A journalist for The New York Times, Kate Murphy writes about the art of listening in her 2020 book, You’re Not Listening: What You’re Missing and Why It Matters. Through thorough research and well-written prose, she considers the science and culture behind how we listen as a society. With our ever-shortening attention spans and technological distractions, we increasingly give one another less and less airtime and often opt for speaking at rather than to one another. Murphy highlights that certain societies may be less susceptible to listening issues, which I found wholly true in Germany. While talking often and over one another is more commonplace in the United States, people generally speak and listen more deliberately and intentionally in Germany. Some critics of Murphy’s book contend that her observations are obvious, but as we increasingly struggle with our listening skills, it doesn’t hurt to go back to the basics.