If you haven’t been able to make it through a long-form nonfiction book lately, you’re not alone. In a world of endless notifications, short-form content, and AI-generated summaries, our attention spans are getting shorter; but our curiosity hasn’t gone anywhere. So how do we bridge the gap? That’s where Gist comes in. Ramona Liberoff is building a new company called Gist to create a bridge between people’s natural curiosity and their ability to engage with long-form nonfiction. Rather than turning books into bite-sized summaries or creating a watered-down version of the original, Gist is exploring how technology and engaging new formats can help people build the attention and curiosity needed to go deeper. Because the problem with nonfiction today isn’t that people don’t want to learn. It’s that the systems designed to help us discover and engage with ideas aren’t working. Cliff Notes, SparkNotes, and now AI-powered summaries have made it easier than ever to get the “gist” of a book without ever actually reading it. But knowing what a book says isn’t the same as experiencing the ideas, following an argument, making unexpected connections, or letting your curiosity take you somewhere new. Gist is trying to change that.
In this episode, our dear friend (and the narrator of the audiobook version of "One Size Fits None: Time for an Entrepreneurial Revolution") Ramona Liberoff talks about the crisis facing non-fiction and publishing, why traditional approaches to book discovery and summaries are falling short, and how Gist is creating a new kind of bridge back to long-form reading.
Rather than asking people to simply pay attention for longer, Gist is asking a different question: What if technology could help us remember how to pay attention again?
Listen in to learn more about the problem Gist is tackling, why our curiosity still matters, and what it might take to bring people back to books.
In this episode, we explore the growing crisis in nonfiction and the disconnect between our appetite for ideas and our shrinking capacity for long-form attention.
Ramona Liberoff, founder of Gist, discusses:
And what if the way back to long-form reading isn't asking people to put their phones down — but giving them a reason to keep reading?
Connect with the Podcast Co-Hosts:
Connect with Ramona, Founder of Gist:
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What if Instead? is produced with generous support from:
The Democratizing Innovation Institute
Ever look around you and ask what if instead things worked differently?
The institute takes what we used to think only innovators and entrepreneurs did, and makes it normal.
We're on a mission to provide the tools, the space, and the connections to ask the question in practice—by taking part in an experiment in how things could work.
Learn More About:
One Size Fits None: Time for an Entrepreneurial Revolution
One Size Fits None: Time for an Entrepreneurial Revolution on Spotify
One Size Fits None: Time for an Entrepreneurial Revolution on Audible
More From What If Instead?
Diseconomies of Scale | Michael Shuman
Talking To People Who Think Like Us Has Made Us Stagnant | Trevor Vaughn and Hunter Buffington
A System for Unexpected Connections | David Garrison
Why Building Communities with Fire-Resilient Standards is a Game Changer | Alister Watt
SPECIAL EPISODE: One Size Fits None Time for an Entrepreneurial Revolution is available on Audiobook