# Rewilding Attention with D. Graham Burnett

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/wonder-cabinet-7409328/rewilding-attention-with-d-graham-burnett
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/wonder-cabinet-7409328/rewilding-attention-with-d-graham-burnett.md
Podcast: [Wonder Cabinet](https://stenobird.com/podcast/wonder-cabinet-7409328)
Published: 2026-05-23T11:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://wonder-cabinet.ghost.io/rewilding-attention-with-d-graham-burnett/
Audio file: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/mgln.ai/e/48/dovetail.prxu.org/120/bdbfe09d-ba88-43b9-a9b2-580b913439cd/Burnett_mix_01.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/wonder-cabinet-7409328/episodes/rewilding-attention-with-d-graham-burnett
Duration seconds: 2350

## Resource

We all know our attention is being competed for — but historian of science D. Graham Burnett calls it something more alarming: a "civilizational biohack." In this episode, we talk with Burnett, a Princeton historian of science and co-founder of " The Friends of Attention ," about the movement to liberate our minds from the 17-trillion-dollar attention economy. He draws on surprising sources — the German Romantics, St. Augustine, Simone Weil, Henry James — to argue that we've lost touch with older, richer forms of attention. And he makes the case that reclaiming it will require more than screentime apps or digital detox – it’ll take collective resistance. Plus: why your Pilates class, your evening needlework, or your walk with the dog might already be forms of radical attention — and how reframing everyday activities can make ordinary life feel richer, more mysterious and more full of wonder. – “Attensity: A Manifesto of the Attention Liberation Movement ” The Friends of Attention The Strother School of Radical Attention D. Graham Burnett website – 0:00 Introduction 3:00 Human Fracking 27:30 Attention as Generosity 30:55 Wonder and Disenchantment Wonder Cabinet is hosted by Anne Strainchamps and Steve Paulson. Find out more about the show at https://wondercabinetproductions.com, where you can subscribe to the podcast and our newsletter.

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## Transcript

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