America's Caste System

America's Caste System

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Why American public schools are still broken

In 1966, the federal government commissioned a massive survey aimed at solving educational inequality. Instead, the explosive Coleman Report unleashed a 60-year debate over race, resources, and what education in America is actually for. This is the story of how the report came to ...  Show more

The SAT's 100-year grip on higher ed

For generations, the SAT has loomed large in the lives of teenagers. The quest for a perfect or near-perfect score has filled many test takers with dread. In this episode, a listener's question makes us wonder... who decided the SAT was the best and brightest way to filter studen ...  Show more

Recommended Episodes

American Caste with Isabel Wilkerson
Silence is Not an Option

Lately everyone has been talking about race, but Pulitzer Prize-winner Isabel Wilkerson wants us to look at caste as well. We may associate that strict social hierarchy with India, but Wilkerson argues it has been present in the U.S. for over 400 years. She talks with Don about h ...  Show more

Caste: Pillar One
Oprah’s Book Club

Oprah and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Isabel Wilkerson discuss her newest work and Oprah’s Book Club pick, Caste: The Origins of our Discontents. In episode one of the eight part series, Oprah and Isabel consider the first pillar of Caste as outlined in the book, "Divine Will a ...  Show more

Caste: Isabel Wilkerson
Oprah’s Book Club

The premiere episode of Oprah’s eight-part conversation with Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Isabel Wilkerson on her latest work and Oprah’s Book Club selection, Caste: The Origins of our Discontents. Oprah and Isabel discuss what called her to write Caste, how society needs a new ...  Show more

Caste: Pillar Three
Oprah’s Book Club

Part three of Oprah’s discussion with Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Isabel Wilkerson and readers of the book, Caste: The Origins of our Discontents. The third episode in the eight-part series focuses on the third pillar of Caste, "Endogamy and the Control of Marriage and Mating." ...  Show more