Education -

The Six-Step System That Can Make Anyone a More Persuasive Speaker

Most people believe that persuasive speaking is a natural talent. But retired Army Colonel Larry Tracy says it’s a skill that anyone can master. Drawing on decades of high-stakes experience briefing military leaders, defending U.S. policy before hostile audiences, and training professionals competing for multimillion-dollar government contracts, Larry developed an easy-to-follow 6-step system to help speakers communicate with confidence, clarity, and credibility in any setting.

Praised by President Ronald Reagan as “an extraordinarily effective speaker,” Larry demonstrates that persuasion isn’t about charisma—it’s about preparation. His battle-tested approach can help anyone influence audiences, overcome speaking anxiety, and deliver messages that truly change minds.

Larry’s proven system is featured in his book How to Bring Home the Bacon: Becoming a Persuasive Speaker.

Contact: Larry Tracy at (571) 336-0507; Ltracy@rtirguests.com

What Our Schools Forget to Teach About Democracy

America’s education debate usually focuses on test scores, funding, and curriculum. But retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, educator, and education reform advocate Elissa Mohan believes we’re overlooking a far more urgent issue: preparing citizens for self-government. In her forthcoming book, ENOUGH: Why America Is Failing at Education and What to Do About It, Elissa argues that today’s fragmented education landscape leaves too many students unprepared to evaluate information, engage in civil discourse, and understand the Constitution.

Drawing on her experience as a military leader, homeschool parent, public school teacher, and educational psychologist, she offers a bold blueprint for rebuilding education to meet the challenges of democracy in the AI age.

Contact: Elissa Mohan at (405) 346-8358; emohan@rtirguests.com

Why Children’s Books May Be One of the Most Underrated Health Tools in America

Most parents see children’s books as entertainment. Kenneth Korber, a health literacy expert, believes they can also be powerful tools for improving children’s health. “Storytelling may be one of the most effective—and overlooked—ways to improve public health, empower families, and help children build lifelong healthy behaviors, one bedtime story at a time,” he says.

After two decades as a clinician, he wrote and published The Musical Adventures of Grace series to extend the patient office visit into bedtime reading, helping families reinforce important health and wellness lessons at home.

His engaging stories and characters transform complex medical topics into age-appropriate adventures that children actually enjoy. Ken’s approach encourages healthy habits, eases childhood anxiety and fears, and strengthens literacy at the same time.

Contact: Kenneth Korber at (847) 238-8936; kkorber@rtirguests.com

Why AI Will Reward the Kids Who Know Math — and Leave the Rest Behind

The jobs AI creates will demand math fluency. The jobs AI eliminates will be the ones that don’t. Dr. Craig Hane has spent decades teaching math and watching schools recycle 20th-century methods for 21st-century students. His verdict: the system is failing them at exactly the wrong moment in history.

Through his Triad Math Army program, Hane teaches teenagers and young adults the math that actually matters — in a way that’s engaging, self-paced, and built for how young people actually learn today. He’ll explain why AI fluency starts with math fluency, which concepts will separate tomorrow’s leaders from tomorrow’s also-rans, and why it’s never too late to close the gap.

SAMPLE QUESTIONS:

Why does AI make math skills more important, not less?
What math do teenagers actually need — and what can they safely ignore?
How is your approach different from what schools are teaching?

CONTACT: Dr. Craig Hane at (812) 408-8047; chane@rtirguests.com

America Is Running Out of Teachers — And This Ph.D. Wants to Do Something About It

Over 440,000 teaching positions are now filled by unqualified staff or sitting empty. Deanna Gilmore, Ph.D., says the only way to fix it is to make people fall in love with teaching again — and to pressure lawmakers to fund salaries that keep them there. A 26-year classroom veteran, former school principal, and university professor who trained the next generation of educators, Gilmore wrote There’s a Pig on the Playground: Memorable Stories from the Schoolyard to do exactly that — sharing firsthand stories from teachers, bus drivers, paraprofessionals, and coaches to remind America what’s at stake before it’s too late.

SAMPLE QUESTIONS:

With nearly half a million teaching positions unfilled, what happens to America’s public schools?
What concrete steps can communities and lawmakers take right now to stop the bleeding?
How are school voucher programs making the teacher shortage even worse?

CONTACT: Deanna Gilmore: (208) 285-7567; dgilmore@rtirguests.com

How Adults Can Overcome Their Poor Math Skills and Succeed in the Modern Workforce

Craig Hane spent decades teaching math, and he’s identified why capable adults remain stuck in lower-paying jobs: childhood math trauma. Thousands of high-tech positions go unfilled while qualified candidates avoid applying because job descriptions mention quantitative skills.

