Catching Up: School Choice, AI & Humanity, and Bottom-Up Innovation

About this episode

Nate McClennen and Mason Pashia discuss changes in education, the impact of school choice, and the future of AI and work.

In this episode of Catching Up , Nate McClennen and Mason Pashia explore what's changing in education—and what should change next—through the lenses of infrastructure, accountability, and emerging technology. They discuss a "smart city" view of transportation and connectivity, unpack new research on how parents respond to grades vs. standardized test data, and examine a Florida study on how school choice competition impacts performance. The conversation then shifts to the Future of Tech and Work, including AI agents and the incentive structures shaping major AI companies—ending with a clear call to invest in "relational infrastructure" so that human connection, trust, and agency grow alongside AI. Outline (00:00) Welcome & Overview (03:23) Infrastructure & Mexico City (08:36) AI Agents & Moltbook (13:37) Parents, Grades & Testing (18:28) School Choice Study (38:26) Bottom-Up Innovation Framework (47:08) What's That Song? Links Watch the full video here Interpreting Performance: Evidence on Signal Weighting in Human Capital Investment In These Districts, Students Get an English Credit for On-the-Job Internships What actually determines AI's impact on humanity? Incentives, value…

People in this episode

Hosts: Nate McClennen, Mason Pashia

Topics covered

• school choice
• AI
• humanity
• bottom-up innovation
• education
• infrastructure
• accountability
• emerging technology

Keywords

• smart city
• transportation
• connectivity
• grades
• standardized tests
• Florida study
• AI agents
• relational infrastructure

Mentioned in this episode

Products: Moltbook

Books & works: Catching Up:, Welcome & Overview, Interpreting Performance: Evidence

Places: Florida

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