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    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. Season 1 revealed why so many kids are behind in reading, and it sparked a wave of change across the country. In Season 2, we go beyond reading to look at teaching itself.

    ▼ FOLLOW THE SHOW ▼
    SEASON 1 EPISODES
    EPISODE 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.
    TRANSCRIPT | DOWNLOAD
    EPISODE 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.
    TRANSCRIPT | DOWNLOAD
    EPISODE 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.
    TRANSCRIPT | DOWNLOAD
    EPISODE 4
    The Superstar
    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?
    TRANSCRIPT | DOWNLOAD
    EPISODE 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.
    TRANSCRIPT | DOWNLOAD
    EPISODE 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.
    TRANSCRIPT | DOWNLOAD
    EPISODE 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.
    TRANSCRIPT | DOWNLOAD
    EPISODE 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.
    TRANSCRIPT | DOWNLOAD
    EPISODE 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.
    TRANSCRIPT | DOWNLOAD
    EPISODE 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.
    TRANSCRIPT | DOWNLOAD
    EPISODE 11
    The Outlier
    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?
    TRANSCRIPT | DOWNLOAD
    EPISODE 12
    The Evidence
    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.
    TRANSCRIPT | DOWNLOAD
    EPISODE 13
    The List
    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.
    TRANSCRIPT | DOWNLOAD
    EPISODE 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.
    TRANSCRIPT | DOWNLOAD
    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.
    TRANSCRIPT | DOWNLOAD
    '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 would pretend she was reading, turning pages when her classmates did. Owen joined Emily Hanford for a live conversation about his December 2025 article “Dyslexia and the Reading Wars.”
    TRANSCRIPT | DOWNLOAD
    Live Events
    Sold a Story host Emily Hanford is curating the Eyes on Reading speaker series at Planet Word in Washington, D.C.
    Email Notifications
    Dive deeper into Sold a Story with this multi-part Extra Credit email series from host Emily Hanford. We'll also keep you up to date on new episodes.

    LATEST NEWS
    OCTOBER 16, 2025
    New reading laws sweep the nation following Sold a Story
    AUGUST 21, 2025
    Nation's Report Card at risk, researchers say
    AUGUST 21, 2025
    Lawsuit saves massive reading experiment
    AUGUST 21, 2025
    A window into America’s high schools slams shut
    JULY 24, 2025
    Success for All gets kids reading. Why don't more schools use it?
    MAY 23, 2025
    Judge scuttles lawsuit over Massachusetts reading curriculum
    MARCH 6, 2025
    When schools buy new reading programs, they look to EdReports. But some of its reviews don't line up with science
    FEBRUARY 20, 2025
    Most school districts have lots of kids who struggle with reading. This one is different
    DECEMBER 4, 2024
    Lawsuit calls reading curriculum 'deceptive' and 'defective'
    APRIL 30, 2024
    'Science of reading' movement spells financial trouble for publisher Heinemann
    APRIL 11, 2024
    'There's a thoughtfulness about reading in the country today'
    APRIL 11, 2024
    Reading Recovery organization confronts financial difficulties
    APRIL 4, 2024
    As states refocus reading instruction, two universities stick with a discredited idea
    DECEMBER 11, 2023
    Benchmark Assessment System reading test is widely used and often wrong
    MAY 11, 2023
    Messages from listeners
    NOVEMBER 17, 2022
    How legislation on reading instruction is changing across the country
    NOVEMBER 10, 2022
    Heinemann's billion-dollar sales have nationwide reach
    VIDEOS
    4 new myths about teaching kids to read
    Trump cuts to the Department of Education
    How EdReports got the science of reading wrong
    The Outlier: Steubenville
    ▼ FOLLOW ON SOCIAL ▼
    RESOURCES
    Want to know more about the science of reading?
    Sold a Story: Discussion Guide
    DOCUMENTARY ARCHIVE
    AUGUST 6, 2020
    What the Words Say
    A false assumption about what it takes to be a skilled reader has created deep inequalities among U.S. children, putting many on a difficult path in life.
    AUGUST 22, 2019
    At a Loss for Words: What's Wrong with How Schools Teach Reading
    For decades, schools have taught children the strategies of struggling readers, using a theory about reading that cognitive scientists have repeatedly debunked. And many teachers and parents don't know there's anything wrong with it.
    SEPTEMBER 10, 2018
    Hard Words: Why Aren't Our Kids Being Taught to Read?
    Scientific research has shown how children learn to read and how they should be taught. But many educators don't know the science and, in some cases, actively resist it. As a result, millions of kids are being set up to fail.
    SEPTEMBER 11, 2017
    Hard to Read: How American Schools Fail Kids with Dyslexia
    There are proven ways to help people with dyslexia learn to read, and a federal law that's supposed to ensure schools provide kids with help. But across the country, public schools are denying children proper treatment and often failing to identify them with dyslexia in the first place.
    Support
    Sold a Story is an independent investigative journalism project from American Public Media. We rely on your donations to support this kind of rigorous reporting.
    Sold a Story en español
    Esta adaptación al español del exitoso pódcast, conducido por la periodista de investigación Valeria Fernández, recoge información adicional para los padres hispanohablantes que tienen hijos aprendiendo a leer en inglés en las escuelas estadounidenses.
    AUDIO PRODUCTION TEAM
    Emily Hanford
    Host
    Emily Haavik
    Reporter
    Christopher Peak
    Reporter
    Kate Martin
    Reporter
    Olivia Chilkoti
    Producer
    Carmela Guaglianone
    Producer
    Curtis Gilbert
    Editor
    Sasha Aslanian
    Editor
    ► FULL CREDITS

    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, Stephen and Wendy Gaal, and Achelis & Bodman Foundation.

    Founding support for Sold a Story and APM Reports was also provided by 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. To contribute, please visit: apmreports.org/donate.