The Gifted Ed Podcast

In this episode, we welcome Yonty Friesem and returning guest Luke Jacob to continue the series on digital wellness. Together, they unpack the concept of empathy—what it is, how it has evolved, and why it’s more complex than we often assume. The conversation explores empathy as a multi-dimensional skill and examines its critical role in supporting gifted students, especially within today’s digital environments.

Yonty Friesem is the executive director of the Media Education Lab and the founding director of the MA in Media for Social Impact at Columbia College Chicago as part of an effort to shape more equitable and trauma-informed practices of media and community engagement. Yonty’s publications include the theory of inclusive dialogs via youth media they call digital empathy. In 2022, Yonty co-founded the Illinois Media Literacy Coalition and co-edited the Routledge Handbook of Media Education Futures Post-Pandemic. Yonty serves as a member of the international global board of UNESCO Information and Media Literacy Alliance.

Lucas Jacob is an educator with more than 30 years of experience across PreK–12 settings, a published writer and poet, former Fulbright Scholar, and former co-editor-in-chief of the Journal of Media Literacy Education. His work focuses on the intersections of media, learning, and human development.

Host: Meghan McCarthy
Co-Producers: Adam Metcalf and Jeff Westbrook
Original Music by Adam G-F
How you can be involved:
Subscribe to The Gifted Ed Podcast
Email us at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Submit a ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠feedback form⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to the podcast team to let us know of any topics that you would like discussed. Additionally, you can use this form to let us know that you would like to appear on an episode as a guest and what topic(s) you would like to discuss.

In this second installment of a series on digital wellness and media literacy, we continue our conversation with educator, writer, and scholar Lucas Jacob to explore how these evolving fields intersect with gifted education. Together, we unpack foundational definitions, discuss how rapidly changing digital environments impact learners, and emphasize the importance of cultivating mindsets—not just skillsets—to help students thrive.
Listeners will gain a deeper understanding of how media literacy and digital wellness shape social, emotional, and cognitive development, and why these conversations are especially relevant for supporting gifted students in a fast-changing world.

Lucas Jacob is an educator with more than 30 years of experience across PreK–12 settings, a published writer and poet, former Fulbright Scholar, and former co-editor-in-chief of the Journal of Media Literacy Education. His work focuses on the intersections of media, learning, and human development.
Host: Meghan McCarthy
Co-Producers: Adam Metcalf and Jeff Westbrook
Original Music by Adam G-F
How you can be involved:
Subscribe to The Gifted Ed Podcast
Email us at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Submit a ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠feedback form⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to the podcast team to let us know of any topics that you would like discussed. Additionally, you can use this form to let us know that you would like to appear on an episode as a guest and what topic(s) you would like to discuss.

In this first installment of a series on digital wellness and media literacy, we welcome educator, writer, and scholar Lucas Jacob to explore how these evolving fields intersect with gifted education. Together, we unpack foundational definitions, discuss how rapidly changing digital environments impact learners, and emphasize the importance of cultivating mindsets — not just skillsets — to help students thrive.
Listeners will gain a deeper understanding of how media literacy and digital wellness shape social, emotional, and cognitive development, and why these conversations are especially relevant for supporting gifted students in a fast-changing world.

Lucas Jacob is an educator with more than 30 years of experience across PreK–12 settings, a published writer and poet, former Fulbright Scholar, and former co-editor-in-chief of the Journal of Media Literacy Education. His work focuses on the intersections of media, learning, and human development.

Host: Meghan McCarthy
Co-Producers: Adam Metcalf and Jeff Westbrook
Original Music by Adam G-F
How you can be involved:
Subscribe to The Gifted Ed Podcast
Email us at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Submit a ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠feedback form⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to the podcast team to let us know of any topics that you would like discussed. Additionally, you can use this form to let us know that you would like to appear on an episode as a guest and what topic(s) you would like to discuss.

In this episode, we are joined by Dr. Gwen Cooper, Middle School Head and Secondary Placement Director at Avery Coonley School, to unpack the process of evaluating secondary school options for gifted students.

We explore how families can thoughtfully navigate public, private, parochial, and boarding school choices—while keeping the individual needs, passions, and social-emotional development of gifted learners at the center of the conversation.

Dr. Gwen Cooper holds a doctorate in education and serves as the Middle School Head and Secondary Placement Director at Avery Coonley School. She works closely with families to guide them through the high school selection, application, and registration process, helping identify environments where gifted students can truly thrive.

Host: Meghan McCarthy
Co-Producers: Adam Metcalf and Jeff Westbrook
Original Music by Adam G-F
How you can be involved:
Subscribe to The Gifted Ed Podcast
Email us at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Submit a ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠feedback form⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to the podcast team to let us know of any topics that you would like discussed. Additionally, you can use this form to let us know that you would like to appear on an episode as a guest and what topic(s) you would like to discuss.

In this episode, we welcome back Lisa Wiltz and Eric Youngquist, who explore the essential role of play, simulation, and gamification in supporting gifted learners of all ages. This episode reframes play—not as downtime, but as developmentally essential, academically rich, and socially transformative.
Lisa Wiltz - With 39 years of experience, Lisa has taught preschool through early elementary and specializes in early childhood development and gifted education. She holds degrees from Illinois State University and National Louis University, has presented nationally on play-based learning, and currently teaches Pre-K 3 and Pre-K 4. Her passion: helping young learners build the social-emotional and cognitive skills that form the bedrock of future learning.
Eric Youngquist - Eric is in his 22nd year of teaching middle school social studies. With degrees from NIU and St. Xavier University, he brings learning to life through strategy, debate, and simulation. He coaches both a strategic gaming club and a debate team and is committed to using games to build communication, reasoning, negotiation, and empathy.
Listeners will explore:
Why play is the foundation of learning

How games and playful learning support creativity, problem-solving, cognitive flexibility, and emotional development

What empathy development really looks like from preschool through middle school

How educators can balance academic demands with meaningful play

Real examples of simulations and games that deepen learning, engagement, and rigor

Host: Meghan McCarthy
Co-Producers: Adam Metcalf and Jeff Westbrook
Original Music by Adam G-F
How you can be involved:
Subscribe to The Gifted Ed Podcast
Email us at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Submit a ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠feedback form⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to the podcast team to let us know of any topics that you would like discussed. Additionally, you can use this form to let us know that you would like to appear on an episode as a guest and what topic(s) you would like to discuss.