Interesting Times That Daily Brain Rot Break Is Taking Us Back to the Dark Ages
James Marriott, a Times of London columnist and author of The New Dark Ages, examines the West’s slide toward post-literacy. He and Mary Harrington explore how short-form video reshapes attention, the link between deep reading and democratic life, and what medieval memory culture can teach us about digital archives. They also discuss charismatic leaders, visual politics, and resisting a screen-dominated future.
48:47
Why Video Keeps Replacing Reading
- Screens displace reading because visual absorption feels natural and passive, while text requires unusual cognitive effort.
- Television began the trend by consuming newly available leisure time; smartphones and ubiquitous video accelerated it.
Literacy Built Our Abstract World
- Walter Ong argues that literacy creates intellectual practices such as philosophy, history, logic, and mathematics.
- A post-literate society will retain text but increasingly resemble oral culture in how it communicates and organizes politics.
Print Culture Cooled Democratic Politics
- Oral and visual communication intensify emotion because information arrives through personalities rather than impersonal text.
- Print helped democratic debate by favoring evidence and reasoning over shouting, charm, and emotional performance.
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Intro
00:00 • 1min
Post-Literacy and the Decline of Reading
01:22 • 4min
Short Video and Shrinking Concentration
04:53 • 4min
Why Screens Replace Deep Reading
09:19 • 2min
Orality, Literacy, and Emotional Politics
11:15 • 7min
The Reading Revolution and Modernity
17:46 • 4min
Long-Form Literacy as Democratic Infrastructure
21:44 • 3min
Scarcity, Authority, and Medieval Knowledge
24:28 • 3min
Memory Culture in a Digital Archive
27:57 • 6min
Ad break
33:57 • 1min
Bukele and the Visual Politics of Power
35:16 • 7min
Charismatic Leaders in the Post-Literate Era
42:03 • 3min
Resisting the Slide Toward Post-Literacy
45:17 • 5min
Outro
50:10 • 55sec
#81
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BOWLING ALONE
The Collapse and Revival of American Community
Robert Putnam
In 'Bowling Alone', Robert D. Putnam presents extensive data showing how Americans have become disconnected from family, friends, neighbors, and democratic structures.
He argues that this decline in social capital has significant negative impacts on physical and civic health.
The book explores various factors contributing to this decline, including changes in work, family structure, suburbanization, and the influence of technology such as television and the internet.
Putnam also discusses historical precedents and potential solutions for reviving civic engagement and social connections.
#34
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The Iliad
Homer
The Iliad is an epic poem attributed to Homer, set during the Trojan War. It begins in the ninth year of the war, where a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles sets off a chain of events.
The poem explores themes of heroism, honor, and fate as it describes the battles and interactions between Greek warriors like Achilles, Diomedes, and Odysseus, and Trojan warriors like Hector and Paris.
The story is interspersed with divine interventions from Greek gods and goddesses, influencing the outcome of the war.
The poem culminates with Achilles' reconciliation with Agamemnon and his subsequent rage against the Trojans, leading to the death of Hector and the eventual funeral rites for Patroclus and Hector.
#396
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Beowulf
Anonymous
Beowulf is an Old English epic poem that chronicles the daring deeds of its titular hero, Beowulf.
The story begins with Beowulf's journey to help King Hrothgar of the Danes, whose mead hall, Heorot, is terrorized by the monster Grendel.
Beowulf kills Grendel and later Grendel's mother, then returns to his homeland to become king of the Geats.
After ruling for 50 years, he faces his final battle against a fire-breathing dragon, which ultimately leads to his death.
The poem explores themes of heroism, fate, and the struggle between civilization and wilderness.
#115
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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.
#83
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Paradise Lost
John Milton
Published in 1667, 'Paradise Lost' is an epic poem in blank verse that follows the biblical story of the Fall of Man. The poem begins in medias res, detailing the descent of Satan and his followers into Hell after their rebellion against God. It explores two main narrative arcs: one focusing on Satan's actions and the other on Adam and Eve's story in the Garden of Eden.
The poem delves into themes such as free will, obedience, revenge, and pride, and it portrays the complex characters of Satan, Adam, and Eve. Milton's work is known for its rich language, classical structure, and profound theological and philosophical insights.
