I can’t prove it. Not yet, anyway. But I have a sickening suspicion that…

Our love of Story has become an addiction—and it’s killing us.

I’m Alan Mairson, and for almost 20 years I was a staff writer & editor for National Geographic magazine, where I told lots of stories to millions of people.

When I joined the Magazine’s staff back in 1990, it was my dream job. Journalism also seemed like a noble calling because I believed…

• journalists strengthen our democracy by giving a voice to the voiceless, and by speaking truth to power; (yes, too idealistic, but hey—I was in my 20s!);

• telling stories was the best way to create meaning in a chaotic world; and…

• journalism’s central article of faith — the facts will set us free — seemed self-evident and true.

Now I’m afraid that’s mostly nonsense. Here’s one reason why:  People are not especially rational. We see what we want to see. Confirmation bias is a real thing. Or as Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman says: “The reason [people] don’t change their mind is that facts don’t matter, or they matter much less than people think.”

So… facts don’t set us free, apparently. Which is huge, if true. It’s also a gut punch to journalists and to democracies everywhere… don’t you think?

Towers of Babel is my attempt to answer three questions:

• Have journalists over-promised what they can realistically deliver?

• What are the symptoms—and the costs—of our addiction to Story?

• If the stories that journalists tell don’t really change hearts or minds, then what does?  

I’ll be talking to all sorts of people — including journalists, scientists, teachers, researchers, religious leaders, psychologists, mediators, filmmakers, and activists. Along the way, I’ll share my dispatches, both written & audio, with you.

Towers of Babel will be of interest to anyone who is overwhelmed by the tsunami of stories that engulf us every day, and who thinks: There’s gotta be a better way.

P.S. #1: Your subscription = one very short email per week, with brief summaries & links to all new dispatches posted here. And you can unsubscribe easily at any time.

P.S. #2: Why the name Towers of Babel? … See this.

P.S. #3: As of December 2022, Towers of Babel has a sister Substack called Out of Babel. It’s an exploration of one possible antidote to our Story addiction.