Episode #510: The End of Reading?

This month, The Atlantic declared the age of reading over. Writer Rose Horowitch's viral cover story argues we've entered a "postliterate" era — sustained, deep reading giving way to something closer to the oral cultures we came from, with real consequences for how we think and who we elect. In this episode, Mr Maillet walks through her argument: from the historical case she builds, the contested comparison she opens with, and some tension he feels she never quite resolves. Then we bring in two very different responses 1) Globe and Mail columnist Marsha Lederman's personal rebuttal from a packed author event, and 2) The New Republic's sharper critique of The Atlantic's pattern of sweeping "end of X" style journalism. Finally, Mr Maillet brings it down to ground level: what he's actually seeing (and doing) in his classroom; where, unfortunately, most students stop reading the moment high school (and the "requirement" to read) ends. So, Mr Maillet asks the question: Is reading really ending, or just changing hands? Three outside perspectives, one classroom, and a question worth sitting with either way. Page Turning Sound Effects by Lesiakower from Pixabay Rose Horowitch, “The Age of Reading Is Over” (published online as “The End of Reading Is Here”), The Atlantic, August 2026 issue — https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/2026/08/reading-crisis-postliterate-age/687618/ Marsha Lederman, “A viral essay declares the end of reading is here. But there's no end to its pleasures,” The Globe and Mail — https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-a-viral-essay-declares-the-end-of-reading-is-here-but-theres-no-end-to/ “Is There Any End to The Atlantic's 'End-ism' Fetish?”, The New Republic — https://newrepublic.com/article/212923/the-atlantic-magazine-endism-fetish