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Podcast: Decoder with Nilay Patel
Episode: Recode Decode: Jessica Weisberg traces the history of advice in āAsking for a Friendā
Description: Writer and audio producer Jessica Weisberg talks with Recodeās Kara Swisher about her new book, āAsking for a Friend: Three Centuries of Advice on Life, Love, Money, and Other Burning Questions from a Nation Obsessed.ā Starting in 1690s London, Weisberg examines how advice became a cultural force in America, and how professional advice-givers presaged the internet by creating the first platform for people to ask difficult questions anonymously. She discusses Ben Franklinās āPoor Richardās Almanack,ā which made earnest advice more palatable through comedy; the bitter rivalry between twin sisters who both became advice columnists, using the pen names āAnn...