episodic Can We Have Your Attention? is your guide to surviving and thriving in the modern attention economy. We talk about the players fighting for your focus – from the algorithms optimising your feeds to the ad tech and brand strategies that keep you scrolling.

We go beyond the click-bait bad news and look for solutions. Each episode explores digital wellbeing, media literacy, and practical mental health tools to help you build resilience against distraction and burnout. Whether you want to understand the creator economy, manage your screen time, or simply reclaim your mind from big tech, join us to learn how to pay attention to what truly matters.

Your Guides to the Attention Economy: Hosted by Claire Coady, a marketing expert who has advised governments and global brands on how to win the battle for attention, and James Wickham, a former BBC journalist who has spent a career inside the 24-hour news machine. Together, they combine 40+ years of experience to help you understand who is fighting for your focus, and how you can fight back.

This is a Phonogram production.

]]> Can We Have Your Attention? 2026 Phonogram Phonogram false Phonogram hello@phonogram.co.uk en http://www.canwehaveyourattention.com Claire Coady and James Wickham discuss the Department of Defence/Department of War rebrand and its fights with partners and suppliers. In September, Pete Hegseth suggested the U.S. military was being weakened by forces within - forces the Department would fight. How far will it go in that fight?

If the US public doesn't want a war overseas, then is the war on business as usual - and are suppliers exposed?

Plus, if political campaigning is harder in an overheated attention economy, and picking fights with business becomes more common, how can business prepare?

This episode recaps Claire’s Substack post ‘Weaponised Brands in the War for Attention’: https://open.substack.com/pub/attentionscarcity/p/weaponised-brands-in-the-war-for

The attention economy is harder to navigate - especially for political campaigns. More in ‘The Age of Attention Scarcity’: https://open.substack.com/pub/attentionscarcity/p/the-age-of-attention-scarcity

Also:

Gallup, 5 March: 1/3 of Americans say US defence isn’t strong enough https://news.gallup.com/poll/702767/americans-views-nation-global-image-power.aspx

Band names are a strong, identifiable “message” in a two-second world - System1 Group & TikTok: https://system1group.com/creative-effectiveness-tiktok 

Save your sanity and stay informed - introducing The Scroll, Scream, and Stop: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/clairecoady_were-back-on-the-latest-episode-of-can-activity-7449795220747137024-vR4I

On the history of the term “war fighters”: https://angrystaffofficer.com/2022/04/11/whats-in-a-name-the-problem-with-warfighter/ 

Can We Have Your Attention? is a podcast exploring the unseen forces that shape what we see, what we buy, and who we become. Hosted by Claire Coady and James Wickham, we dive into the mechanics of the Attention Economy to understand how value is created (and manipulated) in a distracted world.

Production Credits:

Enjoying the episode? If you found this conversation valuable, please follow us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred player. Leaving a rating or review helps us break through the noise—and get the attention of more listeners like you.

]]> The War on Business as Usual: The Pentagon, Brands, and the War for Attention The War on Business as Usual: The Pentagon, Brands, and the War for Attention 00:29:45 71be6bc5-7fe2-42bd-bf33-26c65f58ac9e Phonogram full false https://pod.co/can-we-have-your-attention/the-war-on-business-as-usual-the-pentagon-brands-and-the-war-for-attention Tue, 28 Apr 2026 04:00:00 +0000 Claire Coady and James Wickham discuss what happens when brands become news. From the Kit Kat heist to Nutella in space to McDonald’s CEO attempting to eat a burger like a human, Claire breaks down what happens in the marketing teams, while James picks up what happens in the newsrooms. What goes through a brand teams’ minds? What do journalists think? And when is it ever really news?

Mentioned in the show:

McDonald’s CEO Went Viral. Now He Has to Win Back Customers | WSJ https://youtu.be/rZxnFI2OW9k?si=au3QAkZUI4lu6tfx 

The Great KitKat Heist–Truckload of Formula 1 KitKats Stolen https://www.forbes.com/sites/peterlyon/2026/03/30/chocolate-grand-theft-auto-italys-missing-f1-kitkat-shipment/ 

Breakdown of KitKat’s market entry strategy in Japan, which has wildly influenced its brand and marketing strategy worldwide https://blog.btrax.com/kit-kats-market-entry/ 

F1’s Corporate Brand Strategy - how it sells itself as an entertainment brand

https://corp.formula1.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Formula-1-Strategic-Plan011320.pdf 

If you like heists… Narconomics: How to run a Drug Cartel  https://uk.bookshop.org/a/16591/9781785030420 

And weird robbery trivia… how Tide detergent became the most popular target for thieves in the United States https://nymag.com/news/features/tide-detergent-drugs-2013-1/ 

And finally - on brand valuation (i.e. why F1 Kit Kats were stolen, but Kit Kat itself was all the public could register): https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/what-is-brand-valuation 

Can We Have Your Attention? is a podcast exploring the unseen forces that shape what we see, what we buy, and who we become. Hosted by Claire Coady and James Wickham, we dive into the mechanics of the Attention Economy to understand how value is created (and manipulated) in a distracted world.

