In *Proust and the Squid*, Maryanne Wolf delves into the fascinating history of reading, from early writing systems to the neural pathways involved in reading. The book highlights how reading transforms our brains and culture, and explores challenges such as dyslexia. Wolf also discusses the implications of digital communication on reading habits.
Byung-Chul Han interprets the widespread malaise in modern society as an inability to manage negative experiences in an age characterized by excessive positivity and the universal availability of people and goods. He argues that the shift from a disciplinary society to an achievement society, where individuals are driven by self-monitoring and the desire to achieve, leads to auto-exploitation and burnout. Han draws on literature, philosophy, and the social and natural sciences to explore the consequences of sacrificing intermittent intellectual reflection for constant neural connection and the impact of hyperattention and multitasking on mental health and culture.
Leapfrogging Inequality discusses the need for rapid educational progress to bridge the gap between the haves and have-nots. It presents a framework for leapfrogging, analyzing nearly 3,000 global education innovations to inspire educators and policymakers towards a new vision of educational progress.
AI has upended schooling as we know it. Students now have instant access to tools that can write their essays, summarize entire books, and solve complex math problems. Whether they want to or not, many feel pressured to use these tools just to keep up. Teachers, meanwhile, are left questioning how to evaluate student performance and whether the whole idea of assignments and grading still makes sense. The old model of education suddenly feels broken.
So what comes next?
In this episode, Daniel and Tristan sit down with cognitive neuroscientist Maryanne Wolf and global education expert Rebecca Winthrop—two lifelong educators who have spent decades thinking about how children learn and how technology reshapes the classroom. Together, they explore how AI is shaking the very purpose of school to its core, why the promise of previous classroom tech failed to deliver, and how we might seize this moment to design a more human-centered, curiosity-driven future for learning.
Your Undivided Attention is produced by the Center for Humane Technology. Follow us on X: @HumaneTech_
Guests
Rebecca Winthrop is director of the Center for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution and chair Brookings Global Task Force on AI and Education. Her new book is The Disengaged Teen: Helping Kids Learn Better, Feel Better, and Live Better, co-written with Jenny Anderson.
Maryanne Wolf is a cognitive neuroscientist and expert on the reading brain. Her books include Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain and Reader, Come Home: The Reading Brain in a Digital World.
RECOMMENDED MEDIA
The Disengaged Teen: Helping Kids Learn Better, Feel Better, and Live Better by Rebecca Winthrop and Jenny Anderson
Proust and the Squid, Reader, Come Home, and other books by Maryanne Wolf
The OECD research which found little benefit to desktop computers in the classroom
Further reading on the Singapore study on digital exposure and attention cited by Maryanne
The Burnout Society by Byung-Chul Han
Further reading on the VR Bio 101 class at Arizona State University cited by Rebecca
Leapfrogging Inequality by Rebecca Winthrop
The Nation’s Report Card from NAEP
Further reading on the Nigeria AI Tutor Study
Further reading on the JAMA paper showing a link between digital exposure and lower language development cited by Maryanne
Further reading on Linda Stone’s thesis of continuous partial attention.
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AI Is Moving Fast. We Need Laws that Will Too.
Jonathan Haidt On How to Solve the Teen Mental Health Crisis
Your Undivided Attention 
