Audiobooks narrated by Jonathan Todd Ross

The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: What Everyone Needs to Know®

No conflict in the world has lasted as long, generated as many news headlines, or incited as much controversy as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Yet, despite, or perhaps because of, the degree of international attention it receives, the conflict is still widely misunderstood. While Israelis and Palestinians and their respective supporters trade accusations, many outside observers remain confused by the conflict's complexity and perplexed by the passion it arouses. The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: What Everyone Needs to Know® offers an even-handed and judicious guide to the world's most intractable dispute. Writing in an engaging, jargon-free Q&A format, Dov Waxman provides clear and concise answers to common questions, from the most basic to the most contentious. Covering the conflict from its nineteenth-century origins to the latest developments of the twenty-first century, this book explains the key events, examines the core issues, and presents the competing claims and narratives of both sides. Listeners will learn what the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is all about, how it has evolved over time, and why it continues to defy diplomatic efforts at a resolution.

Dov Waxman (Author), Jonathan Todd Ross (Narrator)

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Late Ottoman Gaza: An Eastern Mediterranean Hub in Transformation

In contemporary public discourse, Gaza tends to be characterized solely as a theater of the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. However, little is known about Gaza's society, politics, economy, and culture during the Ottoman era. Drawing on a range of previously untapped local and imperial sources, Yuval Ben-Bassat and Johann Buessow explore the city's history from the mid-nineteenth century through WWI. They show that Gaza's historical importance extends far beyond the territory of the 'strip' since the city was an important hub for people, goods, and ideas in the Eastern Mediterranean from Antiquity until the twentieth century. Using new digital methodologies, Ben-Bassat and Buessow introduce listeners to the world of Gazans from various walks of life, from the traditional Muslim elites to the commoners and minority communities of Christians and Jews. In so doing, they tell the lively story of this significant but frequently misunderstood city.

David M. Glick, Johann Buessow, Katherine Levine Einstein, Maxwell Palmer, Yuval Ben-Bassat (Author), Jonathan Todd Ross (Narrator)

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Against the Grain: How Farmers around the Globe Are Transforming Agriculture to Nourish the World an

Farmers in some of the world's oldest agricultural areas were toiling year after year, only to find that modern industrial agriculture was turning on itself. Industrial agriculture's effects on our climate and environment were multiplying and worsening, until the very families growing the world's food were starving. They terraced the land to catch more rainwater and prevent soil runoff; they planted a diverse range of vegetables that would balance the nutrients in the soil; they replaced commercial fertilizers with organic matter from their own farms; they planted more trees and drought-resistant grains; and, perhaps most importantly, they taught their communities by example that these regenerative farming methods paid off—both in nourishing their families and in bringing their land back to life. Award-winning author and journalist Roger Thurow has traveled to Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, India, Guatemala, Peru, and the United States to share their stories, highlighting the conflicts inherent in our most important human endeavor: feeding the world using the methods of industrial agriculture is stripping the land of its ability to feed future generations. But these farmers are starting a new kind of revolution, nourishing both humans and the land, and following their lead could help us solve one of the great crises of our time.

Roger Thurow (Author), Jonathan Todd Ross (Narrator)

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Israel-Palestine: Federation or Apartheid?

What kind of political structure might one day enable Israelis and Palestinians to overcome the seemingly interminable cycle of violence and live in peace with one another? For many years, politicians and citizens have called for a two-state solution—two independent states, Israel and Palestine, coexisting side by side. This was Shlomo Sand's view too, but as more settlements were built in the occupied West Bank and millions of Palestinians were forced to live in a situation of de facto apartheid, deprived of their basic civil rights and political freedoms, he came to the conclusion that the two-state solution had become an empty formula that no one seriously intended to implement. It was in this context that Sand sought to find an alternative way out of the Israeli-Palestinian imbroglio. He discovered that some Zionists and other Jewish intellectuals had rejected the idea of an exclusive Jewish state and had supported moves to create a binational federation. They believed that only egalitarian integration within the framework of a common state would ensure that Israel could be a safe haven for all of its inhabitants. While the chances of realizing this egalitarian vision may seem remote in the current hostile context, it may well be that a binational state in which Israelis and Palestinians are treated as equals is the only realistic solution in the end.

Shlomo Sand (Author), Jonathan Todd Ross (Narrator)

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The Childfree Guide to Life and Money: Make Your Finances Simple So Your Life Without Kids Can Be Am

Design the life you want, then create the right financial plan to get you there. Financial planning looks vastly different for DINKs (dual-income, no kids) and SINKs (single-income, no kids). But nearly all the advice out there assumes you have children or will have them someday. Everything from pursuing the kind of career you want; deciding whether you want to buy a house, rent, or hit the road as a digital nomad; to planning and filing taxes; budgeting and investing your money; and getting set up for retirement or your later years is different. Simply said: When you aren't following the Standard LifeScript (go to college, get married, buy a house, have kids), you have the time, money, and freedom to do what you want. Childfree Wealth Specialist® Dr. Jay Zigmont flips FIRE—Financial Independence, Retire Early—on its head, showing how people without kids can live the FILE life—Financial Independence, LIVE Early—by following his eight No-Baby Steps. Whether you're single, coupled up, or planning the perfect Golden Girls living arrangement with your best friends, The Childfree Guide to Life and Money is the most comprehensive resource for designing your life, figuring out your finances, and living your best life.

