes, Whole Foods co-founder John Mackey shares his founder story, explaining why conscious capitalism leads to profound good in the world and offering tips for today's education entrepreneurs.

Here's one gem from the interview: "If you can make a profit, it proves that your business model is good," said Mackey. "That's the way you could do the most good in the world. That's the beauty of capitalism . . . If you have a good school, we need more of them. And how are you going to do it unless you can make money and reinvest it?"

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Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at edentrepreneur.org.

Kerry's latest book, Joyful Learning: How to Find Freedom, Happiness, and Success Beyond Conventional Schooling, is available now wherever books are sold!