Episode notes
Teachers sing songs about Lucy Calkins. The longtime professor at Columbia University’s Teachers College is one of the most influential people in American elementary education today. Her admirers call her books bibles. Why didn't she know that scientific research contradicted reading strategies she promoted? 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…
Sold a Story
by APM Reports · English · Stories
Sold a Story is an investigative podcast about how kids learn — what works in the classroom, the science behind those insights and why that research often doesn’t make it into schools.
More from Sold a Story
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S1 · 16 Mar 2023 · 54 min
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 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…
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S1 · E6 · 17 Nov 2022 · 42 min
6: The Reckoning
Lucy Calkins says she has learned from the science of reading. She's revised her materials. Fountas and Pinnell have not revised theirs. Their publisher, Heinemann, is still selling some products to teach reading that contain debunked practices. Parents, teachers and lawmakers want answers. Map: How states approach reading instruction 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…
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S1 · E5 · 10 Nov 2022 · 47 min
5: The Company
Teachers call books published by Heinemann their bibles. The company's products are in schools all over the country. Some of the products used to teach reading are rooted in a debunked idea about how children learn to read. But they've made the company and some of its authors millions. Map: Heinemann’s national reach 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…
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S1 · E3 · 27 Oct 2022 · 41 min
3: The Battle
President George W. Bush made improving reading instruction a priority. He got Congress to provide money to schools that used reading programs supported by scientific research. But backers of Marie Clay’s ideas saw Bush’s Reading First initiative as a threat. 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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S1 · E2 · 20 Oct 2022 · 51 min
2: The Idea
Sixty years ago, Marie Clay developed a way to teach reading she said would help kids who were falling behind. They’d catch up and never need help again. Today, her program remains popular, and her theory about how people read is at the root of a lot of reading instruction in schools. But Marie Clay was wrong. Read: Emily Hanford’s reading list 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.…
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S1 · E1 · 20 Oct 2022 · 33 min
1: The Problem
Lee Gaul watches his daughter’s lessons during Zoom school and discovers a dismaying truth: She can't read. Little Zoe isn't the only one. Sixty-five percent of fourth graders in the United States are not proficient readers. Kids need to learn specific skills to become good readers, and in many schools, those skills are not being taught. Read: Emily Hanford’s reading list 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…
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S2 · 1 Oct 2026 · 3 min
Sold a Story 2: What Happened to Teaching
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 .
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S1 · 28 Apr 2026 · 1 hr 1 min
‘Dyslexia and the Reading Wars’: Emily Hanford's Conversation with The New Yorker’s David Owen
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:…
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S1 · 9 Dec 2025 · 58 min
Emily Hanford LIVE with Reid Lyon and Margaret Goldberg
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…
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S1 · E14 · 21 Aug 2025 · 38 min
14: The Cuts
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…
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