James Marriott on Reading

Podcast: EconTalk (LS 69 · TOP 0.05% what is this?)Episode: James Marriott on ReadingPub date: 2025-07-21Get Podcast Transcript →powered by Listen411 - fast audio-to-text and summarizationIs long form reading a dying pastime? Journalist and cultural critic James Marriott joins EconTalk's Russ Roberts to defend the increasingly quaint act of reading a book in our scrolling-obsessed, AI-summarized age. He urges juggling a paper book and a Kindle, recounts ditching his smartphone to rescue his attention, and shares tactics for finding the "right" beach novel and biography. He and Russ also debate the value of re-reading, spar over Dostoevsky, celebrate Elena Ferrante, and swap suggestions for poetry that "puts reality back in your bones." Throughout, they argue that the shallowness of social media makes the best case for diving into the dense, intellectually difficult, yet uniquely transformative power of books.The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Russ Roberts, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.