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Are we living in the new Dark Ages? Despite vast technological advances, our societies are increasingly looking like those that preceded the advent of literacy. So argues journalist James Marriott, who sees in our abandonment of reading a threat to democracy and a reversal of many of the Enlightenment’s gains.
Marriott and EconTalk’s Russ Roberts trace literacy from its fragile first days in ancient Mesopotamia through to the printing press and the “Reading Revolution” of the mid-to-late 18th century, exploring how—and whether—its spread shaped major historical events. They analyze Marriott’s claim that reading grounds politics in rationality, consider the role of the Republic of Letters in driving Europe’s Industrial Revolution, and debate whether a book or a movie is better at conveying complexity. Marriott ends with a consolation: Just as fast food gave rise to the gym, informational junk food may give rise to reading as an intentional discipline.
Resources
James Marriott. The Times.
James Marriott. The New Dark Ages: The Death of Reading and the Dawn of the Post-Literate Society. Knopf, 2026.
James Marriott. “James Marriott on Reading.” EconTalk, June 21, 2025.
Zena Hitz. “Zena Hitz on Lost in Thought.” EconTalk, October 5, 2020.
“Propaganda Film: Triumph of the Will.” Experiencing History: Holocaust Sources in Context. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Steven Pinker. The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined. Viking, 2011.
Joel Mokyr. A Culture of Growth: The Origins of the Modern Economy. Princeton University Press, 2016.
High Noon. Rotten Tomatoes.
Michael Munger. “Mike Munger on Obedience to the Unenforceable.” Interview with Russ Roberts. EconTalk, June 19, 2023.
Leo Tolstoy. Anna Karenina. Translated by Rosamund Bartlett. Oxford World’s Classics. Oxford University Press, 2016.
Bridge of Spies. Rotten Tomatoes.
Joseph Roth. The Radetzky March. Translated by Michael Hofmann. Granta Books, 2022.
Richard Gunderman. “Richard Gunderman on Greed, Adam Smith, and Leo Tolstoy.” Interview by Russ Roberts. EconTalk, April 4, 2022.
Walter J. Ong. Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word. 30th anniversary ed. Routledge, 2013.
Andrew Hickey. “A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs.” Apple Podcasts, 2021.
Russ Roberts is a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution. In 2006, he founded the award-winning weekly podcast EconTalk, which has featured guests including Milton Friedman, Martha Nussbaum, Christopher Hitchens, Agnes Callard, Bill James, Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Amor Towles, and Emily Oster. All 875+ episodes remain available free of charge at EconTalk.org and reach an audience of more than 125,000 listeners in 200 countries.
James Marriott is a London Times columnist and the author of the Substack Cultural Capital, covering society, ideas, and culture. He also reviews podcasts. Previously, he worked as an assistant on the Times books desk. Before joining the paper, he worked in the rare book trade. He is the author of The New Dark Ages: The Death of Reading and the Dawn of the Post-Literate Society (2026).