EPISODE · Mar 13, 2026 · 51 MIN
087: How We Save Our Attention and Time with Jenny Odell
from This Is How We Care · host Jenny Odell, Emily Race-Newmark
In this conversation, Emily sits down with Jenny Odell — artist and author of "Saving Time" and "How to Do Nothing" — to explore the importance of reclaiming our attention and time in a digital age. We explore how "learning" is becoming a lost art (and what to do about that), experience and the role of technology in shaping our lives. From years of observation, research and her own study, Jenny brings a world-changing perspective to how we find our freedom from the forces that pull to commodify and measure every minute and relationship in our lives. In this episode, we discuss: The moment at summer camp that shaped how Jenny thinks about learning, presence, and attention How we can retain human agency in a world constantly fighting for our attention The historical roots of "productivity culture" and how it lives on today The role of language in shaping our relationship to time What the "attention economy" is and the impact it is having Why people sitting in a circle might be "the highest form of human existence" The nuance beneath the statement "the internet is bad" Why repair cafes, cooperatives, and habitat restoration projects point toward the world we're trying to build inside the one we're currently in Resources & Links Connect with Jenny at her website, www.jennyodell.com, on instagram https://www.instagram.com/jennitaur/ or on Mastadon https://social.coop/@jennitaur/ Check out her books How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy , Inhabiting Negative Space and Saving Time: Discovering a Life Beyond the Clock Also mentioned in this episode: iNaturalist, Mastodon, The Repair Cafe movement, Vivarium (2019 film), An Immense World by Ed Yong Bring this conversation into practice: Join The Third Space, a practice prayer and play space to bring these visions to life with other "revillagers" who are tending to their communities IRL. Learn more or sign up here: www.revillagingmama.com/offers#thethirdspace To stay in touch: Follow This Is How We Care on Instagram Send an email to Emily at [email protected] Read the transcript over at thisishowwecare.com
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In this conversation, Emily sits down with Jenny Odell — artist and author of "Saving Time" and "How to Do Nothing" — to explore the importance of reclaiming our attention and time in a digital age. We explore how "learning" is becoming a lost art (and what to do about that), experience and the role of technology in shaping our lives. From years of observation, research and her own study, Jenny brings a world-changing perspective to how we find our freedom from the forces that pull to commodify and measure every minute and relationship in our lives. In this episode, we discuss: * The moment at summer camp that shaped how Jenny thinks about learning, presence, and attention * How we can retain human agency in a world constantly fighting for our attention * The historical roots of "productivity culture" and how it lives on today * The role of language in shaping our relationship to time * What the "attention economy" is and the impact it is having * Why people sitting in a circle might be "the highest form of human existence" * The nuance beneath the statement "the internet is bad" * Why repair cafes, cooperatives, and habitat restoration projects point toward the world we're trying to build inside the one we're currently in
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087: How We Save Our Attention and Time with Jenny Odell
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