Sold a Story

At an experimental preschool in Illinois, Zig Engelmann and his colleagues begin turning his ideas into a classroom teaching method. Along the way, they make a series of discoveries about effective instruction. Their mantra: “If the student hasn’t learned, the teacher hasn’t taught.” Read: What is Direct Instruction? Video: The 5 key concepts of DI Video: Who was Zig Engelmann? Read: Transcript of this episode Support: Donate to APM Reports Email us: [email protected] Call us: (612) 888-7323 More: soldastory.org Dive deeper into Sold a Story with a weekly email newsletter from ho

In the 1960s, an education outsider named Zig Engelmann begins challenging conventional ideas about what young children can learn. He teaches his 4-year-old twins basic algebra. But he has a hard time getting anyone in education to take him seriously, until a professor gives him a chance to see if his ideas will work in a classroom. Read: What is Direct Instruction? Video: The 5 key concepts of DI Video: Who was Zig Engelmann? Read: Transcript of this episode Support: Donate to APM Reports Email us: [email protected] Call us: (612) 888-7323 More: soldastory.org Dive deeper into S

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.

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: [email protected]

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

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

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 Watch: The story behind Sold a Story Organize: Sold a Story discussion guides Support: Donate to APM Reports  Email us: [email protected]   Call us: (612) 888-7323 More: soldastory.org  Dive dee

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: [email protected]   More: soldastory.org  Dive deeper into Sold a Story

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 A

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 als

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: [email protected]

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

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

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: New reading laws sweep the nation 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  EXTENDED READING  Blog: Seidenberg on translating re

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  Read: Transcript of this episode  Watch: The story behind Sold a Story Organize: Sold a Story discussion guides Support: Donate to APM Reports  Call us: ‪(612) 888-7323 More: soldastory.org  Donate to support Sold a Sto

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 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.

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 Support this show: Donate to APM Reports Dive deeper into Sold a Story with a multi-part email ser

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 S

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 Support this show: Donate to APM Reports Dive deeper into Sold a Story with a multi-pa

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 soldastory.org/extr

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

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 t

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 n

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/extracredi

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 Hanf

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