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Dec 30, 2022 50 min

Bookish

from On the Media Hosted by WNYC Studios

In October, a court ruled in favor of the Department of Justice and blocked the merging of two publishing giants: Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster. On this week’s On the Media, hear what readers will lose if conglomerates further monopolize the market. Plus, it turns out readers do not want to curl up with a good ebook. 1. Alexandra Alter [@xanalter], reporter at the New York Times, on how the booming publishing industry is wrestling with supply chain nightmares and more to meet reader demand. Listen. 2. Katy Waldman [@xwaldie], writer at The New Yorker, explains what's at stake in the DOJ v. Penguin Random House case. Listen. 3. Margot Boyer-Dry [@M_BigDeal], freelance culture writer, on why book covers are looking more and more similar, blobs and all. Listen. 4. John B. Thompson, Professor of Sociology at the University of Cambridge, on how Amazon changed the book market for good, and why the appeal of the print book persists. Listen. Music in this week's show: Paperback Writer - Quartetto d’Archi Dell'Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Guiseppe Verdi Tymperturbably Blue - Duke Ellington I Could Write A Book - Miles Davis Tateh’s Picture Book - Randy Newman My Baby Loves A Bunch of Authors - Moxy Fruvous On the Media is supported by listeners like you. Support OTM by donating today (https://pledge.wnyc.org/support/otm). Follow our show on Instagram, Bluesky, TikTok and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing [email protected].

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Bookish

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This episode was published on December 30, 2022.

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