Will Homer Save Us?
Have we become a post-literate society? That’s the debate currently agitating historians, journalists, English teachers, and reading researchers. (Or, should I say, the debate that is raging once again, since…
A Most Unsatisfying Experience
On Tuesday June 23, I went to my regular polling site, an elementary school in Bethesda, MD, to vote in my locale’s primary elections. Beforehand, I tried to learn about…
Reading Is (NOT) a Vice
Several people recently recommended I read an article from The Atlantic called, provocatively, “Reading Is a Vice” (Jan. 2, 2026). Author Adam Kirsch argues that if we want young Americans…
Language, Liberty & the Weight of America’s 250th Anniversary
Shortly after Planet Word opened, I told our programming staff that we needed to begin thinking about how we would observe special, word-related occasions. Well, the biggest one of all…
On the Coarsening of Public Discourse
I spent a couple weeks trying to draft one of my Messages from the Founder about students not reading whole texts in school (or out of school for that matter)…
The State of Literacy in the Digital Age
Five years ago, Planet Word opened its doors with a bold mission: to spark a love of words, language, and reading in people of all ages — at a time…