Want to create an interactive transcript for this episode?
Podcast: Arts & Ideas
Episode: Reading & Empathy
Description: "I never read novels" is something you hear people say. What is the point of reading - be it histories or fiction? Does it help us empathize with the situation of other people or shed insights into our historical moment? With the news story that university students these days are, apparently, unaccustomed to reading entire books, cover to cover, favouring excerpts, abridgements, and introductions and ahead of the biggest date in the publishing calendar (Super Thursday on Oct 10th)
Shahidha Bari is joined by
novelist Elif Shafak - winner of the British Academy's President's Medal, her latest novel is...