Production Credits:

Enjoying the episode? If you found this conversation valuable, please follow us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred player. Leaving a rating or review helps us break through the noise—and get the attention of more listeners like you.

]]> When Brands Go Viral When Brands Go Viral 00:38:15 f0d33f21-0b29-438c-b21a-fe6c0e3a7a55 Phonogram full false https://pod.co/can-we-have-your-attention/when-brands-go-viral Tue, 14 Apr 2026 04:00:00 +0000 In this episode Claire & James speak to D. Graham Burnett, the Henry Charles Lea Professor of History and History of Science at Princeton University and co-editor of Attensity! A Manifesto of the Attention Liberation Movement; and Peter Schmidt, the Program Director of the Strother School of Radical Attention. They form part of the The Friends of Attention; a loose network who share an interest in all things attention.

Their book, Attensity! A Manifesto for the Attention Liberation Movement, argues that a movement of collective resistance is needed to tackle the 'human fracking' of attention.

Strother School of Radical Attention https://www.schoolofattention.org/

The Friends of Attention https://friendsofattention.org/

Attensity! A Manifesto for the Attention Liberation Movement: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/478341/attensity-by-attention-the-friends-of/9780241810965

Other books/resources mentioned this week - so you can start studying, organising, and finding sanctuary:
The Attention Merchants by Tim Wu: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/16591/9781782394853

The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/16591/9781802063271

The Sirens’ Call: How Attention Became the World’s Most Endangered Resource by Chris Hayes: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/16591/9781914484940

Finally, Louis Theroux’s documentary ‘Inside the Manosphere’ on Netflix (paywall) https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/81920687 

Can We Have Your Attention? is a podcast exploring the unseen forces that shape what we see, what we buy, and who we become. Hosted by Claire Coady and James Wickham, we dive into the mechanics of the Attention Economy to understand how value is created (and manipulated) in a distracted world.

Production Credits:

Enjoying the episode? If you found this conversation valuable, please follow us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred player. Leaving a rating or review helps us break through the noise—and get the attention of more listeners like you.

]]> Is it time for a movement to reclaim attention? Discussing Attensity! with the Friends of Attention Is it time for a movement to reclaim attention? Discussing Attensity! with the Friends of Attention 00:40:08 9bb2aeb9-e2fa-4258-bdc3-53a434c004a1 Phonogram full false https://pod.co/can-we-have-your-attention/is-it-time-for-a-movement-to-reclaim-attention-discussing-attensity-with-the-friends-of-attention Tue, 17 Mar 2026 05:00:00 +0000 Claire and James, with guest Andrew Cheatham, dive into the U.S. and Israel's attack on Iran, examining the flow of information in modern conflict and how AI has transformed it. The discussion focuses on the U.S. government's controversial decision to ban Anthropic's AI tool, Claude, labelling it a "supply chain risk." With OpenAI securing the same limits Anthropic requested, we ask: Is this ban about national security, or is it a political signal against "woke" ethics in technology?

Wired: X is drowning in disinformation following U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran https://www.wired.com/story/x-is-drowning-in-disinformation-following-us-and-israels-attack-on-iran/ 

Politico: Trump orders all U.S. agencies to cease using Anthropic https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/27/trump-orders-all-federal-agencies-to-stop-using-anthropic-00804517 

New York Times: Pentagon standoff is a decisive moment for how AI will be used in war https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/27/technology/defense-department-anthropic-ai-safety.html?unlocked_article_code=1.QFA.zOQ2.S3TCzxNbYYX8&smid=url-share 

Andrew Cheatham is a Senior Security Analyst at Global Guardian and Chief Counsel and Managing Director of Pragmatic Panic Legal and Social Services, a US non-profit supporting communities affected by global threats. He directs research on training AI in accordance with the laws of armed conflict. An Adjunct Professor at Boston University and Visiting Senior Research Fellow at King’s College London, he has led initiatives on disruptive technologies and conflict at USIP and served with the UN in New York, Iraq, Libya, and Tunisia, and the African Union in Somalia. Support Pragmatic Panic's mission: https://www.pragmaticpanic.org/.

