Podcasts about analog real things

There's a significant mismatch between our ancient brain's capabilities and the rapid advancements in technology. Simply put, our brains just can't keep up in the digital age. But what does that impact look like from the brain's point of view? What's really going on with the neurotransmitters when we take in all that information? Richard Cytowic is a professor of neurology at George Washington University. His books like Your Stone Age Brain in the Screen Age: Coping with Digital Distraction and Sensory Overload and The Man Who Tasted Shapes examine the effects of technology on the brain and explore the rare but very real phenomenon of synesthesia. Richard and Greg chat about the energy economics of brain function, the inherent limitations of multitasking, and the benefits of a digital detox. They also explore synesthesia, how human neurology is uniquely wired for metaphor, and how babies might all have some form of synesthesia early on. *unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*Episode Quotes:Why multitasking is exhausting your brain04:05: Our brains today are no different from those of our distant ancestors. I mean, they have not evolved one iota, whereas technology has been advancing ten thousand, a million times more than that. So I do think we've reached the point where we're asking it to do what it simply can't do anymore. The brain has a fixed level of energy that it can use, and no amount of diet, exercise, supplements, or Sudoku puzzles can possibly increase that. So when you're asking it to multitask or to keep switching attention from one thing to another, you're asking it to do things that it was never designed to do, that it can't do very well, if at all. And so that's why people are burned out and fatigued.Why are people so concerned about what they put in their bodies, but not about what their mind consumes?35:13: People are so concerned about what they put in their bodies—non-GMO, vegan, no sugar, no artificial colorings. But why aren't they as picky about what they ingest through their senses? I mean, the mental garbage that we take in is certainly less harmful than the occasional cheeseburger and Twinkie. So people just don't think in terms of, "What is my sensory diet?" And again, I'm so unusual because I'm thinking neurologically and neuropsychologically, and most people never have the opportunity or the inclination to think about the way that they think—this metacognition kind of thing.Quiet is an essential nutrient 15:03: Quiet is the antidote to everything. I call it an essential nutrient. We need it to give ourselves space to think. And part of it has to do, I think, with people feeling that they don't like solitude. They think being alone is an odious, difficult state. But I say that solitude has. Loneliness wants. And so if you can distinguish between the two—that here, sitting in a park with a tree and a green space, and I'm quite happy, eating my lunch here in solitude—then this is a positive experience for me. I'm giving myself a nourishing experience. But if I'm thinking, Oh my God, I'm all alone. There's nobody to talk to. I don't know what to do; you're doing a number on yourself and freaking yourself out.The iPad as babysitter29:52: The iPad is the worst babysitter in the world. Look at a baby when they get to be on the move and start crawling. They put everything in their mouths. They're touching, feeling, and having a visual apprenticeship with the world. And when you put this screen full of mediated images in front of them, those characters, if they're Disneyfied or not, don't engage with the child in the same way that a real human being does. They talk at a child. They don't talk with a child. Whereas an adult who's playing peek-a-boo, and "so big," and other kinds of things like that, they're speaking to the child in normal adult language. And these kids are picking things up like sponges, believe me, and that's what they need to have. They need to have that one-on-one interaction.Show Links:Recommended Resources:What percentage of your brain do you use? | TED-EdWilliam JamesClifford Nass Her (film)Bernard-Henri LévyThe Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter by David SaxDaphne MaurerGuest Profile:Faculty Profile at George Washington UniversityProfessional WebsiteLinkedIn ProfileHis Work:Your Stone Age Brain in the Screen Age: Coping with Digital Distraction and Sensory OverloadSynesthesia The Man Who Tasted ShapesWednesday Is Indigo Blue: Discovering the Brain of Synesthesia

The future is (not entirely) digital - The notion that digital technology will overtake every existing aspect of our lives is an oversimplified assumption.The pandemic-induced revelations, alongside the growing affinity of a younger generation raised in a digital era towards analog media like vinyl records or books, provide compelling evidence to the intrinsic human longing for experiences that transcend the purely digital domain.David Sax is a Canadian journalist, award-winning writer for publications such as New York Magazine, Vanity Fair, Bloomberg Business Week, and The New York Times, a keynote speaker, and the author of several books. His latest work, The Future Is Analog: How to Create a More Human World, examines why our future is not inevitably digital and how to reject the downsides of digital technology without rejecting change.David and Greg talk about the need in a tech-obsessed society to find the right balance between embracing digital advancements that can genuinely enhance certain parts of our lives and the grand human experiences like everyday social interactions, building authentic connections, and experiential education that cannot be replicated by digital technology.*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*Episode Quotes:The value of the analog experience isn't diminished41:55: The world is everything. And I think we're sort of losing sight of that, and I think we still continually have the risk of losing sight of it because we can get everything in one place, because the information's so much easier and requires so much less effort in this way. But the value of that greater experience—the analog experience, this more human experience—isn't diminished simply because you don't have to step outside. What is the core of analog?16:19: We lose sight of the fact that the world is analog. The world is not digital. The planet that we're currently on, depending on where you are, is this physical, tactile thing that's the core of what analog is. And the computers, the ones and zeros, play a big role in certain parts of it.Who's driving the growth and interest in all things analog?18:12: I think generational generalization is this great lazy misstep that we always make around technology. [18:34] You know who's driving the growth and interest in all things analog. It's younger people—people who've grown up with this technology, right? Whether you look at the sales and vinyl records, whether you look at the pinball resurgence, whether you look at whatever it is, book sales, you know, all this sort of stuff, it's not people of my generation or your generation. It's those younger than us.On consuming technology wisely25:41: Plunging forward into the newest technology because it's possible and reorienting our lives around it because that's something that seems attractive or maybe there's an economic advantage or something that someone can sell is not something that we should do lightly.Show Links:Recommended Resources:The Inevitable by Kevin KellyGuest Profile:Speaker Profile on The Lavin AgencyDavid Sax WebsiteDavid Sax on TwitterDavid Sax on LinkedInHis Work:The Future Is Analog: How to Create a More Human WorldThe Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They MatterSave the Deli: In Search of Perfect Pastrami, Crusty Rye, and the Heart of Jewish DelicatessenThe Tastemakers: Why We're Crazy for Cupcakes but Fed Up with FondueThe Soul of an Entrepreneur: Work and Life Beyond the Startup MythArticles on The New Yorker

What guides the direction you're going? Do you know why you believe what you believe? We unpack the statements that've helped frame the direction of Kinsmen Journal. We also tell more of the origin story of how this publication came to be. If you're currently in the ideation process, with a vision on the horizon, this is an episode that you're sure to glean from. Peter tells the story of how the book The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter, by David Sax was the catalyst to this publication.

JOIN MARSHALL & SAAGAR AT OUR LIVE CONFERENCE IN DC ON 1/25/2023: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/realignment-live-tickets-443348436107?aff=erelexpmltSubscribe to The Realignment to access our exclusive Q&A episodes and support the show: https://realignment.supercast.com/.REALIGNMENT NEWSLETTER: https://therealignment.substack.com/PURCHASE BOOKS AT OUR BOOKSHOP: https://bookshop.org/shop/therealignmentEmail us at: realignmentpod@gmail.comDavid Sax (not the All-In Podcast host/VC), author of The Future Is Analog: How to Create a More Human World and The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter, joins The Realignment to discuss why early-COVID promises of digital transformation were over-hyped in work, commerce, health/fitness, and our personal lives and what a proper balance of analog and digital experiences looks like. 

Dana and Dennis talked about the short workweek most of us have before the Thanksgiving weekend.  Also, we covered a number of news stories: NASFAA paper on Financial Aid Basics FTC warning letter to a company assisting students with CARES grants An article (that will kick off future discussions on the podcast) about loan forgiveness An article at Cal Matters on college enrollment this fall at community colleges A WaPo (Washington Post) article about job losses at colleges and universities this fall semester Dana's "I Dare You To Watch" selection is FARGO on FX. Dennis's "I Dare You To Read" selection is The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter by David Sax   Find out more about CCCSFAAA at cccsfaaa.org. Follow CCCSFAAA on Twitter at @CCCSFinaidAssoc. Find this and future WBC podcast episodes at What's Brewing, CCCSFAAA (WBC) podcasts.  Find us also in Google Podcasts, the Apple Podcasts app, and on Spotify. Have feedback for Dennis and Dana?  Got a topic you want us to discuss?  Email us at wbcccsfaaa@gmail.com.   "What's Brewing, CCCSFAAA?" is a Studio 1051 production.  Studio 1051 is a creative collaboration of Dennis Schroeder and Dana Yarbrough.

