We’re officially one month away from the release of my new book, Pay Attention: How the Algorithms and Media Wars are Suppressing Truth and Rewiring Your Brain.
This is a project I’ve been working on for more than a year and cannot believe we are entering the final weeks before launch on September 22.
I’ve been doing this show for more than 20 years, and the information environment has changed dramatically during that time.
More and more of what we see is determined by algorithms built to maximize engagement. They learn what keeps us watching, clicking, scrolling and reacting, and then give us more of it.
The problem is that what keeps us engaged is not necessarily what is true, useful or important.
That incentive structure has reshaped our media, our politics and even our ability to agree on basic facts. Pay Attention is my attempt to understand how we got here, what these systems are doing to us, and what we can actually do about it.
If you’ve been thinking about getting a copy, now is a great time to pre-order.
Pre-orders have an outsized impact in publishing. They help determine how many copies bookstores stock, whether retailers give a book more visibility, and whether it has a chance of landing on bestseller lists during its first week. Those early signals matter far more than most people realize.
And, of course, pre-ordering is also a direct way to support the work I’ve been doing for more than two decades.
✍️ Signed copies still available, while supplies last!
Thank you to everyone who has already ordered a copy. I really appreciate the support, and I’m very excited for you to finally be able to read it on September 22.
— David
