News to Know: She calls for a cultural shift back to intellectual development through reading.
The Steve Harvey Morning Show
iHeartPodcasts
4.6 • 2.1K 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
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Transcript
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| 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, |
... |
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