The Calling that Keeps Calling

Recently, I wrote a post about Robert Reich — economist, teacher, writer, podcast curator, and more. I admire him a lot.

Over the weekend, I saw a film I’ve been looking forward to for months. It’s The Last Class, which captures more than his final semester of teaching at UC Berkley. It reveals the way teaching keeps returning as Robert Reich’s true north. Despite all the public service, the social commentary, the books and the viral videos, he seems always drawn back to the classroom.

The Last Class follows Reich as he teaches his long-running “Wealth & Poverty” course at UC Berkeley one last time. It’s an intimate portrait, showing us not only his teaching style — his wit, clarity, insistence that students not accept the world as it is — but also the tension that comes with age, including what it means to face the end of something that has defined you. The film doesn’t shy away from big questions: inequality, what legacy looks like, what responsibility we pass on to younger generations.

I highly recommend The Last Class. If teaching or mentoring or caring for others has ever called you, this film will both challenge and move you. You can check if it’s showing in your area here: Where You Can Watch The Last Class

Here’s the trailer: Trailer for The Last Class.