Erick y Jeffrey hablan con Mike Montero de Octante para aprender más sobre el mundo estilográfico en México. Enlaces: Octante Construcción geométrica del logotipo de Octante The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter por David Sax Sailor Lucky Charm King of Pen Colección Heritage de Vinta La palabra del episodio: RESILIENCIA Marcas mexicanas vendidas por Octante: Apuntes Mr. Rouge La Libretería Plumas para empezar: Pilot Metropolitan Lamy Safari TWSBI Eco J. Herbin Emerald of Chivor

Of things analog, from vinyl to film to books, and their importance.  Good, but somewhat obtuse about the corrosive class implications of a return to analog. (The written version of this review was first published March 28, 2018. Written versions, in web and PDF formats, are available here.)

David Sax, author of The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter, provides a fascinating overview of the technology and how we yearn for the physical products of days recently gone by.  David's book considers the new analog revival. In a world of digital technology, people are now craving much of what we've been told was obsolete. In a sort of reverse revolution, more and more independent bookstores are popping up in spite of e-books' supposed decimation of all things ‘print,' record stores with real vinyl are rebounding in spite of our downloadable empire of digital music, and people are even beginning to write actual letters again—on paper, believe it or not. The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter reveals the hidden truth of our society—that people like things. David talks about his background and how an old turntable with real records intensified his interest in music, which got him thinking about technology, analog products, and our desire for the tangible things of the past. His curiosity about this stirred him to write his book, The Revenge of Analog. As David states, the world is physical, so it is only natural that we relate best to physical things that give us a deeper connection and appeal to all our senses. We love three dimensional, tangible items, and it should come as no surprise that we are yearning for the past in some ways.  The historical tech guru explains why our current technology is leaving us feeling less enthused. He talks about his own personal connection to modern technology and how he tries to limit his exposure somewhat, in an attempt to really connect to family and friends without the technological interruptions.  David discusses technology's rise to power in regard to its promise for making lives better, but as he states, technology is messy and is never really that Star Trek version we might have expected it could be. He says that our future is never really as we predict, and that skepticism of coming technologies is actually a smart behavior, that we should evaluate technology and understand how it works for us, and whether it is truly enhancing our lives in ways that are healthy and productive.  Lastly, David talks about his upcoming book that takes a hard look at entrepreneurship. He discusses the reasons why people become entrepreneurs and how their goals motivate them to build and create. 

Austin Kleon (@austinkleon) woke up one day and realized two things: The world seemed to be filled with more and more anger and distraction every day, and – to make matters worse – consistently doing creative work wasn’t getting any easier. Austin had already written three New York Times bestselling illustrated books. Millions have already learned to Steal Like an Artist – the title of his first book – and they’d learned to put their work out there with Show Your Work. Austin wasn’t sure how much more he had in him. That inspired him to write his new book, Keep Going: 10 Ways to Stay Creative in Good Times and Bad. In this conversation, you’ll learn: Why making something for yourself is technically making something for someone else. Learn about the many different ways that focusing on your own creative expression can reach others. How can you be a valuable asset to the creators you admire? Austin shares a specific story that shows you why you have more to offer than you might think. What one thing can you do in the morning – or rather, not do – to do your best work yet? Links and resources mentioned Keep Going: 10 Ways to Stay Creative in Good Times and Bad by Austin Kleon Show Your Work! by Austin Kleon Austin Kleon Austin Kleon Newsletter A/B Testing The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter by David Sax Leave A Message Studs Terkel Radio Archive Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do by Studs Terkel Richard Scarry's What Do People Do All Day? by Richard Scarry Honoré de Balzac Seth Godin This is marketing by Seth Godin Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson Stephen King The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien The Complete Tales of Winnie-The-Pooh by A. A. Milne Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren Newspaper Blackout by Austin Kleon Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative by Austin Kleon Lynda Barry Dan Chaon Saturday Night Live Five-Timers Club Role Models by John Waters Lost in the Cosmos: The Last Self-Help Book by Walker Percy Walker Percy’s problems of reentry Frankenstein Ryan Holiday Morning Pages What should be our next Patreon goal? Take our survey at kadavy.net/goals. Free Creative Productivity Toolbox I quadrupled my creative productivity. Sign up and I'll send you the tools I count on: kadavy.net/tools Feedback? Questions? Comments? I love to hear anything and everything from you. Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Tweet at me @kadavy, or email me david@kadavy.net.     Show notes: http://kadavy.net/blog/posts/austin-kleon-podcast/

David Sax is a writer and reporter who specializes in business. His work appears regularly in Bloomberg Businessweek, the New Yorker's Currency blog, and other publications. In addition to The Revenge of Analog, he is the author of Save the Deli, which won a James Beard Award for Writing and Literature, and The Tastemakers. He lives in Toronto.

David Sax is a journalist living in Toronto, Canada, and he is the author of the book The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter. I found David’s book fascinating, with its suggestion that the current revival of vinyl, books, photographers using real film, physical notebooks, all speak to something deeper that is happening in the world around us. How, I wondered, does analog interact with our imaginations in a way that digital can’t? Do real, tangible, actual things provide more for our imaginations to connect to, to be sparked by, to colonise?

SHOW NOTES:Hey #TeamTobe. We're officially 10 episodes in with the #RunWithTobe podcast. On today's show, we have special guest, Kelly Nyland. She has worked with some pretty awesome brands and launched over 120 digital and physical products. After working with technology for 15 years, Kelly has now founded a new lifestyle brand, Petalfox.IN THIS EPISODE WE'LL DISCUSS: Why she turned down 40 jobs to start herown companyHow Kelly and Petalfox plan to restore balance in your workspaceWhy the AI industry needs more womenHow your future may be more analog than you thinkRESOURCES:iSpot TV “Top Spenders”Vitamin THulu TVPippaDiddy Olympic CurlingKelly Nyland:hello@petalfox.comLinkedInPetalfoxFavorite Books:The Next 100 Years: A Forecast for the 21st Century - George FriedmanInevitable - Kevin KellyThe Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter - David SaxThe Name of the Wind - Patrick RothfussTobe listeners get an exclusive 25% off the first their order on Petalfox using code TOBE25.As always check out our blog for this episode's show notes. Be sure to subscribe, leave a comment and share the show us with your friends and family. Follow us on any social platform using the handle @runwithtobe and feel free to email us at ask@tobeagency.co. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Have you ever wondered why records, film photography, or paper notebooks are making a comeback as of late? Join us for this in depth interview with Toronto based journalist and author of "The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter" David Sax. In this in depth interview, host Peter Kreten and Sax discuss analog's resurgence, how analog and digital can coexist with one another, and what impact college radio may have played into the return of vinyl.

Michael Hyatt is a virtual mentor who helps overwhelmed, high achievers get the clarity, confidence, and tools they need to win at work and succeed at life. Michael has been on the show four previous times. In this conversation, Erik and Michael discuss time management vs. energy management, his digital/analog hybrid system, taking a personal productivity assessment and more. Mentioned in this episode: Take Michael’s Personal Productivity Assessment Living Forward: A Proven Plan to Stop Drifting and Get the Life You Want Your Best Year Ever: A 5-Step Plan for Achieving Your Most Important Goals The Full Focus Planner – Get 15% off The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter X-stand – Use Promo Code ‘XSTAND143’ to get 10% off and FREE Shipping Please connect with me Subscribe, rate, and review in iTunes Follow @ErikJFisher Check out more Noodle.mx Network showsThe Audacity to Podcast: "How-to" podcast about podcastingBeyond the To-Do List: Personal and professional productivityThe Productive Woman: Productivity for busy womenONCE: Once Upon a Time podcastWelcome to Level Seven: Agents of SHIELD and Marvel’s cinematic universe podcastAre You Just Watching?: Movie reviews with Christian critical thinkingthe Ramen Noodle: Family-friendly clean comedy SaveSave

I anden episode af Litteraturseismografen anmelder jeg fire udgivelser. The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter af David Sax Sour Heart af Jenny Zhang Tuesday Nights in 1980 af Molly Prentiss Moonrise af Sarah Crossan

An enlightening interview with David Sax, author of The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter. The boys in the band throw some shade. And a performance from Tony Castañeda and the Latin Jazz Quartet Season 2 Episode 14

The resurgence of analog products in our digital advisor world has profound implications for both consumers and businesses, which author David Sax details in his new book, “The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter.” As financial advisors get caught up in trying to “digital advisor everything,” it’s important to remember that there are many times when human to human contact is the best strategy to please the client and deliver the best client experience. On today’s podcast, David and I discuss how digital advisor and analog technologies can both complement and disrupt one another, and how striking the right balance between digital and analog experiences is key to your future success as a financial advisor.

