You can't help but notice, in yourself and in others, how much less people are reading these days. When it comes to content consumption, we're often replacing articles and books with videos and, well, podcasts.My guest says that this shift is having consequences, not only for our shrinking individual attention spans, but for society, and Western civilization writ large.&nbsp;His name is James Marriott, and he's a columnist at The Times of London and the author of <a href="https://link.amazon/B0cCJWtKD" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The New Dark Ages: The Death of Reading and the Dawn of the Post-Literate Society</a>. Today on the show, James explains how people thought and interacted before the rise of reading and writing, how literacy changed our minds and made possible everything from democracy to modern science, and how television and smartphones may be returning us in some ways to a preliterate age. We then explore how our increasingly visual culture is making public debate more emotional and influence more personality-driven, and what it might mean for the future.After the show is over, check out the show notes at <a href="http://aom.is/darkages" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">aom.is/darkages</a>Resources Related to the Show<ul><li><a href="https://amzn.to/4saLas8" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Intellectual Life of the British Working Classes by Jonathan Rose</a></li><li><a href="https://www.artofmanliness.com/culture/more-than-ever-the-medium-is-the-message/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">AoM Article: The Medium Is the Message</a></li><li><a href="https://www.dyingbreed.net/p/the-four-ages-of-communication-how" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Dying Breed Article: The Four Ages of Communication: How Changing Media Transforms the Human Experience</a></li><li><a href="https://amzn.to/47tvyGS" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Orality and Literacy by Walter Ong</a></li><li><a href="https://link.amazon/B0fd5p9hR" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business by Neil Postman</a></li></ul>Connect With James Marriott<ul><li><a href="https://jmarriott.substack.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">James' Substack: Cultural Capital</a></li></ul>0:00 Introduction0:39 The Decline of Reading5:14 The Golden Age of Mass Literacy8:24 How Literacy Changed the Mind12:06 The Preliterate Mind14:51 Truth and Conflict in Oral Culture19:18 How Literacy Built Civilization21:34 The Gutenberg Press & the Reading Revolution30:45 Television and the Decline of Reading33:16 Amusing Ourselves to Death42:03 The Smartphone & the Post-Literate World50:50 The Future of ReadingSee Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.

Podurama

Home

Trending

Personal

Your Podcasts

New Episodes

My Files

Favourite Episodes

Tags (Folders)

Recently Played

Bookmarks

Followed Playlists

The New Dark Ages — The Death of Reading and the Dawn of the Post-Literate Society

The Art of Manliness

AI Chapters

AI Insights

Reviews