Hostile To Thinking: Finding Clarity in a World Designed to Distract You
We have never had more opinions, yet our ability to think critically and hold multiple truths at once is increasingly under threat. In this episode, sharing its title with her new book "Hostile to Thinking", Chisom Udeze explores how algorithms, certainty, and our own experiences shape what we see, believe, and overlook. She introduces the Three Clarities and practical habits for thinking more deeply in a world that rewards quick reactions over understanding. Hostile to Thinking is out now. Help its ideas reach others by reading, sharing, and recommending it.
With Chisom Udeze
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Show Notes
We have never had more opinions. What we are losing, Chisom argues in this episode, which shares its title with her new book, is the ability to hold two or more true things at once. She shows how the platforms that carry most of what we know reward speed and certainty over understanding, drawing on a 2025 experiment with eight million users in which removing the ranking algorithm cut exposure to toxic content by 27 percent. Then she turns the argument on herself: a morning in her own office after the invasion of Ukraine, the clever reframe of developed and developing, and the way the place that raised us decides what we can see. She closes with the three questions at the centre of her work and four habits for the next time certainty arrives too fast. Hostile to Thinking is out now, and if you can, we’d be deeply grateful if you can pick up a copy for yourself and a loved one who can benefit from this kind of thinking.
The success of a book depends on it being read, engaged, and recommended. And we hope you can support this book in anyway that you can. Chisom would also be thrilled to hear from and discuss with you about what you take from the book.