Dave Bias continues in part 2 of this interview by telling the fascinating story of how co-founders Nicola Baldini and Marco Pagni teamed together to resurrect Ferrania as FILM Ferrania to bring back analog film production. Dave talks about FILM Ferrania's successful Kickstarter campaign that allowed them to invest in the future of analog film. However, as with any good story adversity lurks around the corner threatening the protagonist’s journey. Dave tells us that proved true with FILM Ferrania. They suffered a major setback in refurbishing the manufacturing facility that caused them to have to delay the release of a new color reversal film originally promised as a reward to their Kickstarter supporters. Meanwhile, the FILM Ferrania team found an old hand written note in a diary that turned out to be the formula and manufacturing instructions of a gorgeous, silver-packed, black and white cinema film stock that is the stuff of legends: P30. Producing the first batches of P30 proved to be a good learning step in developing and fine turning the machinery and processes for eventually making color reversal film. Dave Bias' gripping and inspiring account of the extraordinary story of the resurgence of analog film is a story that has only just begun. Mentioned in this episode: FILM Ferrania http://www.filmferrania.it Dave Bias http://www.davebias.org Announcing P30 https://vimeo.com/197269585 P30 Info and Sample Images http://www.filmferrania.it/p30 Revenge of Analog - Real Things and Why They Matter - by David Sax http://amzn.to/2pNoSxv This episode is sponsored by: CrumplePop - Premiere Pro and Final Cut Pro X Plugins: http://crumplepop.com Artful Camera website: https://artfulcamera.com Disclaimer: some links referenced in the show notes are affiliate links. The use of affiliate links do not affect the price you pay. Artful Camera earns a small commission from each sale which help offset some of the costs involved in producing this podcast. Thank you for your support.

Author of Words Onscreen: The Fate of Reading in a Digital World Interview starts at 10:33 and ends at 41:35 “Education increasingly wants to measure finite, little bites of stuff, and the digital technology that we are using in our education--and we do have print--is tailored to these quick wins as opposed to a deeper level of learning.” Intro My new VR setup: Samsung Galaxy Edge S8 with new Samsung Gear VR + controller News “Amazon continues to grow lead over Google as starting point for online shoppers” by Taylor Soper at GeekWire - January 13, 2017 Scott Galloway bio “How Amazon is Dismantling Retail” - Scott Galloway video - April 17, 2017 Tech Tip How I improved performance on my Amazon Fire HD 8 6th Generation tablet Interview with Naomi S. Baron Words Onscreen: The Fate of Reading in a Digital World The Inevitable: Understanding the 12 Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future by Kevin Kelly Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri The Namesake: A Novel by Jhumpa Lahiri The Death of Expertise: The Campaign Against Established Knowledge and Why it Matters by Tom Nichols The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter by David Sax Wonder by R. J. Palacio Content Amazon Publishing's summer-fall 2017 catalog (PDF) Next Week's Guest Dr. Ruth Westheimer, author of The Doctor is In: Dr. Ruth on Love, Life, and Joie de Vivre Music for my podcast is from an original Thelonius Monk composition named "Well, You Needn't." This version is "Ra-Monk" by Eval Manigat on the "Variations in Time: A Jazz Perspective" CD by Public Transit Recording" CD. Please Join the Kindle Chronicles group at Goodreads!

Welcome to The Shaun Tabatt Show! Today I sit down with writer and reporter David Sax to talk about his insightful book The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter (PublicAffairs, 2016). Here's the ground we cover it today's interview: The David Sax origin story. (00:36 - 01:18) The story behind the book. How did you discover the surprising fact that analog is making a comeback? (01:19 - 05:08) The revenge of vinyl. (05:09 - 10:59) The revenge of paper. (11:00 - 13:00) The revenge of board games. (13:01 - 19:21) The revenge of print (books). (19:22 - 24:00) The revenge of analog in digital. (24:01 -  27:42) What did this project teach you about sabbath and rest?   (27:43 - 31:59) What challenge or encouragement would you like to share with ever reader as they get to the last page of your book? (32:00 - 32:41) For somebody looking to be a writer or a reporter, what are one or two core tools they're going to want to be exposed to, to help them be more successful? (32:42 - 33:34) Any daily routines or habits that have been a key part of your ongoing success? (33:35 - 36:54) Where can listeners connect with you on the web and find out more about The Revenge of Analog? (36:55 - 37:26) About the Book:  A funny thing happened on the way to the digital utopia. We've begun to fall back in love with the very analog goods and ideas the tech gurus insisted that we no longer needed. Businesses that once looked outdated, from film photography to brick-and-mortar retail, are now springing with new life. Notebooks, records, and stationery have become cool again. Behold the Revenge of Analog. David Sax has uncovered story after story of entrepreneurs, small business owners, and even big corporations who've found a market selling not apps or virtual solutions but real, tangible things. As e-books are supposedly remaking reading, independent bookstores have sprouted up across the country. As music allegedly migrates to the cloud, vinyl record sales have grown more than ten times over the past decade. Even the offices of tech giants like Google and Facebook increasingly rely on pen and paper to drive their brightest ideas. Sax's work reveals a deep truth about how humans shop, interact, and even think. Blending psychology and observant wit with first-rate reportage, Sax shows the limited appeal of the purely digital life-and the robust future of the real world outside it. About the Author: David Sax is a writer and reporter who specializes in business and culture. His work appears regularly in Bloomberg Businessweek, the New Yorker's Currency blog, and other publications. He is the author of Save the Deli, which won a James Beard Award for Writing and Literature, and The Tastemakers. He lives in Toronto. Connect with David: Twitter (@SaxDavid) RevengeOfAnalog.com For additional show notes, visit ShaunTabatt.com/125.  

The Digital Convergence Podcast gets a new name: The Artful Camera. I explain why I changed the name of the show and what you can expect in future episodes. This episode is sponsored by: CrumplePop - Premiere Pro and Final Cut Pro X Plugins: http://crumplepop.com Mentioned in the show: Eames Official Site and the SX-70 Film: http://www.eamesoffice.com/the-work/sx-70-polaroid/ The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter by David Sax: http://amzn.to/2l9GSyZ Contact and support the Artful Camera: Send email or leave voice mail feedback: https://artfulcamera.com/contact/ Website: https://artfulcamera.com  

Synopsis: David Sax, a regular contributor to The New Yorker and Bloomberg Businessweek, discusses his new book, The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter. David talks about the growing industries surrounding analog goods like vinyl and notebooks, as well as how retail is rebounding against the Amazon Goliath, how tech is failing education, and the loss of empathy in our digital age. This episode of COVERED is sponsored by: Nacht Sound Engineering: Streamline the process of delivering high-quality shows to your audience and focus on what you love. Feedpress: Blog and podcast analytics starting at $4 a month, podcast hosting starting at just $8 a month. Use promo code COVERED to get 10% off your first year. Duration: 63:55 Present: Harry C. Marks, David Sax Episode Links Episode S3E8: David Sax, THE REVENGE OF ANALOG (mp3) Contact your hosts for show feedback Show your support and donate to our podcast The Books The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter The Tastemakers Save the Deli The Guest David’s New Yorker Articles David’s Bloomberg Articles Twitter Miscellaneous Moleskinerie Rhodia Drive Erasable Podcast The Pen Addict Podcast Field Notes notebooks On My Shelf – Iain Broome COVERED S2 E11 – Geoff Manaugh “Amazon workers sleep in tents near firm’s Scottish depot to avoid travel costs” | Ars Technica Follow your host and the show on Twitter @HCMarks @COVERED_fm @HologramRadio for more podcasts to listen to! Subscribe to Covered! Get Covered on iTunes, or via RSS. Support the show! Become a patron! Please take a moment to rate our show in iTunes, even if it’s just a star rating. It really does make a difference in helping us reach a wider audience. Download: Episode S3E8: David Sax, THE REVENGE OF ANALOG

