{"podcast":{"title":"This Week with EdSurge","slug":"this-week-with-edsurge-392475","podcast_index_feed_id":392475,"rss_url":"https://feeds.captivate.fm/this-week-in-edsurge/","website_url":"https://www.edsurge.com/podcasts","image_url":"https://artwork.captivate.fm/9a8f08a5-916a-415a-b791-71a19d8c3d1b/PodcastCover.png","author":"EdSurge Podcast","episode_count":494,"summary":"This Week with EdSurge is the essential weekly podcast that takes you past the headlines and deep into the fascinating, fast-evolving world of education. Hosted by Ira Apfel alongside our talented team of EdSurge contributors, each episode cuts through the hype to explore the human stories shaping our schools—from the rise of artificial intelligence in the classroom to student well-being, shifting policies, and the future of teaching. Whether you are a classroom educator, a district leader, an edtech innovator, or simply a curious mind, this show delivers the rigorous, empathetic, and trusted journalism you need to understand where education is headed.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-30T00:19:39.963812+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/this-week-with-edsurge-392475"},"episode":{"title":"Recess, Screens, and Absenteeism","slug":"recess-screens-and-absenteeism","published_at":"2026-06-10T12:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/this-week-with-edsurge-392475/recess-screens-and-absenteeism","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/this-week-with-edsurge-392475","url":"https://www.edsurge.com/podcasts","audio_url":"https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/67bb8e88-30e0-4314-8f7c-79bfd169bccd.mp3","summary":"Schools have been quietly chipping away at recess for nearly a decade, and a sweeping new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics says it is time to stop. Meanwhile, the federal government has issued a formal advisory on screen time and children, raising urgent questions about how schools, parents, and tech companies should respond. This week, EdSurge reporters Lauren Coffey and Nadia Tamez-Robledo bring both stories together around a single urgent question: what does it look like when kids get less real-world experience and more pressure? What You'll Learn The American Academy of Pediatrics updated its recess guidelines for the first time since 2013, expanding its recommendations to include middle and high school students. One Massachusetts high school cut chronic absenteeism from 35 percent to 23 percent in a single year after introducing movement breaks, suggesting that belonging and physical activity can drive school attendance in meaningful ways. The screen time advisory issued by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy calls for bell-to-bell phone bans, warning labels on apps, and the elimination of recommendation algorithms for children, but researchers caution that the evidence linking screen time to negative outcomes is correlation, not proven cause and effect. Experts warn that broad phone and screen restrictions could inadvertently affect students with IEPs and disabilities who rely on assistive devices, a tension the advisory acknowledges but does not fully resolve. Stories Mentioned in This Episode Recess Took a Break in Some Schools. A Push Is On to Bring It Back by Lauren Coffey Surgeon General Advisory Wants Kids to Live Beyond the Confines of Screens by Nadia Tamez-Robledo Stay Connected Subscribe to EdSurge newsletters at edsurge.com Latest education n…","meta_description":"Schools have been quietly chipping away at recess for nearly a decade, and a sweeping new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics says it is time t…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1141,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/this-week-with-edsurge-392475/episodes/recess-screens-and-absenteeism/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/this-week-with-edsurge-392475/recess-screens-and-absenteeism.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}