Extracurricular with Stephanie Vanos and Eddie Geller

Stephanie Vanos and Eddie Geller
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School Board Member Stephanie Vanos and Eddie Geller break down the news of the week and give an inside perspective from their world in Orange County Florida. Extracurricular regularly features interviews that focus on education, politics, and the arts. With there be humor and comedy? Sometimes!

  1. 4 DAYS AGO

    “A Hostile Takeover Of Community-Owned Property” — How Schools Of Hope Intend To Overtake Our Public Schools

    Eddie and Steph welcome Liz Barker, School Board Member for Sarasota County Public Schools, to the pod. The topic of conversation is the sneakily named Schools of Hope: the latest rendition of privately owned and operated schools funded by our public tax dollars. Liz begins by defining Schools of Hope (20:17) and shares more information from her recent Opinion Piece in the Herald Tribune titled, Sarasota schools could become rent-free spaces for others. We must act now. (30:07) They discuss the ramifications of Schools of Hope being allowed to co-locate in any of our traditional schools, not just the schools that have been labeled as “persistently low performing,”  and the Hope operators’ stated intention to ultimately take over the entire school. Liz inspires us all to take action and to fight back against these Schools of Hope (50:43). We bring the episode to a close by discussing Liz’s newest neighbor on the dais - the School Board Member she defeated in 2024 (55:10) - and how Liz maintains her mantra of community over chaos even in the most challenging times.    2026 Sarasota Legislative Agenda    Liz’s Op-Ed: “Sarasota schools could become rent-free spaces for others. We must act now.”   Follow us: Liz Barker Extracurricular Podcast Stephanie Vanos Eddie Geller

    59 min

  2. 6 OCT

    "They Know Who They Are." A Parent's Perspective On What We’re Teaching Our Kids

    It’s our post-Yom Kippur edition of Extracurricular and Steph and Eddie are ready to atone (but mostly Eddie).  Steph and Eddie welcome an activist, OCPS parent, and dear friend: Elly Kennedy (14:30). Elly has been supporting students in and out of the classroom since her now-high school daughter was in kindergarten. We begin by explaining the work Elly did to get her a Volunteer of the Year award and why it matters to find the students that the system is missing. Then, we dive into how a parent sees what OCPS is (and isn’t) doing for our students, and how much pressure kids and parents are feeling (35:35). Towards the end, we do a rapid fire round on a range of topics (1:00:43), before having a substantive discussion on the punk and hardcore scene, and how to know when it’s the right time to buy a house (1:21:42). Follow us: Elly Kennedy Extracurricular Podcast Stephanie Vanos Eddie Geller

    1h 25m

  3. 29 SEPT

    Hunger Is A Solvable Problem And This Organzation Is Doing Everything They Can To Solve It

    It's Stephanie's birthday! We celebrate by complaining about food and a certain car manufacturer that shall not be named.  And if that wasn't enough to be excited for, we interview two folks from Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida, Briana Rebello and Erika Spence to talk about food insecurity and the work Second Harvest does (11:11). We dig into why the work of feeding our neighbors is more important than ever (17:04), some not-so-obvious effects from the Big, Ugly Bill (23:15), and the work Second Harvest does in schools and why preventing stigma is such a key part of their job (31:17).  Support or get involved with Second Harvest Central FL: https://feedhopenow.org/ Follow us: Second Harvest Central Florida Extracurricular Stephanie Vanos Eddie Geller

    48 min

  4. 22 SEPT

    The Silencing Of Jimmy Kimmel, Testifying In Front Of Congress, And RFK Jr. Sightings

    What a week! Eddie and Steph recap their time in Washington, D.C., this week including Steph’s testimony at the Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs Subcommittee where she urged the members to invest in public schools, and Eddie’s unexpected sighting at Compass Coffee (3:40). They then discuss the controversy surrounding the discontinuation of Jimmy Kimmel Live! and implications to the First Amendment (18:30). Our resident comedian (Eddie) shares his take on the historical role of comedians in authoritarian regimes, and Steph and Eddie talk about the culture of fear takeover that is being felt from boardrooms to nonprofit spaces to elected officials (25:40). They end with some encouragement and ways to fight back (40:00).   Watch: Opening Doors to Opportunity: The Promise of Expanded School Choice & Alternatives to 4-Year Degrees (Steph @ 46:30) Follow Us: Extracurricular Podcast Stephanie Vanos Eddie Geller

