Living With The News

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Duration

15 minutes

Genre

Culture And The Media
Factual
Arts

Station

Radio 4

Episodes

First Broadcast	Comments
20221219	In this series Oliver Burkeman argues that not only is the way we've come to consume news bad for us, it actually distorts our ability to be informed, hindering society rather than enabling it. Through our preoccupation with the news we might ultimately contribute to making the world worse! But how did we get here? In this episode we explore the problem of how we became addicted to the news and why it's so bad for us. Starting with the origins of the modern concept of news tracing its evolution through the penny press' of 19th century New York to 24-hour rolling news to social media and ultimately to Donald Trump, daily COVID briefings and the war in Ukraine. Oliver Burkeman argues that we need to pay less, not more, attention to the news. Oliver Burkeman argues we need to pay less, not more, attention to the news.
20221220	Oliver Burkeman asks if our consumption of news is so problematic is abstinence the only solution? But then how can you be a responsible, contributing member of society if you don't know what's going on? There's also the 'if you're not outraged, your not paying attention' crowd. Whether its the latest forecast for climate change or how AI is further inveigling its way into our lives - there's real social pressure to be up to speed on the latest cause c退l耀bre, with the implication that if you're not, somehow you're letting the side down. How do you resist that and not fall into the trap of being in a constant fury about the world around you? Oliver Burkeman argues we need to pay less, not more, attention to the news.
20221221	Oliver explores if our engagement with the news is a symptom of damage to public life? One of the consequences of our obsession with the news is how we now feel more involved with it. In this episode we see how that plays out and can actually contribute to making a situation worse. Commenting on a story or tweeting about it and makes us feel that on some level we are involved in it. That involvement can really push our buttons if it's an issue we already feel strongly about. When that strength of feeling spills out of the comment section and into the real world nobody wins. Oliver Burkeman argues we need to pay less, not more, attention to the news.
20221222	Oliver Burkeman argues we need to pay less, not more, attention to the news.
20221223	So what's the right balance if going cold turkey isn't the solution. For Oliver it's about being selective. Choose the issues you want to engage with and do something to move the needle. But understand it means your job then becomes not to engage with other problems. It's not being callous, it's about recognizing you're a finite human being in a world where bad news is infinite. Oliver Burkeman argues we need to pay less, not more, attention to the news.

Episodes

First Broadcast	Comments
20221219	In this series Oliver Burkeman argues that not only is the way we've come to consume news bad for us, it actually distorts our ability to be informed, hindering society rather than enabling it. Through our preoccupation with the news we might ultimately contribute to making the world worse! But how did we get here? In this episode we explore the problem of how we became addicted to the news and why it's so bad for us. Starting with the origins of the modern concept of news tracing its evolution through the penny press' of 19th century New York to 24-hour rolling news to social media and ultimately to Donald Trump, daily COVID briefings and the war in Ukraine. Oliver Burkeman argues that we need to pay less, not more, attention to the news. Oliver Burkeman argues we need to pay less, not more, attention to the news.
20221220	Oliver Burkeman asks if our consumption of news is so problematic is abstinence the only solution? But then how can you be a responsible, contributing member of society if you don't know what's going on? There's also the 'if you're not outraged, your not paying attention' crowd. Whether its the latest forecast for climate change or how AI is further inveigling its way into our lives - there's real social pressure to be up to speed on the latest cause c退l耀bre, with the implication that if you're not, somehow you're letting the side down. How do you resist that and not fall into the trap of being in a constant fury about the world around you? Oliver Burkeman argues we need to pay less, not more, attention to the news.
20221221	Oliver explores if our engagement with the news is a symptom of damage to public life? One of the consequences of our obsession with the news is how we now feel more involved with it. In this episode we see how that plays out and can actually contribute to making a situation worse. Commenting on a story or tweeting about it and makes us feel that on some level we are involved in it. That involvement can really push our buttons if it's an issue we already feel strongly about. When that strength of feeling spills out of the comment section and into the real world nobody wins. Oliver Burkeman argues we need to pay less, not more, attention to the news.
20221222	Oliver Burkeman argues we need to pay less, not more, attention to the news.
20221223	So what's the right balance if going cold turkey isn't the solution. For Oliver it's about being selective. Choose the issues you want to engage with and do something to move the needle. But understand it means your job then becomes not to engage with other problems. It's not being callous, it's about recognizing you're a finite human being in a world where bad news is infinite. Oliver Burkeman argues we need to pay less, not more, attention to the news.