The Early Link Podcast
From October 2016 to August 2025, Children’s Institute’s Early Link Podcast highlighted national, regional, and local voices working in early childhood education and the nonprofit sector.
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The Latest
Isabelle Hau asks, “What if love—not flashcards—built the smartest brains?”
What if love—not flashcards—built the smartest brains? In this episode of The Early Link Podcast, Stanford’s Dr. Isabelle Howe shares fresh insights on “relational intelligence,” why babies laugh eight times harder with a friend, and more.
We All May Look Different, We All Still Belong: Families Embracing Anti-Bias Values
In this episode of The Early Link Podcast, host Rafael Otto chats with producer John Nimmo and parents Gabriel and Casey—contributors to the new film Families Embracing Anti-Bias Values. The film features local families considering questions including: ”What kind of world do we want to create with our children?“.
Amplifying Student Voices: Rob Manning and Elizabeth Miller Discuss the Class of 2025
In this episode of The Early Link Podcast, host Rafael Otto speaks with Rob Manning and Elizabeth Miller from Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) about their groundbreaking long-term reporting project, the “Class of 2025.” Started in 2013, the project follows a group of students from first grade through their anticipated high school graduation in 2025.
Dr. Stephanie Curenton Discusses Preschool for All Evaluation with a Racial Equity Framework
This episode of The Early Link Podcast features Dr. Stephanie Curenton discussing Multnomah County’s Preschool for All program, equity, and early childhood development.
Paula Hyatt on how Ashland Invests in Families, Kids, and the Economy
In this episode of The Early Link Podcast, we explore what the city of Ashland, Oregon is doing to improve access to child care and early learning. Paula Hyatt, an Ashland city councilor, who has taken a lead role in this work, discusses the importance of a diversified economy and the need to bring people together to create solutions for kids and working families
Nevin Van Manen on Community and Citizenship in Grants Pass
We visited Grants Pass, Oregon recently and spoke with Nevin Van Manen, the principal at Highland Elementary about school culture, and community, and what it means to be from Grants Pass, from Oregon, and from the United States.