School Sucks Project self-knowledge, self-education, self-mastery
Alex Bell was the teenager I had mind when I first started this whole School Sucks project. Struggling through school and variety of personal challenges, he was the kind of person I hoped to reach. Unfortunately, I didn't know this until we connected in Salem, MA in 2017. He discovered School Sucks Podcast in 2009, when the show was about three months old, and he has been a listener since then. Nine years later, Alex is in The Studio of Champions to talk about his journey from that discovery to the present day. Please Support School Sucks We do cool things! Thanks to your support. School Sucks is one of the longest running liberty-minded podcasts on the web, and the ...
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Latest Podcasts
October, 2018
September, 2018
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28 September
cinemaNUFACTURING – part three – “Last Looks” [PODCAST #581]
Part 3 of 3: "Last Looks" Tomas "Dutch" Deckaj and Scott Bowers are film makers and School Sucks Podcast listeners. I met them last spring in New Orleans where they were working together on a project. Dutch was the film's First Assistant Director, and he told me his job on set is similar to a principal at a high school. From there we discovered many connections between schooling and the film production process, including Hollywood's reliance on "factory model" of production. In this final installment, we discuss how to film us in the studio as a scene in a movie. Tangents: long takes, "letting the magic happen," and how Taxi Driver went off the rails. Please Support School Sucks We ...
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26 September
The Public School “Solution” [PODCAST #580]
A quick discussion about understanding the fears and motivations behind the development of the public schooling system in America. Shane Radliff and I discuss the radical school reform movement of the 1960s and how A Renegade History of the United States helped to add important nuance to my public school history narrative. We do cool things! Thanks to your support. School Sucks is one of the longest running liberty-minded podcasts on the web, and the only one completely devoted to the issue of education (versus public school and college). Your support keeps the show going and growing, which keeps us at the top of the options for education podcasts and leads to new people discovering our work. Please help us ...
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24 September
The Lessons of Location Independence [PODCAST #579]
Shane Radliff is a School Sucks listener and the creator of the popular website and podcast, Liberty Under Attack. In this joint production, we discuss the benefits, challenges and lessons of a location-independent lifestyle. Shane is preparing to live a more nomadic lifestyle, so we reflected on my extensive travels over the last year, including School Sucks Across America tour, Renegade University/SSP events and my recent relocation to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We talked about why I decided to pursue such a lifestyle, the importance of being with like-minded individuals in physical space and time, the role past decisions have on limiting freedom, the role of education in personal freedom, our past missteps when trying to discuss the philosophy of liberty with ...
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20 September
cinemaNUFACTURING – part two – “Soft Prep” [PODCAST #578]
Part 2 of 3: "Soft Prep" Tomas "Dutch" Deckaj and Scott Bowers are film makers and School Sucks Podcast listeners. I met them last spring in New Orleans where they were working together on a project. Dutch was the film's First Assistant Director, and he told me his job on set is similar to a principal at a high school. From there we discovered many connections between schooling and the film production process, including Hollywood's reliance on "factory model" of production, hence the series title. Today's Discussion: - Dutch and Scott explain where they each started in the film business - Tangent: running the camera - How Dutch and Scott starting working together - Pre-production and the script - How ...
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Premium Content
October, 2018
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9 October
[BONUS] THE DISCOMFORT ZONE – Session Two
(AUDIO, 125 MINUTES) In this series, we will build upon and grow our strengths, highlight and improve our weaknesses, diversify and increase our personal and professional skill sets. This ongoing saga will be an open discussion allowing us to question each other's actions to help ensure we are taking the best possible steps to keep us on track achieve our goals. Format: 1. Success: How did each of us "punch the world in the dick" (working title) this week? Greatest achievements. 2. Accountability - Did we take each other's advice from the previous session? How did it work out? 3. "Greatest Discomforts" - What is our biggest challenge/frustration/emotional weight this week? Discussion 4. Action Items - We give each other ...
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2 October
[BONUS] The Discomfort Zone – Session One, Hour Two
(AUDIO, 64 MINUTES) The first installment of our new supporter-only show - In this series, we will build upon and grow our strengths, highlight and improve our weaknesses, diversify and increase our personal and professional skill sets. This ongoing saga will be an open discussion allowing us to question each other's actions to help ensure we are taking the best possible steps to keep us on track achieve our goals. Today Andrew and I inventory each other's strengths and weaknesses and set some initial accountability goals for each other. Or click HERE
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September, 2018
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30 September
[BONUS] The Discomfort Zone – Session One, Hour One
(AUDIO, 63 MINUTES) The first installment of our new supporter-only show - In this series, we will build upon and grow our strengths, highlight and improve our weaknesses, diversify and increase our personal and professional skill sets. This ongoing saga will be an open discussion allowing us to question each other's actions to help ensure we are taking the best possible steps to keep us on track achieve our goals. Today Andrew and I inventory each other's strengths and weaknesses and set some initial accountability goals for each other. Hour two will follow on Tuesday. Or click HERE
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27 September
[BONUS] What Happened With Thaddeus Russell?
Since 2013, Thaddeus Russell made an impact on my life in five areas - as a historian and author, as a podcaster and podcast guest, as a philosopher, as a business partner, and as a friend. And that impact was a positive one in two and a half of those areas. People have been asking what happened? Mike the Producer and I provide the answers, long form. (AUDIO, 60 MINUTES) if you can't see the player, click HERE:
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August, 2018
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5 August
[BONUS] Inside Film Making – With An Outsider Hollywood Insider
The first and only occurrence of "High School Sucks" (AUDIO 73 MINUTES) Willie (a pseudonym) has worked his way through many levels of film production, ascending from a janitor to an essential part of the creative team on many films. He has organized large productions, written and directed. No player? Click HERE. I first met him at the Renegade U/SSP event in New Orleans, where he was filming an upcoming gangster movie. Willie's current project brings him to Pittsburgh, where he joined me, Andrew and James in the studio for an in depth discussion of the troubling present and possible future of the entertainment industry. Discussed: -Filming sex scenes and dealing with teamsters -Goodfellas and the Shining - Anachronisms and ...
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