Audiobooks narrated by Josh Bloomberg

The Modern Israeli and Palestinian Diasporas: A Comparative Approach

"A comparative study of contemporary Israeli and Palestinian diasporas. Exilic and diasporic experience have become ubiquitous in recent decades. Jews, lacking a homeland, spread to various parts of the world, making the Jewish diaspora paradigmatic. But after the establishment of Israel in 1948, a different kind of diaspora emerged, as more than a tenth of Israeli citizens have chosen to leave their newly established state and resettle. Meanwhile, about half of all Palestinians, including Palestinian citizens of Israel, now reside in exile, predominantly as a result of the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Recognizing that Israeli-Jewish and Palestinian-Arab societies coexist and are engaged in constant relations, Nahum Karlinsky has assembled an impressive array of contributors to explore these diasporas alongside one another and in dialogue with other diasporic communities. The collected essays cover such topics as Palestinian exiles and diasporas, the demographics of today's Israeli diaspora, immigrant enterprises, transnationalism and development, the unique place of Israeli Jews in the United States, the literature of Palestinian transnationals, and the emergence of Berlin as a queer Israeli-Jewish immigrant enclave. The Modern Israeli and Palestinian Diasporas challenges and reimagines the very notion of a homeland."

Nahum Karlinsky (Author), Josh Bloomberg, Tova Katz (Narrator)

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The Boy from Two Worlds

"The sequel to Jason Offutt’s award-winning novel, The Girl in the Corn, which critics have raved is “an outstanding blend of horror, speculative fiction, and apocalyptic fantasy topped with madness” (HorrorDNA) and “a haunting, unsettling, gripping novel” (Richard Thomas, a Bram Stoker and Shirley Jackson nominee). Evil comes in pretty packages. Thomas Cavanaugh’s life is now a blur, a blend of foggy memories and hidden horrors. When his fae girlfriend Jillian begins to act strangely, he wonders whether he should put an end to their relationship. Then Jillian does the unthinkable and vanishes with four-year-old Jacob Jenkins, a boy with terrifying supernatural powers. Suddenly, years later, Jacob reappears unaged, claiming to have been in another world. Sheriff Glenn is called in to investigate a series of violent murders, all with evidence pointing toward the boy from two worlds. Someone with dark magic is devouring souls but for what purpose? Thomas and his allies must prepare for a bloody final battle before their world is completely swept away into another, with no way to get home. For readers who enjoy horror novels by Stephen King, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Stephen Graham Jones, and Paul G. Tremblay."

Jason Offutt (Author), Josh Bloomberg (Narrator)

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Saying No to Hate: Overcoming Antisemitism in America

"Saying No to Hate grounds listeners contextually in the history of antisemitism in America by emphasizing the legal, political, educational, communal, and other strategies American Jews have used through the centuries to address high-profile threats. Norman H. Finkelstein shows how antisemitism has long functioned in America in systemic, structural, and interpersonal ways, from missionaries, the KKK, and American Nazis to employment discrimination, social media attacks, and QAnon. He explains how historic antisemitic events such as General Ulysses S. Grant's General Order No. 11 (1862); the Massena, New York blood libel (1928); and the mass shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue (2018) galvanized the Jewish community. Finkelstein shines light on Jews such as Louis Brandeis and Admiral Hyman Rickover who succeeded despite discrimination and on individuals and organizations that have tackled legal and security affairs, from the passage of Maryland's Jew Bill (1826) to groups helping Jewish institutions better protect themselves from active shooter threats. Far from a victim narrative, Saying No to Hate is as much about Jewish resilience and ingenuity as it is about hatred. Engaging high school students and adults with personal narratives, it prepares each of us to recognize, understand, and confront injustice and hatred today, in the Jewish community and beyond."