Can We Have Your Attention? is a podcast exploring the unseen forces that shape what we see, what we buy, and who we become. Hosted by Claire Coady and James Wickham, we dive into the mechanics of the Attention Economy to understand how value is created (and manipulated) in a distracted world.

Production Credits:

Enjoying the episode? If you found this conversation valuable, please follow us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred player. Leaving a rating or review helps us break through the noise—and get the attention of more listeners like you.

]]> The Fog of Everything: Iran, War, Uncertainty, Anthropic and OpenAI with Andrew Cheatham The Fog of Everything: Iran, War, Uncertainty, Anthropic and OpenAI with Andrew Cheatham 00:39:44 5cbf10b5-73b3-4ab4-8659-399405e10934 Phonogram full false https://pod.co/can-we-have-your-attention/the-fog-of-everything-iran-war-uncertainty-anthropic-and-openai-with-andrew-cheatham Tue, 03 Mar 2026 05:00:00 +0000 In this episode, James & Claire - who host the show - talk about... the show.

We have not, promise, completely vaulted over our own collective shark. Instead we are looking at the barriers to entering the creative attention economy; setup costs, technical issues, avoiding view farms, excessive editing time - through the prism of this very podcast.

We also explain why we're going fortnightly - it's related to all this stuff above.

Remember if you would like to feed back on anything we mention in the podcast, or you have ideas and people you'd like to hear from and about, please message:

canwehaveyourattention@protonmail.com

About The Show

Can We Have Your Attention? explores the unseen forces that shape what we see, what we buy, and who we become. Hosted by Claire Coady and James Wickham, we dive into the mechanics of the Attention Economy to understand how value is created (and manipulated) in a distracted world.

Production Credits:

Enjoying the episode? If you found this conversation valuable, please leave a rating or review - it helps us break through the noise—and get the attention of more listeners like you.

]]> Turning our attention onto… this podcast: what we’ve learned about making a podcast (so far) Turning our attention onto… this podcast: what we’ve learned about making a podcast (so far) 00:30:34 ea09973e-3a3f-4131-aeb0-6a1a21016f1a Phonogram full false https://pod.co/can-we-have-your-attention/turning-our-attention-onto-this-podcast-what-weve-learned-about-making-a-podcast-so-far Tue, 17 Feb 2026 05:00:00 +0000 In this episode of the Can We Have Your Attention? podcast, hosts Claire Coady and James Wickham get overexcited about the upcoming Super Bowl between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots. We speak to veteran sports business journalist Dan Kaplan to explore how the NFL has developed its product to prioritise growth & reach, and is constantly innovating in an effort to retain eyeballs and attention. We look at its international expansion plans, how the future might involve flags, and how the NFL has decided to make itself an entertainment product first, and a sport second.

Oh, and we tell you who’s going to win the game. Probably.

An absolutely crucial link: 

The Chicago Bears ‘85 – The Super Bowl Shuffle: https://youtu.be/KrYp6DUTG-M?si=_xdsNs7YdFJWm9A-&t=15

About The Show

Can We Have Your Attention? is a podcast exploring the unseen forces that shape what we see, what we buy, and who we become. Hosted by Claire Coady and James Wickham, we dive into the mechanics of the Attention Economy to understand how value is created (and manipulated) in a distracted world.

Production Credits:

Enjoying the episode? If you found this conversation valuable, please follow us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred player. Leaving a rating or review helps us break through the noise—and get the attention of more listeners like you.

]]> How the NFL decided to ignore sports and start entertaining How the NFL decided to ignore sports and start entertaining 00:31:31 18516ebe-531b-4369-88bb-a6661f81efa5 Phonogram full false https://pod.co/can-we-have-your-attention/how-the-nfl-decided-to-ignore-sports-and-start-entertaining Tue, 03 Feb 2026 05:00:00 +0000 Has President Trump’s foreign policy become the ultimate celebrity beef?

Claire and James unpack how Trump uses international relations to flex his strongman image. They explore the collision of geopolitics and Stan culture, asking whether algorithms reward this spectacle and what world leaders can learn about dealing with Donald Trump from the Kendrick Lamar vs Drake feud.

