Bookish

In October, a court ruled in favor of the Department of Justice and blocked the merging of two publishing giants: Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster. On this week’s On the Media, hear what readers will lose if conglomerates further monopolize the market. Plus, it turns out readers do not want to curl up with a good ebook. 1. Alexandra Alter [ @xanalter ], reporter at the New York Times, on how the booming publishing industry is wrestling with supply chain nightmares and more to meet reader demand. Listen . 2. Katy Waldman [ @xwaldie ], writer at The New Yorker, explains what's at stake in the DOJ v. Penguin Random House case. Listen . 3. Margot Boyer-Dry [ @M_BigDeal ] , freelance culture writer, on why book covers are looking more and more similar, blobs and all. Listen . 4. John B. Thompson, Professor of Sociology at the University of Cambridge, on how Amazon changed the book market for good, and why the appeal of the print book persists. Listen . Music in this week's show: Paperback Writer - Quartetto d’Archi Dell'Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Guiseppe Verdi Tymperturbably Blue - Duke Ellington I Could Write A Book - Miles Davis Tateh’s Picture Book - Randy Newman My Baby Loves A Bunch of Authors - Moxy Fruvous On the Media is supported by listeners like you. Support OTM by donating today ( https://pledge.wnyc.org/support/otm ). Follow our show on Instagram , Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.