The Smerconish Podcast Contemplation Is Dying—And It Could Cost Us Everything
Apr 21, 2026
A deep look at how constant audio, smartphones, and AI are eroding our capacity for sustained thought. Stories and research highlight shrinking attention spans and lost solitude. Reflections on David McCullough’s disciplined thinking and calls for a “mental fitness” movement that prioritizes silence, reading, and scheduled contemplation.
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How David McCullough Guarded Thinking Time
- David McCullough kept an eight-by-ten room, no telephone, windows on four sides, and wrote on a 1940 Royal typewriter to protect thinking time.
- Smirconish recalls asking McCullough, 'How much time do you spend thinking?' and McCullough replied thinking takes the time.
Audio Overload Is Eroding Private Thought
- Americans now listen to nearly four hours of audio daily, reducing pockets of silent thinking that previously supported idea generation.
- Michael Smirconish cites a Washington Post study and a listener who lost idea-time on a 40-minute bike ride after replacing silence with constant podcasts.
Smartphones Correlate With Lost Deep Attention
- Cal Newport argues smartphone ubiquity and social media have sharply reduced sustained attention, harming deep thinking and critical skills.
- Smirconish cites UC Irvine data showing attention spans are about one-third of 2004 levels and links the drop to smartphone adoption circa 2012.
