The RISE Podcast aims to illuminate the human perspective behind education research and practice through a series of interviews with experts in education development. In the RISE Podcast series, we invite people who are passionate about improving education to discuss the ‘big picture’ ideas and narratives that have inspired their work. Our guests bring with them stories and expertise from a variety of experiences in research, practice, and policy, and it's our hope that their insights will shed new light on many different facets of education systems. Research on Improving Systems of Education (RISE) is an international research programme funded by UK Aid, Australian Aid, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to investigate how education systems can overcome this learning crisis and deliver better learning for all children. The Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford supports the production of the RISE Podcast.