Information Crisis: Why Social Media Bans Aren't The Answer (Naomi Alderman)

Dec 18, 2025

Naomi Alderman, a bestselling author and technology commentator, dives into our current 'third information crisis.' She likens it to historic revolutions like the printing press and discusses how abundant information can lead to anxiety and echo chambers. Alderman proposes innovative solutions like regulations for social media and the need for a 'checked internet' to combat misinformation. She also reflects on personal growth through therapy, emphasizing the importance of real human connection in a digital world.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

INSIGHT

Screens Turn People Into Symbols

Online interactions risk turning people into symbols rather than humans because screens strip relational cues.
Alderman warns this diminishes empathy and makes rude behaviour easier.

INSIGHT

Writing Reshaped Thought And Authority

Writing unlocked new forms of thought by separating speaker from text and enabling revision.
Phonetic scripts broadened literacy, changing social roles and reducing elders' monopoly on knowledge.

ANECDOTE

From Film To Instant Photos

Amol recounts how sending a photo to India in 1986 required film development and posting that took days.
He contrasts that with instant WhatsApp sharing to show technology's clear benefits.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

What happens when a new technology transforms how we communicate ideas and information? Best-selling science fiction writer Naomi Alderman joins Amol to explain why she thinks the digital age has pushed us into a “third information crisis”, which is as profound as the invention of writing or the printing press.

Drawing on those past revolutions, Naomi offers some solutions to help us navigate the era we're living through. She suggests new laws to regulate the online world and potentially even a “checked internet” like Wikipedia, which is home to verified facts rather than misinformation.

But at the heart of her argument is the need to prioritise real world, human connection and resist the urge to move everything online.

Naomi also tells Amol how therapy has helped her and why she’s written her first non-fiction book after a series of successful novels.

(00:03:23) What is the third information crisis?

(00:08:01) Why the invention of the printing press caused the Reformation

(00:10:40) Challenges of an information crisis

(00:12:40) The transition to literature

(00:16:30) The pros and cons of smartphones

(00:20:30) The origins of writing and how that changed human connection

(00:24:10) Collective thinking and decision making

(00:26:30) What is social media doing to our minds?

(00:29:06) Naomi’s radical ideas

(00:39:28) Hope for the future

(00:42:30) Scepticism about AI

(00:49:40) Digital ID

(00:51:29) Is this making it better or worse to be human?

(00:55:10) The importance of therapy and becoming reconciled with the events of her life

(01:00:00) What’s next for Naomi Alderman?

(01:02:09) Amol’s reflections

GET IN TOUCH * WhatsApp: 0330 123 9480 * Email: radical@bbc.co.uk Episodes of Radical with Amol Rajan are released every Thursday and you can also watch them on BBC iPlayer: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m002f1d0/radical-with-amol-rajan Amol Rajan is a presenter of the Today programme on BBC Radio 4. He is also the host of University Challenge on BBC One. Before that, Amol was media editor at the BBC and editor at The Independent.

Radical with Amol Rajan is a Today Podcast. It was made by Lewis Vickers with Anna Budd. Digital production was by Gabriel Purcell-Davis. Technical production was by James Piper. The editor is Sam Bonham. The executive producer is Owenna Griffiths.