Sold a Story

Emily Hanford
podcasts@americanpublicmedia.org (+5 verified host & producer emails)

Booking Overview

Sold a Story is an investigative education show focused on how evidence-based reading science gets distorted in classrooms. It’s a strong pitch for authors and researchers who can explain the “science of reading” and the real-world stakes of reading instruction.

Metrics

Episodes: 23

Frequency: Irregular

Rating: 4.8/5.0

Estimated listeners: >100k

Gender skew: Female

Location: USA

YouTube: 2.8k subscribers

Instagram: 13.0k followers

30s Ad: 3912 - 4932, 60s Ad: 4762 - 5783

Contact Form

Contact form available - Official Form

Host

Emily Hanford - Emily Hanford is the host of Sold a Story (APM Reports). Her work investigates education claims and the gap between scientific research and classroom practice, with a focus on reading instruction a...

Booking Intelligence

Booking Requirements

high
Typical Credentials:  
Researchers and public communicators in literacy/reading development; neuroscientists or education scientists; leaders working on implementation of evidence-based reading instruction; journalists/authors who have covered the reading wars or underlying studies; publishing/education ecosystem stakeholders with direct expertise.
Required Achievements:  
Published books/articles on reading development or literacy instruction, Academic leadership or research contributions in dyslexia/reading processes, National recognition for science-of-reading advocacy or implementation programs, High-impact journalism or investigative reporting on the reading wars

Recent Guest Discussions

David Owen - Reading Wars Coverage; Dyslexia; Translation Of Research Into Public Understanding (live Conversation About Owen’s Article)

Margaret Goldberg - Bridging Skepticism And Evidence-based Reading Science; Implementation Barriers

Reid Lyon - Challenges Of Translating Reading Research Into Classroom Practice

Recent Topics

Literacy, Reading Science, Education, Instruction, Dyslexia, Learning, Neuroscience, Teacher Training, Publishing, Evidence

Episodes

Here's the recent few episodes on
Sold a Story
:

‘Dyslexia and the Reading Wars’: Emily Hanford's Conversation with The New Yorker’s David Owen

April 28, 2026

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 episodeWatch: All Eyes on Reading videosConnect...

Emily Hanford LIVE with Reid Lyon and Margaret Goldberg

December 09, 2025

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 episodeSee: Slideshow from t...

14: The Cuts

August 21, 2025

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 episodeCarolyn Riehl: Medical research and education research...

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