How did a young literary scholar, with a passion for the works of Shakespeare, Keats and Milton, end up as a leading expert on the propaganda that pervades our world today? Reading the World: The Life and Times of Mark Crispin Miller, will tell the story of MCM’s transformation into the public intellectual and democratic activist that he is now—a figure greatly respected, and yet equally reviled. Who, or what, is threatened by his thought? This film will trace the trajectory that has shaped him as an artist, critic, historian and activist and explore his rare grasp of modern history and the essential role of propaganda as a tool of mass manipulation.  We are interested in MCM as an original, creative and fiercely independent thinker, and the ways in which his work is ultimately a plea for freedom to question, fearlessly and responsibly, the world around us.