What happens when we read less? What does that do to our ability to understand complex ideas, or even think for ourselves?
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In today’s episode, guest host Jonquilyn Hill speaks with Atlantic staff writer Rose Horowitch. In her recent cover story, Rose argues that we are entering a postliterate age. Although we’re surrounded by text — like emails, text messages, and notifications — we no longer have an interest in reading longer, book-length content.
Jonquilyn and Rose discuss how the digital age has transformed the way we consume information, what deep reading teaches us that scrolling can’t, and how being postliterate is changing our politics and culture.
00:00 Intro
04:05 A literacy crisis vs postliteracy
06:39 Why books are different from social media
13:24 The impact of postliteracy on students
26:53 Donald Trump is the first postliterate president
33:20 Print vs digital media
39:04 Deep reading vs the endless scroll
48:27 Could a postliterate society actually be better informed?
Host: Jonquilyn Hill, host of Explain It To Me
Guest: Rose Horowitch, staff writer for The Atlantic
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