Sold
a Story
a Story
There's an idea about how children learn to read that's held sway in schools for more than a generation — even though it was proven wrong by cognitive scientists decades ago. Teaching methods based on this idea can make it harder for children to learn how to read. In this podcast, host Emily Hanford investigates the influential authors who promote this idea and the company that sells their work. It's an exposé of how educators came to believe in something that isn't true and are now reckoning with the consequences — children harmed, money wasted, an education system upended.
Emily Hanford is a senior correspondent and producer at APM Reports and the host of Sold a Story. Her career in journalism began with an internship at the public radio station in her college town (WFCR-Amherst). She then worked for Ira Glass when he was making the pilots for This American Life. Emily was a reporter and host at WBEZ-Chicago and news director and senior editor at WUNC-Chapel Hill, where she won her first duPont for a series on poverty in North Carolina. Her reporting has won many honors, including awards from the Education Writers Association and the American Educational Research Association. Emily is a graduate of Amherst College. She is based in Washington, D.C.
Christopher Peak is an investigative reporter covering education. He previously worked for the New Haven Independent, NationSwell and the Point Reyes Light, and he contributed research for the Peabody Award-winning podcast Uncivil. Peak was a finalist for the Education Writers Association's national award for beat reporting and several SABEW Best in Business awards. He has won numerous regional and state awards, including the Connecticut Society of Professional Journalists' First Amendment Award for his FOIA litigation. He is a graduate of Yale University and based in New York City.
Leadership support for Sold a Story comes from Hollyhock Foundation and Oak Foundation.
Our funders include Ibis Group, LLC, Esther A. & Joseph Klingenstein Fund, Kenneth Rainin Foundation, and Achelis & Bodman Foundation.
Founding support for Sold a Story and APM Reports came from Oak Foundation, Hollyhock Foundation, Stephen and Wendy Gaal, Lumina Foundation, Tides Foundation, and Spencer Foundation.
The APM Reports team is grateful for the ongoing support of members of Minnesota Public Radio | American Public Media and other individual donors who have supported our journalism since 2017.
To contribute, please visit: apmreports.org/donate.
