Rose Horowitch

Recent appearances

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  Behind the Issue with The Atlantic: Featuring Rose Horowitch in conversation with Yoni Appelbaum

  September 03, 2026 · 📺 Politics and Prose

  Politics and Prose has partnered with The Atlantic for an evening of discussion surrounding the magazine’s August issue. Atlantic staff writer Rose Horowitch will discuss her cover article, “The End of Reading Is Here.” She will discuss her approach to research and writing the article, as well as the implications behind the lower reading rates. Rose will be in conversation with Yoni Appelbaum. Appelbaum is a deputy executive editor of The Atlantic. Before joining The Atlantic, he was a lecturer on history and literature at Harvard University. He is the author of Stuck. Visit us online at: ht…

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  Rose Horowitch | The End of Reading and the Future of Learning in America | Graham School

  September 02, 2026 · 📺 The University of Chicago Graham School

  What does it mean for democracy when fewer Americans can sustain attention through a book, follow a complex argument, or evaluate statistical evidence? Rose Horowitch, staff writer at The Atlantic, draws on her reporting to argue that the United States is moving toward a post-literate society, a condition defined not by the absence of words but by the erosion of sustained, deep reading. Drawing on cognitive scientist Maryanne Wolf and media theorist Walter Ong's work on orality and literacy, Horowitch traces how the constant fragmentation of attention through smartphones and social media has…

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  "The End of Reading Is Here" | Plain English

  July 28, 2026 · 📺 Plain English with Derek Thompson

  There’s no doubt that reading is in decline. But what is that decline doing to the way we think? Derek talks with The Atlantic's Rose Horowitch about why Americans are reading fewer books and struggling more with complex texts and what that means for education, work, politics, and culture. Together, they discuss this phenomenon’s effects on literacy and attention as they examine the surprising consequences of living in an increasingly post-literate world. If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at [email protected]. Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Rose…

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  Why read anymore? | The Vergecast

  July 23, 2026 · 📺 The Verge

  TikTok is endless. Netflix is already starting the next episode. Who's making time to read a book? Today we're chatting with The Atlantic's Rose Horowitch to discuss her story "The End of Reading is Here" and the role technology plays in reducing how much time — and attention — people have to read long pieces of writing. In a world where we're inundated with more text than ever from social media feeds, AI, and group chats, is it really possible that we're taking in less than before? 0:00 Intro 01:04 90 Seconds on The Verge 02:47 The End of Reading Is Here 03:53 Is Reading Really Dying? 05:59…

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  Nobody's Reading Anymore — Not Even Retirees and College Grads | Rose Horowitch & Preet Bharara

  July 23, 2026 · 📺 Stay Tuned with Preet Bharara

  On this episode of Stay Tuned, The Atlantic staff writer Rose Horowitch joins Preet Bharara to unpack her latest article, “The End of Reading Is Here.” They break down the data behind reading trends, how new technologies like generative AI have affected our reading comprehension and attention spans, and what it means to live in a post-literate world. You can listen to Stay Tuned with Preet wherever you get your podcasts: https://pod.link/1265845136 Subscribe to Stay Tuned on YouTube: https://cafe.visitlink.me/MpB3pe For more episodes and access to exclusive content, join our community on…

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  'Post-literate age': Why fewer Americans are reading for pleasure

  July 15, 2026 · 📺 PBS NewsHour

  In recent years, there has been attention and worries about how reading has changed among kids. Those concerns include the nature of what kids are reading and how many fewer books are part of their education diet. A new cover story in The Atlantic is casting a broader spotlight, raising similar questions for the overall population. Jeffrey Brown discussed more with The Atlantic's Rose Horowitch. Watch PBS News for daily, breaking and live news, plus special coverage. We are home to PBS News Hour, ranked the most credible and objective TV news show. Sign up for Here's The Deal with Lisa Desj…

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  Reading among Americans, is the pastime a thing of the past?

  July 13, 2026 · 📺 CBS LA

  Rose Horowitch, a The Atlantic Staff writer, talks about declining literacy among Americans. For video licensing inquiries, contact: [email protected]

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  Why Trump is our first 'POST-LITERATE' president: The Atlantic

  July 09, 2026 · 📺 MS NOW

  Staff writer at The Atlantic, Rose Horowitch, argues that we are living in a “postliterate world” where fewer and fewer adults read books of any kind, and she examines whether civilization can survive this era in her August cover story titled, “ “The Age of Reading Is Over.” In it, Horowitch writes that society seems to have lost the desire ‘to read book-length works, and with that are losing the higher-order abilities of comprehension and synthesis’ adding that Donald Trump is ‘representative’ of this era. Rose Horowitch joins Morning Joe to discuss the piece. MS NOW: My Source for News, Opi…

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  Our 'Post-Literate World'

  July 08, 2026 · 📺 WNYC

  As the number of adults who report reading books has declined, Rose Horowitch, staff writer for The Atlantic, argues that we're living in a "post-literate world" and talks about what that means for society. Photo: 28 April 2023, Saxony, Leipzig: Visitors to the Leipzig Book Fair get an overview of the book offerings at the Penguin Random House publishing group's booth. At the spring meeting of the book industry, some 2,000 exhibitors from 40 countries present their new book products. Austria will be the book fair's guest country. Photo: Hendrik Schmidt/dpa (Photo by Hendrik Schmidt/picture…

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  Elite Students Can't Read Books. A Rural Teacher Responds.

  April 02, 2026 · 📺 Most Writers Are Fans

  In this special minisode, a kind of proto-episode of the Ink Over AI series, Terry sits down with Rose Horowitch, staff writer at The Atlantic, to discuss her widely-read article "The Elite College Students Who Can't Read Books." What begins as a conversation about struggling college readers quickly opens up into something much larger: a wide-ranging diagnosis of why students across all levels have such a complicated relationship with reading, critical thinking, and the humanities. Rose and Terry trace the roots of the problem from multiple angles. Technology and social media earn their share…

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  The Books We Read in High School (Part 1)

  December 19, 2024 · 📺 The Atlantic

  Recently, professors at elite colleges told Atlantic writer Rose Horowitch that their students don’t read whole books anymore. They blamed cell phones, standardized tests, and extracurriculars, and they mostly agreed that the shift began in high school. In this episode of Radio Atlantic, we make the case for reading books, one memory at a time. We talk to Horowitch, and we hear from several Atlantic writers about the books they read in high school that stuck with them, and how their views of these books and the characters in them changed over time.  Read Horowitch’s reporting her…

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