Nancy and Sarah discuss the latest Atlantic cover story, “The End of Reading Is Here” by Rose Horowitch, who is too young to be writing a story this good (not that that’s relevant). The essay, which provides a historical and statistical overview of the written word, is something of a cold shower: “The literary era will prove to be a brief interlude between the oral and the digital ages.”

We talk deep reading, AI, the joys of intellectual discovery, the rise of audiobooks, how to turn a kid off reading (Ivanhoe), and more.

Also discussed:

* Nancy vs. Sarah: Who wins in a cage match? VOTE NOW

* Emergency self-tanner recommendations

* Smoking Diaries and Pie Talk are back. What is this, 2024?

* Mike Pesca, we salute you.

* AI: Nancy wants to know, does it bleed?

* We have a YouTube channel. Obviously, you subscribe …

* Nancy adorably mispronounces “papyrus” (19-20 min)

* A Clockwork Orange is NOT written in Olde English

* “Screw the canon.”

* The beauty of math

* High school: boys like The Odyssey, girls like To Kill a Mockingbird

* Reading Updike for the first time, swoon

* Sarah apologizes to the ghost of David Wallace

* Lindsey Graham, RIP

* Lindsay Graham, aka Sarah’s ex, once insulted Sarah’s self-tanning, and she never forgot it.

Plus, thoughts on AI character Tilly Norwood, Erica Jong’s mothering fails, Sarah wants a shirt that reads I BLAME MOYNIHAN and much more!

REMINDER: Sarah is launching a FREE Substack, LOVE ANYWAY. Don’t miss out.

The end of podcasting is nowhere near, especially when you become a paid subscriber.

You know what would make our YouTube channel better? Yeah you do