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 Story
Support: 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.

This podcast is AMAZING!

This is 6 episodes, about 5 1/2 hours, of investigative journalism about the reading wars. I would not have thought it would be so interesting, but it is. There are victims and heroes. There aren't any villains, but there are a lot of well-meaning people blinded by folly who do terrible things. This podcast should be fascinating to any who likes a good story.

Have a struggling reader in your life? Find out why- listen now.

If there’s anyone in your life, who is struggling with reading, this is a must listen.

GAME CHANGER

Absolutely stellar. The only drawback is that the reporting in the podcast is so excellent, and the topic so critical, that I wound up feeling FURIOUS at the perpetrators who have led so many teachers and students astray. But this anger propelled me to investigate my own child’s reading curriculum, and to better support her learning, so it’s a win. If you care about kids, teachers, and reading, this is a must-listen.

A Must Listen for Teachers

Everyone needs to listen to this, especially teachers and parents. It is eye opening reporting about how schools have been teaching or not teaching reading.