Audiobooks narrated by Dan Bittner

Reinventing the Heartland: How One City’s Inclusive Approach to Innovation and Growth Can Revive the

The story of one Heartland city's efforts to reinvent itself for the innovation age is a powerful example of the change America needs. Every city in America wants to become a tech hub, yet so few succeed-and that's the problem. Tech jobs, venture capital, and R&D are concentrated in a handful of big coastal cities, while the broad middle of the country is left out. But to thrive in the twenty-first century, cities must create innovation economies of their own and grow in more inclusive ways. In January 2020, Nicholas Lalla founded Tulsa Innovation Labs to help Tulsa, Oklahoma transition from its oil and gas legacy to tech. Lalla's organization would go on to build the first tech-led economic development strategy in northeast Oklahoma's history, raise over $200 million, and create thousands of tech jobs. This success catalyzed a massive, city-wide endeavor-the first time in American history a city has dedicated itself in such a concerted way to becoming a player in the innovation economy. Drawing upon Lalla's experience in Tulsa, Reinventing the Heartland lays out a bold and pragmatic plan for urban reinvention, showing cities how to reorient their entire civic ecosystems toward inclusive tech-led growth. Each chapter covers a core plank of the action plan-from how cities can establish their own tech niche based on existing assets to how they can rapidly up-skill talent in the era of AI to how to build urban-rural partnerships and compete for federal funding as a region. In Reinventing the Heartland, Lalla provides the path forward, not just for Tulsa, but for any city ready to embrace the future.

Nicholas Lalla (Author), Dan Bittner, TBD (Narrator)

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Homestand: Small Town Baseball and the Fight for the Soul of America

A poignant memoir exploring small town baseball as a lens into what's right and wrong with modern America-written by an acclaimed journalist who went from Princeton to U.S. Army Ranger School to Iraq in search of the core values he ended up finding in a minor league stadium in Batavia, New York. What happens when a minor league team-that has been the heart and soul of a modest upstate New York town-is shut down by the billionaires who run Major League Baseball? Batavia, New York-between Rochester and Buffalo-was a bastion of small town baseball where the professional game had been played uninterrupted since 1897. Many jobs have evaporated or gone overseas, but its good families haven't, and one remaining jewel of Batavia is the Muckdogs' quirky ballpark that attracts a hefty portion of the local population from June to August every year. In Homestand, acclaimed author and journalist Will Bardenwerper explores the question 'What is baseball?,' and uses that as a lens to explore 'What is America today.' Introducing a vibrant and unforgettable cast of characters, Bardenwerper exposes the beating heart of small-town America and its love of baseball-even as Major League Baseball is on a little-disguised mission to control the sport from the very top, closing down many minor league teams across the country. The Batavia Muckdogs were one of the victims of MLB contraction-shut down unceremoniously in 2021. But the town fought back and a new version of the Muckdogs arose, playing in a summer league comprised of mostly college players and prospects. The town rallied, and the sounds and sights of local baseball on summer nights continued. Tickets and draft beer and hot dogs were still affordable. Kids were still starry-eyed and seeking autographs before games. Meanwhile, in other minor leagues, the mom-and-pop advertisements in center field are replaced by corporate ad sales controlled by New York marketing managers, and locally printed game programs and neighborhood teens working the ticket windows are replaced by convenient 'scan your ticket through the app at the kiosk and click the link to see today's lineup and pop-up advertisements from Google.'… But at the heart of Homestand, Bardenwerper searches the back roads of America for things that are still good and pure, for the crack of a bat in a small town under the summer stars-and he finds it.