The business and culture journalist and bestselling author of the recent book The Revenge of Analog, David Sax, returned to the show to talk about the writing life, the importance of real things in a digital world, and the revenge of paper. David is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in Bloomberg Businessweek, The New York Times, The New Yorker online, and other publications. The author’s first book, Save the Deli, was an Los Angeles Times bestseller and won the James Beard Award for Writing and Literature. His latest, The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter, “… looks at the resurgence of analog goods and ideas, during a time when we assumed digital would conquer all.” It was longlisted for the 2017 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence. Kevin Kelly, founding editor of Wired magazine and author of The Inevitable, said of the book, “The better digital gets, the more important analog becomes….Sax s reporting is eye-opening and mind-changing.” NOTE: This is the last episode of the year for us, due to the impending holiday break, but we will return with more great interviews for you in 2017. Thanks for listening! If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click subscribe to automatically see new interviews. If you missed the first half you can find it right here. In Part Two of this file David Sax and I discuss: Why you should work regular hours and the author’s ‘Cinderella Clause’ The significance of unplugging for writers How to record your audiobook in the same studio as Drake Why the reward is the work for sustaining your writing Listen to The Writer Files: Writing, Productivity, Creativity, and Neuroscience below ... Download MP3 Subscribe by RSS Subscribe in iTunes The Show Notes If you’re ready to see for yourself why over 194,000 website owners trust StudioPress — the industry standard for premium WordPress themes and plugins — just go to Rainmaker.FM/StudioPress How Journalist and Bestselling Author of ‘The Revenge of Analog’ David Sax Writes: Part One The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter David Sax books on Amazon What Barnes & Noble Doesn t Get About Bookstores – David Sax for The New Yorker Is the Novel Dead? Part One David Sax on Twitter Kelton Reid on Twitter The Transcript How Journalist and Bestselling Author of The Revenge of Analog David Sax Writes: Part Two Voiceover: Rainmaker FM. Kelton Reid: Welcome back to the Writer Files. I am still your host, Kelton Reid, here to take you on yet another tour of the habits, habitats, and brains of renowned writers to learn their secrets. In part two of this file the business and culture journalist and bestselling author of the recent book, The Revenge of Analog, David Sax, returned to talk about the writing life, the importance of real things in a digital world, and the revenge of paper. David’s a freelance writer whose work has appeared in Bloomberg Businessweek, The New York Times, The New Yorker Online and other publications. The author’s first book, Save The Deli, was an LA Times bestseller and won the James Beard award for writing and literature. His latest, The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter, looks at the resurgence of analog goods and ideas during a time when we assumed digital would conquer all. It was long-listed for the 2017 Andrew Carnegie medal for excellence. Kevin Kelly, founding editor of Wired Magazine and author of The Inevitable, said of the book, “The better digital gets, the more important analog becomes. Sax’s reporting is eye opening and mind changing.” In part two of this file David and I discuss why you should work regular hours and the author’s Cinderella clause, the significance of unplugging for writers, how to record your audiobook in the same studio as Drake, and why the reward is the work for sustaining good writing. I should mention that this is the last episode of the year for us due to the impending holiday break, but I will return with more great interviews for you in 2017. Thanks for listening. If you’re a fan of the Writer Files please click subscribe to automatically see new interviews as soon as they’re published. If you missed the first half of this show, you can find it in the archives on iTunes, on WriterFiles.FM, and in the show notes. Just a quick reminder that The Writer Files is brought to you by StudioPress, the industry standard for premium WordPress themes and plugins. Built on the Genesis Framework, StudioPress delivers state of the art SEO tools, beautiful and fully responsive designs, airtight security, instant updates, and much more. If you’re ready to take your WordPress site to the next level, see for yourself why over 194,000 website owners trust StudioPress. Go to Rainmaker.FM/StudioPress now. That’s Rainmaker.FM/StudioPress. Why You Should Work Regular Hours and the Author s Cinderella Clause Kelton Reid: It sounds like you’re a writer who leans into procrastination, you like to take breaks and let your brain do some of that work in the background. Do you have any other best practices for beating the dreaded procrastination? David Sax: Oh God, I’m the last person to ask about that. You know, have children and pay for daycare is one. I think the other thing is, for me, what’s worked is keeping let’s say regular business hours. I think that’s always been something, for me in university I instituted my Cinderella clause, I would never work on something past midnight. I try to work as close to a sort of nine to five, writer version being 10 to four with a two hour lunch, day. That’s because that’s what my wife works at her job and I don’t want to have to be up late at night doing stuff unless I have to. I don’t want to build my life around that, but I have friends who are wonderful writers and also have families, and they have to work at night, middle of the night, or they have to work … Everybody has their own thing. But I do find if something isn’t working, then try to find what that routine is, try to find what’s comfortable for you, and then adapt that and change it. Don’t be afraid that if you’re traveling somewhere, you can’t do it, you can’t adapt it. I’ve written things in coffee shops even though that’s not my preference. I’ve written great stuff on airplanes, there’s nothing else to do, and I’m too cheap to pay for the WiFi. There’s something great about sitting on an airplane, you literally can’t even move once you’ve opened that laptop in that economy seat, and it s just, like, Tic-a-tic-a-tic-a-tic-a-tic-a. This is it, it’ll occupy me for the next hour. The Significance of Unplugging for Writers Kelton Reid: Yeah, yeah. All right, so how does David Sax unwind at the end of a long writing day? David Sax: Yes, with my snifter of port. You know what, one thing that’s been wonderful about this book is, due to research and the ability to claim certain items for research under Canadian tax codes, I’ve vastly increased my record collection. And I do think there’s something so great about stepping away from that screen and putting on a record and sitting on the couch or the easychair and listening to that music and not having to do anything with my eyes or my fingers, reading a book, reading a novel or magazine or something like that. I think it’s very … Yeah, it’s those things and then of course getting outside, doing something with my kids, skiing when the snow falls, we were talking about before. I was lucky that as I was writing this book over the course of the summer, we’re fortunate that my family has a house on a lake outside Toronto. The paddle board breaks were amazing, or going and jumping in the lake. That’s the ultimate, that’s the best. Kelton Reid: Yeah, yeah. David Sax: Yeah I think the fallback, all too often, which doesn’t actually help me relax and only increases my anxiety is like, “Click, what’s happening on Facebook? Click, what’s happening on Twitter?” Then just the depths of despair. We’re talking pre-election depths of despair. Kelton Reid: Oh, man. David Sax: What’s this person doing? Oh they got a bestseller. God damn them. I’ll never be as good as them. Oh, look at that, Oprah picked their book. Aw. I think it’s not healthy. It’s not healthy at all. Kelton Reid: Yeah, no it can’t be. We all are probably guilty of it in this era. Yeah, like you said, maybe it makes us more human to have everything, you know that prosthetic brain that we all share now is there, and then to be able to just turn it off and go outside. David Sax: Yeah. I think that’s the healthiest thing because again, in those spaces, in those times when you’re outdoors, even if you’re walking to the store to go get milk and whatever, that’s that mental space you need in order for the idea to come to you, whether that’s the thing that’s going to help your paragraph go the place you want it, or reshape the book or even the crumb of the idea that can lead to the next project, that takes you to the next book. Kelton Reid: For sure. Yeah, yeah. That’s that creative process, it’s like you’re putting all that information in there, your brain is doing a lot of that work for you in the background and I think being able