Science & Technology Audiobooks | Biography & Memoir

The Shetland Way: Community and Climate Crisis on my Father's Islands

A memoir and investigation exploring loss, community and the climate crisis in the Shetland Islands by environmental journalist Marianne Brown When Marianne Brown arrived in Voe, Shetland, to attend the funeral of her father, she had packed enough clothes to last a short trip. But this was February 2020, just weeks before the UK’s first lockdown, and she would be unable to leave for another six months. Shetland is a place bound together by community, history and culture. But when a huge windfarm is greenlit to export energy to mainland Scotland, it creates rifts between neighbours, friends and even families. One side supports the benefit to a planet spiralling into climate disaster; the other challenges the impact on an environment with an already struggling wildlife population. As an environmental journalist, Marianne is drawn to investigate this story of sustainable energy that is irrevocably tied to her grief. But nothing is ever straightforward, and she soon finds herself on a transformative journey into the heart of a debate that mirrors global concerns about how we save the planet.

Marianne Brown (Author), To Be Announced (Narrator)

Audiobook

Sharks Don't Sink: Adventures of a Rogue Shark Scientist

From a marine biologist and co-founder of Minorities in Shark Sciences, a powerful debut memoir: the uplifting story of a young Black scientist's challenging journey to flourish outside the traditional confines of academia, inspired by her innate connection to nature's most misunderstood animal-the shark. You never forget your first shark. For Jasmin Graham, it was a little bonnethead, a type of hammerhead shark: three feet long, gray with a white underbelly, rough-skinned, strongly muscled, and beautiful. Jasmin fell in love: with sharks, and with science. Though she tried to follow the traditional path to becoming a marine biologist, she soon found that, in a field where it was harder to find other young women of color than the elusive elasmobranchii (sharks, rays, skates, and sawfish) she sought, navigating the choppy waters of traditional academic study was no longer worth it. So Jasmin quit. But that didn't mean abandoning her passion: rather, Jasmin sought to pursue it in another way, joining with three other Black women to form Minorities in Shark Sciences (MISS), an organization dedicated to providing support and opportunities for other young women of color pursuing the fascinating and environmentally essential work of marine studies. Jasmin became an independent researcher: a rogue shark scientist, learning how to keep those endangered but precious sharks swimming free-just like her. Sharks Don't Sink is a riveting, moving, and ultimately triumphant memoir at the intersection of science and social justice: a guidebook to how we can all learn to respect and protect some of nature's most misunderstood and vulnerable creatures-and grant the same grace to ourselves.

Jasmin Graham (Author), Jasmin Graham, TBD (Narrator)

Audiobook

Origin Story: The Trials of Charles Darwin

By early morning of June 30, 1860, a large crowd began to congregate in front of Oxford University's brand-new Museum of Natural History. The occasion was the annual meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, and the subject of discussion was Charles Darwin's new treatise: fact or fiction? Darwin claimed to have solved 'that mystery of mysteries,' introducing a logical explanation of the origin of species-how they adapted, even transmogrified, through natural selection. At stake, on that summer's day of spirited debate, was the very foundation of modern biology, not to mention the future of the church. Without fear of exaggeration, Darwin's thesis would forever change our understanding of the life sciences and the natural world. And yet the author himself was nowhere to be found in the debate hall-instead, he was miles away, seeking respite from a spate of illnesses that had plagued him for much of his adult life. In Origin Story, medical historian Howard Markel recounts the two-year period (1858 to 1860) of Darwin's writing of On the Origin of Species through its spectacular success and controversy. Simultaneously, Markel delves into the mysterious health symptoms Darwin developed, combing the literature to emerge with a cogent diagnosis of a case that has long fascinated medical historians.

Howard Markel (Author), Mike Cooper (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Big Freeze: A Reporter's Personal Journey into the World of Egg Freezing and the Quest to Contro

A fascinating investigation into the lucrative, minimally regulated, fast-growing industry of egg freezing, from a young reporter on a personal journey into the world of cutting-edge reproductive medicine. Ovaries. Most women have two; journalist Natalie Lampert has only one-and then in her early twenties she almost lost it, along with her ability to ever have biological children. Doctors urged her to freeze her eggs, and Lampert started asking questions. The Big Freeze is the story of Lampert's personal quest to investigate the multi-billion-dollar femtech industry, and egg freezing specifically, in order to decide the best way to preserve her own fertility. She attended flashy egg-freezing parties, visited high-priced fertility clinics, talked to dozens of women who have frozen their eggs, toured the facility in Italy where the technology was developed, and even attended a memorial service for thousands of accidentally destroyed embryos. What was once science fiction is now simply science: Fertility can be frozen in time. Between 2009 and 2021, nearly 100,000 women in the U.S. opted to freeze their eggs. Along with in vitro fertilization, egg freezing is touted as a way for women to "have it all" by conquering their biological clocks, in line with the global trend of delaying childbirth. A generation after the Pill, this revolutionary technology offers a new kind of freedom for women-career-focused ones in particular. But does egg freezing give women real agency or just the illusion of it? A personal and deeply researched guide to the pros, cons, and many facets of this wildly popular technology, The Big Freeze is a page-turning exploration of the quest to control fertility, with invaluable information that answers the questions women have been afraid to ask-or didn't know they should ask in the first place.