Plus analysis on how devoted fanbases are cultivated online and how algorithms have accidentally changed politics. What happens when diplomacy descends into diss tracks? How should world leaders respond when the attention economy dictates global power? We take a look at the new rules of engagement.

Trump “torched allies” with leaked screenshots and trolling https://www.politico.eu/article/donald-trump-america-allies-eu-diplomats-greenland/ 

A bit more on Stans and the music industry - required reading for, well, anybody working in influence https://www.soundspheremag.com/news/stans-are-changing-the-music-industry-as-we-know-it-but-how/

Wired (4 Nov 2025): “It’s been a year since Trump was elected. The Democrats still don’t get the internet.” https://www.wired.com/story/do-democrats-get-the-internet-yet/  

Not a new problem - from MIT Technology Review: older liberals are quick to celebrate Stans when they affect conservatives, but they don’t understand them or their motivations: https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/06/23/1004336/tiktok-teens-kpop-stans-trump-resistance-its-complicated/  

Supreme Court rejected Trump’s use of Illinois state militia to support ICE https://www.scotusblog.com/2025/12/supreme-court-rejects-trumps-effort-to-deploy-national-guard-in-illinois/

About The Show

Can We Have Your Attention? explores the unseen forces that shape what we see, what we buy, and who we become. Hosted by Claire Coady and James Wickham, we dive into the mechanics of the Attention Economy to understand how value is created (and manipulated) in a distracted world.

Production Credits:

Enjoying the episode? If you found this conversation valuable, please leave a rating or review - it helps us break through the noise—and get the attention of more listeners like you.

]]> Strongmen, Algorithms, Stans and Kendrick Lamar: How the War for Attention reached Davos Strongmen, Algorithms, Stans and Kendrick Lamar: How the War for Attention reached Davos 00:30:24 941b78fa-2eb9-439d-8683-b3b0d63be0c0 Phonogram full false https://pod.co/can-we-have-your-attention/strongmen-algorithms-stans-and-kendrick-lamar-how-the-war-for-attention-reached-davos Tue, 27 Jan 2026 05:00:00 +0000 In this episode of the Can We Have Your Attention? podcast, hosts Claire Coady and James Wickham dive into the escalating crisis around algorithms, free speech, and corporate responsibility in the attention economy.

We explore how platforms like X and its AI, Grok, promote "complete freedom of speech" as a core product feature, and the disruption it creates - how does a business like X versus a business like Meta weigh up the reward of influence and attention against risks of public backlash, or breaking local laws?

We dissect the complex balancing act that global tech giants like Meta and Alphabet (Google) must perform, comparing their publicly traded strategies with the decisions made by privately-owned companies like X, and uncover how they try to satisfy users, advertisers, and global lawmakers all at once.

Algorithms: Washington Post: Evolution of the Facebook algorithm https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/interactive/2021/how-facebook-algorithm-works/

Excerpt from Emily Baker-White’s book on the history of TikTok and its algorithm, Every Screen on Every Planet: https://www.forbes.com/sites/emilybaker-white/2025/09/27/origins-of-tiktok-algorithm-every-screen-on-the-planet-book-excerpt/

Buy the book here: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/16591/9781035049264 

Business Insider on every change made by Elon Musk after taking over Twitter (now X): https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-twitter#november-2022-2 

New York Magazine on how algorithm changes affect creators, looking mainly at YouTube - ‘The YouTube Vibecession’: ​​https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/the-youtube-vibecession.html 

For a laugh: Facebook ad from 2012, unaffectionately known as ‘Chairs’, created by world-class ad agency wieden+kennedy, and directed by Oscar-winning film director Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu. I know. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSzoDPptYNA

Parodied to perfection on the HBO series ‘Silicon Valley’ - the Pied Piper ad, ‘Tables’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQ4CuJm_lws 

About The Show

Can We Have Your Attention? explores the unseen forces that shape what we see, what we buy, and who we become. Hosted by Claire Coady and James Wickham, we dive into the mechanics of the Attention Economy to understand how value is created (and manipulated) in a distracted world.

Production Credits:

Enjoying the episode? If you found this conversation valuable, please leave a rating or review - it helps us break through the noise—and get the attention of more listeners like you.

