Minnesota Public Radio had a nearly hour-long conversation yesterday with education advisers for Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain, which you can listen to through the station’s web site. Former Arizona schools’ chief Lisa Graham Keegan for McCain and Steve Robinson, a former science teacher who joined Obama’s staff in 2006, discuss teacher quality, No Child Left Behind, and federal K-12 funding. (There’s an interesting, pointed exchange that begins around the 46th minute of the broadcast about school choice, and Obama’s decision to send his daughters to private school in Chicago while he opposes voucher programs like the one in Washington D.C.)

If you’re wondering just how influential these campaign advisers are, check out Alyson Klein’s new story about the role of advisers. And in this story, David Hoff explores the influence of Teach for America in the Obama campaign.