Sold a Story

APM Reports
  • 4.8 (7.3K)
  • DOCUMENTARY
  • SERIES
Sold a Story

Millions of kids can't read well. Scientists have known for decades how children learn to read, but many schools don’t know about the research. They buy teacher training and books that are rooted in a disproven idea. In Sold a Story, Emily Hanford investigates four authors and a publishing company that have made millions selling this idea.

  1. 1: The Problem

    EPISODE 1

    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 StorySupport: Donate to APM Reports More: soldastory.org En español: soldastory.es  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.

    33 min
  2. 2: The Idea

    EPISODE 2

    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 StorySupport: Donate to APM Reports More: soldastory.org En español: soldastory.es  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.

    51 min
  3. 3: The Battle

    EPISODE 3

    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 StorySupport: Donate to APM Reports More: soldastory.org En español: soldastory.es  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.

    41 min
  4. 4: The Superstar

    EPISODE 4

    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?  Read: Transcript of this episode Watch: The story behind Sold a StorySupport: Donate to APM Reports More: soldastory.org En español: soldastory.es  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.

    34 min
  5. 5: The Company

    EPISODE 5

    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 StorySupport: Donate to APM Reports More: soldastory.org En español: soldastory.es  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.

    47 min
  6. 6: The Reckoning

    EPISODE 6

    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 Organize: Sold a Story discussion guide Read: Transcript of this episode Watch: The story behind Sold a StorySupport: Donate to APM Reports More: soldastory.org En español: soldastory.es  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.

    42 min
  7. 7: Your Words

    EPISODE 7

    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.    Read: Messages from our listeners Watch: The story behind Sold a StoryCall us: ‪(612) 888-7323More: soldastory.org  Donate to support Sold a Story and other journalism from 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.

    25 min
  8. 8: The Impact

    EPISODE 8

    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.   Read: New reading laws sweep the nationWatch: The story behind Sold a StoryMore: soldastory.org  Donate to support Sold a Story and other journalism from APM Reports.  EXTENDED READING  Blog: Seidenberg on translating research into practice Article: Goldenberg, Goldberg on premortem (paywall) | Excerpt  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.

    25 min
See All Season 1 (20)

Trailer

Hosts & Guests

4.8
out of 5
7,304 Ratings

About

Millions of kids can't read well. Scientists have known for decades how children learn to read, but many schools don’t know about the research. They buy teacher training and books that are rooted in a disproven idea. In Sold a Story, Emily Hanford investigates four authors and a publishing company that have made millions selling this idea.

Information

  • Creator
    APM Reports
  • Episodes
    20
  • Seasons
    1
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2025 Minnesota Public Radio
  • Show Website
    Sold a Story

You Might Also Like

To listen to explicit episodes, sign in.

Stay up to date with this show

Sign in or sign up to follow shows, save episodes, and get the latest updates.
Select a country or region

Africa, Middle East, and India

Asia Pacific

Europe

Latin America and the Caribbean

The United States and Canada