12: The Evidence

‘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 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 [https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/12/29/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 [https://www.apmreports.org/episode/2026/04/28/sold-a-story-emily-hanford-david-owen?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=referral] Watch: All Eyes on Reading videos [https://features.apmreports.org/sold-a-story/planet-word/] Connect: Sold a Story [https://features.apmreports.org/sold-a-story/discussion-guide/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=referral] discussion guides [https://features.apmreports.org/sold-a-story/discussion-guide/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=referral] Support: Donate to APM Reports [https://support.americanpublicmedia.org/sold-a-story-sn] Email us: soldastory@apmreports.org  Call us: (612) 888-7323 More: soldastory.org [https://features.apmreports.org/sold-a-story/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=referral] 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 [https://soldastory.org/extracredit].

Emily Hanford LIVE from Planet Word 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. 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 [https://www.apmreports.org/episode/2025/12/09/sold-a-story-emily-hanford-live-reid-lyon-margaret-goldberg#transcript] See: Slideshow from the event (cute pictures!) [https://files.apmcdn.org/production/8b96e5390861725dc379e3406292982e.pdf] Watch: All Eyes on Reading videos [https://features.apmreports.org/sold-a-story/planet-word/] Connect: Sold a Story [https://features.apmreports.org/sold-a-story/discussion-guide/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=referral] discussion guides [https://features.apmreports.org/sold-a-story/discussion-guide/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=referral] Support: Donate to APM Reports [https://support.americanpublicmedia.org/sold-a-story-sn]  Email us: soldastory@apmreports.org   Call us: (612) 888-7323 More: soldastory.org [https://features.apmreports.org/sold-a-story/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=referral]  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 [https://soldastory.org/extracredit].

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.  Read: Trump cancels survey of high schoolers [https://www.apmreports.org/story/2025/08/21/trump-cancels-survey-of-high-schoolers?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=referral]  Read: Nation’s Report Card at risk [https://www.apmreports.org/story/2025/08/21/researchers-nations-report-card-at-risk?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=referral]  Read: Lawsuit saves massive reading experiment [https://www.apmreports.org/story/2025/08/21/lawsuit-saves-reading-experiment-trump-cuts?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=referral]  Read: Transcript of this episode [https://www.apmreports.org/episode/2025/08/21/sold-a-story-e14-the-cuts#transcript] Carolyn Riehl: Medical research and education research [https://www.jstor.org/stable/3699784]  Watch: The story behind [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmAxCgFDuLQ]Sold a Story [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmAxCgFDuLQ] Organize: Sold a Story [https://features.apmreports.org/sold-a-story/discussion-guide/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=referral#s01e14] discussion guides [https://features.apmreports.org/sold-a-story/discussion-guide/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=referral#s01e14] Support: Donate to APM Reports [https://support.americanpublicmedia.org/sold-a-story-sn]  Email us: soldastory@apmreports.org   Call us: (612) 888-7323 More: soldastory.org [https://features.apmreports.org/sold-a-story/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=referral]  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 [https://soldastory.org/extracredit].

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. Read: Christopher Peak on EdReports [https://www.apmreports.org/story/2025/03/06/edreports-reading-curriculum-reviews-science-of-reading?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=referral] Read: Transcript of this episode [https://www.apmreports.org/episode/2025/03/06/sold-a-story-e13-the-list?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=referral] Watch: The story behind [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmAxCgFDuLQ]Sold a Story [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmAxCgFDuLQ] Organize: Sold a Story [https://features.apmreports.org/sold-a-story/discussion-guide/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=referral#s01e13] discussion guides [https://features.apmreports.org/sold-a-story/discussion-guide/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=referral#s01e13] Support: Donate to APM Reports [https://support.americanpublicmedia.org/sold-a-story-sn]  Email us: soldastory@apmreports.org   Call us: (612) 888-7323 More: soldastory.org [https://features.apmreports.org/sold-a-story/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=referral]  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 [https://soldastory.org/extracredit].

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.  Read: Why don’t more schools use Success for All? [https://www.apmreports.org/story/2025/07/24/success-for-all-gets-kids-reading-why-dont-more-schools-use-it?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=referral] Read: Transcript of this episode [https://www.apmreports.org/episode/2025/02/27/sold-a-story-e12-the-evidence?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=referral] Watch: The story behind [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmAxCgFDuLQ]Sold a Story [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmAxCgFDuLQ] Organize: Sold a Story [https://features.apmreports.org/sold-a-story/discussion-guide/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=referral#s01e12] discussion guides [https://features.apmreports.org/sold-a-story/discussion-guide/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=referral#s01e12] Support: Donate to APM Reports [https://support.americanpublicmedia.org/sold-a-story-sn]  Email us: soldastory@apmreports.org   More: soldastory.org [https://features.apmreports.org/sold-a-story/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=referral]  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 [https://soldastory.org/extracredit].