A company allegedly used to launder money stolen from the government in the Feeding Our Future fraud case owns at least five houses where taxpayer-funded group homes operate. Those group home businesses have collected millions of dollars from the government.

In Season 1, the Sold a Story podcast dispelled one of the big myths about learning to read: that schools didn't need to teach kids how to sound out letters. Host Emily Hanford says new myths are popping up to take its place. Catch up at soldastory.org.

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 host Emily Hanford for a live conversation. New in the Sold a Story podcast feed today.

Politically prominent Nevada GOP activist and donor Robert Beadles has taken credit for hiring a private investigator who tracked Reno's mayor 3 years ago, ending a yearslong legal saga to unmask him as the client despite his attempts to remain anonymous. By @tabithamueller.bsky.social:

This job will be the boss of everyone here at APM Reports. Please apply: recruiting2.ultipro.com/AME1098APMG/...

Teachers, parents and community members: We've added new discussion guides to help you talk about the podcast Sold a Story: soldastory.org/discuss

By our @carmela.bsky.social. More at soldastory.org.

In the past three years, 26 states have enacted laws to better align reading instruction with scientific research. We updated our map to include Missouri. More: www.apmreports.org/story/2025/0...

For decades, the federal government has surveyed high school students — and repeatedly followed up with them as adults. The goal was to gather data on their educational choices and careers so researchers could draw connections between them.

The Trump administration tried to kill the largest reading experiment ever funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s research arm — just months before the yearslong study was complete. The administration agreed to finish the research only after it was sued.

Episode 14: The Cuts Listen at soldastory.org.

In 2017, the Tubbs Fire in Santa Rosa, California, exposed a new threat to public health: Wildfires can contaminate drinking water with toxic chemicals that federally mandated testing is not designed to catch.

NAEP is one of the few education initiatives Trump has vowed to preserve. But the administration has slashed staff responsible for keeping tests up to date. And the board overseeing the assessment has eliminated more than a dozen tests, citing “cost efficiencies.” www.apmreports.org/story/2025/0...

New episode of Sold a Story. 𝟭𝟰: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝘂𝘁𝘀 The Trump administration is slashing government funding for science and dismantling the Dept of Ed. We look at what the cuts mean for the science of reading — and the effort to get that science into schools. Listen: www.apmreports.org/episode/2025...

Synthetic opioids such as fentanyl have accelerated overdoses for Black men ages 55 to 74, who have suffered disproportionately for decades. Read: www.apmreports.org/story/2025/0...

Four Minneapolis police trainers were accused of using excessive force in civil lawsuits the city settled before they received their current assignments, according to a review of federal court documents. Story: www.apmreports.org/story/2025/0...

Every two weeks for the past three years, a police officer has boarded a plane near his home in Sydney, Australia, to commute to work – in Bethel, Alaska. A story with @sgsmly.bsky.social at KYUK. www.kyuk.org/public-safet...

Nursing homes are designed to care for patients with physical infirmities. But nationwide, 1 in 5 residents has been diagnosed with a serious mental illness — conditions few of the facilities are equipped to handle. By @egawthrop.bsky.social: www.apmreports.org/story/2025/0...

The school reform program Success for All, first developed in the 1980s, has been declining in popularity for the past two decades — even though a mountain of research shows it gets great results, especially when it comes to elementary reading skills. Read why: www.apmreports.org/story/2025/0...

Here's @katereports.bsky.social on the impact of her reporting on Illinois hospitals. Full story: www.apmreports.org/story/2025/0...

Some people say antidepressants left them with debilitating symptoms for years — even decades — after going off the medications. Their ranks are growing online as they push for recognition and research. www.apmreports.org/story/2025/0...

A growing number of people who take SSRIs are saying they've suffered difficult withdrawal symptoms from long-term use, including dysphoria and sexual dysfunction. Listen at @npr.org: www.npr.org/2025/06/27/n...

After spending most of his life behind bars, Leonard Peltier now lives in a home on the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa reservation in North Dakota. He says he has no regrets but still harbors resentment over his imprisonment.

Lawmakers have strengthened Illinois’ longstanding sexual abuse survivors law in an effort to ensure patients receive critical care after sexual assault. Reporting by @katereports.bsky.social: www.apmreports.org/story/2025/0...

