Shadi Hamid on Political News: Sometimes It’s ‘Better Not to Know’

KQED's Forum

KQED

News, Politics, News Commentary

4.2 • 726 Ratings

🗓️ 21 March 2023

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Is there a case for ignoring the news sometimes—or even most of the time? That’s the question Shadi Hamid urges us to consider in his recent essay for The Atlantic "You’re Better Off Not Knowing." Hamid explores research suggesting a negative correlation between personal well-being and political awareness and argues that unless you need to follow politics for a living, "it’s unclear what the news—good or bad—actually does for you, beyond making you aware of things you have no real control over." We talk to Hamid about the downsides of information addiction and hear how you engage in current events and avoid overwhelm. Guests: Shadi Hamid, senior fellow, Brookings - His recent essay for the Atlantic is called "You’re Better Off Not Knowing." His latest book is "The Problem of Democracy: America, the Middle East, and the Rise and Fall of an Idea" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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0:32.3	From KQED.
0:33.3	Thank you. From KQED in San Francisco, I'm Nina Kim.
0:52.0	Coming up on forum, information is good.
0:55.7	Knowledge is power. Those claims sound self-evidently true, but Brookings fellow and author Shadi Hamid asks,
1:00.4	what if they aren't? In his recent essay for The Atlantic called, You're Better Off not
1:04.8	knowing, Hamid explores the research suggesting that being aware of news and events we cannot
1:09.8	control can be bad for our well-being,
1:12.4	even our relationships, especially political news.
1:15.1	And he suggests that Americans may need to find ways to disengage, maybe selectively, maybe completely from the news.
1:21.6	Have you or has someone you know done this?
1:24.3	Tell us.
1:25.2	After this news.
	...

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