Sold a Story

Latest Episodes:

Sold a Story 2: What Happened to Teaching Oct 01, 2026

Show notes

Sold a Story is back with a new season that goes beyond reading. Emily Hanford explores an approach to teaching that's been largely rejected by the education system — despite decades of evidence that it works.

Video: Watch the trailer on YouTube
More: soldastory.org

Dive deeper into Sold a Story with a multi-part Extra Credit email series from Emily Hanford.

‘Dyslexia and the Reading Wars’: Emily Hanford's Conversation with The New Yorker’s David Owen Apr 28, 2026

Show notes

The New Yorker staff writer David Owen opened a recent piece with a personal story: To hide that she couldn’t read, his niece turned pages when her classmates did. Owen joined Sold a Story host Emily Hanford for a live conversation about his December 2025 article “Dyslexia and the Reading Wars.” The event was part of the Eyes on Reading series at Planet Word, a museum in Washington, D.C., dedicated to words and language.

Read: Transcript of this episode
Watch: All Eyes on Reading videos
Connect: Sold a Story discussion guides
Support: Donate to APM Reports
Email us: soldastory@apmreports.org 
Call us: (612) 888-7323
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.

Emily Hanford LIVE with Reid Lyon and Margaret Goldberg Dec 09, 2025

Show notes

Early in her teaching career, Margaret Goldberg was skeptical of the science of reading. Today, she is working with neuroscientist Reid Lyon to bring it into more classrooms. Lyon and Goldberg joined Sold a Story host Emily Hanford for a live conversation about the challenges of translating research into practice. The event was part of the Eyes on Reading series at Planet Word, a museum in Washington, D.C., dedicated to words and language.

Read: Transcript of this episode
See: Slideshow from the event (cute pictures!)
Watch: All Eyes on Reading videos
Connect: Sold a Story discussion guides
Support: Donate to APM Reports
Email us: soldastory@apmreports.org 
Call us: (612) 888-7323
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.

14: The Cuts Aug 21, 2025

Show notes

Education research is at a turning point in the United States. The Trump administration is slashing government funding for science and dismantling the Department of Education. We look at what the cuts mean for the science of reading — and the effort to get that science into schools.

Read: Trump cancels survey of high schoolers
Read: Nation’s Report Card at risk
Read: Lawsuit saves massive reading experiment
Read: Transcript of this episode

Carolyn Riehl: Medical research and education research

Watch: The story behind Sold a Story
Organize: Sold a Story discussion guides
Support: Donate to APM Reports
Email us: soldastory@apmreports.org 
Call us: (612) 888-7323
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.

13: The List Mar 06, 2025

Show notes

Steubenville became a model of reading success. Then a new law in Ohio put it all at risk. In this episode, we look at the "science of reading" lists some states are making, why the program Steubenville has been using for 25 years isn't getting on many of these lists, and the surprising power of one curriculum review group.

Read: Christopher Peak on EdReports
Read: Transcript of this episode

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.

12: The Evidence Feb 27, 2025

Show notes

There’s a name for the program at the heart of Steubenville’s remarkable reading results. It’s called Success for All. It’s been around for decades, and numerous studies have shown it’s effective. But relatively few school districts use it. We trace the history of the program and why it’s never really caught on.

Read: Why don’t more schools use Success for All?
Read: Transcript of this episode

Watch: The story behind Sold a Story
Organize: Sold a Story discussion guides
Support: Donate to APM Reports
Email us: soldastory@apmreports.org 
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: The Outlier Feb 20, 2025

Show notes

There’s a school district in eastern Ohio where virtually all the students become good readers by the time they finish third grade. Many of the wealthiest places in the country can’t even say that. And Steubenville is a Rust Belt town where the state considers almost all the students “economically disadvantaged.” How did they do it?

Explore: Steubenville, by the numbers
Read: Transcript of this episode

Book: Districts that Succeed
Book: How It's Being Done
Podcast: ExtraOrdinary Districts

Watch: The story behind Sold a Story
Organize: Sold a Story discussion guides
Support: Donate to APM Reports
Email us: soldastory@apmreports.org 
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.

The Podcast That's Changing Education Nov 01, 2024

Show notes

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.

10: The Details Apr 11, 2024

Show notes

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
Read: Transcript of this episode

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

Watch: The story behind Sold a Story
Organize: Sold a Story discussion guides
Donate: Support APM Reports
Email us: soldastory@apmreports.org
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.

9: The Aftermath Apr 04, 2024

Show notes

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
Read: Reading Recovery financial difficulties
Read: Science movement trouble for Heinemann
Read: Transcript of this episode

Watch: The story behind Sold a Story
Organize: Sold a Story discussion guides
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.

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