"What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book because there would be no one who wanted to read one."

— Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death

This week, Nick Cohen talks to essayist and Times journalist James Marriott about Marriott's essay on "The dawn of the post-literate society" and his upcoming book "The New Dark Ages." James argued that mass literacy, which emerged in the 18th century, was fundamental to democracy, science, and philosophy, but that modern screen-based technologies like smartphones are replacing reading and leading to mass cognitive decline.

James and Nick discuss how television and now social media platforms like TikTok are changing political discourse, making it more emotional and less rational, with examples like Donald Trump's anti-vaxx stance and the rise of populist leaders who thrive on screen.

James concludes that democracy may not be sustainable in our current information environment, as it relies on abstract thinking that doesn't translate well to visual media formats

James Marriott is a columnist and film critic on The Times, and has own Substack column, Cultural Capital. James's Substack essay on how the smart phone is helping to usher in a new dark age - The dawn of the post-literate society - And the end of civilisation - went viral and has led to his first book, to be published by Bodley Head - an imprint of Penguin - either next month or in the Autumn, The new Dark Ages: the end of reading and the dawn of a post-literate society.

Nick Cohen's @NickCohen4 latest Substack column Writing from London on politics and culture from the UK and beyond.

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