In “How & Why Public School Math is Destroying the USA,” Hane explains how adults can break free from math anxiety using his SPIKE methodology. He’ll reveal which math skills actually matter for career advancement and how his six-tier online program helps adults master practical concepts in weeks. Listeners will learn they’re not “bad at math”—they were just taught wrong.

SAMPLE QUESTIONS:
• You say most adults who think they’re bad at math were actually failed by their teachers—how?
• What’s this SPIKE methodology that eliminates math anxiety, and how quickly do adults see results?
• Which math skills translate to higher-paying jobs, and which ones can people safely ignore?

CONTACT: Craig Hane at (812) 408-8047; chane@rtirguests.com

Why Your Child Is Being Raised for a World That No Longer Exists – And What to Do About It

While parents tell kids to “study hard and get a good job,” AI is already doing those jobs—faster and cheaper. Award-winning author George Lee has a wake-up call: we’re using 1980s parenting in an AI-driven world.

Drawing from “SMART Parenting 5.0,” Lee explains why college degrees aren’t golden tickets and authoritarian parenting fails in the AI era. His unique perspective—traditional Chinese education meets Western innovation—reveals what schools won’t teach. Listeners will discover which essential skills schools ignore and how to build them at home.

SAMPLE QUESTIONS:
• You say “we’re overeducating their minds and underpreparing their spirit.” What does that look like?
• Your teenager makes more on TikTok than you made last month. How do parents stay relevant?
• You argue too much love can hurt. How can love without challenge weaken a child?

CONTACT: George Lee at (604) 330-8697; glee@rtirguests.com

How to Reduce Test Anxiety by Changing How Kids Think

Most parents try to reduce test anxiety by pushing kids to study harder. Sharon Emily says that approach often backfires. When children feel pressured to perform, their brains shift into fear mode, which actually makes learning harder.

A former counselor, FranklinCovey-trained facilitator, and educator, Sharon helps families understand how thoughts quietly shape behavior, confidence, and results. She teaches why creativity, repetition, and imagination can be more effective than checklists, rewards, or threats.

Her book Mirror of Myself grew out of a simple insight: when kids learn to focus on possibility instead of fear, their choices change naturally. Sharon explains why positive thinking is not about ignoring reality, why mistakes can build confidence faster than success, and how the same mindset tools work across parenting, school, and life. Her approach gives families practical ways to calm anxiety and improve performance during high-stakes testing seasons.

CONTACT: Sharon Emily at (480) 470-3893 or semily@rtirguests.com

How Movement Can Help Kids Focus and Learn Faster

Think kids need to sit still to concentrate? Research says the opposite, and so does math educator Suzy Koontz. With screen time up and attention spans down, Suzy offers a powerful, practical solution: movement-based learning.

Suzy is the creator of Math & Movement, a program used in schools nationwide to boost focus, memory, and academic performance through full-body learning. In her segment, she shares how jumping, hopping, and dancing can help kids grasp math and reading faster—no tech required.

She also offers simple, at-home activities parents can use to help restless kids refocus after school. These aren’t just theories, Suzy has reached over 1 million students and authored 20+ books packed with easy, energizing takeaways your audience can use right away.

SAMPLE QUESTIONS:

Why does moving the body help kids retain what they learn?
What’s one surprising thing parents can do tonight to improve focus?

CONTACT: Suzy Koontz at (607) 366-9588; skoontz@rtirguests.com

Whistleblower Reveals What Happens When Speaking Up Becomes Dangerous

Karen Horwitz, an award-winning public school teacher and whistleblower, describes what happens when educators raise concerns inside their school districts. “Schools are often described as the foundation of democracy,” Horwitz says. “What I witnessed was how quickly that foundation cracks when people are afraid to speak.”

Horwitz says the pattern she documented was consistent: teachers raised concerns internally, and instead of problems being addressed, they quietly lost their careers. After speaking publicly, she co-founded an organization to prevent teacher abuse and began hearing similar accounts from more than 2,000 teachers who reported retaliation.

She explains how silence is enforced through fear, power imbalances, and institutional self-protection. Horwitz is the author of A Graver Danger, which draws directly from teacher whistleblowers to examine systemic failures.

SAMPLE QUESTIONS:Why do people stay silent inside institutions? When did you realize your experience wasn’t unique? What impact does silencing teachers have on democracy?

CONTACT: Karen Horwitz at (312) 498-9074 : khorwitz@rtirguests.com