Jay Zigmont PhD MBA CFP, Jay Zigmont PhD, Mba, Cfp (Author), Jonathan Todd Ross (Narrator)

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Thing of Beauty: The Tragedy of Supermodel Gia

At seventeen, Gia Carangi was working the counter at her father's Philadelphia luncheonette. Within a year, she was one of the world's top models, gracing the covers of Cosmopolitan and Vogue, partying at Studio 54, and redefining the fashion industry's standard of beauty. But behind the glitz and fame, Gia was a young woman in pain, desperate for her mother's approval and facing a drug addiction that quickly spun out of control. With dizzying speed, she went from $10,000-a-day fashion shoots to using drugs on the streets of New York and Atlantic City before finally being blackballed from modeling. At twenty-six, Gia once again made history as one of the first famous women to die of AIDS. This 'chilling tale' (The Boston Globe), based on hundreds of interviews with friends, family, lovers, and fashionistas (the term author Stephen Fried coined for her industry colleagues), is comprehensively explored in this must-listen biography that will introduce Gia to a new generation. It is also a powerful exploration of our society's views of beauty and sexuality, fame and objectification, mothers and daughters, love and death.

Stephen Fried (Author), Jonathan Todd Ross (Narrator)

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Don’t Go: Stories of Segregation and How to Disrupt It

Multiple times a day, in cities across the US and beyond, a simple yet powerful message is repeated by the well-meaning, the ignorant, and the bigoted: “don’t go” – avoid at all costs those Black and Brown disinvested neighborhoods that have become bywords for social disorder and urban decay. This book is a collection of intimate stories and evocative photos that uncover the hidden influence of both subtle and overt “don’t go” messages and the segregation they perpetuate in Chicago. Told by everyday people to Tonika Lewis Johnson and Maria Krysan – a Black artist and a White academic who met through their shared passion for anti-segregation work – the stories paint a rich picture of life in a segregated city. One by one, the storytellers upend pessimism with candid, deeply personal, humorous, and heartbreaking tales, and with novel ideas for simple actions that can serve as antidotes to both racism and “place-ism.” By inviting readers into the lives of regular people who have ignored the warning to stay away from “don’t go” neighborhoods or who live in those very same neighborhoods, the stories in Don’t Go illuminate the devastating consequences of racial segregation and disinvestment as well as the inevitable rewards of coming together.

Maria Krysan, Tonika Lewis Johnson (Author), Cindy Kay, Jasmin Walker, Jonathan Todd Ross, Kevin R. Free, Lynnette R. Freeman, Maria Krysan, Marisol Ramirez, Nan McNamara, Robb Moreira, TBD, Tonika Lewis Johnson (Narrator)

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Everyday Leadership: Taking Charge in the Real World

Everyday Leadership examines how individuals in everyday, relatively small settings can succeed in leadership positions. The book provides tools for tackling the unique psychological and external challenges that everyday leaders face, and offers principles that they can adapt to their own situations. Dr. Ahron Friedberg, who regularly advises leaders and would-be leaders, emphasizes the social aspect of leadership, and explores how those who are new to leadership—and those in established positions—can leverage their support networks and thrive in their roles. The book follows the experience of real people who have faced leadership challenges and learned from them, demonstrating how listeners can learn from these examples and apply them to their own circumstances. Guided by a practical leadership roadmap, chapters examine concepts such as vision, determination, flexibility, planning, organization, and responsibility using extensive case studies, with reflective questions and key takeaways that help the listener consider how to apply these principles to their own leadership challenges. This book is a must-listen for HR professionals, executive coaches, management consultants, leadership trainers, and organizational psychologists as well as those facing leadership challenges in their profession.

Ahron Friedberg M.D. (Author), Jonathan Todd Ross (Narrator)

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Then I Am Myself the World: What Consciousness Is and How to Expand It

The world's leading investigator of consciousness argues that by understanding what consciousness does—cause change in the world—we can understand its origins and its future In Then I Am Myself the World, Christof Koch explores the only thing we directly experience: consciousness. At the book's heart is integrated-information theory, the idea that the essence of consciousness is the ability to exert causal power over itself, to be an agent of change. Koch investigates the physical origins of consciousness in the brain and how this knowledge can be used to measure consciousness in natural and artificial systems. Enabled by such tools, Koch reveals when and where consciousness exists, and uses that knowledge to confront major social and scientific questions: When does a fetus first become self-aware? Can psychedelic and mystical experiences transform lives? What happens to consciousness in near-death experiences? Why will generative AI ultimately be able to do the very thing we can do, yet never feel any of it? And do our experiences reveal a single, objective reality? This is an essential book for anyone who seeks to understand ourselves and the future we are creating.

