4.2 • 3.5K Ratings
🗓️ 25 November 2025
⏱️ 36 minutes
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People around the world are reading less. In the U.S., the share of people reading for pleasure dropped by 40% in the last 20 years. Writer James Marriott says that puts democracy in danger.
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| 1:03.4 | This is on point. I'm Megachakrabardi. People around the world are reading less. In the United States, the share of people reading for pleasure dropped by 40% over the last 20 years, |
| 1:09.3 | according to a study from the University of Florida and University College London. |
| 1:14.2 | And literacy levels are, quote, declining or stagnating in most developed countries, |
| 1:19.8 | according to a 2024 report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or the OECD. |
| 1:27.7 | Writer James Myriad says this dramatic decline in reading is dangerous for democracy. |
| 1:34.3 | His recent essay is called The Dawn of the Post-Literate Society. |
| 1:38.7 | And in it, Marriott writes, quote, without the knowledge and without the critical thinking |
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