]]> Can X’s rage baiting strategy survive? X, Grok AI, algorithms, and the war for attention Can X’s rage baiting strategy survive? X, Grok AI, algorithms, and the war for attention 00:38:11 dd1306b7-2f6a-4d6e-96f0-4fbc21666244 Phonogram full false https://pod.co/can-we-have-your-attention/can-xs-rage-baiting-strategy-survive-x-grok-ai-algorithms-and-the-war-for-attention Tue, 20 Jan 2026 05:00:00 +0000 In this episode, James & Claire are joined by Dr Katherine Albertson, a senior lecturer in Criminology at Sheffield Hallam University. Following on from our previous episode on radicalisation, we look at what happens to those people who are in the criminal justice system - those who by the very nature of where they are can't place their attention in the same way, and who often don't have attention placed on them. We hear how many feel isolated from the rest of society, and how peer mentors can help them acclimatise to a new and often scary environment.

Dr Katherine is here: https://www.shu.ac.uk/about-us/our-people/staff-profiles/katherine-albertson

About The Show:

Can We Have Your Attention? is a podcast exploring the unseen forces that shape what we see, what we buy, and who we become. Hosted by Claire Coady and James Wickham, we dive into the mechanics of the Attention Economy to understand how value is created (and manipulated) in a distracted world.

Production Credits:

Hosted by: Claire Coady & James Wickham

Produced by: Phonogram https://www.phonogram.co.uk

Enjoying the episode? If you found this conversation valuable, please follow us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred player. Leaving a rating or review helps us break through the noise—and get the attention of more listeners like you.

]]> How to make friends and influence yourself: lessons from prison on fighting isolation How to make friends and influence yourself: lessons from prison on fighting isolation 00:24:16 120a8110-fbcf-45f3-b0f8-654acc0a6334 Phonogram full false https://pod.co/can-we-have-your-attention/how-to-make-friends-and-influence-yourself-lessons-from-prison-on-fighting-isolation Tue, 13 Jan 2026 05:00:00 +0000 In this special episode of Can We Have Your Attention? for Christmas, James & Claire talk about the things that have taken their attention in 2025 - from books to films, games to music.

All links available via the website:

canwehaveyourattention.com

About The Show:

Can We Have Your Attention? is a podcast exploring the unseen forces that shape what we see, what we buy, and who we become. Hosted by Claire Coady and James Wickham, we dive into the mechanics of the Attention Economy to understand how value is created (and manipulated) in a distracted world.

Production Credits:

Hosted by: Claire Coady & James Wickham

]]> A Christmas Special: What's grabbed our attention in 2025 A Christmas Special: What's grabbed our attention in 2025 00:48:40 2489fb3a-95c5-447a-96c0-c008a559a3ac Phonogram full false https://pod.co/can-we-have-your-attention/a-christmas-special-whats-grabbed-our-attention-in-2025 Mon, 22 Dec 2025 16:33:44 +0000 This episode was recorded at the start of December 2025.

A recent surge in ISIS activity has reminded the world that Islamist extremism remains a potent and active threat. For many, the recent attack by ISIS felt like a shock - a ghost returning from the past. But as we discuss in this episode, these groups never went away; they just became harder to see.

In the fragmented, siloed landscape of modern social media, extremism of all kinds - from ISIS to the Far Right- exists side-by-side, competing for the same scarce commodity we are: Attention.

In this episode, Claire Coady and James Wickham sit down with Dr. Stephen Herron, a marketing and advertising expert at Queen’s University Belfast and White Hawk Marketing. Stephen specialises in deconstructing the sophisticated narratives and messaging strategies used to recruit young men into violent organisations.

We move beyond the politics to look at the marketing mechanics of terror. How do these groups build a "value proposition"? How do they co-opt mainstream brands as status signals? And in an attention economy designed to keep us scrolling, how do we spot the recruitment funnels hiding in plain sight?

What We Cover:

The Value Proposition of Terror: What are these groups actually offering young men? (Hint: It’s often about belonging, status, and purpose, not just ideology).

Marketing Funnels: How recruiters use standard marketing tactics to groom audiences.

Brand Hijacking: How luxury and sportswear brands get co-opted by extremist groups as signals of rank and status.

The Lesson: What legitimate brands and platforms can learn from the resilience of these networks.