Natalie Lampert (Author), Natalie Lampert, TBD (Narrator)

Audiobook

Forever Max: The lasting adventures of the world's most loved dog

The heartwarming, inspiring final chapter in the life of Max the Miracle dog A dog can be more than just a best friend. Sometimes they can be our hero. Shortly after a traumatic car accident, Kerry Irving met Max, a Springer Spaniel who completely changed his life. But Max didn’t stop there. For over ten years, he was a source of inspiration to countless others around the world, with hundreds of thousands of pounds being raised in his name. His was truly a life well lived. Forever Max sees Kerry and his trusted companion take on their final adventures around the Lake District, from providing joy to those stuck inside through lockdown to adjusting to Max’s twilight years – helped along every step of the way by fellow spaniels Paddy and Harry. Following on from the bestseller Max the Miracle Dog, this touching tribute celebrates a much-loved, much-missed dog and his incredible legacy.

Kerry Irving (Author), Marston York, TBD (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Maps We Carry: Psychedelics, Trauma and Our New Path to Mental Health

‘Rose Cartwright breaks all our old certainties and liberates us to approach our mental struggles with new humanity and creativity. The book cannot fail to interest anyone concerned with their mind’s bewildering beautiful complexities’ ALAIN DE BOTTON –––––––––––––––––––––– What if treating misery as a medical problem is making us miserable? Fact: Someone dies by suicide every 40 seconds. Fact: Antidepressant use in the West has more than doubled in the last two decades. Fact: Despite great leaps forward in other branches of medicine, no biological test can currently diagnose any mental health problem. So where are we going wrong? In this revolutionary book, Rose Cartwright reveals how the failure of the mental health system to cure her OCD led her to radical action. While she explored her trauma through a series of mind-bending psychedelic trips, Rose started to interrogate our dominant medical paradigm. What if people’s intense distress is not a symptom of illness, but a desperate expression of our need for love and connection? Rose set out on a quest to draw a new map of mental health, interviewing experts in psychiatry and neuroscience along the way: what she discovered will have implications for generations to come.

Rose Cartwright (Author), Rose Cartwright, To Be Announced (Narrator)

Audiobook

Beyond the Wager: The Christian Brilliance of Blaise Pascal

Blaise Pascal, the seventeenth-century French philosopher and scientist, is perhaps best known for his 'wager,' an argument about the existence of God. But there was much more to Pascal and his brilliance. In this accessible and well-documented study, philosopher Douglas Groothuis introduces listeners to Pascal's life as well as the breadth of his intellectual pursuits, including his contributions to mathematics, science, ethics, and theology. Groothuis overviews the key points of Pascal's Pensees, which captures his thoughts about God, humanity, and Jesus Christ. Listeners will also explore Pascal's views on a range of topics, including culture, politics, Islam, and miracles. Often quoted and often misunderstood, Pascal is a complex figure whose writings have charmed, puzzled, and inspired readers across the centuries. With guidance from a leading Christian thinker and longtime student of Pascal, Beyond the Wager takes you on a journey to discover the riches Pascal has to offer today.

Douglas Groothuis (Author), Lyle Blaker (Narrator)

Audiobook

Breakthrough: How to Think Like a Scientist, Learn How to Fail and Embrace the Unknown

Brought to you by Penguin. Science helps us to understand ourselves in a world where we often feel like strangers - but what we know about the world around us, what has already been explored and discovered is only half of science's story. Unexplained will explore the frontier between what we do and don't know about the world: where knowledge meets mystery, complexity overwhelms certainty, and the vastness of our universe unspools the logic of science's established laws. Dr Camilla Pang will teach you to embrace the beauty in the unexplained and fall in love with the search for unknown answers. Camilla will look at some of the biggest mysteries facing science today, and more importantly, how some of the best scientists in the world are exploring them. Their approaches to scientific observation, hypothesis, exploration, troubleshooting and discovery can teach us valuable lessons about the mysteries of our own lives. There's a scientist hidden inside all of us, an explorer who wants to harness what motivates us, explore the grey areas in our lives and understand how our world - beset by new technology and ubiquitous information - is constantly changing. We can all learn something from the spirit of exploration and discovery that science demands. Its greatest gift to us is not formulae, not techniques and laws, but enabling the urge to discover that makes us truly human. ©2024 Camilla Pang (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Camilla Pang (Author), Dr Camilla Pang, TBD (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Asteroid Hunter: A Scientist's Journey to the Dawn of our Solar System

