Inside the Reading Gap

Episodi

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  Inside the Reading Gap - Trailer 19.06.2026 1min

  Coming soon, a 4-part podcast looking at the causes and the solutions surrounding illiteracy. More info: Thinking Reading
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  1. The Silent Epidemic 21.06.2026 20min

  The number of people who lack basic literacy skills is of epidemic proportions, but most able readers will never know that friends, colleagues or relatives can’t read properly. In this episode, we explore what ‘functional’ illiteracy means, the multi-faceted impacts on all aspects of their lives, and the costs to us as a society. And all this raises the question: how did we get to this place, when we fund education for every child to the age of at least 16?   For more on Thinking Reading, visit https://thinkingreading.com   Inside the Reading Gap is a Thinking Reading and Made by DBM co-production Written and created by James and Dianne Murphy Narrator: Emilie Carrington Editing, audio production, script supervision: Rob Birnie at Made by DBM https://madebydbm.com/podcasts Additional interviews: Alice Ball and Emilie Carrington Administrative assistance: Charlene Johnstone
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  2. Locked Out 21.06.2026 15min

  The correlation between imprisonment and poor literacy is strong. While correlation is not cause, there is no doubt that poor literacy increases the chances of incarceration, and that it makes it much harder for prison to have a positive impact. In this episode, you’ll hear experts describe the links between poor literacy and imprisonment, the challenges of the prison environment for improving literacy skills, and what it will take to make things better.   For more on Thinking Reading, visit https://thinkingreading.com   Inside the Reading Gap is a Thinking Reading and Made by DBM co-production Written and created by James and Dianne Murphy Narrator: Emilie Carrington Editing, audio production, script supervision: Rob Birnie at Made by DBM https://madebydbm.com/podcasts Additional interviews: Alice Ball and Emilie Carrington Administrative assistance: Charlene Johnstone
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  3. Reading: Second Nature? 21.06.2026 39min

  As a society, we have a wide range of explanations for why so many can’t read after eleven years of formal education, including deprivation, lack of intelligence, poor motivation, and presumed disabilities. In this episode, we show how those beliefs don’t hold water and instead show that teaching is the solution. We look at what can be done in schools to prevent literacy problems at the scale we currently see in our society.   For more on Thinking Reading, visit https://thinkingreading.com   Inside the Reading Gap is a Thinking Reading and Made by DBM co-production Written and created by James and Dianne Murphy Narrator: Emilie Carrington Editing, audio production, script supervision: Rob Birnie at Made by DBM https://madebydbm.com/podcasts  Additional interviews: Alice Ball and Emilie Carrington Administrative assistance: Charlene Johnstone
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  4. Hope 21.06.2026 34min

  A key theme of this series is that there is hope. Reading problems are solvable, and in this episode, we explain what it takes to do that, and that we can achieve far more than is usually thought possible. For people who mastered reading as children, it can be difficult to imagine the life-changing power that learning to read brings. The stories you’ll hear will make clear the radical changes in people’s lives when they finally learn to read after struggling for years.   For more on Thinking Reading, visit https://thinkingreading.com   Inside the Reading Gap is a Thinking Reading and Made by DBM co-production Written and created by James and Dianne Murphy Narrator: Emilie Carrington Editing, audio production, script supervision: Rob Birnie at Made by DBM https://madebydbm.com/podcasts Additional interviews: Alice Ball and Emilie Carrington Administrative assistance: Charlene Johnstone
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  In Conversation with Vic Goddard 24.07.2026 26min

  Vic Goddard is a veteran headteacher at Passmores Learning Community, and star of Educating Essex. In this episode we discussed his school's transformation in its approach to literacy, and what he's learned along the way.  
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  In Conversation with Carole Herman 07.08.2026 24min

  Carole Herman is executive director of the Association of Secondary Heads in Essex, known as ASHE, and has previously been headteacher at two secondary schools. We spoke about her time at Shenfield High School in Essex, where she brought about major changes to the school's approach to literacy and the life chances of her students.
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  In conversation with Mike Mercanti-Anthony 17.08.2026 14min

  Mike is principal of Antonia Pantoja Preparatory School in South Bronx, New York. We discussed the challenges his students face, the liberating power of reading and what it takes to really have an impact through education.