Resources & Links

Connect with Dr. Stephen Herron:

Profile: linkedin.com/in/dr-stephen-herron-69a00440

Wild Hawk Marketing: https://bewildhawk.com/

Research: https://www.qub.ac.uk/Research/GRI/mitchell-institute/news/28052025-JihadiNarratives.html

Further Reading & References:

Meet the 85%: https://www.meetthe85.com/

Going Dark by Julia Ebner: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/16591/9781526616791

Excellent episode of Derek Thompson’s podcast ‘Plain English’, with Adam Mastroiani, on cultural stagnation https://www.theringer.com/podcasts/plain-english-with-derek-thompson/2025/11/25/a-grand-unified-theory-of-cultural-stagnation

About The Show:

Can We Have Your Attention? is a podcast exploring the unseen forces that shape what we see, what we buy, and who we become. Hosted by Claire Coady and James Wickham, we dive into the mechanics of the Attention Economy to understand how value is created (and manipulated) in a distracted world.

Production Credits:

Hosted by: Claire Coady & James Wickham

Produced by: Phonogram https://www.phonogram.co.uk

Enjoying the episode? If you found this conversation valuable, please follow us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred player. Leaving a rating or review helps us break through the noise—and get the attention of more listeners like you.

]]> The Branding of Fear: How ISIS & The Far-Right Market to Men (ft. Dr Stephen Herron) The Branding of Fear: How ISIS & The Far-Right Market to Men (ft. Dr Stephen Herron) 00:31:34 de78ecde-8cde-41f8-9f20-02c28470456f Phonogram full false https://pod.co/can-we-have-your-attention/the-branding-of-fear-how-isis-the-far-right-market-to-men-ft-dr-stephen-herron Tue, 16 Dec 2025 05:00:00 +0000 This week Claire & James explore uncertainty with Katherine Templar-Lewis, an expert in neuroscience and the science of uncertainty. Katherine has done brilliant work on how to build resilience through increasing our tolerance to uncertainty.

The reason attention scarcity is so, well, scary is because it increases feelings of uncertainty - with which humans are profoundly bad at coping. Uncertainty usually means change, and throughout human history, uncertainty means potential danger (an example in behavioural economics - loss aversion: https://thedecisionlab.com/biases/loss-aversion). Katherine radically suggests that the answer to uncertainty is not to “fix” uncertainty, but rather increase resilience to it, so that its gifts can be embraced.

Katherine describes what happens in the brain and the body when we are confronted with change, and her book provides concrete examples and ways of building resilience to change. So next time someone shouts, “EMBRACE CHANGE! CHANGE IS THE ONLY CONSTANT!”, kindly direct them to Katherine’s book on suggestions for how to do exactly that.

The Uncertainty Toolkit: How to Feel Calmer, Happier and More Confident in an Uncertain World will be published January 1st, 2026 - right in time for New Year’s resolutions. You can pre-order here: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/16591/9781035060054 

You can find out more information about Katherine and her work on uncertainty and resilience on her website: https://www.templarlewis.com/ 

Claire’s paper on attention scarcity - The Age of Attention Scarcity contains references to all of the data mentioned, including such terrifying figures as the volume of content on YouTube - which has exploded between 2012 and 2022 (from 60 hours per minute to 500 hours per minute)

The World Uncertainty Index

More on interoception in ‘Beyond 5 Senses’, Katherine’s audiobook with Robyn Landau.

—-

Can We Have Your Attention? is a podcast about the attention economy, presented by Claire Coady and James Wickham. After 20+ year careers in broadcasting (James) and advertising (Claire), these university friends have reunited over a shared obsession with the (mal-?) functioning attention economy.

Find out more here: https://linktr.ee/Canwehaveyourattention 

Hosts: Claire Coady & James Wickham

This is a Phonogram production.

Visit our store on Bookshop.org.uk for more recommendations for further reading

]]> Episode 5: Why am I so *&^%ing TIRED all the time? Episode 5: Why am I so *&^%ing TIRED all the time? 00:27:54 a00f2743-7340-4a47-8f33-2f3e7b8000df Phonogram full false https://pod.co/can-we-have-your-attention/episode-5-why-am-i-so-ing-tired-all-the-time Tue, 09 Dec 2025 05:00:00 +0000 Episode 4 of the Attention Economy podcast, Can We Have Your Attention? hosted by Claire Coady, the founder of The Attention Practice, and journalist & broadcaster James Wickham.

This episode is about ADHD. Claire and our guest, award-winning BBC Radio 5 live journalist Dan Maudsley, share their experiences of realising they have ADHD, seeking diagnosis in the UK, and how understanding their ADHD helped them better understand attention.

