EconTalk · Russ Roberts

Read Like a Champion (with Doug Lemov)

July 28, 2025·1 hr 4 min·5 clips
Emily Hanford uncovered how ideology, not science, left millions of American students unable to read.
Doug Lemov discusses the science of reading, critiquing failed educational fads like whole language and emphasizing the importance of phonics, background knowledge, and vocabulary. He explores how cognitive science informs better teaching methods and advocates for social reading of whole books to combat declining attention spans.
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