Literacy Justice, Storytelling for Impact & Community-Based Solutions | Lucy Martin

In this episode of Learning Can’t Wait, host Hayley Spira-Bauer speaks with Lucy Martin of the Children’s Literacy Project about the power of storytelling to expose—and solve—the literacy crisis in America. Lucy shares her unconventional path from creative work in music, comedy, and film into documentary filmmaking focused on literacy as a justice and poverty issue. The conversation centers on Sentenced, a feature-length documentary that tells the story of adults living with illiteracy and its generational consequences, as well as the Moonshot series, which highlights districts and states—like Mississippi—that have made meaningful, systemic progress in literacy. Together, they explore why stories change culture in ways data alone cannot, how communities beyond schools can play a role, and why literacy is one of the most solvable and urgent challenges facing our education system today.