ReThinking: The truth about the attention crisis with historian Daniel Immerwahr
Worklife with Adam Grant
TED
4.8 • 9.4K Ratings
🗓️ 29 July 2025
⏱️ 43 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In the age of social media and short-form content, many people insist that our attention spans are getting shorter. But historian Daniel Immerwahr reminds us that people have cried wolf for centuries about technology hijacking our attention. In this episode, Adam and Daniel dive into evidence that what’s changing is not our attention spans, but the objects of our focus. They also discuss moral panics of the past, compare the cognitive benefits of video games and the opera, and debate whether or not Marvel movies are a waste of time.
Follow
Host: Adam Grant (Instagram: @adamgrant | LinkedIn: @adammgrant | Website: adamgrant.net/)
Guest: Daniel Immerwahr (Website: history.northwestern.edu/people/faculty/core-faculty/daniel-immerwahr.html)
Links
How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States
Subscribe to TED
Instagram: @ted
YouTube: @TED
TikTok: @tedtoks
LinkedIn: @ted-conferences
Website: ted.com
Podcasts: ted.com/podcasts
For the full text transcript, visit ted.com/podcasts/worklife/worklife-with-adam-grant-transcripts
For a chance to give your own TED Talk, fill out the Idea Search Application: ted.com/ideasearch.
Interested in learning more about upcoming TED events? Follow these links:
TEDNext: ted.com/futureyou
TEDAI Vienna: ted.com/ai-vienna
TEDAI San Francisco: ted.com/ai-sf
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Hi, TED Podcast listeners. It's Elise Hugh here from TED Talks Daily. Thanks for making our |
| 0:05.6 | podcasts part of your routine. We really appreciate it and we want to make your favorite TED podcasts |
| 0:10.8 | even better. We put together a quick survey and we'd love to hear from you. It only takes a few |
| 0:16.9 | minutes but it helps us shape our shows and get to know you, our listeners, way better. |
| 0:22.2 | Head to the episode description to find the link. Thank you again for listening and for taking |
| 0:27.1 | the time to help our shows. |
| 0:32.2 | Hi, this is Ava from Vanta. In today's digital world, compliance regulations are changing constantly. |
| 0:39.5 | And earning customer trust has never mattered more. |
| 0:42.3 | Vanta helps companies get compliant fast and stay secure, |
| 0:45.8 | with the most advanced AI automation and continuous monitoring out there. |
| 0:49.9 | So whether you're a startup going for your first SOC 2 or ISO-27,01, |
| 0:53.9 | or a growing enterprise managing vendor risk, |
| 0:56.6 | Banta makes it quick, easy and scalable. |
| 0:58.9 | And I'm not to say that because I work here. |
| 1:00.7 | Get started today at banta.com. |
| 1:03.1 | Hungry for adventure. |
| 1:04.7 | With Nui ice cream, you can have the whole world to explore right in the palm of your hand. |
| 1:10.4 | From salted caramel and Australian |
| 1:12.7 | macadamia to coconut and Indian mango. And for more exciting flavors to try, every hero ingredient |
| 1:20.9 | has been chosen to evoke a feeling of adventure and discovery. Treat yourself to Nui, the smoothest, |
| 1:26.8 | creamiest dairy ice cream encased in |
| 1:29.1 | indulgent chocolate. Choose your next adventure with Nui. This episode is sponsored by |
... |
Transcript will be available on the free plan in 6 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from TED, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of TED and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.