    47 min

  5. 15 SEPT

    The Human Cost Of Repealing Florida’s Vaccine Mandates With Dr. Jaime Candelori

    This week, Steph and Eddie begin with some unusually substantive banter. Steph starts off by addressing a recent letter from the State Board of Education threatening teachers and calling into question their First Amendment rights in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination (4:15). Afterwards, Eddie rants about OCPS’s decision to join in the appeal with the Florida State of Board of Education.  But then they get to the heart of the podcast: Making Florida Actually Healthy with Dr. Jaime Candelori. We start by getting Dr. Candelori’s take on Florida’s intention to repeal vaccine mandates, what actually happens when someone gets the measles, and how it all connects to the dangers of MAHA (19:35). They then move on to a discussion of two enormous scourges of the 21st century: social media and gun violence (44:55). Finally, Dr. Candelori makes the affirmative, data-backed case for later school start times (1:08:17).   Follow us: Dr. Jaime Candelori Extracurricular Podcast Stephanie Vanos Eddie Geller

    1h 16m

  6. 8 SEPT

    "Why Are You Suing My Girlfriend?" An Interview With The Plaintiff In Florida's Surprise Book Ban Ruling

    In his solo podcast debut, Eddie asks Judi Hayes why she is suing Steph (13:02)! Judi Hayes, a public education advocate and mom of two OCPS students, is the Plaintiff in a lawsuit that sues the State Board of Education and the Orange County and Volusia County School Boards, which includes Steph in her official role (not in her unofficial role as a co-host of this podcast). Judi provides some answers, discusses the importance of having a broad array of books that serve all students on school library shelves, and describes how the State is trying to redefine well established First Amendment law (20:47). Eddie and Judi then discuss the broader implications of banning books and quashing free expression (26:21). Judi relates the State's argument that school library books are "government speech" and therefore not subject to the First Amendment, and how Judge Mendoza thoroughly crushed that argument in his Order. (36:19). Judi and Eddie discuss their thoughts on how OCPS should respond and its options as it relates to this Order (41:03). They end the episode sharing the potential outcomes of this lawsuit (48:20).    Follow us: Judi Hayes Extracurricular Podcast Stephanie Vanos Eddie Geller Lucero Music

    51 min

  7. 2 SEPT

    After The Pulse Crosswalk, "What Else Is Next?" Commissioner Shan Rose On The Destruction Of Home Rule And Much More

    This week, Steph and Eddie bring on Orlando City Commissioner, Shan Rose. Shan was just elected in 2024 but has been working on making Orlando better for many years prior. As we like to do, we began by giving Commissioner Rose an opportunity to explain what she does for the city (13:20). Shan explained why safety is her number one priority but how that doesn't always look the same for every constituent (16:20). We then dove into the ongoing Pulse crosswalk controversy, and how an under discussed aspect is the loss of home rule (25:53). That brought us into how federal directives attacking DEI are hurting communities and businesses (37:07). We end on a discussion of Shan's favorite book, The Color of Law, and all the ways racism is still shaping policies and behaviors (45:10). The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America   Follow us on Instagram:  • Commissioner Shan Rose  • Extracurricular Podcast  • Stephanie Vanos  • Eddie Geller

    1h 1m

  8. 26 AUG

    Rep. Maxwell Frost On Whether Dems Are Meeting The Moment, What The GOP Is Saying Behind Closed Doors, And Why He's Optimistic For The Future

    This week, Steph and Eddie had the pleasure of welcoming a dear friend: Congressman Maxwell Alejandro Frost. If you haven't heard of Rep. Frost, he's one of the most exciting up-and-coming Democrats in the entire nation, and he just so happens to be the Representative for District 10 where Eddie an Steph reside. We start by asking the big question: Are Democrats meeting the moment (16:28)? Rep. Frost then gives us an insight into what Republicans are saying behind close doors and why they're not speaking out (32:14). Finally, after discussing the GOP plan for a national taxpayer funded voucher program (45:32), we ask Frost where he thinks Democrats need to go when they regain power and what's giving him hope for the future (50:29).   Follow us on Instagram:  • Rep. Maxwell Frost  • Extracurricular Podcast  • Stephanie Vanos  • Eddie Geller

    1h 2m
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About

School Board Member Stephanie Vanos and Eddie Geller break down the news of the week and give an inside perspective from their world in Orange County Florida. Extracurricular regularly features interviews that focus on education, politics, and the arts. With there be humor and comedy? Sometimes!

Information

  • Creator
    Stephanie Vanos and Eddie Geller
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    24
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2025 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Extracurricular with Stephanie Vanos and Eddie Geller
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