#172 – Bryan Caplan on why you should stop reading the news

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Nov 17, 2023

Bryan Caplan, Professor of Economics at George Mason University and author of "Stop Reading the News," challenges the norm of staying updated with current events. He argues that consuming news can lead to anxiety and a distorted worldview. Caplan explores how sensationalism overshadows meaningful reporting, promoting emotional distress instead of informed civic engagement. He advocates for more fulfilling activities over constant news consumption, suggesting alternative sources for a clearer understanding of the world.

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INSIGHT

Skewed Worldview

News presents a skewed worldview, focusing on negativity and extreme events rather than significant trends.
It resembles a school teaching only negative facts about a group, creating a false overall impression.

ANECDOTE

Anchorman 2 Satire

Anchorman 2 satirizes the rise of cable news, highlighting the tendency to speculate without facts.
Will Ferrell's character invents news during a car chase, illustrating news' sensationalism.

ADVICE

Understanding the World

For a true understanding of the world, avoid daily news and consult resources like textbooks, encyclopedias, or Our World in Data.
News obscures the big picture with its focus on daily events.

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Is following important political and international news a civic duty — or is it our civic duty to avoid it?

It's common to think that 'staying informed' and checking the headlines every day is just what responsible adults do.

But in today's episode, host Rob Wiblin is joined by economist Bryan Caplan to discuss the book Stop Reading the News: A Manifesto for a Happier, Calmer and Wiser Life — which argues that reading the news both makes us miserable and distorts our understanding of the world. Far from informing us and enabling us to improve the world, consuming the news distracts us, confuses us, and leaves us feeling powerless.

Links to learn more, summary, and full transcript.

In the first half of the episode, Bryan and Rob discuss various alleged problems with the news, including:

That it overwhelmingly provides us with information we can't usefully act on.
That it's very non-representative in what it covers, in particular favouring the negative over the positive and the new over the significant.
That it obscures the big picture, falling into the trap of thinking 'something important happens every day.'
That it's highly addictive, for many people chewing up 10% or more of their waking hours.
That regularly checking the news leaves us in a state of constant distraction and less able to engage in deep thought.
And plenty more.

Bryan and Rob conclude that if you want to understand the world, you're better off blocking news websites and spending your time on Wikipedia, Our World in Data, or reading a textbook. And if you want to generate political change, stop reading about problems you already know exist and instead write your political representative a physical letter — or better yet, go meet them in person.

In the second half of the episode, Bryan and Rob cover:

Why Bryan is pretty sceptical that AI is going to lead to extreme, rapid changes, or that there's a meaningful chance of it going terribly.
Bryan’s case that rational irrationality on the part of voters leads to many very harmful policy decisions.
How to allocate resources in space.
Bryan's experience homeschooling his kids.

Producer and editor: Keiran Harris
Audio Engineering Lead: Ben Cordell
Technical editing: Simon Monsour and Milo McGuire
Transcriptions: Katy Moore