Why Should We Read Neil Postman?

Mortification of Spin

Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals

Religion & Spirituality

4.4 • 853 Ratings

🗓️ 18 June 2025

⏱️ 30 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode, Carl and Todd are joined by Francis Maier, a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, to discuss the influential works of Neil Postman. They explore Postman's critiques of technology, particularly in relation to culture and education, and how these ideas resonate with contemporary issues. Until people understand that they have the personal responsibility of reform and conversion, there isn't going to be any change in the culture. – Fran Maier From the effects of social media on anger and despair to the importance of personal responsibility in navigating technology, this conversation delves into the complexities of modern life through the lens of Postman's insights. We are pleased to offer three copies of Neil Postman’s book, Amusing Ourselves to Death, to our listeners, thanks to the generosity of Penguin Publishing. Enter here for the opportunity to win. Show Notes: Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman Technopoly by Neil Postman The End of Education by Neil Postman Building a Bridge to the 18th Century by Neil Postman Essays by Neil Postman: “The Parable of Ring Around the Collar” “Social Science As Moral Philosophy” “In the Kingdom of Noise,” article by Francis Maier

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Mortification of Spin, a casual conversation about things that count with Carl Truman and Todd Pruitt, a podcast of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals.
0:29.2	Let's join this week's conversation.
0:31.6	Thank you. Welcome to Mortification of Spin. My name's Kyle Truman. I'm a professor at Grove City College in Western Pennsylvania.
0:56.9	And I'm here as always with my colleague, friend, longtime sidekick, Todd Pruitt, a PCA pastor in Harrisonburg, Virginia.
1:09.1	Good to see you, Todd. Good to see you, Carl. Good to be in your presence. I hope you're doing well.
1:15.6	Our listeners won't know this, but even your wife is here with us, the lovely Katrina.
1:20.7	My fellow Scotsperson, Katrina and I, every once in a while, we reminisce over our homeland, and Katrina, good to see you.
1:33.2	I'll always be confused as to why you would marry an Englishman, given that you bear noble Scottish blood in your veins, but that's all right.
1:42.8	That's actually a good segue to our guest, do you believe?
1:45.8	Because like all Americans, you claim, of course, to be descended from a famous European
1:51.7	ancestor.
1:52.3	Of course.
1:52.6	It's amazing that no Americans are descended from completely nondescript Europeans.
1:56.9	I have, there are plenty of nondescript people in my, in my family line, but, but I've got this,
2:03.0	what you're alluding to, I've got it locked down. Yeah, it is locked down. Well, it's going to
2:07.3	shock our guest because our guest today is Fran Mayer. I got to know Fran in Philadelphia
2:14.0	when I was teaching at a seminary there. Fran, it was at that time working as the
2:20.0	assistant to Archbishop Charles Shapu. And I got to know Fran through some seminars that
2:28.0	the Archbishop would run and we'd become friends. And I would say, Fran is not just a friend,
2:32.8	but also a mentor.
2:40.6	And he's no fan of your ancestor, Todd, because your ancestor that you claim is, of course,
2:43.6	John Knox, the famous Scottish reformer.
	...

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