Emily Hanford is senior correspondent and producer at APM Reports and host of Sold a Story.
Sold a Story is the groundbreaking investigative podcast that’s changing how kids are taught to read. It was the second-most-shared show on Apple Podcasts in 2023 and one of Time Magazine’s top three podcasts of the year. Sold a Story has won numerous honors including a duPont, an Edward R. Murrow and a Peabody nomination.
Emily’s career in journalism began with an internship at the public radio station in her college town (WFCR-Amherst). She then worked for Ira Glass when he was making the pilots for This American Life (scroll back to the earliest episodes and you can hear her name). Emily was a reporter and host at WBEZ-Chicago and news director and senior editor at WUNC-Chapel Hill, where she won her first duPont for a series on poverty in North Carolina. Emily has been at APM since 2008. Her reporting on education has won many honors including the inaugural Public Service Award from the Education Writers Association and the award for excellence in reporting on education research from the American Educational Research Association.
Emily is based in Washington, D.C. where she is journalist-in-residence at Planet Word, the museum of words and language. She lives with her husband, Derek Goldman, a professor at Georgetown University. They have two adult sons.
I love podcasts because they get me out of my chair and away from my desk. I listen while walking. For me, it’s all about the exercise, the fresh air and the focus. I turn off notifications – best time of my day! I listen to a lot of podcasts about education and reading instruction. But I have many other favorites. These are some.
Heavyweight
I didn’t start listening until I heard Spotify was canceling it. Now I know why so many people love it. Makes me laugh and smile and feel stuff. Senior producer Kalila Holt says Heavyweight is in the process of finding a new home.
The Uncertain Hour
Krissy Clark is brilliant. She investigates the fascinating origin stories of various public policies. Season 6 was just nominated for a Peabody.
Stolen: Surviving St. Michael’s
The opening scene is a masterclass in writing for the ear. A gripping personal story that exposes a national tragedy. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize.
Other People’s Pockets
Host Maya Lau gets people to talk about how much money they make. And so much more. Mistress Marley, Financial Dominatrix!
In the Dark
The best investigative podcast of all time. Produced by my former APM colleagues, now at The New Yorker. They tell me Season 3 is coming this summer.
The 13th Step
Stunning reporting about the addiction treatment industry. And the aftermath – wow! Winner of the duPont.
Ripple
Remember the BP oil spill in the Gulf? This is what happened after the reporters and the cameras went away.
Fresh Air
I used to listen to this almost every day on the radio. Now I listen almost every day on my phone. It was hard to fathom Fresh Air without Terry Gross, but her cohost Tonya Mosley has got this when Terry retires.
Brains On!
This is a podcast for the kids in your life. I worked with the producers on an episode about how people learn to read.
Sold a Story en español
We adapted and translated Sold a Story into Spanish. It includes an episode geared toward parents whose kids speak Spanish at home and are learning to read English in school.
Pocket Casts Blog