How Sensitivity Readers Made Publishing More Racist w/Adam Szetela

Conversations With Coleman

The Free Press

Philosophy, Society & Culture

4.8 • 2K Ratings

🗓️ 18 August 2025

⏱️ 63 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This week on Conversations with Coleman, I’m joined by writer and cultural critic Adam Szetela, author of That Book Is Dangerous!, a trenchant look at how moral panic, social media, and identity-driven outrage are reshaping the publishing industry. We discuss the rise of so-called sensitivity readers who vet books to ensure they are as inoffensive as possible, and how an obsession with controlling representation of minorities is narrowing creative freedom and silencing risk-taking voices. Adam argues that in trying to avoid stereotypes, the industry may be reinforcing a subtle form of racism, one that flattens characters into symbols instead of portraying them as fully human. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to another episode of Conversations with Coleman. My guest today is Adam Sotella.
0:06.2	Adam earned his Ph.D. in English from the Department of Literature at Cornell University,
0:10.7	and before Cornell, he was a visiting fellow in the program on the study of capitalism at Harvard.
0:15.8	He's also written for the Washington Post, The Guardian, Newsweek, and other publications.
0:21.1	And he's the author of a new book entitled That Book is Dangerous,
0:25.6	how Moral Panic, Social Media, and the Culture Wars are remaking publishing.
0:30.1	In this episode, we talk about how wokeness has destroyed the publishing industry,
0:34.2	especially in young adult fiction.
0:36.5	We discussed the role of so-called sensitivity
0:39.0	readers. We talk about the line between cultural authenticity on the one hand and stereotyping on the
0:44.6	other, and much more. So without further ado, Adam Sotella.
1:03.6	Hi listeners. I want to tell you about the free press's latest new podcast, old school with Shiloh Brooks.
1:10.4	When we met Shiloh, he was one of the most popular professors at Princeton, and he was making reading great books cool again. Now he's hosting this show
1:12.6	to help all of us and young men in particular get back into reading for pleasure. The show
1:18.7	features intimate conversations with fascinating men, from fitness gurus to philosophers about books
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1:42.4	or wherever you get your podcasts.
	...

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