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Bleak House
Charles Dickens
Bleak House, published in 1852-1853, is a novel by Charles Dickens that revolves around the Jarndyce family and their entanglement in the interminable lawsuit of Jarndyce and Jarndyce.
The story highlights the inefficiencies and injustices of the English Court of Chancery, as well as themes of family secrets, blackmail, murder, and social critique.
The novel follows Esther Summerson, who becomes the guardian of two other wards, Richard Carstone and Ada Clare, and their lives as they navigate the complexities of the lawsuit and personal secrets, particularly those surrounding Lady Dedlock and her past.
The novel is known for its vivid portrayal of Victorian England and its critique of various social and legal institutions of the time.
#2891
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Orality and Literacy
The Technologizing of the Word
Walter Ong
Walter Ong's "Orality and Literacy" explores the profound influence of oral and written communication on thought and culture.
Ong argues that the shift from oral to literate cultures fundamentally reshaped human consciousness, impacting memory, perception, and the very structure of thought.
He contrasts the characteristics of oral cultures, emphasizing their communal nature and reliance on memory, with the individualistic and analytical tendencies fostered by literacy.
The book examines how different modes of communication shape our understanding of the world and ourselves.
Ong's work has had a lasting impact on fields such as rhetoric, anthropology, and media studies, influencing scholars like Marshall McLuhan.
His insights continue to be relevant in understanding the impact of new technologies on human cognition and social interaction.
#247
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Middlemarch
George Eliot
Middlemarch, written by George Eliot, is a novel that delves into the complexities of provincial life in 19th-century England.
The story revolves around the intersecting lives of its characters, particularly Dorothea Brooke and Dr. Tertius Lydgate, as they navigate marriage, vocation, and social class.
Eliot critiques the conventional romance narratives of her time by portraying marriage as a complex and often problematic institution.
The novel also explores themes of idealism, self-interest, hypocrisy, and the constraints on women's lives.
Set in the fictional town of Middlemarch between 1829 and 1832, the novel incorporates historical events such as the Great Reform Act of 1832 and early developments in medicine.
Eliot's realistic portrayal of ordinary human life, with its quiet tragedies and small triumphs, has made 'Middlemarch' a masterpiece of English literature.
#138
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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.
#5881
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The New Dark Ages
The Death of Reading and the Dawn of the Post-Literate Society
James Marriott
James Marriott sostiene que el aumento de la alfabetización impulsó la civilización moderna y que su retroceso está empujando a la sociedad hacia una era posliteraria.
A partir de la historia, la teoría de los medios y la sociología, el libro defiende la lectura y la escritura como pilares de la innovación, el pensamiento complejo y la democracia.
Literacy is declining sharply across the West. In the era of vertical video, who has the time or concentration to read a long article — let alone a whole book?
As we lose the ability to read long-form text, we might also be losing the capacity for democratic deliberation and self-governance. That’s the argument this week’s guest, the Times of London columnist James Marriott, makes in his recent book, “The New Dark Ages.” He sits down with guest host Mary Harrington to discuss our return to oral culture, the political consequences and what we can learn from the medieval era about storing information in a digital world.
Note: As we work on relaunching “Interesting Times,” the show will feature a series of guest hosts in the coming months.
- 00:00 Intro
- 00:52 What Is Post-Literacy
- 02:05 The Data Behind the Decline
- 05:21 The Shift Toward Video
- 09:44 Why Reading Is Hard
- 10:45 Walter Ong on Oral vs. Literate Cultures
- 14:27 Tribal Politics and Emotion
- 18:21 The Reading Revolution
- 21:14 Literacy as an Engine for Democracy
- 25:15 Medieval Literary Culture
- 27:27 What We Can Learn the Medieval Era
- 30:13 Remembering Everything and Nothing
- 33:49 How Bukele Communicates Visually
- 37:04 Monarchy vs. Dictatorship
- 41:38 Is Postliteracy a Right-Wing Phenomenon?
- 43:29 Can We Resist the Slide?
- 46:33 Closing
(A full transcript of this episode is available on the Times website.)
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