Will Bardenwerper (Author), Dan Bittner, TBD (Narrator)

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Rejection

‘A thrill for the sickos among us’ JIA TOLENTINO ‘Utterly inimitable’ RAVEN LEILANI ‘Unrelentingly brutal and gut-bustingly funny and spares no one’ CARMEN MARIA MACHADO 'Symbiotically serious and funny' MEGAN NOLAN 'The funniest, darkest thing' ST VINCENT LONGLISTED FOR THE 2024 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD IN FICTION An audacious, original and unforgettable novel-in-stories that follows a cast of intricately linked characters as rejection throws their lives and relationships into chaos. Sharply observant and outrageously funny, Rejection is a provocative plunge into the thorniest problems of modern life: sex, relationships, identity and the internet. We see a young man’s passionate allyship turn to a furious and debilitating nihilism as he realizes, over thirty lonely years, that his feminism isn’t getting him laid; a young woman’s unrequited crush spirals into borderline obsession and the systematic destruction of both her sense of self and her group chat; and witness a shy late bloomer’s flailing efforts at a first relationship lead to a life-upending mistake. As these characters pop up in each other’s dating apps and social media feeds, or meet in dimly lit bars and bedrooms, they reveal the ways that our delusions can warp our desire for connection. Written with the accomplished authority of a modern classic and the manic intensity of a losers’ manifesto, Rejection by Tony Tulathimutte radically redefines what it means to be rejected by lovers, friends, society and oneself. ‘A book of mad, madcap genius’ Garth Greenwell ‘He writes about these things in the way Anthony Bourdain wrote about restaurants… Tulathimutte is a big talent’ The New York Times Book Review ‘Blistering … takes a magnifying glass to the mind in the internet age’ Vogue ‘There’s a volatile thrill to the writing … snortingly funny’ Wall Street Journal ‘Obsessively readable, acerbic, Foster Wallace–inflected’ Vanity Fair ‘A master comedian with a virtuoso prose style … audacious, original and highly disturbing’ New York Times Magazine A Book of the Year in Wall Street Journal, New York Times, New Yorker, NPR, Time Magazine, Vanity Fair, Esquire, Kirkus Review and Electric Literature.

Tony Tulathimutte (Author), Allyson Ryan, André Santana, Dan Bittner, Eunice Wong, Madeleine Maby, Marcha Kia, Micky Shiloah, Quincy Surasmith (Narrator)

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Berserk of Gluttony (Light Novel) Vol. 7

THE SINS OF WRATH Fate finally locates Myne in Hausen, the domain of which he is lord and protector. It has always been Fate's aim to save Myne from herself, but now the alternative comes at too high a cost to bear: should Fate fail to rescue his errant companion, the mysterious Libra threatens to rain destruction on everything he holds dear. But Fate will have to overcome more than Myne in the depths of Hausen--he'll have to face the darkness of her past and the truth of their forsaken world.

Isshiki Ichika, fame (Author), Dan Bittner (Narrator)

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Berserk of Gluttony (Light Novel) Vol. 6

HUNGRY HUNTER Fate has a new quest: chase down Myne and close the Door to Distant Lands--and maybe get some answers out of his resurrected father. This time, however, he's heading out with a whole party in tow, including Eris, Memil, and Roxy. But Fate's not the only one wrestling with this new camaraderie. Roxy's glad to finally be fighting by Fate's side, but she knows she won't be able to stay there unless she too reaches the Domain of E...if she can survive it.

Isshiki Ichika, fame (Author), Dan Bittner (Narrator)

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Berserk of Gluttony (Light Novel) Vol. 5

FRIEND, FOE--AND FAMILY Myne's disappearance has left Fate reeling, but as the new head of the Barbatos family, he must be strong. At first he's focused on reforging a bond with his former tormenter and new sister, Memil. Then a grim encounter critically endangers Roxy's soul, and Fate must find a way to protect her before his Gluttony devours her once and for all. But as he searches, unexpected answers to old mysteries begin to emerge--and the truths Fate uncovers about his own heritage prove as dangerous and strange as they are difficult to swallow.

