About this episode

Lauren Hough discusses her road trip across America and the impact of being chronically online.

When Lauren Hough sets off on a road trip across America with Woody, her husky mix and constant companion, it’s partly because there are always reasons not to take the trip. Always reasons not to sit by the redwoods, swim in the creeks, see the ocean. Sometimes people wait so long for the perfect time to embark on an adventure like this, they never see the places they always wanted to see, and then it’s too late. It was partly because Texas Highways kept sending her out on the road to cover stories, and Lauren likes to drive. But also, it was because the internet had “broken her brain.” In Monster of a Land: On the Road in Search of Modern America , Lauren captures the experience of being chronically online, and what it’s doing all of us. Things you can’t do while driving: scroll on your phone, answer texts, check Twitter. It’s easy to dehumanize people on a device, we all know this. It’s another thing to be on the receiving end of a wild lack of compassion when you’re going through a tragedy — personally or collectively. If you live in places like Texas, Florida, California — any state with extreme weather that is also hated by “the left” or “the right” — then you know how it…

People in this episode

Host: Ally Hamilton

Guest: Lauren Hough

Topics covered

• road trip
• modern America
• internet culture
• compassion
• climate change
• personal experience

Keywords

• road trip
• internet culture
• compassion
• climate change
• California wildfires
• Texas
• Florida

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Monster of a Land: On the Road in Search of Modern America

Places: Texas, Florida, California

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Come As You Are Podcast podcast page.