Investigative journalist Christopher Papst joins the show to discuss the reporting behind Project Baltimore and the troubling questions surrounding Baltimore’s public school system.
For years, Papst has investigated how billions of taxpayer dollars flow into schools based largely on enrollment numbers while student performance struggles to keep pace. Through whistleblower testimony, public records, and years of reporting, the investigation has raised serious questions about manipulated metrics, grade inflation, attendance reporting, and how accountability works inside large education systems.
Papst also discusses the stories behind his book Failure Factory, including the teachers, students, and insiders who stepped forward to reveal what they saw inside the system.
In this conversation we discuss:
• The investigation behind Project Baltimore
• How school funding formulas work and why enrollment matters
• Whistleblowers who helped expose internal problems
• Pressure and threats faced during investigative reporting
• Whether oversight should come from local, state, or federal levels
• What parents across America should understand about school data
This was one of the most eye-opening interviews we’ve had on the show.
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