to unplug allows your brain to work more efficiently for you, to give you those … David Sax: It needs the space to think. You can’t just click your way to it, to the next idea. I do find that there are moments when I am in desperation doing that. And it never gives me what I want, because again, you’re just looking at what other people have done. There’s no space, it’s occupying all that space in your brain … the screen. I’m talking about the Internet. Kelton Reid: Yeah, yeah. David Sax: For those listeners who just tuned in, which I think is impossible in a podcast, we’re talking about the Internet. Kelton Reid: If you’re just tuning in, I’m here with David Sax. David Sax: If you’re just tuning in you have some sort of technical problem with your phone and you need take it back to the store. Kelton Reid: You can easily rewind with your finger, this is not an analog broadcast, you’re in luck. I’d love to keep talking to you. I don’t know what your time looks like or if you have a time constraint, but I’ve got a few more questions. You tell me if you want to keep going. David Sax: Sure, go ahead. No, I have nothing but leftover Indian food waiting. Kelton Reid: As soon as I hear your stomach grumble over there we’ll shut it down. How to Record your Audiobook in the Same Studio as Drake David Sax: This is not talking about writing but I had the fortune both with this book and the last book to do the audiobook and actually be the one to be able to record it. Kelton Reid: That’s great. David Sax: You’re in a sealed soundproof studio, different than a radio station. This was actually the same recording booth that Drake recorded the vocals of his previous album on. Kelton Reid: Of course. David Sax: Obviously my entourage was attending, but what’s amazing is as it gets towards 11:00, 11:30, you hear every grumble of your stomach being picked up in that soundproof booth. You have to constantly go back and do lines because there’s a stomach grumbling and then it’s like, “All right, let’s just break for lunch.” Then afterward your stomach’s digesting what that was, so by the last day I was like, “Okay, I’m going to eat this, I’m going to have snack at this time, I’m going to have this food, nothing … ” It was this … Every medium has its strange constraints. It was such a funny process. Kelton Reid: Yeah, that’s cool. David Sax: It s so dictated by hunger and what I ate and how much. Kelton Reid: I’ll have to listen for that more carefully. David Sax: It was all edited out, that’s why it takes 20-something hours to record a 10 hour audio book. Kelton Reid: That’s wild. David Sax:It’s just stomach grumbling. Kelton Reid: Was it over a few days then or just … David Sax: Yeah, it was over the course of a week. Kelton Reid: A week, okay. David Sax: It was four and a half days of recording. It’s intense, first of all, to read your book out loud. Kelton Reid: To just one guy in a booth, kind of nodding. David Sax: This time there was a producer over Skype from New York, and then the audio engineer. Actually, it was the same guy who did my last book, who was in the booth, who was manning the mixing board. Kelton Reid: Yeah. David Sax: They’re in the headphones and they’re like, “Go that one again, go back from And last week I did. Read that again because you mispronounced did or whatever.” It’s such a strange process, and yet one that I love. If I could do something else I would happily be an audiobook narrator. So listen up, Audible. You know I think it’s a question of the advantages, I think people want to own … I was talking about this with a friend who is actually the same friend who gave me my turntable. He’s a musician and a UN and human rights lawyer, so put that together. He says he listened to my book on Audible, on his phone in New York City and then he bought a copy of it. He’s like, “Cause I it s like I never But he used to listen to books on tape all the time. He said, “But I never wanted to own them, because you’ll never listen again to a book, but you might read it again. You might pick it up again, you might flip through it gain, you might read a certain thing in there.” You also want to display on your shelf. So there’s a value to the book as an object, but there’s no real value to the audio tape as an object. It’s just purely the conduit to the information. Kelton Reid: Yeah, yeah. Cassette tapes for sure, I remember. Also when you get an audio book, like from back in the days on cassette, it was like eight cassettes in a big … They’re kind of clunky. David Sax: They sent me the audio, it was like a DVD, audio DVD for the last one I did, it was kind of a box of them and I was like, “Okay, I don’t know what the hell I’m doing with these but … ” Kelton Reid: That’s cool. David Sax: That seems to be the physical format of choice, and you know, listen, like libraries I know tons of people who get them from libraries. We’ve gotten them from libraries when we’ve gone on road trips, these days mostly kids books and stuff. There is something good about that, especially for kids books. We had the collected adventures of Curious George in our car going for like seven months straight. Kelton Reid: My God, that’s awesome. David Sax: It was awesomely awful. Every word … It would play in my head around the clock. Kelton Reid: Yeah, yes. Yeah, you get those jingles in those kids songs and shows stuck in your head, don t you? David Sax: God. Yeah. Kelton Reid: I’m trying not to conjure one now. David Sax: Oh no. A Journalist s Perspective on Creativity Kelton Reid: Let’s talk about creativity a little bit. It does seem intrinsic to what you do, but do you have a definition of creativity you could share with writers? David Sax: That’s interesting. I would think creativity … I never really thought of it, but I would say it’s a new approach or perspective to an idea. I don’t think it necessarily involves coming with up with an entirely new idea. As someone who writes non-fiction, as a journalist, all I’m doing is rehashing various other ideas and reframing them. I think, again, it’s providing a new context and a new view on the world. Whether that’s writing a book or an article or something that, again, tells a story or gives insight or a thought in a way that’s different from some other person, then there’s creativity in that. Kelton Reid: Yeah. When do you think you personally feel the most creative? David Sax: I think it is when writing. People ask me what do I like about what I do. I say, “The money is amazing. Tens of hundreds of dollars.” Usually the part of it that I really love is actually the interview, and being able to have conversations with people, especially in person, especially getting to travel places where you normally wouldn’t get to go, like going and touring an abandoned film factory in some random corner of Italy with two guys who are resurrecting it. That’s the part that I’m going to take with me. The sitting down and writing, I know people who are writers and they need to write and it’s their craft or whatever. I’ve never seen it that way. I always thought of it as a means to an end, but that creative reward that comes when I am writing something and it’s flowing and the words are coming out and the ideas are … I feel like I have it down. I don’t even know what I’m writing, but it’s sort of there and I feel like it brings a smile to my face. Those are the moments I guess, when again, the creative process is at its most direct and its most rewarding. It’s a daunting part too, because to get there you have to do the research and prepare yourself and know what you’re going to say and plan it out and then have the gumption to start typing and keep typing and go back and do it. That’s, after lunch, that’s what I have to do, I have to write an op-ed story for someone about something that’s loosely tied into the book. I’ve been procrastinating all morning on social media like an idiot, paying my credit card bills, willingly, and updating travel insurance, anything to get away from that. Then it’ll get to the point where I’ll finally dive into it and then there will hopefully be some point where I will have that feeling of that creative accomplishment in it, or I’ll fake until I get the damn thing done and send it off to the editor. Kelton Reid: Yeah, yeah. All good stuff. In your estimation what do you think makes a writer great? David Sax: Man, I don’t know. Kelton Reid: Words? David Sax: Words. I would say it’s sparking that same feeling that I just talked about in the person’s who’s reading it, right? The great ones are the ones who are able to do it over and over again. I think that’s a rare talent that even the great writers struggle to continually do because it’s hard. When you think about Robert Caro and the four books he’s written. It’s all there. The amount of work and research and decades that go into crafting each of those things, that is someone who is a great writer. You read that and it sticks with you forever. Yet there are some other writer who can write a great hot take on some website or wherever and it’s hits of the moment, and it might be forgotten in a day, but in that moment it’s also … They capture