“Deep work” is the ability to focus without distraction on a cognitively demanding task and it’s one of the most valuable skills in our economy. Cal Newport is the author of Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World, and he joined the Federalist Radio Hour to explain how email and social media have changed the way our brains work.

Newport suggested that focusing on too much on what’s negative about distraction lead to an ambiguous muddle. “I think we have forgotten how much value we can get out of being able to concentrate intensely,” he said. “If you’re one of the few to cultivate this skill, then you’re really going to thrive.”

Newport explained “context switching” or that feeling you get when your brain reflexively moves to constantly check Twitter or your inbox. “A workflow that’s built around constant quick checks is actually reducing the cognitive capacity of your brain,” he said.

When it comes finding work you love or are “passionate” about, Newport said our desires to do so don’t match the reality of the market place. “Typically passion emerges over time,” he said. “As you do something well, as you develop a craft, as the skill gives you more control and leverage over your career...passion is a side effect.”

How To Focus Deeply In A Distracted World with Cal Newport

Senior Editor Mollie Hemingway joined Ben Domenech in the studio to discuss Donald Trump’s sweep in the Northeastern States’ primaries, the recent death of Prince and make to make of the loss, and her reports from the most recent congressional hearing on the trafficking of aborted baby parts. 

“If he had never sung a song, he would still be one of the world’s best guitar players,” Hemingway said of Prince. “That’s how talented he was.” 

Hemingway said since Prince’s death, many journalists have attempted to characterize him as gender bending and queer. “For one thing he was a man who dressed in a feminine way frequently,” she said. “But this was a guy who did more for female self-esteem than anybody by recognizing and praising female sexuality.”
Last week, the House Select Panel on Infant Lives heard testimonies from witnesses about evidence of a widespread market for for unborn baby parts. Hemingway recapped the hearing and what the witnesses had to say. 

“The first thing they showed is that federal prohibits profiting from the sale or transfer of fetal parts,” she said. “Then they showed that abortion clinics don’t actually do any work to get these aborted baby parts. Other people come into a clinic and they do everything.”


Prince, Trump, and the House Select Hearing on Fetal Tissue Trafficking

Michael Tracey is an independent writer and political reporter who joins today's Federalist Radio to discuss "fake news," the unhinged media reactions to Trump, and experimenting in digital media platforms.

Donald Trump's tweets have been consistently treated as breaking news every day sin he was elected. "A lot of these people in the media are so blinkered by rage and confusion... and they don't have a standard for how to situate themselves in relation to Trump," Tracey said. "Which is crazy because they should by now."

As a crowd-funded journalist himself, Tracey discusses the relationships audiences have with news sources and what they are willing to pay for. "I think one reason why this media class is so disposed to groupthink is that they rely on revenue from similar sources...clicks, non-profit support, or philanthropists' money."

FDRLST

Fake News, Presidents Who Tweet, and Media Groupthink with Michael Tracey

The Federalist Radio Hour features a conversation on culture, religion, and politics with the editors and writers of The Federalist web magazine. Hosted by Ben Domenech with regular guests Mary Katharine Ham, Mollie Hemingway and David Harsanyi, the show takes on controversies in America from a contrarian point of view.

"Be lovers of freedom and anxious for the fray."

How To Focus Deeply In A Distracted World with Cal Newport

The Federalist

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