Isshiki Ichika, fame (Author), Dan Bittner (Narrator)

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That Deserves a Wow: Untold Stories of Legends and Champions, Their Wins and Heartbreaks

The Emmy Award–winning FOX Sports broadcaster provides a front row seat to some of the most memorable moments in sports history. Emmy Award–winning broadcaster Chris Myers reflects on his illustrious career as one of the most trusted and renowned journalists in sports. Myers has witnessed and participated in his fair share of historic events: on the field when the earthquake struck the 1989 World Series; on the air throughout the tragic aftermath of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics bombing; on the sidelines during the Patriots’ stunning comeback at Super Bowl LI; and a contentious live interview with the notorious OJ Simpson. Now Myers offers an inside look at all these moments and more, revealing the joys and pressures of working with the world’s most famous athletes and sharing the experiences and interactions that never made it on screen. He takes readers behind the scenes with the biggest names in sports, including Mike Tyson, Muhammed Ali, Tom Brady, John Wooden, Bill Belichick, Charles Barkley, Barry Bonds, Serena Williams, Jack Nicklaus, Pete Sampras, and even Bill Murray. Through it all, Chris captures a community that is bigger than sports, one that has banded together through triumph and tragedy, providing lessons about excellence, compassion, and connection.

Chris Myers (Author), Chris Myers, Dan Bittner (Narrator)

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Berserk of Gluttony (Light Novel) Vol. 4

ROTTEN TO THE CORE Blessed with new power after his trials in Galia, Fate returns to Seifort. He intends to wield his influence to uplift the downtrodden--those forsaken by the world for their 'unnecessary' skills. But standing in his way are his cruel old employers, the powerful Vlerick family. Now, in order to save the soul of Seifort, Fate must expose the terrifying truth hidden within the Vlerick estate.

Isshiki Ichika, fame (Author), Dan Bittner (Narrator)

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Berserk of Gluttony (Light Novel) Vol. 3

HEART OF DARKNESS At last, Fate reachers Babylon, the border town on the edge of Galia where Roxy is stationed. But the moment Fate arrives, a mysterious woman calling herself Eris intercepts him to deliver an ominous message: 'Roxy Hart must die.' If Fate wants to rescue the girl who saved him, he must journey into the heart of vast, monster-ridden Galia and face whatever darkness lies within.

Isshiki Ichika, fame (Author), Dan Bittner (Narrator)

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Berserk of Gluttony (Light Novel) Vol. 2

THE ROAD TO HELL Fate wants nothing more than to save Roxy from certain death in Galia, a death to which her fellow holy knights condemned her. As he follows Roxy's trail, he encounters a Galian girl he once met: Myne, who wields a black axe that eerily resembles Fate's own black sword. Myne agrees to help Fate fight the monsters between him and Galia--but once they get there, he must repay her favor in kind.

Isshiki Ichika, fame (Author), Dan Bittner (Narrator)

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Berserk of Gluttony (Light Novel) Vol. 1

HE'LL DEVOUR YOUR SOUL Fate Graphite is one of the forsaken. Cursed with the skill 'Gluttony,' he is ever starving, never sated...until the day he kills a dying thief and devours the man's strength--and his soul. The true hunger of Fate's Gluttony has awakened, and if he can learn to control his power, he will at last be the master of his own destiny.

Isshiki Ichika, fame (Author), Dan Bittner (Narrator)

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If You Can't Take the Heat

From James Beard award-winning author Michael Ruhlman, a coming-of-age story about finding a new life and love in the kitchen…and trying not to get burned along the way. When high school football star Theo Claverback breaks his leg just weeks after a devastating break-up, he's forced to call an audible on his summer plans and put his college ones on hold. He soon finds himself in the most unlikely of places for a jock on crutches: the kitchen of an upscale French restaurant, where he'll work as a prep cook while his heart and leg heal. But it's in the kitchen where Theo finds new purpose and a new romance. As he becomes a trusted employee to Chef and is welcomed into his inner circle, Theo begins to discover the true costs of running a restaurant-and what happens when you get into hot water with the wrong people. Set in Cleveland, Ohio in 1980, If You Can't Take the Heat is a gritty look inside the belly of an upscale kitchen where love and danger boil behind closed doors.

Michael Ruhlman (Author), Dan Bittner, TBD (Narrator)

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Audiobooks Narrated by Dan Bittner