The Book Club
Best of the Spectator
The Book Club: James Marriott
- Published
- September 2, 2026
- Duration
- 41:26
- Summary source
- description
- Last updated
- Sep 13, 2026
Discusses daily, society, culture.
Summary
In this week’s Book Club podcast, Sam Leith is joined by The Times columnist James Marriott, whose new book is The New Dark Ages: The End of Reading and the Dawn of a Post-literate Society.Are we witnessing the end of the reading age? James explains why literacy has shaped not just our culture but the way we think – and why its decline could have profound…
Intelligent Report
Sign in to read teasers, or upgrade to Research Pro to commission intelligent report for this episode. Learn more →
Show notes
In this week’s Book Club podcast, Sam Leith is joined by The Times columnist James Marriott, whose new book is The New Dark Ages: The End of Reading and the Dawn of a Post-literate Society.Are we witnessing the end of the reading age? James explains why literacy has shaped not just our culture but the way we think – and why its decline could have profound consequences for politics, democracy and public life. They discuss how television, TikTok and short-form video have transformed our attention
Themes
- daily
- society
- culture