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ON NOW : The Archers
23/05/2013

The Archers Lynda tries to bite her tongue.

A Point of View

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'News' and concentration

Duration:
10 minutes
First broadcast:
Friday 14 January 2011

Alain de Botton argues that in our mad desire to keep up with what's new, we have lost our ability to concentrate. We are made to feel, he says, that "at any point, somewhere on the globe, something may occur to sweep away old certainties". How was it, he wonders, that for Christians, there has been no news of "world-altering significance to their faith" since 30 AD? He suggests that a period of fasting from our obsession with "news" may be what's needed.

Producer: Adele Armstrong.

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