Emily: "One of the words I really like is orangutan." Kid: 😒

Alaska’s Legislature adjourned last week without addressing an issue that many residents of coastal, Native villages see as urgent: expanding access to commercial fishing careers. Read: www.apmreports.org/story/2025/0...

A federal judge on Thursday ruled that the lawsuit against educational publisher Heinemann and three of its top authors was invalidated by a legal doctrine that bars claims of “educational malpractice.” Read: www.apmreports.org/story/2025/0...

Vacant lots and broken buildings remain along Lake Street and other Minneapolis business districts five years after George Floyd’s killing set off nights of destruction. Some business owners say money woes and city zoning rules have made it hard to rebuild.

EdReports says that it has “always” checked for the science of reading in its reviews of instructional materials. But its track record in that area is uneven. Read @clpeak.bsky.social: www.apmreports.org/story/2025/0... Watch: www.youtube.com/shorts/QIxpB...

The University of Minnesota is facing accusations that it mishandled multiple reports of plagiarism by a star professor who’d brought millions of dollars in grants to the school.

Minnesota cities outside of the Twin Cities have been more lenient in allowing buildings to pass inspections despite knowledge of substandard living conditions. With @mprnews.org: www.apmreports.org/story/2025/0...

New episodes of the Sold a Story podcast: soldastory.org

Many schools rely on EdReports when they decide which reading programs to buy. But the organization has given high marks to programs that use strategies debunked by cognitive science. And it hasn't endorsed other programs despite studies showing they work. Read: www.apmreports.org/story/2025/0...

March 6 is #ProtectMyPublicMedia Day, a national day of action with the goal to celebrate public media and advocate for public media funding. Learn more: www.americanpublicmedia.org/action

Steubenville became a model of reading success, but a new law in Ohio put it at risk. We look at the "science of reading" lists, why Steubenville's program isn't getting on many lists, and the surprising power of one curriculum review group. New episode of Sold a Story today: soldastory.org

In adult jails across Maryland, minors spend up to 23 hours a day in isolation, go without schooling, and in some cases avoid showering for the fear of being raped. Some are also forced to spend more than a year in adult jail before they see their day in court. Read: www.wypr.org/wypr-news/20...

Success for All is the program at the heart of Steubenville's remarkable reading results. It's been around for decades, and numerous studies have shown it's effective. We trace the history of the program and why it's never really caught on. Episode 12 of Sold a Story: The Evidence soldastory.org

There's a school district in Ohio where virtually all the students become good readers by third grade. And Steubenville is a Rust Belt town where the state considers almost all the students "economically disadvantaged." How do they do it? Episode 11: soldastory.org www.youtube.com/shorts/KsBNf...

Third graders in Steubenville, Ohio, are among the best little readers in the nation. For nearly 20 years, the elementary schools in this economically depressed area have produced better readers than some of the wealthiest places in the country. www.apmreports.org/story/2025/0...

We love hearing from teachers and school administrators about Sold a Story. Educators, if you have feedback about the podcast, let us know: [email protected]. www.youtube.com/shorts/aPe_4...

APM Reports is hiring for a summer internship. This is a full-time paid position from June through August. Apply here: recruiting2.ultipro.com/AME1098APMG/...

A permitting system designed in the 1970s was supposed to make Alaska’s commercial fishing industry more sustainable and more profitable. Instead, it has hollowed out many Indigenous coastal villages where residents no longer can earn a living by harvesting salmon. www.apmreports.org/story/2025/0...

APM Reports is hiring for a summer internship. This is a full-time paid position from June through August. Apply here: recruiting2.ultipro.com/AME1098APMG/...

Iowa’s saturated buffers aren’t as effective as promised. Even if they met advertised standards, the state would need to increase installations exponentially to make even a marginal difference in water quality. youtube.com/shorts/Mgq3f...

We're working on more episodes of Sold a Story for the new year. Continue following the show in your favorite podcast app. www.youtube.com/shorts/zJgsx...

Instead of regulating fertilizer, Iowa backs a voluntary program that has little impact. Full story: www.apmreports.org/story/2024/1...

A class-action lawsuit filed today claims that the educational publishing company Heinemann falsely advertised its products as “research-backed” and “data-based.” www.apmreports.org/story/2024/1...