Skip to content
TrackPodcasts
societyFeb 3, 202519:10pending

Books vs. Brain Rot: why it's so hard to read

About this episode

Data from Gallup and the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that Americans are reading fewer books and spending less time reading than ever.

There's been reporting on college kids struggling to finish longer texts. And last month, in a viral post, one user lamented their loss of concentration for reading, which led to a larger online discourse about how to approach books again.

Brittany is joined by Elaine Castillo, author of the book How to Read Now, and Abdullah Shihipar, Research Associate at the People, Place and Health collective at Brown University, to get into why reading books is on the decline, the battle for our attention, and what people can do to get their reading grooves back.

Support public media and receive ad-free listening & bonus. Join NPR+ today.

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy

Get every episode summarized

Each time It's Been a Minute publishes, we email you a written briefing from the transcript — the topics, who appeared, and any specific claims, with the ad reads skipped.

Email me new episodes

Free for 3 shows. No card needed.

No transcript yet

This episode has not been transcribed. Request it and it moves to the front of the queue.

Books vs. Brain Rot: why it's so hard to read

It's Been a Minute

0:00
19:10

More episodes

More from It's Been a Minute

View all episodes →