Signature moves: are we losing the ability to write by hand?

The Audio Long Read

The Guardian

Society & Culture

4.3 • 2.4K Ratings

🗓️ 10 March 2025

⏱️ 32 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

We are far more likely to use our hands to type or swipe than pick up a pen. But in the process we are in danger of losing cognitive skills, sensory experience – and a connection to history By Christine Rosen. Read by Laurel Lefkow. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is The Guardian.
0:10.8	Is a healthier diet, a more sustainable diet?
0:14.3	The healthier we, the healthier we are, generally the healthier it is for the planet.
0:19.0	We've done lots of different initiatives like healthy swaps.
0:21.6	We've also got our BetterBaskets campaign,
0:23.6	which is a dedicated area in store and also online
0:26.6	where people know that what they're buying under that BetterBaskets banner
0:28.6	is healthier for them, better for the planet.
0:31.6	To find out more, visit Theguardian.com forward slash Tesco sustainability.
0:36.6	This message was paid for by Tesco.
0:42.6	Welcome to The Guardian Long Read, showcasing the best long-form journalism covering culture, politics and new thinking.
0:53.4	For the text version of this and all our long reads, go to the Guardian.com forward slash
0:57.8	long read.
1:02.4	Signature moves.
1:04.1	Are we losing the ability to write by hand?
1:07.4	By Christine Rosen.
1:09.5	Read by Laurel Lefco.
1:15.6	Thank you. by Christine Rosen, read by Laurel Lefco. Humming away in offices on Capitol Hill, in the Pentagon, and in the White House
1:21.8	is a technology that represents the pragmatism, efficiency, and unsentimental nature of American bureaucracy,
1:30.7	the auto pen.
1:32.8	It is a device that stores a person's signature, replicating it as needed using a mechanical arm
1:39.4	that holds a real pen.
	...

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