Hosted by Leigh Parise, MDRC’s Evidence First podcast features experts — program administrators, policymakers, and researchers — talking about the best evidence available on education and social programs that serve people with low incomes.

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	When Employers Hire Based on Skills: A Conversation with Matt Sigelman In this episode, Leigh Parise talks with Matt Sigelman, President of the Burning Glass Institute, which studies economic and workforce trends. They discuss skills-based hiring, a labor market trend where employers hire with the understanding that degrees are not the only way to acquire competencies.
	Training Workers When Employers Hire Based on Skills: Lessons from Connecticut and Virginia To learn more about skills-based hiring in Connecticut and non-degree programs in Virginia, guest host Rachel Rosen talks with Kelli-Marie Vallieres, Connecticut’s Chief Workforce Officer, and Elizabeth Creamer, Vice President of Workforce Development for the Community College Workforce Alliance in Virginia.
	Implementing an Evidence-Based and Domain-Specific Pre-K Curriculum: A Conversation with Cheryl Ohlson and Michelle Maier Cheryl Ohlson, deputy chief of early childhood education for District of Columbia Public Schools, and Michelle Maier, MDRC senior associate, discuss the district’s adoption of an evidence-based, domain-specific curriculum for pre-K classrooms (that is, one that focuses on specific areas such as math and literacy).
	Building Impact Through Partnership: A Conversation About Per Scholas and MDRC Leigh Parise talks with Tamara Johnson and Shondra Tobler from Per Scholas and MDRC’s Donna Wharton-Fields. They discuss their long-term research partnership aimed at helping Per Scholas improve its program and expand its reach.
	Promoting Equity in Developmental Education Reform: A Conversation with Nikki Edgecombe and Michael Weiss Leigh Parise talks with Nikki Edgecombe, senior research scholar at the Community College Research Center, and Michael Weiss, senior fellow at MDRC, about promoting equity in developmental education reform.
	Scaling Up High-Dosage Tutoring: Early Lessons from the Personalized Learning Initiative Leigh Parise talks with Barbara Condliffe, senior research associate at MDRC, about early lessons from the Personalized Learning Initiative, which is supporting the expansion of high-dosage tutoring programs.
	Supporting College Students in Rural Areas In this episode, Leigh Parise talks with Alyssa Ratledge, research associate at MDRC, about the learning agenda of the new National Rural Higher Education Research Center.
	Fines and Fees in Jefferson County, Alabama: A Conversation with Leah Nelson and Sarah Picard In this episode, Leigh Parise is joined by Sarah Picard, the director of the Center for Criminal Justice Research at MDRC, and Leah Nelson, the then-research director at Alabama Appleseed Center for Law and Justice. The pair introduce the history of fines and fees, share the perspectives of those who are assessed court fines or fees, and describe the disproportionate impact of court debt across racial groups in Jefferson County.