Why Is This Happening? The Chris Hayes Podcast WITHpod Special: Hear a Chapter of Chris’ New Book: ‘The Siren’s Call’
Jan 28, 2025
Dive into the first chapter of a new book that unpacks how our attention has become a prized, yet endangered resource. The narrative weaves a timeless tale, comparing modern distractions to Odysseus’ mythical battle against the Sirens. It touches on the intersection of technology and anxiety, revealing the impact of smartphones on our mental health. Moreover, it critiques how corporations prioritize capturing consumer attention, often at the expense of quality, prompting a deeper reflection on the value of focus in our information-saturated world.
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Intro
00:00 • 2min
The Struggle Against Temptation: Odysseus and the Sirens
01:51 • 2min
The Song of Sirens: Attention in Modern Life
04:03 • 7min
The Tech Tension: Navigating Innovation and Anxiety
11:05 • 20min
The Value of Attention in an Information-Saturated World
31:07 • 2min
The Attention Age: Branding Over Quality
33:02 • 10min
The Vital Importance of Attention in Human Experience
43:10 • 4min
The Commodity of Attention
47:32 • 8min
The Battle for Attention in Modern Life
55:59 • 4min
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Heide Luthers
Ulysses
James Joyce
Ulysses is a groundbreaking and complex modernist novel that chronicles the experiences of three Dubliners over a single day. The novel is loosely based on Homer's epic poem 'The Odyssey', with Leopold Bloom paralleling Odysseus, Stephen Dedalus paralleling Telemachus, and Molly Bloom paralleling Penelope. It explores themes such as antisemitism, human sexuality, British rule in Ireland, Catholicism, and Irish nationalism. The novel is known for its innovative use of language and narrative techniques, including stream-of-consciousness and multiple literary styles. It captures the essence of early 20th-century Dublin, providing a detailed snapshot of the city's social, political, and cultural landscape[2][3][5].
The Anxious Generation
Jonathan Haidt
In 'The Anxious Generation', Jonathan Haidt examines the sudden decline in the mental health of adolescents starting in the early 2010s. He attributes this decline to the shift from a 'play-based childhood' to a 'phone-based childhood', highlighting mechanisms such as sleep deprivation, attention fragmentation, addiction, loneliness, social contagion, and perfectionism that interfere with children’s social and neurological development. Haidt proposes four simple rules to address this issue: no smartphones before high school, no social media before age 16, phone-free schools, and more opportunities for independence, free play, and responsibility. The book offers a clear call to action for parents, teachers, schools, tech companies, and governments to restore a more humane childhood and end the epidemic of mental illness among youth.
The Sirens' Call
How Attention Became the World's Most Endangered Resource
Chris Hayes
In The Sirens' Call, Chris Hayes delves into the impact of the attention economy on our lives, politics, and society. He argues that the constant assault from attention-seeking technologies and media has fundamentally altered our ability to focus and has significant implications for our mental health, social structures, and political landscape. Hayes draws on a wide range of sources, including philosophers, media theorists, and psychologists, to provide a holistic framework for understanding and reclaiming control over our attention in a world dominated by 'attentional warlordism'[1][3][4].
The principles of psychology
William James
Published in 1890, 'The Principles of Psychology' is a two-volume work that lays the groundwork for understanding psychological phenomena through a scientific lens. William James discusses the relationship between mental processes and their underlying physical conditions, introducing key concepts such as the 'stream of consciousness,' the James–Lange theory of emotion, the importance of habit, and the concept of will. The book is based on James's classroom lessons and avoids metaphysical explanations, focusing instead on empirical observations and physiological processes. It has been influential in shaping the field of psychology and continues to be relevant today[4][5][2].
NO LOGO
Taking Aim at the Brand Bullies
Naomi Klein
In 'No Logo', Naomi Klein examines the rise of corporate branding and its effects on culture, work, and consumer choice. The book is divided into four parts: 'No Space', 'No Choice', 'No Jobs', and 'No Logo'. Klein discusses how multinational corporations prioritize brand marketing over product manufacturing, leading to issues such as sweatshops, corporate censorship, and the erosion of public spaces. She also highlights various resistance movements, including culture jamming and anti-globalization protests, and argues for a more just and sustainable economic model.