it. They capture what your thought is. You get it at that moment. I think that’s great too. Kelton Reid: Do you have a couple favorites sittin on your nightstand right now, a couple favorite authors? David Sax: A book? Kelton Reid: Yeah, online or offline, are you following anyone else? David Sax: There’s a couple of great things that I’ve read recently. Virginia Heffernan wrote a really interesting book earlier this year called Magic and Loss, which approaches from a cultural critical perspective the Internet and the feeling we get from it and the sort of reward that it gets from it. It comes out of her writing in New York Times magazine and other places. That’s, again, someone who’s a beautiful writer, writing on a subject that’s very similar to the one that I was writing on, but with a different perspective. Another person that I think … From a more journalist and research perspective, but also really excellent, that I came across, that I read for this book, is Nicholas Carr, who’s another writer on technology. This is an area that I was never really reading on prior to this, and again, really knows how to build an argument and put it through in a very journalistic way, not as cerebral and emotional as Heffernan. Then, after the election, when I was looking for something to take me out of my mind and take me away from current things, I went back to my bookshelf and I pulled a novel by my favorite writer consistently, Mordecai Richler who is one of Canada’s best known novelists. It’s the Canadian Jewish equivalent of Philip Roth, let’s say. Very funny and satirical and politically astute. I’ve been reading that over the past couple weeks, I think one of his better known novels, Solomon Gursky Was Here. Again, that love of a familiar voice, even if I haven’t read it in probably close to 20 years. Kelton Reid: As many writers do, do you have a best loved quote hanging over your desk somewhere or in your peripheral? David Sax: There were a few. Everything that was hanging over my desk actually had to be pulled down due to the office move. There was a great one that I had which came from … There’s an annual city wide art night here in Toronto called Nuit Blanche where there’s art installations around the city. There was this amazing one at the big art gallery museum here, where they had this assembly line of workers making art in this really cool interesting way. What they were churning out were these, I guess, lithographed or screen-printed signs that said, “I’d rather be working.” I picked one up and I have it framed above my desk. Kelton Reid: That’s awesome. David Sax: It’s not true, I’d rather not be working. Kelton Reid: It’s the irony of the … David Sax: Yeah. Kelton Reid: That’s cool, that’s cool. I’d like to see that. David Sax: I think that s as inspirational as it gets. Kelton Reid: That’s awesome. David Sax: Then there’s another great one which is a New Yorker cartoon that I cut out recently. It’s a guy standing in a surfboard shop and he’s like, “What’s the best board for someone who talks about surfing incessantly but only does it once a year?” Kelton Reid: Right, I remember that one. David Sax: That’s pretty much my life. The Elusive Joys to be Found in Writing Kelton Reid: Yeah, yeah. I think we can start to wrap up here. The book, The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter, has a lot to say about … I think things that are important to writers. I think, in part the revenge of print, the revenge of paper, and especially the revenge of retail, where you talk about the resurgence of these independent book stores. I’ll link to that article you did for the New Yorker which was so great, but I do think that writers and listeners of the show should seek out the book for those tidbits and all the other great stuff that’s in there. You’re talking about how print really could be represented as the truly disruptive tech. There are so many great thoughts in there that I think are valuable, probably to everybody, but especially to some of the people who actually write those words. David Sax: There’s two thoughts I want to add to that. One is, I think, to continue to be a writer and to continue to do it; it’s tough, especially in this day and age. The returns, financially, are decreasing as things go online more and more and print slows in most mass market areas, there’s just less money. The web, writing for online, writing for digital things will pay consistently less, that’s the economics of it. So why do this? Why keep writing books? The exploration of the idea and whatever, but I think there is, when you get that first printed book in your hand, that box arrives at your house and you open it up and it’s there. There is something foolishly wonderful and worth it about that. When you see it, when you finally see it in a bookstore for sale somewhere it’s the same thing. But, I will say the opposite, which is I have this horrible stupid habit and terrible luck of going to bookstores and looking for the book, and it not being there, or being buried on a bottom shelf. My low point was last week I was in Brooklyn and I was with my family, we were visiting friends. I went to BookCourt, which is one of the better known independent bookstores in Brooklyn. I was buying a gift for a friend and my daughter was there with her friend playing in the kids area. I was like, “Look for the book, I couldn’t find it.” I was like, “I hate to ask this but I had a book come out recently, The Revenge of Analog came out like two weeks ago. Do you have any copies that you’d want me to sign?” They’re like, click, click, click, “It’s here in the catalog but we don’t have any copies. I don’t think there’s any on order.” Then, of course, I turn around and my daughter is crushing up rice cakes and throwing them on the ground, on the floor. I literally have to go from this point to asking for a broom and sweeping up the bookstore like some horrible Dickens-like moment. It was just … Yeah, those creamy eyes and the awful woes come fast and furious in this business. Take the joy and pleasure where it comes because it’s so fleeting. Why the Reward is the Work for Sustaining Your Writing Kelton Reid: Man, that’s amazing. That’s a good one you can probably take to future readings and future writers and readers alike. Do you have any advice for your fellow scribes to keep going? David Sax: Don’t go to a bookstore and ask if they have copies of your book. Kelton Reid: That’s it, that’s the last one. David Sax: Don’t give your child rice cakes in a book store. Kelton Reid: Absolutely not. David Sax: I think anyone who goes into this with dreams of fame and fortune are in it for the wrong reason. The reward is the work, it’s the ability to express your ideas, in whatever format that is, whether you write kids books or technical manuals or coffee table books or whatever. The ability to do it is the reward that comes from that. As long as you’re able to sustain yourself while doing that, then that’s where you have to find the joy, right? It’s the ability to say, “I have an idea and I’m going to express it and that is out there in the world.” That has to be enough, because even the best selling authors, there’s no guarantee of how it does the next time around. It’s that pursuit of the idea that has to be the driver. Kelton Reid: Love it. Lock, stock, and barrel with author David Sax. Thanks so much for coming on the show. Where can your fellows connect with you out there, find your writing, find your books, et cetera? David Sax: The books are sold wherever I would say books are sold. You can ask your local independent bookstore because those places are important to support for maintaining a community of writers. Without them we’re all sort of wandering in the digital desert. Yes, if you can buy it, if you can ask them if they have it, to special order it while your child crushes up rice cakes in the corner. Kelton Reid: Awesome. David Sax: Almost like, “My child will crush up that rice cake if you don’t order my book.” Kelton Reid: As a threat. David Sax: Yeah, or something even messier, like, “Here’s a bunch of apple sauce.” Kelton Reid: Yeah. David Sax: Then of course Amazon and Barnes & Noble and all other places, you can get it at Audible and various other audiobook forums, libraries, which are extremely important and I support more than wholeheartedly. Kelton Reid: Yes sir. David Sax: Then I am on the Twitter, as the kids like to say, @SaxDavid, S-A-X-D-A-V-I-D. I happily respond to all non-racist grievances. Kelton Reid: Wonderful, wonderful. We really appreciate your time. Best of luck with the next project. You’re always welcome back to drop some writerly wisdom on us. Thanks again. David Sax: My pleasure Kelton, thank you. Kelton Reid: Cheers. Thanks so much for joining me for this half of a tour through the writer’s process. If you enjoy The Writer Files podcast, please subscribe to the show and leave us a rating or a review on iTunes to help other writers find us. For more episodes, or to just leave a comment or a question, you can drop by WriterFiles.FM, and you can always chat with me on Twitter @KeltonReid. Cheers. Talk to you next week.

