What does it feel like to be the kid who can't read?

We've spent four seasons talking about reading—scores, science, instruction, dyslexia, teacher preparation, policy, and the systems that shape how children learn.

Now, we're going to listen.

Season 5 of My Child Can't Read: A Heartland Crisis turns the microphone toward the people who have lived the experience of struggling to read: students, former students, parents, educators, and others who remember what it felt like when learning became difficult, frustrating, or even a source of shame.

This season asks:

• What happens when learning becomes a place of shame?
• What happens when a child begins to believe that struggling to read means something is wrong with them?
• What happens when children are told to wait for the help they need?
• And what becomes possible when we finally listen to the voices of struggling readers?

This is a season about reading, yes.

But also about identity. About confidence. About shame. About systems. And about what becomes possible when people finally get what they need to learn.

Season 5, Episode 1: "When Learning Hurts" drops Tuesday, November 3, 2026.

From there, new Season 5 episodes will be released on the first Tuesday of every month.

Subscribe or follow My Child Can't Read: A Heartland Crisis wherever you listen to podcasts so you don't miss an episode.

Learn more about the Phillips Fundamental Learning Center in Wichita, Kansas and its work to help children learn to read:

https://funlearn.org

All kids reading. All kids succeeding.

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What if the literacy crisis reveals something deeper than reading instruction alone?

In this reflective stand-alone episode, Jesica Glover sits down with David Boulton — creator of Children of the Code — to explore learning, shame, literacy, identity, and the systems surrounding children.

Together, they discuss:

• flatlined literacy outcomes
• learning shame
• generational impact
• inequity and access
• the emotional consequences of struggling to read
• and whether education systems may still be missing something fundamental about how human beings learn.

This conversation follows our Season 4 investigation into literacy, responsibility, and systemic reform.

Some ideas presented in this episode are unconventional and debated. This episode is intended as an exploration and reflection — not an endorsement of every conclusion discussed.

Be watching for our Season 5: Voices launch in late August 2026.

• Children of the Code heartbeat
• Children of the Code: Learning Shame
• Children of the Code: What’s at Stake
• What the Words Say by Emily Hanford
• National Assessment of Educational Progress

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What happens after awareness?

One month after concluding Season 4 of My Child Can’t Read: A Heartland Crisis, Jesica Glover sits down with investigative journalist Emily Hanford for a thoughtful conversation about what comes next in the national literacy conversation—and what that means for Kansas.

Together, they explore:

• Why reading reform is so difficult inside large systems
• The ongoing gaps in teacher preparation
• Why quick fixes rarely create lasting change
• What states like Mississippi can teach the rest of the country
• The role of parents in shaping literacy reform
• Why humility, alignment, and sustained effort matter
• What still concerns Emily most about the literacy crisis

This episode is not a recap of Sold a Story.

It’s a conversation about what comes after the awareness stage—and what it will take to continue moving forward for kids.

Emily Hanford is an investigative journalist with APM Reports and creator of the podcast Sold a Story, whose reporting helped spark a national conversation about reading instruction, literacy outcomes, and the Science of Reading movement.

• Sold a Story by APM Reports
• Planet Word Museum interview with Dr. Carey Wright
• Interview featuring Reid Lyon & Margaret Goldberg
• Mississippi Literacy-Based Promotion Act
• Science of Reading
• Structured Literacy

Dyslexia advocacy movement includes many organizations like these: Decoding Dyslexia and International Dyslexia Foundation (IDA)

Resources & References:

• Structured Literacy (International Dyslexia Association): https://dyslexiaida.org/structured-literacy/
• Kansas Literacy Initiatives (KSDE): https://www.ksde.org/Agency/Division-of-Learning-Services/English-Language-Arts/Literacy
• Kansas Policy Institute: https://kansaspolicy.org/
• Phillips Fundamental Learning Center: https://www.funlearn.org/

Sit with it.

Then share this episode with someone—a parent, a teacher, a leader.

And if this conversation helped you see things differently, a quick rating or review helps more people find it—and helps this message reach the people who need it most.

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This podcast is produced by KB PODCASTS