The Age of Reading Is Over

Optimists once believed that universal literacy was inevitable. Now it seems that the age of reading might be a short anomaly in human history. By Rose Horowitch From the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠August 2026 issue⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠subscribe⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://theatlantic.com/listen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Jul 18, 2026

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