Visit our website for more: www.canwehaveyourattention.com 

Follow us on Instagram: www.instagram.com/@canwehaveyourattentionpodcast and subscribe on YouTube: www.youtube.com/@canwehaveyourattention 


Some people claim that ADHD is “made up”, or a product of trauma, or smartphones, or the general collapse of Western society and its values. This is nonsense. However, because ADHD is a neurodevelopmental condition related to attention, some of what people with ADHD experience every day is similar to what non-ADHD people report when they are overwhelmed - by information, by distractions, by life. In other words, when attention bandwidth is maxed out. Learning about how people with ADHD experience demands on attention - and learn to monitor and manage it - may give you some ideas on how to manage when you think you’ve had enough. 


Some resources: 

For our UK listeners, ADHD UK, ADDISS (the ADHD Information Services), and ADHD Adult UK have lots of information and resources about ADHD for people who experience it, and people who want to support others. You can find more on their websites:

https://adhduk.co.uk/

https://www.addiss.co.uk/ (ADHD Information Services - they also have a helpline you can access through the website)

https://www.adhdadult.uk/


For US listeners, CHADD (Children and Adults with ADD/ADHD) has a similar wealth of resources: https://chadd.org/ 

And a non-exhaustive list of books:

ADHD 2.0: New Science and Essential Strategies for Thriving with Distraction - from Childhood through Adulthood by Edward M. Hallowell M.D. and John J Ratey, M.D.: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/16591/9781399813280 

A Feminist’s Guide to ADHD by Dr Janina Maschke: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/16591/9781786788788

It’s Not A Bloody Trend by Kat Brown: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/16591/9781472148711

We have more recommendations on our profile at Bookshop.org, who we love as they support independent booksellers. More ADHD books and resources here: https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/episode-4-what-adhd-taught-us-about-attention-with-dan-maudsley

]]> Episode 4: ADHD and attention Episode 4: ADHD and attention 00:27:39 20f91e5e-15ad-4e04-b1dc-9bc66b0441bf Phonogram full false https://pod.co/can-we-have-your-attention/episode-4-adhd-and-attention Tue, 02 Dec 2025 05:00:00 +0000 Claire Coady, the Founder of the Attention Practice, and journalist and broadcaster James Wickham discuss how teenagers are coping with the social media age, and the affect it’s having on their attention spans.

Included are references to 90s lads and girls mags, prohibition and Mean Girls.

Show notes:

From 02:00-ish: BBC News: Australia is banning social media for teens. How will it work? https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwyp9d3ddqyo  

CORRECTION: YouTube is included in the ban, as is Twitch. Roblox and Discord are proactively introducing age verification in case they are included.

From 12:14 onwards: Internet Matters: Informed or Overwhelmed? Understanding the impact of news on children’s (11-17s’) well-being https://www.internetmatters.org/hub/research/impact-online-news-childrens-wellbeing/ 

76% of children and young people are exposed to news at least once a week. Majority in social media, but overwhelming trust in traditional media organisations. 

Other sources:

04:03: The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt https://uk.bookshop.org/a/16591/9781802063271 

05:42: Queen Bees and Wannabes by Rosalind Wiseman https://uk.bookshop.org/a/16591/9780749924379 

07:41: Dr Karen Nelson-Field, Erica Riebe, Kellie Newstead - The Emotions that Drive Viral Video (2013) https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1441358213000220 

08:18: Ofcom - UK child internet users (aged 8-14) spend an average of 2 hours and 59 minutes online every day (2025): https://www.ofcom.org.uk/media-use-and-attitudes/media-habits-children/top-trends-from-our-latest-look-at-uk-childrens-online-lives 

09:14: Helicopter parenting - good BBC Radio 4 piece on it: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3qg0ZrxRs3jgXLSpNwvht0y/are-you-over-parenting-your-children 

Related story: Did the phone ban in schools work? https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cj6rljz5w0zo 

A pandemic-era article on gaming online with friends being a lifeline: https://www.bbc.co.uk/worklife/article/20201215-how-online-gaming-has-become-a-social-lifeline 

]]> Episode 3: Teenagers, Social Media & The Axe Effect Episode 3: Teenagers, Social Media & The Axe Effect 00:29:51 f6486b56-c8c0-4986-b644-4fa107025450 Phonogram full false https://pod.co/can-we-have-your-attention/episode-3-teenagers-social-media-the-axe-effect Tue, 25 Nov 2025 08:25:44 +0000 In this episode the founder of the Attention Practice, Claire Coady, and broadcaster & journalist James Wickham consider who is selling your attention, who's buying it - and why. We also cover the important topics of haberdashery, video games, MTV and jazz. 

