Clay tablets! Printing presses! Old timey audio books! Speed reading strategies! Attention spans! Dyslexia history! Literacy campaigns! Dr. Adrian Johns is an historian, professor, and author of the book “The Science of Reading” and we have a nice mellow chat about when humans started to “read,” what that means, being Hooked on Phonics, Dick, Jane, character languages, audiobooks, e-readers, school segregation, literacy rates, and how long we can focus at a time. He literally wrote the book on it.
Visit Dr. Adrian Johns’ faculty bio) at University of Chicago
Shop Dr. Johns’ books) including The Science of Reading: Information, Media, and Mind in Modern America (2023)) and The Nature of the Book: Print and Knowledge in the Making (1998))
A donation went to 826LA.org) and Glioblastoma Research Organization)
More episode sources and links)
Smologies (short, classroom-safe) episodes)
Other episodes you may enjoy: Anthropodermic Biocodicology (HUMAN LEATHER BOOKS)), Egyptology (ANCIENT EGYPT)), Curiology (EMOJI)), Attention Deficit Neuropsychology (ADHD)), Witchology (WITCHES & WITCHCRAFT)), Quantum Ontology (WHAT IS REAL?)), Abstract Mathemetology (UH, IS MATH REAL?)), Pedagogology (SCIENCE COMMUNICATION) with Bill Nye)
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Editing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions) and Jacob Chaffee
Managing Director: Susan Hale
Scheduling Producer: Noel Dilworth
Transcripts by Aveline Malek
Website by Kelly R. Dwyer)
Theme song by Nick Thorburn
