Today we are taking on a topic that sits at the intersection of high school and college education: Dual Enrollment. With the increase of dual enrollment courses at Mt SAC and across the state, we wanted to explore the lived realities of the instructors who are teaching these courses and leading the way for high school student success at the college level.

I had the privilege of sitting down with two seasoned instructors, Felix Jollevet and Sonya Masl as well as Mt SAC's new Dual Enrollment Faculty Liaison, Candace Leuthold. We had a chance to explore what dual enrollment actually is, and what it means to teach college level material to high school students including the unique joys and challenges. Join me as we get into this important conversation together.

Resources:

Mt SAC Dual Enrollment Website

https://www.mtsac.edu/dualenrollment/

Dual Enrollment Slides from Board of Trustee Study (Great info)

https://tinyurl.com/dualenpresen

Great articles about teaching Dual Enrollment courses - discussing the growth of and the nature of achievement/access gaps within Dual Enrollment programs:

https://nortonlearningblog.com/2020/12/creating-positive-dual-enrollment-experiences-six-tips-for-college-and-high-school-teachers/

https://calmatters.org/education/higher-education/2025/04/california-dual-enrollment-community-college-growth/

https://www.ccdaily.com/2024/02/deep-dive-into-californias-dual-enrollment-data/

Run Time: 37 min, 42 sec

To Find the full transcript for this episode click HERE

How do political ideologies like fascism take shape, spread, and gain power over the way we think and act? Justin Freebourn, Ph.D. tackles this big question in this episode. He holds his ph.D. in Political Science from UC Riverside and has published work in the journals of Party Politics, Political Research Quarterly, and Legislative Studies Quarterly.

As Freebourn shares in his talk from Fall Flex Day 2025 called "Teaching Under Fascism: Ideological Framing for Learning and Science", he examinates how social sciences can shed light on how political shifts can lead to erosion of democratic competition making us fall into a system of exclusion and control. In this episode Freebourn explores how political ideology, persuasion, and knowledge itself is organized. Let's listen in.

References/Resources:

• Baer, J. A. (1983). Equality under the Constitution: Reclaiming the Fourteenth Amendment. Cornell University Press.

• Bishin, B. (2009). Tyranny of the Minority: The subconstituency politics theory of representation. Temple University Press.

• Borg, M. J. (2009). The Heart of Christianity: Rediscovering a life of faith. Zondervan.

• Freebourn, J. P. (2023). Fiscal Policy Preferences in the US Context: Theory, Measurement, and Practice. University of California, Riverside.

• Freebourn, J.P. (Forthcoming). Imagining Tomorrow: Americans' attitudes towards basic income. The Social Science Journal.

• French, J. R., & Raven, B. (1959). The Bases of Social Power. Studies in Social Power.

• Golash-Boza, T. M. (2016). Race and Racisms: A critical approach. Oxford University Press.

• Mlodinow, L. (2013). Subliminal: How Your Unconscious Mind Rules Your Behavior. Vintage.

• Oatley, T. (2018). International Political Economy. Routledge.

• Stewart, A. J., McCarty, N., & Bryson, J. J. (2020). Polarization under rising inequality and economic decline. Science advances, 6(50), eabd4201.

Run Time: 1 hour, 7 min

To Find the full transcript for this episode click HERE

We appreciate your support and hope you've enjoyed and learned from this season's episodes so far! We will be taking a short break from releasing episodes over the coming holiday season. You can expect new episode releases when we return in the New Year, in January 2026.

The best way to not miss our return is to make sure you're subscribed to the podcast on your favorite listening app - if you're not already subscribed.

From everyone here at the Mt. SAC podcast - we are wishing you a safe and happy holiday season!

Run Time: 2:00 min

To Find the full transcript for this episode click HERE