Our first episode of the new year features two parts: an opening conversation between Rod and Jal addressing the latest COVID surge and what it means for education systems, and a one-on-one conversation between Jal and his mother, Louise Mehta, as they connected during the holidays. Louise Mehta has been a teacher, administrator, and Associate Head of the Park School in Baltimore, Maryland, and most importantly, Jal's mother. Highlights from their conversation include: those who inspired and transformed Louise's perspectives on education; what Louise has learned over 30 years about how to support teachers and their growth; the role of students in hiring and whether too much student agency can be a bad thing; what policy changes we would need to professionalize teaching; why Harvard should train more teachers and fewer leaders; whether Jal's Mom thinks he can teach at an ed school without having been a classroom teacher;  and exploring whether Louise is truly a "free range human."  Louise's conversation begins at