Can learning be more than the transmission of knowledge? What if the true purpose of education is to help us rediscover meaning, connection, and our shared place in the universe?

Rupert Wegerif is a Professor of Education at the University of Cambridge and the founding Academic Director of the Digital Education Futures Initiative. A global leader in the philosophy and psychology of education, he is best known for developing the theory of dialogic education, which reimagines learning as a process of opening minds, deepening understanding, and expanding collective thought. His work bridges ancient philosophical questions about meaning with contemporary issues in technology and artificial intelligence, asking how dialogue can help humanity think together in an increasingly fragmented world.

In this episode, Rupert and I explore one of the most fundamental questions in education: how do we help students find meaning in their learning and in their lives? He shares how his own early search for purpose led him from teaching religious education to developing a new vision of dialogue-based learning—one that sees education as participation in something larger than ourselves. We talk about why asking “why” is the most important question of all, how dialogue connects people across difference, and why true understanding is always born from uncertainty and humility.

Our conversation weaves together philosophy, cognitive science, and spirituality as we discuss how technology can both challenge and enhance our capacity for reflection. Rupert explains how dialogic education could help us move beyond polarization, teaching students not only to think critically but to listen, to wonder, and to hope. We end by reflecting on the role of beauty, mortality, and connection in learning—and on education’s timeless purpose: to remind us that our shared search for meaning is itself what makes us human.