Norman H. Finklestein (Author), Josh Bloomberg (Narrator)

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Forbidden: A 3,000-Year History of Jews and the Pig

"Jews do not eat pig. This (not always true) observation has been made by both Jews and non-Jews for more than three thousand years and is rooted in biblical law. Though the Torah prohibits eating pig meat, it is not singled out more than other food prohibitions. Horses, rabbits, squirrels, and even vultures, while also not kosher, do not inspire the same level of revulsion for Jews as the pig. The pig has become a symbol for people to signal their Jewishness, non-Jewishness, or rebellion from Judaism. Starting with the Hebrew Bible, Jordan D. Rosenblum historicizes the emergence of the pig as a key symbol of Jewish identity, from the Roman persecution of ancient rabbis, to the Spanish Inquisition, to Shakespeare's writings, to modern memoirs of those leaving Orthodox Judaism. The pig appears in debates about Jewish emancipation in eighteenth-century England and in vaccine conspiracies; in World War II rallying cries, when many American Jewish soldiers were 'eating ham for Uncle Sam;' and in recent deliberations about the kosher status of Impossible Pork. All told, there is a rich and varied story about the associations of Jews and pigs over time, both emerging from within Judaism and imposed on Jews by others. Expansive yet accessible, Forbidden offers a captivating look into Jewish history and identity through the lens of the pig."

Jordan D. Rosenblum (Author), Josh Bloomberg (Narrator)

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The Girl in Corn

"Sometimes beauty belongs in darkness. Fairies don’t exist. At least that’s what Thomas Cavanaugh’s parents say. But the events that one night, when he follows a fairy into the cornfield on his parents’ farm, prove them wrong. What seems like a destructive explosion was, Thomas knows, an encounter with the Empty that threatens to destroy the fairie’s world?and his sanity. Years later, after a troubled childhood and a series of dead-end jobs, he is still haunted by what he saw that night. One day he crosses paths with the beautiful young woman and the troubled young man he first met as a kid while under psychiatric care after his encounters in the cornfield. Has fate brought them together? Are they meant to join forces to save the fairie’s world and their own? Or is one of them not who they claim to be?"

Jason Offutt (Author), Josh Bloomberg (Narrator)

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See Friendship: A Novel

"“A sharp and affecting meditation on the contours of friendship, the seams of our digital lives, and the elasticity of memory. Wickedly funny and deeply impactful. . . . It's a literal triumph.”—Bryan Washington, author of Memorial and Lot “Astonishingly intelligent. . . . A stunning first novel.” —Brandon Taylor, author of The Late Americans “At heart a millennial’s take on grief-inflected nostalgia. . . . “See Friendship” rejects catharsis in favor of the diffuse grays of extended mourning. . . . The final chapter decenters Jacob in order to unfold outward — wonderfully so, like its own small metaphor of the internet. Gordon’s smart novel on the warping effects of nostalgia and technology asks us to follow some Forsterian advice from a century ago: Only connect.” — The New York Times Book Review Critic Jeremy Gordon makes his literary debut with this whip-smart novel about a young man who learns the devastating truth behind his friend's death, propelling him on an odyssey of discovery into the nature of grief in the digital age, the meaning of friendship, and the limits of memory. Amid the ongoing decimation of media, Jacob Goldberg, a culture writer in New York, knows what will save him: a podcast. And not just any podcast, but something that will demonstrate his singular thoughtfulness in an oversaturated, competitive market. When Jacob learns the true, tragic circumstances behind the mysterious death of Seth, one of his best friends from high school, his world is turned completely upside down. But when the dust settles, he realizes he has an idea worth digging into. Of course, it’s not so simple. Learning the truth—or at least, the beginning of it—sends Jacob spiraling. His increasing obsession ultimately leads him back home to Chicago, where he tracks down Lee, a once up-and-coming musician who probably knew Seth best at the end of his life. As his investigation deepens, Jacob's drive to find out the truth—and whether there’s a deeper story to be told about the fault lines of our memories, life and death on the internet, and the people we never forget—grows into a desperation to discover whether it even matters. A poignant and funny novel about grief, loneliness, memory, and the unique existential questions inherent to the digital age, See Friendship introduces a new voice in fiction—a writer known for his pitch-perfect cultural criticism, with a depth of literary talent."

