Robert Darnton

Steven Pinker, psychologist and author, links education and literacy to democratic growth. Robert Darnton, historian of books, traces pamphlets, public readings and print’s role in 18th-century politics. Jung Chang, bestselling writer, shares firsthand accounts of censorship and clandestine reading under Mao. They discuss literacy’s political power, book bans and how changing reading habits might reshape public life.

Robert Darnton, Professor emeritus at Harvard, is a leading expert in book history and the French Revolution. In this discussion, he delves into the vibrant yet cutthroat book trade of the late 18th century, showcasing how piracy flourished in the 'Fertile Crescent' as publishers smuggled banned works by renowned authors like Rousseau and Voltaire into France. He examines the complexities of intellectual property, censorship, and how the democratization of literature reshaped public engagement, ultimately paving the way for Enlightenment ideas in a rapidly evolving society.

Robert Darnton, scholar of the trade of books on the eve of the French Revolution, discusses his new book which explores the history of book distribution in France. The podcast covers topics such as the challenges of travel in the eighteenth century, smuggling and piracy of books, and the demand for literature on the eve of the French Revolution.