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 struggling to learn how to read, and it sparked a wave of change across the country. In Season 2, we go beyond reading to look at teaching itself.
What this show covers
educationEmily Hanfordteaching methodsdirect instructiondyslexialiteracyreading instructionclassroom practiceliteracy instructionreading researchscience of readingevidence-based practiceschool systemslearning theoryreading
What listeners will find here
A live conversation on dyslexia, reading instruction, and one family’s struggle
Dyslexia and the reading wars are at the center of this live conversation between Emily Hanford and New Yorker staff writer David Owen. The episode starts from Owen’s personal family story and connects it to his article on how reading instruction shapes children’s lives.
A live look at why reading research is still hard to turn into classroom practice
Reading instruction is the focus here, as Emily Hanford speaks live with neuroscientist Reid Lyon and educator Margaret Goldberg. Their conversation centers on how the science of reading moves from research into real classrooms, and why that translation remains challenging.
A new season asks why proven teaching methods still struggle to take hold
Teaching is the focus of this new season of Sold a Story, as Emily Hanford looks beyond reading to examine an approach that education systems have largely rejected despite decades of evidence. It sets up a broader investigation into how schools decide what works.
How one outsider tried to prove young children could learn far more than schools assumed
This episode follows Zig Engelmann, an education outsider in the 1960s, as he challenges assumptions about what young children can learn. After teaching his 4-year-old twins basic algebra, he struggles to win over educators until a professor gives his ideas a classroom test.
How Zig Engelmann turned one preschool into a test lab for teaching
This episode follows Zig Engelmann and his colleagues at an experimental preschool in Illinois as they turn his ideas into a classroom method. It centers on the discoveries they make about effective instruction and the belief that teaching should change when students aren’t learning.
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