Recode Daily

Why we can't pay attention anymore

Listen Later

Sean Illing talks with the author Johann Hari about his new book Stolen Focus, which explores what's happening — and what's already happened — to our attention. They discuss how exactly Big Tech "stole" our ability to focus, what many leading scientists say about how we are psychologically and physiologically changed by the powerful new draws on our attention, and whether or not we need an "attention rebellion" to fight back against the tech giants, whose business models depend on us getting easily distracted.

Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling), Interviews Writer, Vox

Guest: Johann Hari (@johannhari101), author

References: 

  • Stolen Focus: Why You Can't Pay Attention — and How to Think Deeply Again by Johann Hari (Crown; 2022)
  • Companion site with audio excerpts from interviews with experts and additional endnotes: stolenfocusbook.com
  • Getting Ahead of ADHD by Joel T. Nigg (Guilford; 2017)
  • "Capitalism is turning us into addicts" by Sean Illing, interviewing David T, Courtwright (Vox; Apr. 18, 2020)
  • Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man by Marshall McLuhan (1964)
  • "Enhancing attention through training" by Michael Posner, et al. (Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences (4); 2015)
  • "Facebook and texting made me do it: Media-induced task-switching while studying" by Larry Rosen, et al. (Computers in Human Behavior, 29 (3); 2013)
  • "Accelerating dynamics of collective attention" by Sune Lehmann, et al. (Nature Communications; 2019)

     

    Enjoyed this episode? Rate Vox Conversations ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and leave a review on Apple Podcasts.

    Subscribe for free. Be the first to hear the next episode of Vox Conversations by subscribing in your favorite podcast app.

    Support Vox Conversations by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts

    This episode was made by: 

    • Producer: Erikk Geannikis
    • Editor: Amy Drozdowska
    • Engineer: Paul Robert Mounsey
    • Deputy Editorial Director, Vox Talk: Amber Hall

      Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

      ...more
      View all episodesView all episodes
      Download on the App Store
      Recode DailyBy Recode
      • 4.4
      • 4.4
      • 4.4
      • 4.4
      • 4.4

      4.4

      1,266 ratings

      More shows like Recode Daily

      View all
      Planet Money by NPR

      Planet Money

      30,700 Listeners

      Explain It to Me by Vox

      Explain It to Me

      7,844 Listeners

      The Gray Area with Sean Illing by Vox

      The Gray Area with Sean Illing

      10,732 Listeners

      Pivot by New York Magazine

      Pivot

      9,507 Listeners

      Recode Replay by Recode

      Recode Replay

      25 Listeners

      The Vergecast by The Verge

      The Vergecast

      3,678 Listeners

      Decoder with Nilay Patel by The Verge

      Decoder with Nilay Patel

      3,146 Listeners

      Channels with Peter Kafka by Vox Media Podcast Network

      Channels with Peter Kafka

      559 Listeners

      Uncanny Valley | WIRED by WIRED

      Uncanny Valley | WIRED

      476 Listeners

      The Entrepreneurs by Monocle

      The Entrepreneurs

      73 Listeners

      What Next: TBD | Tech, power, and the future by Slate Podcasts

      What Next: TBD | Tech, power, and the future

      239 Listeners

      Today, Explained by Vox

      Today, Explained

      10,228 Listeners

      Land of the Giants by Vulture

      Land of the Giants

      2,164 Listeners

      Hard Fork by The New York Times

      Hard Fork

      5,468 Listeners

      The Ezra Klein Show by New York Times Opinion

      The Ezra Klein Show

      16,152 Listeners

      Unexplainable by Vox

      Unexplainable

      2,283 Listeners

      On with Kara Swisher by Vox Media

      On with Kara Swisher

      3,427 Listeners