Is the Nonfiction Book Crisis for Real?

And Are Podcasts to Blame? The Panic Makes for a Good Story. But the Numbers Tell a Different Tale

The Times of London recently ran a gloomy piece of publishing news: “There’s a Crisis in Non-fiction Book Sales. What’s to Blame?” Readers are, says the article, buying millions fewer “factual books” today than in years past. The reason? Podcasts.

Screen grab from the Times, February 7, 2026.

Other outlets reported slumping sales before. Last year, Nielse…