Show notes: 

How Brands Grow by Byron Sharp https://uk.bookshop.org/a/16591/9780195573565 

The Sirens’ Call by Chris Hayes https://uk.bookshop.org/a/16591/9781914484940 

Internet Matters research on understanding online news on children’s and young people’s wellbeing: https://www.internetmatters.org/hub/research/impact-online-news-childrens-wellbeing/ 

WARC - Neuroscience - what it is and how to evaluate marketing effectiveness https://www.warc.com/newsandopinion/opinion/warc-from-home-neuroscience--what-it-is-and-how-it-helps-evaluate-marketing-effectiveness/en-gb/3602 

Tim Wu’s The Attention Merchants lays out the evolution of the attention economy (at least until 2017) https://uk.bookshop.org/a/16591/9781782394853 

Meta’s financial results and reports: https://investor.atmeta.com/financials/ Alphabet (Google) investor relations: https://abc.xyz/investor/ NOTE: Claire references a figure: “90% of Google’s earnings come from advertising.” When rolled into Alphabet, it’s more like 75%. Google earns money from subscription services and Google Cloud and workspace. The benefit of being the maker of Android. 

]]> Episode 2: Everything, everywhere, all at once. Episode 2: Everything, everywhere, all at once. 00:36:55 a7716413-16e8-4836-917d-1a179653fed2 Phonogram full false https://pod.co/can-we-have-your-attention/episode-2-everything-everywhere-all-at-once Tue, 18 Nov 2025 06:00:00 +0000 Claire Coady and James Wickham explore the concept of attention, its significance in the modern world, and the challenges posed by the attention economy. They discuss how information overload affects decision-making, societal implications of attention fragmentation, and the stressors that contribute to mental fatigue. 

Show notes: Age of Attention Scarcity whitepaper: https://open.substack.com/pub/attentionscarcity/p/the-age-of-attention-scarcity 

700-1200 ads per day: https://www.eskimi.com/blog/ad-exposure-research 

Brain has finite capacity: “The Unbearable Slowness of Being: Why do we live at 10 bits/s?” Jieyu Zheng and Markus Meister, 2024 (brain operates at 10 bits/s, but receives 1000s bits/s of stimuli to process) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39694032/ 

“The Magical Mystery Four: How is Working Memory Capacity Limited, and Why?” Neil Cowan, 2010 (Neil Cowan tested Miller’s 1956 of ‘seven plus or minus two’, and showed working memory was actually 3-4 items at once) https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2864034/ 

“Attention and Capacity Limits in Perception: A Cellular Metabolism Account” Bruckmaier et al, 2020 (energy given to the brain is capped at around 20%) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32747442/ 

Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman. Paperback https://uk.bookshop.org/a/16591/9780141033570 Ebook https://uk.bookshop.org/a/16591/9780141918921 

Wintering by Katherine May. Paperback https://uk.bookshop.org/a/16591/9781846045998 Ebook https://uk.bookshop.org/a/16591/9781473562882 

Katherine May, author of Wintering, has a lovely newsletter on rest (important for attention!) https://substack.com/@katherinemay 

The Principles of Psychology by William James Paperback https://uk.bookshop.org/a/16591/9780486203812 

William James - Attention quote: https://www.themarginalian.org/2016/03/25/william-james-attention/

]]> "Don't worry Sweetie, you're just having a breakdown...." "Don't worry Sweetie, you're just having a breakdown...." 00:27:46 1a7621ad-54b8-418a-8a72-6c52fc72558d Phonogram full false https://pod.co/can-we-have-your-attention/don-t-worry-sweetie-you-re-just-having-a-breakdown Tue, 11 Nov 2025 06:00:00 +0000 In this trailer for the upcoming series, Claire Coady, Founder of The Attention Practice (https://www.theattentionpractice.com/) and broadcaster & journalist James Wickham (https://phonogram.co.uk/) introduce the podcast in which they'll explore the concept of attention, its significance in the modern world, and the challenges posed by the attention economy.

]]> Welcome to Can We Have Your Attention: The Attention Economy podcast Welcome to Can We Have Your Attention: The Attention Economy podcast 00:00:47 f3759f00-8443-4932-bc19-3ee49d63e42c Phonogram trailer false https://pod.co/can-we-have-your-attention/welcome-to-can-we-have-your-attention-the-attention-economy-podcast Mon, 10 Nov 2025 14:12:50 +0000