From NPR, this is hidden brain.
I'm Shankar Vedantam.
When Eitan Hirsh was growing up, newspapers were a central part of the family's daily routine.
If you were a member of the household, you kept up with the news.
My parents raised me and my siblings in a politically engaged environment.
At least I thought so.
You know, we always were.
We knew what was going on in the news.
The newspaper was delivered to our home.
After Raytan went off to college, his father kept reading, listening to the radio, staying up to speed.
And then a few years ago, Eitan learned that his dad had developed a new habit.
He would lie on his bed at night and watch cable news out front.
Next, breaking news.
Trump's tantrum.
A jaw dropping.
Eitan, now a political scientist, found this puzzling.
I've never really personally gotten into cable news.
It's never been something I've enjoyed.
I asked him why I was doing it, and he said, you know, it's our duty to be informed.
And I said to him, but you already are informed.