Episode 230: Erasing Typographic Man

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Have you ever read a very old book and wondered how the author could keep the argument flowing through the miles of print? I know I have. Today I explore the degradation of our modern attention span with this Episode 230: Erasing Typographic Man.

In this episode, I read from: Jerry Mander's book, Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television; Neal Postman's book Amusing Ourselves To Death; Benjamin Franklin's autobiography (as it was quoted in Brooke Allen's book, Moral Minority: Our Skeptical Founding Fathers); my Quickie Dictionary; and the 1893 edition of The New Review.

I play a bit the 1984 movie This Is Spinal Tap! (Keep listening until the end of the credits and I'll play more of that clip with Christopher Guest and Rob Reiner as a public service to those too young to have seen that flick. It'll help you get the joke still uttered by old people, too often to eleven.)

Musically, Lance Strate opens the show backed by KMFDM. Mr. Strate did an interview where he discussed Neal Postman's book, appropriately. Julie and Rolf & the Campfire Gang close us out with "Over the Rainbow".