The business and culture journalist and bestselling author of the recent book The Revenge of Analog, David Sax, dropped by the show to talk about the writing life, the importance of real things in a digital world, and the revenge of paper. David is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in Bloomberg Businessweek, The New York Times, The New Yorker online, and other publications. The author’s first book, Save the Deli, was an Los Angeles Times bestseller and won the James Beard Award for Writing and Literature. His latest, The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter,”…looks at the resurgence of analog goods and ideas, during a time when we assumed digital would conquer all.” It was longlisted for the 2017 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence. Kevin Kelly, founding editor of Wired magazine and author of The Inevitable, said of the book, “The better digital gets, the more important analog becomes….Sax s reporting is eye-opening and mind-changing.” If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click subscribe to automatically see new interviews. In Part One of this file David Sax and I discuss: Writing at the intersections of business and culture Why your best ideas come to you in the shower The importance of impeccable research for great non-fiction A road map for cranking out 3,000-4,000 words a day How printing and editing your work on paper can improve your writing Listen to The Writer Files: Writing, Productivity, Creativity, and Neuroscience below ... Download MP3 Subscribe by RSS Subscribe in iTunes The Show Notes If you’re ready to see for yourself why over 194,000 website owners trust StudioPress — the industry standard for premium WordPress themes and plugins — just go to Rainmaker.FM/StudioPress How Journalist and Bestselling Author of ‘The Revenge of Analog’ David Sax Writes: Part Two The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter David Sax books on Amazon What Barnes & Noble Doesn t Get About Bookstores – David Sax for The New Yorker Is the Novel Dead? Part One How Wired Magazine’s Senior Maverick Kevin Kelly Writes: Part One How Oscar Nominee Emma Donoghue (Screenwriter of ‘Room’) Writes: Part One David Sax on Twitter Kelton Reid on Twitter The Transcript How Journalist and Bestselling Author of The Revenge of Analog David Sax Writes: Part One Voiceover: Rainmaker FM. Kelton Reid: Welcome back to The Writer Files. I am your host Kelton Reid, here to take you on yet another tour of the habits, habitats, and brains of renowned writers to learn their secrets. The business and culture journalist and bestselling author of the recent book, The Revenge of Analog, David Sax, dropped by the show this week to talk to me about the writing life, the importance of real things in a digital world, and the revenge of paper. David’s a freelance writer whose work has appeared in Bloomberg Businessweek, the New York Times, the New Yorker Online, and other publications. The author’s first book, Save the Deli, was an L.A. Times bestseller and won the James Beard award for writing and literature. His latest, The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter, looks at the resurgence of analog goods and ideas during a time when we assumed digital would conquer all. It was long-listed for the 2017 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence. Kevin Kelley, founder of Wired Magazine, said of the book “The better digital gets, the more important analog becomes. Sax’s reporting is eye-opening and mind-changing.” In part one of this file, David and I discuss writing at the intersections of business and culture, why your best ideas come to you in the shower, the importance of impeccable research for great non-fiction, a roadmap for cranking out 3 to 4,000 words a day, and how printing and editing your work on paper can improve your writing. If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click subscribe to automatically see new interviews as soon as they’re published. Just a quick reminder that The Writer Files is brought to you by StudioPress, the industry standard for premium WordPress themes and plugins. Built on the Genesis Framework, StudioPress delivers state of the art SEO tools, beautiful and fully responsive designs, airtight security, instant updates, and much more. If you’re ready to take your WordPress site to the next level, see for yourself why over 194,000 website owners trust StudioPress. Go to Rainmaker.FM/Studiopress now. That’s Rainmaker.FM/Studiopress. We are rolling once again on The Writer Files with a special guest who dropped by today, Mr. David Sax, author, writer, reporter. Thanks so much for popping on the show to talk about your writing process. David Sax: Yeah. My pleasure, Kelton. Writing at the Intersections of Business and Culture Kelton Reid: We should be recording this really on an 8-track recorder, or some kind of analog device, but unfortunately, we are recording this over the interwebs. The new book, The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter. Thanks so much for coming on to talk to me a little bit about that. Maybe, for listeners who aren’t familiar with your journey as a writer, maybe you could just give us a little bit of your origins. David Sax: Yeah. I was a kid whose parents sent him copies of Newsweek to summer camp, and National Geographic. I was raised in a magazine-loving house and I think pretty much always wanted to be a journalist and writer, and so began writing when I was at that same summer camp for the camp newspaper. I think that was the first and probably best work I ever did. In university, wrote for the campus newspaper, and then afterward wanted to be a foreign correspondent. When I graduated, I ended up moving to South America as a freelancer and got my start in Argentina and Brazil for a couple of years, basically freelancing for whoever would take whatever I was writing. That was Canadian newspapers, and news magazines, and radio stations when I first got down there, because I’m from Canada, and then increasingly American newspapers and magazines and everything from travel and wine to politics and business stuff. When I moved back, I continued that. I’ve always been a freelancer. I’ve never had an actual job since teaching skiing, I think was the last job, real job I had. In the years since, I’ve written for all sorts of publications, largely in magazines and increasingly focused around business and culture. I wrote two books previously before this one on food. One was called Save the Deli, about the Jewish delicatessen business. The other one was called The Tastemakers, about the world of food trends and how they’re shaped. Wrote about food for a number of years and then that segued into writing about business, largely for Bloomberg Businessweek. Now, I guess, it’s that mix of writing about where business and culture meet. I find that business is often one of the best ways to get at culture. With this book, even though it’s about … Many of it are about cultural things: vinyl records, music, paper, and pens, and drawing, and writing. Even things like board games. There are cultural objects, and the interactions with them are very much cultural things. The way into that is through the business. How does this grow? How does this actually make money? Behind all those things, there’s always a market. That’s tends to be where I find my focus, at least these days. Kelton Reid: Yeah. It’s a pretty fascinating path to where you are now. I understand, the Save the Deli book actually won a James Beard award, a literary award, which I thought was pretty cool, because that is the storied institution. Really cool to see. I’m a huge fan of your New Yorker columns, especially one that you wrote recently, I think, about bookstores. I think the title of that was What Barnes & Noble Doesn’t Get About Bookstores, which we’ve talked about actually on the show with some other writers. David Sax: Interesting. Kelton Reid: But, The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter is a look at this resurgence of analog goods and ideas during this kind of the height of the digital age. We’re all seeing it, we’re all experiencing it. Maybe if we didn’t notice the creep before this, you’re certainly … The more you look around, the more you see exactly that, the revenge of analog, the rise of analogs. The opposite of the terminator, right? David Sax: It is John Connor in that existence coming back. Kelton Reid: That’s right. David Sax: “Come with me if you want to live.” Kelton Reid: Yeah. Amazon is kind of Skynet, or whatever. Yeah. Kevin Kelly had some great things to say about it. He’s also a guest on this show. You guys, it sounds like had the same background, lovers of print magazines and globetrotters and doing stuff around the world. Finding the focus and connecting these other disparate ideas. It’s fascinating stuff. Kelly said, “The better digital gets, the more important analog becomes. Sax’s reporting is eye-opening and mind-changing, and I believe it’s a great book. Listeners should seek it out. Very cool. Why Your Best Ideas Come to You in the Shower Kelton Reid: Yeah. Let’s talk about your process a little bit. Just get into your … What are you working on now? Are you working on another book? Are you doing … David Sax: No. This one just came out and I’m guilty of this that … I’ll have this laser-like focus on working on a book, and I love it. I love that ability to lose myself in it and dive deep, but I foolishly probably put too much mental energy into that for such a concentrated period of time. It’s like, “Okay. This is the pub date. This is the pub date. You just got to get the pub date and then life will just be easy,” or something. I can’t mentally put myself beyond it. I’ve had a few ideas that I flirted with over the past couple of months, but nothing that’s taken any concrete shape now. Now, I’m just to the point where I’m still working to promote the book, writing things around it. I guess in the New Year, I’ll start figuring out what next, whether that’s another book, or something else. I’m not 100% sure. I got nothing, basically. Kelton Reid: It will come to you. David Sax: That’s my process. Kelton Reid: It will come to you in the shower. David Sax: I know. It always … What is it? Maybe that’s the book. Maybe it’s just a 100-page business management memoir like, “How to Think in the Shower?” And then all of these offices will just install shower cabinets. Everyone will just be constantly, “Just got to take a shower to think about this idea.” It’s true. A lot of the best ideas come to me, and I don’t know why. Why is that? Why do you think that is? Kelton Reid: It’s a good question. I guess, maybe, it’s like a private place to incubate your ideas. There’s something about … You can relax there and suddenly your mind is on something. David Sax: There’s no other distraction. There’s no e-mail. There’s no call. There’s nothing else that’s coming at you. It’s a thoroughly analog space. I just moved my office to a different part of my house, because we had a baby. Now he gets his own room. Good for him. I’m now five feet from where the shower is. So, in theory There have been times over the past month and a half since I’ve moved the office up here where I’m writing something, frustrated, “Oh gosh! It’s time to go take a shower. I got to go out, meet someone.” That is the solo-writers thing. It’s like, “Oh! It’s 5:00, I gotta take a shower.” I step in there and it’s like, you know, the water s on, “Oh my God! That’s it. That’s it.” Often, there’s times when it comes too late, when it’s like I’ve sent the story off. The editor already has it. I’ve sent off the pitch. After I send this, “Wait! No. I have an even better way of thinking about it. Which is often not, actually, better. Kelton Reid: You talked about that a little bit in the book. You talked about … It’s a little bit of aside, but you talked about office design becoming intentionally analog. Maybe there is something to be said for that intentionally analog moment, while we’re all so obviously plugged in and distracted Anyway, it’s all coming back to the book. The Importance of Impeccable Research for Great Non-Fiction Kelton Reid: When you dig into a big piece, like The Revenge of Analog, it seems just deeply impeccably researched. How much time per day when, you’re working on a piece like that, are you actually reading, and calling, and digging around for those nuggets? David Sax: Yeah. This book took a longer process to get going than the previous ones. This book really began when I was actually in the midst of writing my first book. I had come back from doing the research on Save the Deli, it’s back in 2007, and had a variety of different ideas about analog at the time that I started doing some research on. I wrote up a new book proposal. The publisher wasn’t interested. Then I put it away. Then a couple months later, I came back to it from a totally different approach, and then they weren’t interested in that and put that that away. Then, you know, like an agent, trying to sell it to different publishers. Every couple of years, I’d come back to it and I would do a little more research into what was going on, more into what Moleskine was doing, or some of the film companies, or vinyl records, or whatever. When it finally came time to actually … I was talking with