Top Class: The OECD Education Policy Podcast

Top Class is produced by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the intergovernmental body that runs PISA, TALIS, and some of the most cited education research in the world. That institutional weight gives this podcast something most education shows cannot offer: direct access to the people behind the data that shapes national education policies across more than 50 countries. Each episode features OECD researchers, university professors, and policy experts discussing a specific issue -- teacher well-being, the impact of AI on learning, bullying prevention, assessment reform, or how social-emotional skills show up in classrooms internationally. The TALIS report alone captures perspectives from 280,000 teachers across dozens of education systems, and Top Class regularly unpacks those findings in a way that connects global data to classroom reality. Recent episodes have featured guests from Harvard Graduate School of Education, the Brookings Institution, and education ministries from multiple countries. The conversations are substantive but accessible. You do not need a policy background to follow along, though you will come away understanding why certain reforms succeed in some countries and fail in others. Episodes run about 20 to 40 minutes and the production is professional without being flashy. The podcast updates regularly and is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and SoundCloud. For educators who want to understand their profession in an international context -- how teacher pay, training, autonomy, and working conditions compare globally -- Top Class provides a perspective you will not find anywhere else in the podcast world.