A "captivating, behind-the-scenes account" of NASA's historic OSIRIS-REx mission to return an asteroid sample and unlock the mystery of formation on life on earth braided with the remarkable life story of the mission's leader, Dr. Dante Lauretta (Sara Seager). On September 11, 1999, humanity made a monumental discovery in the vastness of space. Scientists uncovered an asteroid of immense scientific importance-a colossal celestial entity. As massive as an aircraft carrier and towering as high as the iconic Empire State Building, this cosmic titan was later named Bennu. Remarkable for much more than its size, Bennu belonged to a rare breed of asteroids capable of revealing the essence of life itself. But just as Bennu became a beacon of promise, researchers identified a grave danger. Hurtling through space, it threatens to collide with our planet on September 24, 2182. Leading the expedition was Dr. Dante Lauretta, the Principal Investigator of NASA's audacious OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample Return Mission. Tasked with unraveling Bennu's mysteries, his team embarked on a daring quest to retrieve a precious sample from the asteroid's surface - one that held the potential to not only unlock the secrets of life's origins but also to avert an unprecedented catastrophe. A tale of destiny and danger, The Asteroid Hunter chronicles the high-stakes mission firsthand, narrated by Dr. Lauretta. It offers readers an intimate glimpse into the riveting exploits of the mission and Dr. Lauretta's wild, winding personal journey to Bennu and back. Peeling back the curtain on the wonders of the cosmos, this enthralling account promises a rare glimpse into the tightly woven fabric of scientific exploration, where technical precision converges with humanity's profound curiosity and indominable spirit.

Dante Lauretta (Author), Brian May, Dante Lauretta, TBD (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Science Museum Stephen Hawking Genius at Work: Explore his life, mind and science through the ob

An intimate exploratory tour of Stephen Hawking's office, providing a unique insight into the mind of a genius, the things that inspired him and explanations of his seminal theories. A behind-the scenes tour of the inner sanctum of one of the world's most prominent scientific thinkers. In 2021, the Science Museum made a once-in-a-lifetime acquisition of the contents of Stephen Hawking's office. This audiobook delves into that remarkable collection, using the seminal papers, items and curiosities in his office to explain his theories and reveal more about one of the greatest minds in modern science. It's an unprecedented glimpse into the life of the best-known scientist of modern times. Roger Highfield OBE is the Science Director of the Science Museum Group. Roger has visiting professorships at the Department of Chemistry, UCL, and at the Dunn School, University of Oxford, is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, and a member of the Medical Research Council and Longitude Committee. He has written or co-authored ten popular science books, including two bestsellers. The Science Museum is part of the Science Museum Group, the world’s leading group of science museums that share a world-class collection providing an enduring record of scientific, technological and medical achievements from across the globe. © 2024 Roger Highfield © 2024 DK Audio

Roger Highfield (Author), Keith Wickham, Roger Highfield (Narrator)

Audiobook

100 Great Scientists Who Changed the World

'If I saw further than others it is because I was standing on the shoulders of giants.' - Sir Isaac Newton This audiobook introduces 100 of these giants of scientific discovery: the men and women who, often in the face of extreme skepticism or worse, have striven and succeeded in pushing back the boundaries of human knowledge. Ranging across the spectrum of scientific endeavor, from the cosmology of Copernicus and Galileo, to the medical revolutions of Hippocrates and Galen, it includes the fields of physics, biology, chemistry and genetics. Spanning from the ancient world to the 20th century, these figures include: - Aristotle - Leonardo di Vinci - Benjamin Franklin - Isaac Newton - Stephen Hawking 100 Great Scientists Who Changed the World provides riveting insight into the men and women who shaped the world today.

John Balchin (Author), Colin Mace (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Backwoods of Everywhere: Words From a Wandering Local

Throughout personal essays spiked with humor and natural science, archaeologist R. E. Burrillo widens his range beyond his popular Behind the Bears Ears. After an upstate New York childhood and a bartending stint in New Orleans's French Quarter, seasonal resort work led R. E. Burrillo to the desert Southwest, whose redrock landscapes were a source of stability through mental and physical illness. In The Backwoods of Everywhere, archaeologist Burrillo excavates his past, examining Indigenous and tourist cultures, the complexities of American archaeology, and what it means to be a local. From the ancient canal systems of Phoenix, Arizona, to the modern Mayan communities of the Yucatan Peninsula, to the depths of the Grand Canyon, Burrillo brings listeners on an entertaining romp chock-full of history, ecology, cultural preservation, and personal stories. In the vein of Bill Bryson, Tim Cahill, and Ellen Meloy, Burrillo's is a fresh voice in humor-spiked nature writing and cultural commentary. Running throughout the wide-ranging topics of The Backwoods of Everywhere are themes of place and locality, and how these vary between cultures and individuals. Marrying the intensely personal with the complex and technical, Burrillo's candid voice brings humor, wonder, irony, and wit to each thought-provoking essay.

R. E. Burrillo (Author), Kyle Burrow (Narrator)

Audiobook

Science & Technology Audiobooks in Biography & Memoir