an old publisher that I had, we’d had lunch before my last book was coming in. He’s like, “What about that analog thing?” I was like, “Yeah. There’s something to that.” Then I got back on the horse. Again, I went back in, I read a few more books that had come out. I tried to … Like Kevin Kelly’s book, for example. I tried to … Which was fascinating and fantastic. It really steered my thinking in a new direction. Then wrote up the proposal. Once it got to the point where the publisher was like, “Okay. We will buy this. Here is your contract. Here is the due date.” Essentially, it was a year from that point until the first draft of the main script is delivered. From, let s say, September of 2014, or the summer of 2014 … Yeah, the summer of 2014 until Labor Day of last year, 2015, I was researching and writing pretty much full-time. The freelance stuff, I kind of trickled down to just a bare minimum and was just heads down on this. I would make a … There was this initial phase of general exploration and going to the library and pulling tons of books out on these different subjects and doing that initial research and figuring out what the different components would be and who I would talk to. Then, probably around the beginning of that period, let’s say, the fall, September, Labor Day, I was like, “Okay. I really got to get to work.” I basically will go into my calendar and I would just block out like, “Okay. These three weeks are going to vinyl. These three weeks are going to be this chapter. These three weeks is going to be that.” Then it would just be hitting it … Just intensely as many interviews as I could do, whether it’s a trip, or going to Nashville for four or five days and interviewing as many people as I could in that time. Or going to Italy, or wherever. Another thing is like … Okay, then this week, as many interviews as I can schedule with people. To the point where it was literally interviews from, let’s say, 10 in the morning until four in the afternoon. Most of that is determined by daycare pickup and drop off times. Then, “This time to read this book, and this time to It’s just like full-on five days a week during those key times. Of course, in person, which is the part that I actually really enjoyed. Traveling somewhere and meeting people, talking with them. That’s the good stuff. That was, I would say, eight months. Then at the beginning of spring, “Okay. Let’s go through all the notes of every single interview, and every single chapter, and then let’s go chapter by chapter. Four days to write this chapter. Four days to write that chapter. Four days every week. One chapter every week for these weeks, plus three weeks of reviewing, and send it off.” Kelton Reid: Amazing. David Sax: Yeah. It’s very … I find that methodology is grounding. I need that strict deadline timeframe. Stick to it. Go, go, go. Keep plowing your head. Then it just makes it so much more manageable and less daunting. Kelton Reid: Nice. You talk about Moleskine journals and the revival of that, which I thought was also very fascinating. When you’re interviewing or you’re on the road, or whatever, are you getting notes into an audio format first and then transcribing? Are you writing notes by hand? How are you capturing? David Sax: When I’m the road, I am interviewing people with handwritten notes. When I am at home, I will type on the computer, because I could type faster than I could write. The reason why I wouldn’t type, take a laptop on the road and type up my notes as I’m talking to people is because, one, it’s very impractical. Because a lot of the time, I’m walking around the factory, walking around the city, having lunch with someone in a restaurant, or wherever. Also, if you put a laptop screen between yourself and someone else, it totally changes the nature of the conversation. I think, also, if you put a recorder in front of someone, it does that too. They become much more guarded. I sacrifice a certain amount of accuracy, and I realize I’m not a national security reporter. So I have some leeway in that. I find it that it allows a much more fluid conversation to happen and this is much more disarming. Whereas, when I’m talking to someone on the phone, I’m clickety-clacking away. It s less … The conversation is more formal, and so on. A Road Map for Cranking out 3,000-4,000 Words a Day Kelton Reid: Yeah. For sure. That’s very interesting. When you’re sitting down and get really to it and get to work on those chapters, are you sitting in the office? Do you like to go out to a coffee shop, or you’re just head down? David Sax: No. I work at home in my little space, which has now been moved. You could tell the bitterness of losing my office. It s a slightly Yeah. Now, I share room with the living room-ish TV, but it’s okay. Yeah, I’m very … Just kind of rooted, and sitting down. When I’m actually doing the writing, I’ll turn on the Freedom app, which is the one the blocks off the Internet for an hour or an hour and a half spurt and just go. Once I’m going, I could crank out 3,000 words, 4,000 words in a day at top pace, and really just crank. The way that I do it is I’ll first … Let’s say I’m working on a chapter or an article. The first thing I do is basically do just bullet point, how it’s all going to go, and then fill in the quotes of what quote I’m going to do here and then go back to the notes that I’m making sure I have all the different perspectives. It’s all sketched out in this Word document and then I’d just go in and start filling that in and actually building it into narrative and paragraphs. Sometimes it takes its own direction, but I have that roadmap of where I’m going. I remember doing that in the first book. The first chapter was brutal. Then finally, I found that method, and then it just … Again, it s like, “This is very clear. I know where I’m going,” and then it’s just a matter of cranking out. It’s interesting, by the end, I could time it down to the hour of when I’m going to be finished. It’s like, “Okay. Friday …” It’s a Friday afternoon. I want to be done by three. I know I can do it. I can probably write these things even quicker if I didn’t want to futz around. I think the futzing around is good for your mental health and sanity. Kelton Reid: For sure. Do you sit down with a cup of coffee? Do you put on headphones? Do you have any rituals that get you in the mode? David Sax: No. I’m pretty … I might have tea or something like that. I try to keep coffees to one a day or I go crazy. I make sure to get up every hour and stretch. I like to get out for lunch or walk. I was fortunate to have done the writing for this book over the course of the summer. It was a much better environment of getting after it and actually being able to go walk. I was looking forward to, every day, to go and pick up my daughter from daycare, because that was 15 minutes there, 15 minutes back, outside, going to the playground. Just mentally giving myself a bit of a break from staring at the screen all day. Kelton Reid: Yeah. All right, here’s the million dollar question. Do you believe in writer’s block? David Sax: I don’t believe in writer’s block, but I’m not a novelist. I think, if you had to create things from scratch and conjure up worlds of fiction, I imagine that it’s something that would be very, very real. For me, I’m translating what I’ve known into some sort of coherent or semi-coherent format, right? It’s like, “Here s the places I went. Here’s the thing I thought,” yada yada yada yada yada. On and on and on for 300 and so pages. It’s there. It happened. Those thoughts are … The thoughts have already happened. Sometimes, there’s a sentence or a paragraph or some section that stops me up for a little bit, then I guess I go take a shower, or go outside and walk, or something. I found that plowing through it is the key. You can kind of be frozen up by that page and you just have to press on, keep clacking the fingers. You can always go back and change it. That’s the beauty of the digital, or even a typewriter. None of it s permanent. It’s all going to be changed and edited. You can’t be wedded to it. You ve just got to keep moving. I think that goes for a line, or a paragraph, or a book, or a career, even, in this. I recently saw Emma Donoghue, the novelist, talk at the Toronto Public Library, and there’s 500 people there. She just had her new book came out. She was talking about Room and the success of the movie. This was her 12th novel that she’s done. Yeah, Room was a huge international bestseller, and this one’s done well too. She said, “I’ve talked to rooms of five people, it s just like that constantly, you ve just got to keep that forward momentum going.” I think, unless you get so successful like Harper Lee and Steinbeck … Not Steinbeck, but … Oh gosh, I’m totally blanking … Salinger. That you can afford to, like, “I have writer’s block! Leave me to my millions.” How Printing and Editing Your Work on Paper Can Improve Your Writing Kelton Reid: Yeah. You mentioned typewriters. I think it’s always fascinating to look at typed pages of manuscripts of your famous authors, like Hemingway, or whatever, and see all the marginalia and the editing scratch-outs. It’s so cool to see something like that and to … Having never actually worked on a typewriter like that. I think when we had typewriters, when I was a kid, they still had the autocorrect, auto-erase features where you could actually erase a … David Sax: The electric typewriter. Kelton Reid: Yeah. The electric typewriter. David Sax: For my first book, I remember sending it in, whatever, Microsoft Word file, and my editor sending back a thing in the mail of red marked-up pages. I was like, “This is crazy. We live in the 21st century.” This is like … “What if this got lost in the mail? You shouldn t even send this by courier. You sent this just by mail.” And then as I actually sat down and started getting into it, I realized the benefit of that. With this book, obviously, everything I did … I didn’t write the book out on typewriters. Many people have asked. I did it in Microsoft Word, but I made sure every time I finished a draft of the book, I would send it to a printers, and go to the printers, pick up 400, whatever, pages, and go through it with pen and pencil and do it by hand. I think you perceive the work differently on paper. When it’s on the page, you see it in its intended format and things jump out at you. Whether it’s something you might catch, or just a way something looks on a page, is very different from how it looks and reads on a screen. There’s also something gratifying about the first time you print it off and you’re actually holding that. Even the early version, the manuscript version of your book in your hand. There’s that tactile pleasure and some sense of reward to it, like, “All right, I’m going to go out to lunch today.” Kelton Reid: Yeah. For sure. I think every mentor I’ve ever had has said to print your stuff out on paper and edit it that way. It’s a great trick, but it works. It’s effective. There’s something to be said for that tactile, kinesthetic editing mode. David Sax: Yeah. Like I find that I’ll be less … On the computer, I’ll be reluctant to delete a page, or a paragraph, or a section of something. Whereas, when I see it on the page, on a printed page, I have no problem just drawing a line through it, kicking it to the curb, because you instantly see that. Whereas on the computer, there’s this reluctance, for some reason, that I did not find in my research, definitively. Kelton Reid: For sure. Thanks so much for joining me for this half of a tour through the writer’s process. If you enjoy The Writer Files podcast, please subscribe to the show and leave us a rating or a review on iTunes to help other writers find us. For more episodes, or to just leave a comment or a question, you can drop by WriterFiles.FM, and you can always chat with me on Twitter @KeltonReid. Cheers. Talk to you next week.

In the second part of our series on the print book and why it won't be going away any time soon, we talk with David Sax, the author of the new book, The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter. With the recent resurgence of brick-and-mortar bookstores and the plateauing of ebook sales, David sees a bright future ahead for physical books and the people who love them.

First, a story of successful American manufacturing. Drew Greenblatt, President of Marlin Steel Wire Products, joins host Dave Robertson to discuss the transformation his business underwent to survive in the competitive manufacturing space. When Drew bought the business it was a Brooklyn-based company responsible for making the baskets you might find in a bagel shop. He took that business and completely re-imagined it to become an innovative small manufacturer. In the second half of the program Dave talks to David Sax, author of "The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter," who explains why he believes the tangible is here to stay.

David Sax, journalist and author, came on the podcast to discuss his new book, "The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter," to be released in early November 2016. We discuss the analog renaissance and why many are drawn back to the physical connection of experience and how that relates to what we consume and create. His insight is one of a kind- do not miss this episode!