Sold a Story

APM Reports

Millions of kids can't read well. Scientists have known for decades how children learn to read, but many schools don’t know about the research. They buy teacher training and books that are rooted in a disproven idea. In Sold a Story, Emily Hanford investigates four authors and a publishing company that have made millions selling this idea.

  • 3 minutes 14 seconds
    The podcast that's changing education

    Nationally acclaimed journalist Emily Hanford's work is changing the ways schools around the country teach reading. In this award-winning podcast, she investigates why so many schools use an approach that cognitive scientists debunked decades ago.


    Apple Podcasts has recognized Sold a Story as a Series Essential. To celebrate, we’re making it available without ads or other announcements for a limited time.


    Watch: The story behind Sold a Story
    Support: Donate to APM Reports
    More: soldastory.org


    Dive deeper into Sold a Story with a multi-part email series from host Emily Hanford. We’ll also keep you up to date on new episodes. Sign up at soldastory.org/extracredit.

    1 November 2024, 1:00 pm
  • 31 minutes 15 seconds
    10: The Details

    Some of the teachers, students, parents and researchers we met in Sold a Story talk about the impact the podcast has had on their lives and in schools — and share some of their hopes and concerns about the “science of reading” movement.  


    Portraits: Zoe and Lee Gaul, Christine Cronin, Reid Lyon 
    Email us: [email protected] 


    Video: Mark Seidenberg at Yale 
    Article: Seidenberg on translating the science 
    Article: Lyon’s most important findings


    Read: Transcript of this episode 
    Watch: The story behind Sold a Story
    Donate: Support APM Reports 
    More: soldastory.org 


    Dive deeper into Sold a Story with a multi-part email series from host Emily Hanford. We’ll also keep you up to date on new episodes. Sign up at soldastory.org/extracredit

    11 April 2024, 5:05 am
  • 27 minutes 35 seconds
    9: The Aftermath

    Schools around the country are changing the way they teach reading. And that is having major consequences for people who sold the flawed idea we investigated in Sold a Story. But Lucy Calkins, Irene Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell are fighting back — and fighting to stay relevant. And so are organizations that promoted their work: the Reading Recovery Council of North America and the publisher Heinemann. 


    Read: Two universities stick with a discredited idea 


    Transcript of this episode 
    Donate to APM 
    - The story behind Sold a Story
    soldastory.org 


    Dive deeper into Sold a Story with a multi-part email series from host Emily Hanford. We’ll also keep you up to date on new episodes. Sign up at soldastory.org/extracredit

    4 April 2024, 5:05 am
  • 6 minutes 19 seconds
    Introducing: Sold a Story en español

    A Spanish adaptation of Sold a Story is now available. Hosted by journalist Valeria Fernández, the podcast is condensed into one 58-minute episode, plus a conversation between Fernández and Emily Hanford for Spanish-speaking parents whose children are learning to read English in American schools.


    - Listen or share: Sold a Story en español
    - Learn more: soldastory.es

    19 March 2024, 5:05 am
  • 24 minutes 33 seconds
    8: The Impact

    Across the country, school districts are dropping textbooks, state legislatures are going so far as to ban teaching methods, and everyone, it seems, is talking about "the science of reading." Things have been changing since Sold a Story was released. In this episode, we tell you about some of the changes and what we think about them.  


    Read: Legislators look to change reading instruction 
    More: soldastory.org 


    Donate to support Sold a Story and other journalism from APM Reports. 


    EXTENDED READING 


    Blog: Seidenberg on translating research into practice 
    Article: Goldenberg, Goldberg on premortem (paywall) | Excerpt 


    Dive deeper into Sold a Story with a multi-part email series from host Emily Hanford. We’ll also keep you up to date on new episodes. Sign up at soldastory.org/extracredit

    18 May 2023, 5:05 am
  • 25 minutes 10 seconds
    7: Your Words

    Voicemails, emails, tweets: We got a lot of messages from people after they heard Sold a Story. In this episode, we bring you some of their voices. A 10-year-old figures out why he has struggled to read. A mom stays up late to binge the podcast. A teacher confirms what he's suspected for years — he's not really teaching kids how to read.   