Jeremy Gordon (Author), Josh Bloomberg (Narrator)

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Seventeen Spoons: The Desert Songs Trilogy, Book 2

"The eagerly awaited second volume of The Desert Songs Trilogy, Seventeen Spoons, takes readers on an unforgettable journey alongside the beloved religious icon, Joseph, as he navigates the tumultuous path of gaining power and breaking away from his family's traditions. Seventeen Spoons delves into the life of Joseph, the youngest and most favored son in the tribe of Jacob. With prophetic dreams, special treatment, a divine connection, and an unshakable confidence, his youth is marked by distinction and envy. While his brothers exclude him, Joseph finds solace and wisdom among the women of the tribe. Instead of becoming a shepherd like his brothers, he becomes a man of the tents, devoted to prayer and study. Though he swiftly masters reading and writing, he must also navigate the complex emotions surrounding him—jealousy, anger, love, and his own feelings of curiosity, affection, and grief. Joseph's ascension to being crowned Second-in-Command of all Egypt is fraught with dramatic power shifts. Through it all, he must balance the traditions and lessons of his childhood with the demands of ruling a mighty kingdom, fulfilling his destiny as a revered leader."

Esther Goldenberg (Author), Josh Bloomberg (Narrator)

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The Social Paradox: Autonomy, Connection, and Why We Need Both to Find Happiness

"A Next Big Idea Club Must Read of February 2025 From the author of The Social Leap comes this thought-provoking exploration into humans’ two core evolutionary needs, for connection and autonomy, how the modern world has thrown them out of whack, and how we can rebalance them to improve our lives. Why do people who have so much—leading comfortable lives filled with unprecedented freedom, choice, and abundance—often feel so unhappy and unfulfilled? This phenomenon is a defining paradox of our time and one we endlessly seek to solve. In The Social Paradox, psychologist William von Hippel argues that we need to think about this problem in a new way. By changing our perspective, we might finally see the solution, bringing us greater happiness and more satisfying relationships. The key is to understand the interplay between our two most basic psychological needs—for connection and autonomy. Evolution made us dependent on one another for survival, instilling in us a strong need to connect. It also made us seek autonomy, so our ancestors could distinguish themselves within their groups, improving their chances to procreate and gain status. These two opposing needs are our most fundamental psychological drivers, and while our lives once ensured a happy balance between them, the opportunities of today’s world have thrown it out of whack. As von Hippel explains, our modern world no longer demands connection but it provides endless opportunity for autonomy; this lopsidedness lies at the root of many of our most intractable problems. Recognizing this imbalance and working to counter it can drastically change how we make decisions, spend our time, and find happiness. The Social Paradox invites us to examine the fundamental building blocks of life and society—politics, religion, urban living, marriage—in a brand-new way. Once we understand the evolutionary forces driving us, we can begin to see how to counteract the emptiness and loneliness of contemporary life. Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook."

William Von Hippel (Author), Josh Bloomberg (Narrator)

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The Third Temple

"Who will rule the Holy Land, and at what cost? In a near-future Jerusalem, harrowing omens plague the city: a desecrated altar, an unbearable stench, a rampant famine. Shaken but devout, Jonathan, the royal family's third son, continues to hold services and offer animal sacrifices at the prophesied Third Temple, built to consecrate the founding of the new Kingdom of Judah. His father, Israel's self-appointed king, has abolished the Supreme Court. The Torah is the law of the land, and only people of the Jewish faith are allowed in. When war breaks out and an angel of God begins to torment Jonathan, warning him of his father's sacrilege, the foundations of the young priest's faith—and then his world—begin to give way. Winner of the prestigious Bernstein Prize, The Third Temple plunges listeners into a tempest of fanaticism, betrayal, and destruction. Where does the power of man end and the power of God begin? With chilling resonance, this vivid novel from one of Israel's leading authors sounds an unforgettable warning amidst rising extremism."

