Podcast Club ONLINE: The Decline of Reading & Dawn of the Post-Literate Society

This week, we are listening to TWO podcasts. Please listen to both! Together, these podcasts address the clear and steady decline of reading in America (and abroad). Statistics show a big drop in daily leisure reading, and a significant portion of the population reports not having finished a single book in a year. The two podcasts discuss why reading has declined, especially deep reading, and consider the consequences of this change. Are we at the dawn of a post-literate society, and if so, what would that mean? Should we be concerned? The podcast guests assert that literacy impacts democracy through, among other things, the ability to examine and think critically. If they're right, what can or should we do to bring reading back?

The FIRST podcast is UnHerd with Freddie Sayers, with guests James Marriott and Jared Henderson. Marriott is a columnist for The Times (UK), where he covers society, ideas and culture. Henderson is a YouTuber and philosopher whose articles have been published in philosophy journals.

The SECOND podcast, which also focuses on the struggles of young men in America today, is Honestly with Bari Weiss. The episode guest is Shilo Brooks, the president and CEO of the George W. Bush Presidential Center and Professor of Practice in the Department of Political Science at Southern Methodist University. He has also taught at Princeton, the University of Virginia, the University of Colorado, and Bowdoin College.

PLEASE NOTE: We require that attendees listen to BOTH podcasts below before attending the meeting to optimize discussion.

PODCAST #1 OF 2:

https://unherd.com/watch-listen/the-dawn-of-post-literate-society/

or

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/is-this-the-disenlightenment/id1540134798?i=1000723736022

(35 min.)

PODCAST #2 OF 2: FOR THIS PODCAST, PLEASE LISTEN TO ONLY THE FIRST PORTION OF THE PODCAST (~44 min.). Stop when Bari Weiss ends her conversation with Brooks; do NOT listen to the conversation between Cornel West and Brooks.

https://www.thefp.com/p/can-reading-fix-men-shilo-brooks-bari-weiss
If you use this link, the episode is accessed by clicking on the SECOND, small red box just above the words "Continue Reading The Free Press," which you'll see when scrolling further down the page. The first big video box is just a teaser for the full episode. You do not need to pay to listen to the episode.

or

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/honestly-with-bari-weiss/id1570872415?i=1000734187149

(44 min.)

***

What's a podcast club?
It's like a book club for podcasts. Each week we discuss an interesting and currently-relevant episode from podcasters like Ezra Klein, Michael Shermer, or Russ Roberts. We start off as a large group and spend most of the time talking in small break-out groups, which we remix 3 times over the course of the evening. Our conversations are casual and open. We ask that everyone speak respectfully at all times, and we encourage free and concise discussion relevant to the week's podcast topic. To do this, we try to adhere to Grice's Maxims: https://bit.ly/2p4uSQm

Ultimately, the idea is to help each other think a little differently, learn a thing or two and have some fun.

Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3682869318?pwd=SC80SzI1S3JkeW1pbGhzcTNVQWVmdz09. Password for event might be W5hDy7