    Read: Messages from our listeners 
    More: soldastory.org 


    Watch: The story behind Sold a Story
    Donate to support Sold a Story and other journalism from APM Reports. 


    Dive deeper into Sold a Story with a multi-part email series from host Emily Hanford. We’ll also keep you up to date on new episodes. Sign up at soldastory.org/extracredit.

    11 May 2023, 5:05 am
  • 37 minutes 51 seconds
    Brains On: How Do We Learn to Read — and Why is It Hard?

    This week we have an episode of a show called Brains On. It’s a science podcast for kids from our colleagues at APM. In this episode, Emily joins the Brains On hosts to talk about how people learn to read. Grab the kids in your life and listen to this special episode made for kids and curious adults.


    More: brainson.org


    Watch: The story behind Sold a Story
    Support our show: Donate to APM Reports


    Dive deeper into Sold a Story with a multi-part email series from host Emily Hanford. We’ll also keep you up to date on new episodes. Sign up at soldastory.org/extracredit.

    11 April 2023, 5:05 am
  • 53 minutes 4 seconds
    What the Words Say

    There are kids like C.J. all over the country. Schools tell their parents they are reading at grade level, but the kids are not. And whether they ever get the help they need can depend a lot on their family income and their race. In this documentary, originally published in August 2020, host Emily Hanford shows that America’s approach to reading instruction is having an especially devastating impact on children of color.


    Read more: Children of color are far less likely to get the help they need


    Watch: The story behind Sold a Story
    Support this show: Donate to APM Reports


    Dive deeper into Sold a Story with a multi-part email series from host Emily Hanford. We’ll also keep you up to date on new episodes. Sign up at soldastory.org/extracredit.

    6 April 2023, 5:05 am
  • 53 minutes 19 seconds
    At a Loss for Words: What's Wrong with How Schools Teach Reading

    Molly Woodworth had a secret: She couldn’t read very well. She fought her way through text by looking at the first letter of a word and thinking of something that made sense.  Reading was slow and laborious. Then she learned that her daughter's school was actually teaching kids to read that way. In this documentary, originally published in August 2019, host Emily Hanford reveals that many kids are being taught the habits of struggling readers. Winner of a Gracie Award and finalist for an EWA Public Service Award.  


    Read more: How a flawed idea is teaching millions of kids to be poor readers


    Watch: The story behind Sold a Story
    Support this show: Donate to APM Reports


    Dive deeper into Sold a Story with a multi-part email series from host Emily Hanford. We’ll also keep you up to date on new episodes. Sign up at soldastory.org/extracredit.

    30 March 2023, 5:05 am
  • 52 minutes 20 seconds
    Hard Words: Why Aren't Our Kids Being Taught to Read?

    Jack Silva had a problem. He was the chief academic officer of a school district in Pennsylvania, and more than 40% of the kids in his district were not proficient readers. He didn't know much about how kids learn to read, but he knew he had to figure it out. Originally published in September 2018, this documentary helped ignite a national conversation about the science of reading. Winner of an EWA Public Service Award.


    Read more: Why aren't kids being taught to read?
    Read in Spanish: Translation by Aptus


    Watch: The story behind Sold a Story
    Support this show: Donate to APM Reports


    Dive deeper into Sold a Story with a multi-part email series from host Emily Hanford. We’ll also keep you up to date on new episodes. Sign up at soldastory.org/extracredit.

    23 March 2023, 5:05 am
  • 53 minutes 35 seconds
    Hard to Read: How American Schools Fail Kids with Dyslexia

    The parents knew something wasn’t right. The school said everything would be fine. But their kids weren’t learning how to read. In this documentary, originally published in September 2017, we look at why kids with dyslexia have a hard time getting the help they need in school.


    Read more: How American schools fail kids with dyslexia
    Q&A: What is dyslexia, with neuroscientist Guinevere Eden


    Watch: The story behind Sold a Story
    Support this show: Donate to APM Reports


    Dive deeper into Sold a Story with a multi-part email series from host Emily Hanford. We’ll also keep you up to date on new episodes. Sign up at soldastory.org/extracredit.

    16 March 2023, 5:05 am
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