Folk Devils and Moral Panics
The Creation of the Mods and Rockers
Stanley Cohen
This book, first published in 1972, is a seminal work in sociology that explores the concept of 'moral panic' using the example of the Mods and Rockers youth subcultures in the UK. Cohen analyzes how minor incidents can escalate into major societal crises through media sensationalism and political amplification. The book provides insights into subculture, mass morality, and the psychology and sociology behind moral panics, making it essential reading for those interested in media studies, psychology, and social behavior. The later editions include updates on how the concept of moral panic has been applied over the years to various social issues[1][2][3].
The Odyssey
Homer
The Odyssey, attributed to Homer, is an ancient Greek epic poem that tells the story of Odysseus, king of Ithaca, and his ten-year journey home after the Trojan War. The poem explores Odysseus's encounters with various mythical creatures, divine interventions, and natural challenges. Upon his return to Ithaca, he must confront the suitors who have been vying for his wife Penelope's hand in marriage. With the help of his son Telemachus and the goddess Athena, Odysseus devises a plan to defeat the suitors and reclaim his throne. The poem is a reflection on human nature, loyalty, and the consequences of one's actions, and it remains a crucial component of ancient Greek literature and Western cultural heritage.
Stolen Focus
Steven C. Lambert
In 'Stolen Focus', Johann Hari delves into the reasons behind the collapse of our ability to pay attention. He discusses various factors contributing to this issue and provides strategies on how to think deeply again and reclaim our focus in a world filled with distractions.
Amusing Ourselves to Death
Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business
Neil Postman
In this book, Neil Postman argues that the contemporary world is more akin to Aldous Huxley's 'Brave New World' than George Orwell's '1984'. Postman contends that television's emphasis on entertainment has led to a decline in rational discourse and the trivialization of politics, education, and religion. He contrasts the print-based culture of the 19th century with the televisual culture of the 20th century, highlighting how the medium of television inherently promotes incoherence and triviality, turning serious information into a form of entertainment.
Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products
Nir Eyal
In 'Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products,' Nir Eyal explains how the most successful products create habits in their users. The book introduces the 4-step Hook Model: Trigger, Action, Variable Reward, and Investment. Eyal discusses how these steps work together to form habits, making products an integral part of users' daily routines. He also addresses the ethical considerations of creating habit-forming products and provides frameworks like the Manipulation Matrix to ensure that these products improve users' lives. The book is invaluable for entrepreneurs, product designers, and anyone interested in understanding how to build products that users return to repeatedly[2][3][4].
Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts Of 1844
Karl Marx
Karl Marx's Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844 are a collection of writings that explore the nature of alienation, private property, and communism. These essays delve into Marx's early critique of capitalism, focusing on the dehumanizing effects of industrial labor. He examines how capitalism alienates workers from their labor, the products of their labor, their fellow workers, and ultimately, themselves. Marx's analysis lays the groundwork for his later, more mature works, such as Das Kapital. The manuscripts offer a profound and enduring critique of the social and economic structures of capitalism.
Phaedrus
Plato
The Revolt of the Masses
Jose Ortega Y Gasset
In this work, Ortega y Gasset traces the genesis of the 'mass-man' and analyzes his constitution, describing the rise to power and action of the masses in society. He criticizes the masses and the mass-men, contrasting 'noble life and common life' and highlighting the barbarism and primitivism he sees in the mass-man. The book does not refer to specific social classes but targets the bourgeois educated man who believes he has all the answers and extends his command over others, contemptuous of his ignorance in many areas. Ortega argues that the advances of civilization have led to the accession of the masses, which threatens the future of civilization[1][4][5].
Hi, WITHpod listeners! It’s an exciting day and we have a special treat for you. Today, we’re sharing the first chapter of Chris’ new book, “The Sirens’ Call: How Attention How Attention Became the World's Most Endangered Resource." From the book description:
We all feel it—the distraction, the loss of focus, the addictive focus on the wrong things for too long. We bump into the zombies on their phones in the street, and sometimes they’re us. We stare in pity at the four people at the table in the restaurant, all on their phones, and then we feel the buzz in our pocket. Something has changed utterly: for most of human history, the boundary between public and private has been clear, at least in theory. Now, as Chris Hayes writes, “With the help of a few tech firms, we basically tore it down in about a decade.” Hayes argues that we are in the midst of an epoch-defining transition whose only parallel is what happened to labor in the nineteenth century: attention has become a commodified resource extracted from us, and from which we are increasingly alienated. The Sirens’ Call is the big-picture vision we urgently need to offer clarity and guidance.
Audio excerpted courtesy of Penguin Random House Audio from The Sirens’ Call by Chris Hayes, read by Chris Hayes. © 2025 Christopher Hayes, ℗ 2025 Penguin Random House, LLC. All rights reserved.