Emily Hanford

Emily Hanford

@ehanford.bsky.social

Host and Creator of Sold a Story APM Reports, American Public Media Journalist-in-Residence at Planet Word emilyhanford.com SoldaStory.org PlanetWordMuseum.org

3,218 Followers 1,186 Following 83 Posts Joined Nov 2024
3 months ago
Preview
Sold a Story: How Teaching Kids to Read Went So Wrong There's an idea about how children learn to read that's held sway in schools for more than a generation — even though it was proven wrong by cognitive scientists decades ago. Teaching methods based on...

Thanks for sharing. There's a 14-part podcast too! features.apmreports.org/sold-a-story/

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4 months ago
YouTube
New Sold a Story discussion guides for Episodes 11-14 YouTube video by APM Reports

Sold a Story fans - we've got something new! www.youtube.com/shorts/a94It...

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5 months ago

I'm working on a new show for Call to Mind and I want to know what stresses you out? What keeps you up at night? How does stress affect your mental health? Comment below or email with your stories about STRESS calltomind@americanpublicmedia.org

TY to anyone who can lend a 🔄 to help spread the word.

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6 months ago
Preview
New reading laws sweep the nation following Sold a Story At least 26 states have passed laws about how schools teach reading since APM Reports’ Sold a Story podcast began in 2022. But proponents of the disproven ideas about reading exposed in the podcast ha...

More than half the states have passed new reading laws since Sold a Story.
We just updated our article and map. www.apmreports.org/story/2025/0...

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6 months ago
YouTube
Trump cuts to the Department of Education YouTube video by APM Reports

Sold a Story has a new episode - #14.

And we're working on Season 2.

www.youtube.com/shorts/nPC4z...

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6 months ago
Preview
Episode 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.

You might think the Trump administration’s cuts to the Department of Education are a good thing. You might think they’re a bad thing. But most people seem to agree that something big is happening here.
Episode 14 of Sold a Story is available now. www.apmreports.org/episode/2025...

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6 months ago

Today, @apmreports.org published a package of stories detailing the impacts of federal education research cuts.

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6 months ago
Preview
Episode 14: The Cuts

New reporting from the APM Reports Sold a Story team.
Nation's Report Card at risk: www.apmreports.org/story/2025/0...
Lawsuit saves massive reading study: www.apmreports.org/story/2025/0...
Another study slams shut: www.apmreports.org/story/2025/0...
New episode: www.apmreports.org/episode/2025...

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6 months ago
Support Sold a Story by APM Reports | American Public Media

3) You can also directly support APM and Sold a Story. Here's a link: support.americanpublicmedia.org/sold-a-story...

Thank you.

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6 months ago

2) Subscribe to news sources that matter to you - magazines, newspapers. It costs money to make high-quality stuff, and every news organization is struggling to stay afloat in a world where people expect content to be free. Expect to pay for what matters to you.

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6 months ago

1) Make a sustaining contribution to your local public radio station. If you're already a donor, consider increasing your contribution.

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6 months ago

But these are historically challenging times in public media - and in journalism more generally.

Here's what you can do:

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6 months ago

I'm grateful that the layoffs didn't affect me or the Sold a Story reporting team. (Our team's work relies on funding from foundations, and we, thankfully, have dedicated funders.)

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6 months ago
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MPR parent company cuts 30 jobs following federal funding cuts Minnesota Public Radio's parent company laid off 30 staff members Friday after Congress clawed back funding that it had previously approved for public broadcasting. Cuts in state funding from the Minn...

Thirty people - more than 5% of the staff at American Public Media - lost their jobs yesterday.
www.mprnews.org/story/2025/0... 🧵

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7 months ago

We have a new episode of Sold a Story coming next week. We're looking at the Trump administration's cuts to education research - and what they mean for the science of reading. You can follow the show and sign up for alerts at our website. features.apmreports.org/sold-a-story/

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7 months ago
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Excellent summary of the intellectual history of "cueing." These are ideas and citations @clpeak.bsky.social and I spent years poring over to make Sold a Story. journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

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7 months ago
Support — American Public Media By contributing to American Public Media, you support our on-air programming and distribution directly to listeners.

You may not know this, but Sold a Story would not have happened if not for public media. I've worked in public media my entire career. It's foundational to my professional and personal life. I'm deeply concerned about the future of the industry. www.americanpublicmedia.org/support

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8 months ago

But not anymore...

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8 months ago

"... and over 1 million times each year, people inquire about records or visit National Archives facilities to conduct research. The people who use archival records include filmmakers, writers, students, genealogists, attorneys, historians, and those simply interested in history."
(2/2)

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8 months ago

At the National Archives, there's a display in the hall.
The display says: "The National Archives makes records available to researchers without regard to why they are needed..." (1/2)

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8 months ago
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The National Archives will no longer be open to the public. The NATIONAL ARCHIVES!! I was there last month reporting for Sold a Story Season 2. archives.gov/college-park

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8 months ago
Preview
Eyes on Reading: The Science of Teaching Reading Comprehension with James Kim — Planet Word Museum In a world that demands critical thinking, informed citizenship, and lifelong learning, the ability to read and understand complex texts is more essential than ever. Join us for a timely…

A week from tomorrow, on Sat June 28. Would love to see you there. planetwordmuseum.org/events/eyes-...

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9 months ago
YouTube
What makes reading hard? YouTube video by APM Reports

www.youtube.com/shorts/Odjf3...

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9 months ago

A federal judge struck down a lawsuit against publisher Heinemann and its star authors Calkins, Fountas and Pinnell. Attorneys successfully argued the lawsuit asked the court “to wade into a decades-long academic debate." www.apmreports.org/story/2025/0... By
@carmela.bsky.social

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11 months ago

Please subscribe to Emily's podcast. This is important work.

open.spotify.com/show/0tcUMXB...

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11 months ago
YouTube
Eyes on Reading: What’s Next in the Science of Reading? with Mark Seidenberg and Maryellen MacDonald YouTube video by Planet Word

youtu.be/mfeFw1ki2bU. Thanks for sharing this @ehanford.bsky.social. Fascinating session.

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9 months ago
Preview
Eyes on Reading: The Science of Teaching Reading Comprehension with James Kim — Planet Word Museum In a world that demands critical thinking, informed citizenship, and lifelong learning, the ability to read and understand complex texts is more essential than ever. Join us for a timely…

New event @planetworddc.bsky.social in June. This time, we have James Kim coming to talk about the landmark Reading for Understanding initiative and how to promote comprehension. Tickets available now. Would love to see you there! planetwordmuseum.org/events/eyes-...

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9 months ago
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A big day for the La Trobe SOLAR Lab team yesterday. We conferred an Honorary Doctorate on @ehanford.bsky.social and welcomed @smithre5.bsky.social into the PhD fold. With @tserry2504.bsky.social and Joanna Barbousas 🌻

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10 months ago

So cool! @planetworddc.bsky.social is THE BEST museum. I went there with our 4th grader in the fall and we loved it. We had only two hours to visit and could have stayed much longer. 🤓🔤

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10 months ago
YouTube
Inside Planet Word’s Journalist in Residence Program with Emily Hanford YouTube video by Planet Word

I work with @planetworddc.bsky.social on a speaker series. We created a video to share the story of what we've done over the past year. More to come in 2025... www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDKY...

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