Yishai Sarid (Author), Josh Bloomberg (Narrator)

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Night Owls: A Sydney Taylor and National Jewish Book Award Winner

"* National Jewish Book Award Winner * Green Mountain Book Award Nominee * Sydney Taylor Book Award Winner * In this thrilling paranormal YA romance debut steeped in folklore, two estries—owl-shifting female vampires from Jewish tradition—face New York's monstrous underworld to save the girl one of them loves with help from the boy one of them fears before they are, all of them, lost forever. Clara loves rules. Rules are what have kept her and her sister, Molly, alive—or, rather, undead—for over a century. Work their historic movie theater by day. Shift into an owl under the cover of night. Feed on men in secret. And never fall in love. Molly is in love. And she’s tired of keeping her girlfriend, Anat, a secret. If Clara won’t agree to bend their rules a little, then she will bend them herself. Boaz is cursed. He can’t walk two city blocks without being cornered by something undead. At least at work at the theater, he gets to flirt with Clara, wishing she would like him back. When Anat vanishes and New York’s monstrous underworld emerges from the shadows, Clara suspects Boaz, their annoyingly cute box office attendant, might be behind it all. But if they are to find Anat, they will need to work together to face demons and the hungers they would sooner bury. Clara will have to break all her rules—of love, of life, and of death itself—before her rules break everyone she loves. In this stand-alone debut, A. R. Vishny interweaves mystery, romance, and lore to create an unputdownable story about those who have kept to the shadows for far too long."

A. R. Vishny (Author), Gilli Messer, Josh Bloomberg (Narrator)

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Fentanyl Nation: Toxic Politics and America's Failed War on Drugs

"A passionate call to abandon ineffective drug-war policies, reframe addiction as a public health issue, and end the Fentanyl crisis. The American overdose crisis has reached record-breaking heights; preventable overdoses are now responsible for more annual deaths than traffic accidents, suicide, or gun violence. Fentanyl—a potent, inexpensive, and easy-to-manufacture synthetic opioid—has thoroughly contaminated the drug supply, and while it frequently makes front page news across the country, it remains poorly understood by policymakers and the public. Why, despite all of our efforts to raise awareness and billions of dollars of investments, does this emergency keep getting worse? In Fentanyl Nation, recovery advocate Ryan Hampton separates the facts from the fiction surrounding Fentanyl, and shows how overdose deaths are ultimately policy failures. Instead of investing in education, harm reduction, effective treatment, and recovery, we have doubled down on more police, more incarceration, and harsher penalties for those caught in the grip of addiction. Yet history has shown time and time again that it is impossible to arrest our way out of a public health crisis; the government used the same strategy to fight the crack-cocaine epidemic of the 80s and 90s, and it only resulted in racially disparate policing and the destruction of marginalized communities. This urgent and informative manifesto reveals how prejudice, discrimination, and stigma have been codified into our drug laws, and calls for a compassionate and evidence-based approach that would address the core causes of addiction and save countless lives. We can end this crisis, but only if we get out of our own way. A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press."

Ryan Hampton (Author), Josh Bloomberg (Narrator)

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Jewish Life in Medieval Spain: A New History

"Jewish Life in Medieval Spain is a detailed exploration of the Jewish experience in medieval Spain from the dawn of Sephardic society in the ninth century to the expulsion of 1492. An important contribution of the book is the integration of the rise and fall of Jewish life in Muslim al-Andalus into the history of the Jews in medieval Christian Spain. It traces the collapse of Jewish life in Muslim Spain, the emigration of Andalusi Jewry to the lands of Christian Iberia, and the difficult confluence of these two distinct Jewish subcultures. Focusing on internal developments of Jewish society, it offers a narrative of Jewish history from the inside out, bringing to light the various divisions and rivalries within the community. This approach allows for a deeper understanding of the complex relations between Spanish Jews and their Muslim and Christian neighbors. Jonathan Ray's perspective on the Jewish experience is instructive when considering the widescale anti-Jewish riots of 1391. The combination of violence and mass conversion of the Jews irrevocably shifted the dynamics of inter-religious relations as well as those within the Jewish community. Yet even in the wake of these tragic events, the Jews of Spain continued to flourish, fostering a culture that they would carry into exile and that would preserve the memory of Jewish Spain for centuries to come."

Jonathan Ray (Author), Josh Bloomberg (Narrator)

Audiobook

Audiobooks Narrated by Josh Bloomberg