Experience our world: as it was, as it is, as it might become with these audiobooks about history, the arts, culture, education, and politics. Don't miss Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel, or Fresh Air with Terry Gross: Writers, or Gwen Ifill's The Breakthrough.
For much of the twentieth century, boxing was one of America's most popular sports and the heavyweight champions were figures known to all. Boxing fans, sports historians, and those interested in U.S. race relations as it intersects with sports will all find in The Boxing Kings a fascinating reminder of how engrained boxing once was in the American social and cultural fabric. Learn More
Like our bodies, our brains have very specific food requirements. And in this eye-opening book from an author who is both a neuroscientist and a certified integrative nutritionist, we learn what should be on our menu. Learn More
by Rebecca Siegel, MD, Margot Starbuck; read by Chloe Cannon
From the Amen Clinics, America's frontline resource for brain health and treatment of brain injury, comes the most comprehensive and myth-busting guide yet on marijuana use and its effects on the brain—including how to effectively talk to young people about recreational marijuana use. Learn More
by R. Glenn Northcutt & Georg Striedter; read by Tom Perkins
When did the first vertebrates emerge, and how did they differ from their invertebrate ancestors? When did vertebrates evolve jaws, paired fins, pattern vision, or a neocortex? How have evolutionary innovations such as these impacted vertebrate behavior and success? Georg Striedter and R. Glenn Northcutt answer these fundamental questions about all major vertebrate lineages. Learn More
by Joshua Dubler & Vincent Lloyd; read by Leon Nixon
Changes in the American religious landscape enabled the rise of mass incarceration. Religious ideas and practices also offer a key for ending mass incarceration. These are the bold claims advanced by Break Every Yoke, the joint work of two activist-scholars of American religion. Learn More
In Breakfast with Einstein, Chad Orzel illuminates the strange phenomena lurking just beneath the surface of our ordinary lives by digging into the surprisingly complicated physics involved in his (and anyone's) morning routine. Learn More
Breaking the Two-Party Doom Loop makes a compelling case for large scale electoral reform—importantly, reform not requiring a constitutional amendment—that would give America more parties, making American democracy more representative, more responsive, and ultimately more stable. Learn More
A veteran journalist surveys the American political landscape and illuminates the evolution of the African-American politicianand the future of American democracy. Learn More
From breasts and orgasms to periods, pregnancies, and menopause―A Brief History of the Female Body is a fascinating science book explaining the mysteries of the female body through an evolutionary lens. Learn More
Our modern lives are ruled by clocks and watches, smartphone apps and calendar programs. While our gadgets may be new, however, the drive to measure and master time is anything but—and in A Brief History of Timekeeping, Chad Orzel traces the path from Stonehenge to your smartphone. Learn More
Our modern lives are ruled by clocks and watches, smartphone apps and calendar programs. While our gadgets may be new, however, the drive to measure and master time is anything but—and in A Brief History of Timekeeping, Chad Orzel traces the path from Stonehenge to your smartphone. Learn More
Brilliant, reminiscent of Lewis Hyde's The Gift in its reach and of Timothy Egan's The Worst Hard Time in its haunting evocation of human lives, offers a sweeping view of a surprisingly revealing aspect of human history—from the stone lamps of the Pleistocene to the LEDs embedded in fabrics of the future. Learn More
Following diamonds from African mines to the necklines of high society women, this international history shows why Jews were central to the transatlantic gem trade and its growth into a global industry. Learn More
A son’s quest to find the members of his father’s Marine company leads to a deeper understanding of the devastating Pacific battles of WWII—and the haunted men who came home from them. Learn More
In 1815, the British controlled the seas. Before the end of the nineteenth century, they ruled Australia, India, New Zealand, half of Africa, half of North America, and islands all around the globe. Theirs was the most powerful empire the world has ever known. Learn More
Broadway takes us on a mile-by-mile journey that traces the gradual evolution of the seventeenth-century's Brede Wegh, a muddy cow path in a backwater Dutch settlement, to the twentieth century's Great White Way. Learn More
The remarkable untold story of how the American Revolution's success depended on substantial military assistance provided by France and Spain, and places the Revolution in the context of the global strategic interests of those nations in their fight against England. Learn More