Welcome back to the Ten Blocks podcast.

This week's special episode features an interview between former Education Secretary Betsy

DeVos and Manhattan Institute President Reihon Salam.

Secretary DeVos discusses her new book, Hostages No More, The Fight for Education Freedom

and the Future of the American child, and offers her candid thoughts

on political issues surrounding woke curricula in schools, while detailing the reforms America

must pursue to fix its badly broken education system. We hope you enjoy.

Secretary DeVos, thank you very much for joining me.

Secretary DeVos is, without question, America's most influential and effective proponent of educational

choice. As U.S. Education Secretary from 2017 to 2021, she worked tirelessly to reform the

federal education bureaucracy and to expand access to innovative educational options for kids across

America. A Michigan native, Secretary DeVos devoted countless hours to building charter schools

in Detroit and other cities throughout the state. And she's held positions in a number of the

nation's leading education-focused organizations, including the Foundation

for Excellence in Education, the Alliance for School Choice, the Acton Institute, and the All-Childer

Matter Pack. Throughout her career, Secretary DeVos has fought to expand opportunities

for children, whether they're religious, whether they're living in urban communities,

rural communities, you name it. Her focus has been on unlocking the potential of all of our

children. That's a goal that is central to our work at MI, and one that she explores

thoughtfully and movingly in her new book, Hostages No More.

Secretary DeVos, you've long had a clear and consistent commitment to what you've called

education freedom, a commitment you elaborate on in your new book.

...