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.
A high-level insider's history of the efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, from 2000 Camp David Talks to the present, that explains why successive attempts have all failed. Learn More
In Strongmen, Ruth Ben-Ghiat lays bare the blueprint authoritarian leaders have followed over the past 100 years, and empowers us to recognize, resist, and prevent their disastrous rule in the future. Learn More
The inspiring tale of loss and redemption about two American servicemen: a Marine Corps pilot shot down in WWII and the modern-day soldier determined to bring him home six decades later. Learn More
The National Book Award finalist for Refund returns with a new collection of stories that boldly examines the changes in American culture over the last two years through the increasing presence of violence, bigotry, sexual harassment, and the emotional costs of living under constant threat. Learn More
Our nation is founded on the notion that the law is impartial, that legal cases are won or lost on the basis of evidence, careful reasoning and nuanced argument. But they may, in fact, turn on the camera angle of a defendants taped confession, the number of photos in a mug shot book, or a simple word choice during a cross-examination. In UNFAIR, law professor Adam Benforado shines a light on this troubling new research, showing, for example, that people with certain facial features receive longer sentences and that judges are far more likely to grant parole first thing in the morning. In fact, over the last two decades, psychologists and neuroscientists have uncovered many cognitive forces that operate beyond our conscious awarenessand Benforado argues that until we address these hidden biases head-on, the social inequality we see now will only widen, as powerful players and institutions find ways to exploit the weaknesses in our legal system. Learn More
Frans Gunnar Bengtsson's The Long Ships resurrects the fantastic world of the tenth century AD when the Vikings roamed and rampaged from the northern fastnesses of Scandinavia down to the Mediterranean. Learn More
In this revelatory work, Ruha Benjamin calls on us to take imagination seriously as a site of struggle and a place of possibility for reshaping the future. Learn More
Michael Bennet eloquently chronicles the dramatic full stories behind five debates and decisions crucial to all Americans, each of which exemplifies the hyper-partisan politics that have upended our democracy. Learn More
Thirty years ago, Chuck Berry starred in the seminal music documentary Chuck Berry: Hail! Hail! Rock 'N' Roll, which profiled the legend during a star-studded concert celebrating his sixtieth birthday. Now, on the heels of Berry's death, comes the complete story behind one of America's most enduring and embattled icons. Learn More
by Rodney Benson, Mattias Hessérus, Timothy Neff, Julie Sedel; read by Christopher P. Brown
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How Media Ownership Matters provides a fresh approach to understanding news media power, moving beyond the typical emphasis on market concentration or media moguls. Through a comparative analysis of the US, Sweden, and France, as well as interviews of news executives and editors and an original collection of industry data, this book maps and analyzes four ownership models: market, private, civil society, and public. Learn More
A chilling investigation of America's only alleged case of blood libel, and what it reveals about antisemitism in the United States and Europe. Learn More
by Eli Berman, Joseph H. Felter, and Jacob N. Shapiro, with Vestal McIntyre; read by John McLain
The way wars are fought has changed starkly over the past sixty years. International military campaigns used to play out between large armies at central fronts. Today's conflicts find major powers facing rebel insurgencies that deploy elusive methods, from improvised explosives to terrorist attacks. Small Wars, Big Data presents a transformative understanding of these contemporary confrontations and how they should be fought. Learn More
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
Refugee numbers are increasing due to a proliferation of fragile states, and this problem will be exacerbated by climate change and the impact of COVID-19. The Wealth of Refugees identifies approaches that can be effective in improving the welfare of refugees, increasing social cohesion between refugees and host communities, and reducing the need for onward migration. Learn More