Christof Koch (Author), Jonathan Todd Ross (Narrator)

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Ten Myths About Israel

The myths and reality behind the state of Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict—from 'the most eloquent writer on Palestinian history' (New Statesman) The outspoken and radical Israeli historian Ilan Pappe examines the most contested ideas concerning the origins and identity of the contemporary state of Israel. The 'ten myths'—repeated endlessly in the media, enforced by the military, and accepted without question by the world's governments—reinforce the regional status quo and include: Palestine was an empty land at the time of the Balfour Declaration; the Jews were a people without a land; there is no difference between Zionism and Judaism; Zionism is not a colonial project of occupation; the Palestinians left their Homeland voluntarily in 1948; the June 1967 War was a war of 'No Choice'; Israel is the only Democracy in the Middle East; the Oslo Mythologies; the Gaza Mythologies; and the Two-State Solution. For students, activists, and anyone interested in better understanding the news, Ten Myths About Israel is another groundbreaking study of the Israel-Palestine conflict from the author of The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine.

Ilan Pappe (Author), Jonathan Todd Ross (Narrator)

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A Very Short History of the Israel–Palestine Conflict

An indispensable guide to understanding the Israel–Palestine conflict, and how we might yet still find a way out of it. 'Ilan Pappe is the most original, radical and hard-hitting of Israel's 'new historians.'' —Avi Shlaim, author of Three Worlds The devastation of 7 October 2023 and the horrors that followed astounded the world. But the Israel–Palestine conflict didn't start on 7 October. It didn't start in 1967 either, when Israel occupied the West Bank, or in 1948 when the state of Israel was declared. It started in 1882, when the first Zionist settlers arrived in what was then Ottoman Palestine. Ilan Pappe untangles the history of two peoples, now sharing one land. Going back to the founding fathers of Zionism, Pappe expertly takes us through the twists and turns of international policy towards Israel–Palestine, Palestinian resistance to occupation, and the changes taking place in Israel itself.

Ilan Pappe (Author), Jonathan Todd Ross (Narrator)

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Saving Sam: The True Story of an American's Disappearance in Syria and His Family's Extraordinary Fi

A gripping testament of resilience, family, and faith, this is the incredible and true story of an American traveler who was captured and wrongfully imprisoned in Syria while on a journey to experience every country in the world. What would you do if your son suddenly disappeared in Syria, and you had no idea what had happened to him? Would you contact the FBI? The State Department? Pray? Would you Google "What to do if your son disappears in Syria"? When the unthinkable happened, the answer, in the case of Ann Goodwin and her husband Tag, was: all of the above. Their 30-year-old son Sam, who was attempting to become one of the few people in history to travel to every single country on the planet, vanished in a supposed safe-zone run by the Kurds on the Turkish border. At first, they didn't even realize he had been abducted: maybe the phone reception had gone down, they told themselves, as had happened plenty of times before when Sam was in an off-the-beaten-path place. Just wait, he'll call back soon. But Sam never did call back, and over the coming days, the horror of their situation quickly bore down on the Goodwins, a devout Catholic family of seven living a middle-class suburban lifestyle in St. Louis, Missouri. Frustrated and increasingly terrified, the Goodwin's came to realize that they couldn't rely on their government to save Sam. They were going to have to do it themselves. This is the extraordinary story of Sam's abduction by the Syrian regime, who threatened to hand him over to ISIS for beheading if he did not confess to being a CIA spy. It's also the story of a Midwestern American family who transformed themselves into their own detective agency, building up a network of journalists, hostage negotiators, Middle East experts, Russian diplomats, Vatican envoys, and shady mercenaries, until eventually - by nothing short of a miracle - they found a secret backdoor into the heart of the Syrian intelligence service itself. Through multiple first-person narrators, Saving Sam recounts an inspiring and unforgettable saga that includes a travel journey to every country in the world, famous celebrities, heads of state, high-stakes diplomacy and critical life lessons around curiosity, uncertainty, prayer and what it ultimately means to be free. In a genuine, straightforward and sometimes humorous style, Sam draws on his experience as a hostage to demonstrate how we can all turn our own adversities into assets, whether it be in our personal, professional or spiritual lives.

Sam Goodwin (Author), Aaran Abano, Barbara Henslee, Erin Deward, Jonathan Todd Ross, Sam Goodwin, Tbd (Narrator)

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Audiobooks Narrated by Jonathan Todd Ross