Audiobooks narrated by Jonathan Todd Ross

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 (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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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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Lobbying for Zionism on Both Sides of the Atlantic

Revealed: How pro-Israel lobbying groups influence the Middle East policies of Britain, the US, and others In 1896, a Jewish state was a pipe dream. Today the overwhelming majority of Jews identify as Zionists. How did this happen? Ilan Pappe unveils how a lobby changed the map of the Middle East. Zionists exerted pressure on the Congress, cracked down on dissent in the Labour Party, and relentlessly smeared critics. Groups funded by the Israeli state pushed for unprecedented military aid, recognition of unlawfully occupied territories, and the erasure of Palestinian rights. Lobbying for Zionism shows us how a dangerous consensus was built—and how it might be dismantled.

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

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You Are What You Watch: How Movies and TV Affect Everything

Pulitzer Prize-winning author and data expert Walt Hickey explains the power of entertainment to change our biology, our beliefs, how we see ourselves, and how nations gain power. Virtually anyone who has ever watched a profound movie, a powerful TV show, or read a moving novel understands that entertainment can and does affect us in surprising and significant ways. But did you know that our most popular forms of entertainment can have a direct physical effect on us, a measurable impact on society, geopolitics, the economy, and even the future itself? In You Are What You Watch, Walter Hickey—Pulitzer Prize winner and former chief culture writer at acclaimed data site FiveThirtyEight.com—proves how exactly how what we watch (and read and listen to) has a far greater effect on us and the world at large than we imagine. Employing a mix of research, deep reporting, and 100 data visualizations, Hickey presents the true power of entertainment and culture. From the decrease in shark populations after Jaws to the increase in women and girls taking up archery following The Hunger Games, You Are What You Watch proves its points not just with research and argument, but hard data. Did you know, for example, that crime statistics prove that violent movies actually lead to less real-world violence? And that the international rise of anime and Manga helped lift the Japanese economy out of the doldrums in the 1980s? Or that British and American intelligence agencies actually got ideas from the James Bond movies? In You Are What You Watch, readers will be given a nerdy, and sobering, celebration of popular entertainment and its surprising power to change the world.

Walt Hickey (Author), Jonathan Todd Ross (Narrator)

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Shield of the Mighty: A Historical Romance Biblical Fiction Set in the Old Testament Era

Captured by the Philistines as a young boy, Zevi has grown into a formidable warrior. As a captain in King Saul's army, he is assigned a crucial mission: Recruit soldiers, gather tribute for the royal coffers, and find talented artisans for the king's court. But when he is sent to Maresha, the town he was forced to leave as a child, he faces a startling truth--the elder council rejects King Saul and his campaign against their enemies. Yochana, a widow and skilled woman of business, is captivated by a stranger who enters her perfume shop. Upon discovering he is not only a soldier but a captain responsible for enlisting young men to die in battle, fury and pain from her past loss resurfaces, threatening to consume her. But when Zevi's actions in Maresha entangle Yochana in his radical scheme, they're forced to confront present dangers and past scars. Embark on a journey through ancient Israel with bestselling and award-winning author Connilyn Cossette in this exhilarating tale of vengeance, justice, and healing.

Connilyn Cossette (Author), Jonathan Todd Ross, Leah Horowitz, TBD (Narrator)

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Capitalism Created the Climate Crisis and Capitalism Will Solve It: The Market Forces Catalyzing a C

In Capitalism Created the Climate Crisis and Capitalism Will Solve It: The Market Forces Catalyzing a Climate Technology Renaissance, distinguished author Kentaro Kawamori delivers a fascinating and timely exploration of the interplay between capitalism and climate change. He explains how the capitalist system helped to contribute to the current crisis of global warming and how that same system will help to end it. In the book, the author discusses the enormous impact of the climate crisis and how the government, the modern finance industry, the fossil fuel industry, and others combined to accelerate the warming of the world. He then considers the roles those same players will play to reverse this effect in the coming years. You'll also find: ● Discussions of how climate tech innovations will transform the economy and how technology disruptors will become involved in the process ● The ways the energy industry will change to incorporate the realities and consequences of a warming climate ● Explorations of the incentives created by free market structures and how to include climate stakeholders in the discussion

Kentaro Kawamori (Author), Jonathan Todd Ross (Narrator)

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A Machine to Move Ocean and Earth: The Making of the Port of Los Angeles and America

The Port of Los Angeles is all around us. Objects we use on a daily basis pass through it: furniture, apparel, electronics, automobiles, and much more. Yet despite its centrality to our world, the port and the story of its making have been neglected in histories of the United States. In A Machine to Move Ocean and Earth, historian James Tejani corrects that significant omission, charting the port's rise out of the mud and salt marsh of San Pedro estuary. By the mid-nineteenth century, Americans had identified the West Coast as the republic's destiny, a gateway to the riches of the Pacific. Tejani demonstrates how San Pedro came to be seen as all-important to the nation's future. It was not virgin land, but dominated by powerful Mexican estates that would not be dislodged easily. Yet American scientists would wrest control of the estuary and set the scene for the violence, inequality, and engineering marvels to come. San Pedro was no place for a harbor, Tejani reveals. The port was carved in defiance of nature, using new engineering techniques and massive mechanical dredgers. Tejani vividly describes how a wild coast was made into the engine of American power. A Machine to Move Ocean and Earth is must-listen for anyone who seeks to understand what the United States was, what it is now, and what it will be.

James Tejani (Author), Jonathan Todd Ross (Narrator)

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Homewaters: A Human and Natural History of Puget Sound

Not far from Seattle skyscrapers live 150-year-old clams, more than 250 species of fish, and underwater kelp forests as complex as any terrestrial ecosystem. For millennia, vibrant Coast Salish communities have lived beside these waters dense with nutrient-rich foods, with cultures intertwined through exchanges across the waterways. Transformed by settlement and resource extraction, Puget Sound and its future health now depend on a better understanding of the region's ecological complexities. Focusing on the area south of Port Townsend and between the Cascade and Olympic mountains, Williams uncovers human and natural histories in, on, and around the Sound. In conversations with archaeologists, biologists, and tribal authorities, Williams traces how generations of humans have interacted with such species as geoducks, salmon, orcas, rockfish, and herring. He sheds light on how warfare shaped development and how people have moved across this maritime highway, in canoes, the mosquito fleet, and today's ferry system. The book also takes an unflinching look at how the Sound's ecosystems have suffered from human behavior, including pollution, habitat destruction, and the effects of climate change.

David B. Williams (Author), Jonathan Todd Ross (Narrator)

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Audiobooks Narrated by Jonathan Todd Ross