“Sold a Story” – podcast

“Sold, a Story” is a podcast by reporter Emily Hanford, about how children learn to read in the U.S. Specifically, it’s about how a certain methodology of reading proliferated in schools, even though cognitive scientists proved the methodology unsound decades ago–teaching via this method actually made it harder for children to read.

Hanford investigated the influential authors and educators who promoted this idea and the companies that sold their books. It is a damning look at how educators are reckoning with the aftermath of these forces, with hundreds of thousands of children harmed, millions of dollars wasted, and an education system in desperate need of repair.