School Choice: Matt Bateman on Understanding Education Freedom

Podcast audio:

In this episode of The Ayn Rand Institute Podcast, Samantha Watkins interviews Dr. Matt Bateman, philosopher at GT School, co-founder of Higher Ground Education, and ARU instructor, about the school choice movement and the philosophical case for education freedom.

Among the topics covered:

• What the expanding reach of school choice programs means for parental freedom;
• Why parents, not the government, should invest in education;
• Why the school choice movement should refocus its arguments on parental rights;
• How bureaucratic accountability measures undermine school choice efforts;
• Why Rand’s tax credit proposal is better than a voucher system;
• The worst thing about the public school system;
• Rand’s influence on Bateman’s approach to parenting and education.

Recommended in this podcast are Ayn Rand’s essays “Tax Credits for Education” , “The Comprachicos”, and “Art and Moral Treason”.

This podcast was recorded Jun 3, 2025 and posted on June 26, 2025.

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