New Forthcoming Documentary Announced from Creators of 'The Truth About Reading'

The Truth About Reading film opened people’s eyes—this forthcoming documentary is about what happens next.

LOS ANGELES, CA, UNITED STATES, May 6, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Introduction: A Crisis Exposed, A Solution Within Reach

The John Corcoran Foundation and multi-Emmy Award-winning producer-director Nick Nanton, along with Abundance Studios, shattered the silence around America’s literacy crisis with their groundbreaking documentary, The Truth About Reading. For the first time, millions saw the faces and heard the voices of those who had suffered in shame—adults who hid their illiteracy for decades, children struggling to learn, and teachers desperate for change. The film exposed a devastating truth: this crisis was never about intelligence or effort. It was about a system that was never designed to teach all people to read based on how the brain learns.

It revealed that literacy is the foundation of equity, opportunity, and economic growth—and without it, we are creating generational cycles of failure.

The Next Chapter: From Awareness to Action

The Truth About Reading opened people’s eyes—this documentary is about what happens next. Parents, teachers, advocates, and business leaders are no longer wondering what’s wrong—they’re demanding answers, and demanding change.

This film is about hope, about what is now possible with peer-reviewed research on affective neuroscience (The study of how the brain actually makes learning biologically possible), one-to-one tutoring, and advanced machine learning technology.

For the first time, advanced AI-driven technology can fully integrate the science of reading— scaling one-to-one instruction and delivering personalized, research-backed learning directly to learners in a way never before possible.

The problem has always been framed as an issue of education—but it is a human crisis, fueling a national economic emergency. A subliterate workforce weakens industries, increases poverty, and costs the North American economy trillions in lost productivity.

We will show the academic research and methodology long ignored, expose the real reasons change stalled, and reveal what has been missing all along: the emotional well-being of the learner. When we understand what has gone wrong, we can finally get it right.

Scientific Proof: Live Brain Imaging and PhD Research Confirm the Solution

Decades of peer-reviewed research in cognitive science, educational psychology, and brain- based learning confirm that reading is not a natural process but one that must be explicitly taught. Live brain imaging (fMRI and EEG) studies and real-time visual data provide undeniable proof that explicit, emotionally safe, and structured reading instruction activates the brain’s reading networks, while ineffective methods fail to create the necessary neural
pathways.

•PhD experts in cognitive science, psychology, and education confirm that one-on- one instruction is the most effective way to teach reading. Neuropsychologists, learning scientists, and artificial intelligence researchers have further demonstrated that technology can now scale this approach—making personalized, high-impact reading instruction accessible to all learners.

•Neuroscientists have mapped how struggling readers’ brains function differently from proficient readers. Live imaging proves that, with the right structured instruction, struggling readers can rewire their brains—transforming them from non-readers into confident, fluent learners.

•Peer-reviewed research confirms that emotional experience has always governed and underpinned attention and memory—shaping the brain’s ability to focus, absorb, and retain information. Shame and anxiety trigger the brain’s fight-or-flight response, diverting cognitive resources away from learning and toward survival. In this state, learning becomes nearly impossible. But when optimal emotional conditions are in place—where curiosity and focus replace fear—the brain becomes fully available for learning and long-term retention.

The Hidden Cost of Illiteracy: A Crisis Touching Every Part of Society
Right now, millions are suffering.

•Parents are desperate for answers. Their child is bright, and full of potential—yet reading is a daily battle that brings tears, frustration, and shame, and the statistics worsen every year.

•Teachers know the truth. They see students slipping through the cracks but lack the tools, training, and resources to stop it.

•Business leaders feel the consequences. The technology workforce is stretched, and companies cannot find workers with strong literacy skills to keep up with a changing world.

•The economy suffers. The cost of illiteracy is staggering—trillions lost in productivity, health care, and criminal justice expenses.

•Crime and incarceration rates tell a disturbing story. Over 70% of incarcerated individuals read below a 4th-grade level.

•Mental health is deeply impacted. People struggling with literacy experience higher rates of anxiety, depression, and loss of self-worth.

This is a national emergency. A literate society is a healthy, productive, and innovative society. But right now, millions of people are being left behind.

The tragedy? The solution has been hiding in plain sight all along.

Why This Documentary? Why Now?

This is not another film about the failure of education. This is about human potential, justice, and the future of our civilization.

For the first time, we see what becomes possible when struggle is prevented before it begins—children once destined for failure now stepping into futures filled with learning, confidence, and hope.

Alongside them, public figures share the hidden stories behind their success—revealing not only what they carried, but the courage it took to rise beyond it, and why the truth must now be told.

•We will uncover the hidden history of literacy—how reading has been used as a tool of power and control, shaping inequality for generations. Frederick Douglass, who was born into slavery, defied the law by secretly teaching himself to read. Despite severe punishment for attempting to learn, he knew that literacy was his path to freedom. As he famously said, “Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.” His journey proves that reading is not just an academic skill—it is the foundation of self-liberation and empowerment. It is a human right.

•We will acknowledge the cost paid by generations denied the right to read, honor their journey with compassion, and build a future where everyone—regardless of race, creed, or background—has the power of literacy to succeed, thrive, and shape their world.

•We will expose why attempts to fix reading have failed—even as neuroscience has proven what actually works.

•We will show how our failure to teach reading correctly left millions believing they were broken—when in truth, we misunderstood the complexity of how the brain learns to read.

•We will introduce a revolutionary path forward—one that removes the shame, ends the struggle, and unlocks the potential of every learner.

This is not about small reforms—it’s about a complete paradigm shift in how we understand reading, learning, and the brain.

We are now at a turning point. With everything we know today—about the brain, about learning, about technology—we can end this crisis for good.

The Future is Not Ahead of Us—It is Now.

This documentary takes what The Truth About Reading revealed and transforms it into action—real, lasting change that will drive the solution forward.

The future of literacy is no longer a distant hope. It will be here with this documentary. And we refuse to wait another generation to make literacy for all a reality.

Some stared at the moon and saw a distant light.
Others built the rocket.

Katie Tschopp
Astonish Entertainment
+1 407-461-5733
email us here

The Truth About Reading Trailer