News to Know: She calls for a cultural shift back to intellectual development through reading.
Strawberry Letter
iHeartPodcasts
4.5 • 1.7K Ratings
🗓️ 20 June 2025
⏱️ 28 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Diana Ha.
Editor, Writer, Literacy Advocate, and College Prep Specialist.
🔑 Episode Highlights 📚 Diana’s Background
- Daughter of South Korean immigrants, raised in NYC.
- Attended Stuyvesant High School and earned a linguistics degree from the University of Pennsylvania.
- Taught in both urban and suburban school districts, including gifted and special education (IEPs).
- Later moved to California, tutoring students and professionals in English and writing.
📱 The Literacy Crisis
- Warns of a “language and literacy epidemic” among youth raised on smartphones.
- Observes:
- Inability to write complete sentences.
- Poor vocabulary (even among affluent students).
- Short attention spans and difficulty with long-form reading.
📖 The Power of Reading
- Advocates for deep, immersive reading—especially physical books.
- Recommends reading widely: newspapers, essays, biographies, and well-written fiction.
- Encourages parents to read to children from the womb and model reading habits.
🎧 Audiobooks & Accessibility
- Supports audiobooks for students with dyslexia or visual impairments.
- Emphasizes that any form of reading—print, audio, Braille—can imprint language and build cognitive strength.
🧠 Practical Advice for Parents & Students
- Read 20–30 minutes daily.
- Subscribe to publications like The New York Times or The Atlantic.
- Choose books that align with personal interests or career goals.
- Re-read and study one book deeply, as modeled by NYU professor Scott Galloway.
🧠 The Bigger Picture
- Warns of a future where technology replaces critical thinking.
- Notes that even elite colleges are seeing students struggle with basic writing.
- Calls for a cultural shift back to intellectual development through reading.
🌐 Connect with Diana Ha
- Website: DianaHa.com (as referenced in the transcript)
- Hosts webinars and literacy seminars
#SHMS #STRAW #BEST
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | This is an I-Heart podcast. |
| 0:09.2 | Welcome to the show. |
| 0:10.6 | I am Rishon McDonald, the host of Money Making Conversations Masterclass, |
| 0:14.8 | where we encourage people to stop reading other people's success stories and start planning their own. |
| 0:20.4 | Listen up as I interview entrepreneurs from around the country, |
| 0:24.2 | talk to celebrities and ask them how they are running their companies, |
| 0:27.8 | and speak with nonprofits who are making a difference in their local communities. |
| 0:32.1 | Now sit back and listen as we unlock the secrets to their success |
| 0:35.7 | on Money Making Conversations Masterclass. |
| 0:39.1 | My guest is an editor, writer, and college prep specialist. |
| 0:42.5 | She teaches aspiring authors and students and coaches college test prep, teaching both content and strategy. |
| 0:51.5 | She feels we have a language and literacy epidemic amongst kids who were born |
| 0:56.1 | with a phone in their hands. Wow. She speaks the truth. Please welcome to Money Making |
| 1:02.0 | Conversation Masterclass, Diana. How you doing, Diana? |
| 1:05.7 | I'm doing, great. |
| 1:09.3 | First of all, thank you for coming on my show. Academic training. |
| 1:14.6 | I got your note because you thought that might be a guest and I just saw frustration from you |
| 1:21.2 | from the educational system. Before we get into that aspect of it, let's learn a little few things about |
| 1:26.6 | you. Where are you from and your |
| 1:28.4 | educational background? So I'm a daughter of South Korean immigrants. I grew up in New York City |
| 1:34.8 | in the 70s. When I was in the fourth grade, my father told his, my father drove a yellow |
| 1:41.7 | taxi cap and she would tell his passengers that is, I was in the fourth grade and she would tell his passengers that is, I was in the fourth grade, |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from iHeartPodcasts, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of iHeartPodcasts and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.