American Politics Audiobooks | Politics

Goliath: The 100-Year War Between Monopoly Power and Democracy

A startling look at how concentrated financial power and consumerism transformed American politics, resulting in the emergence of populism and authoritarianism, the fall of the Democratic Party—while also providing the steps needed to create a new democracy. Americans once had a coherent and clear understanding of political tyranny, one crafted by Thomas Jefferson and updated for the industrial age by Louis Brandeis. A concentration of power, whether in the hands of a military dictator or a JP Morgan, was understood as autocratic and dangerous to individual liberty and democracy. This idea stretched back to the country's founding. In the 1930s, people observed that the Great Depression was caused by financial concentration in the hands of a few whose misuse of their power induced a financial collapse. They drew on this tradition to craft the New Deal. In Goliath, Matt Stoller explains how authoritarianism and populism have returned to American politics for the first time in eighty years, as the outcome of the 2016 election shook our faith in democratic institutions. It has brought to the fore dangerous forces that many modern Americans never even knew existed. Today's bitter recriminations and panic represent more than just fear of the future, they reflect a basic confusion about what is happening and the historical backstory that brought us to this moment. The true effects of populism, a shrinking middle class, and concentrated financial wealth are only just beginning to manifest themselves under the current administrations. The lessons of Stoller's study will only grow more relevant as time passes. Building upon his viral article in The Atlantic, "How the Democrats Killed Their Populist Soul," Stoller illustrates in rich detail how we arrived at this tenuous moment, and the steps we must take to create a new democracy.

Matt Stoller (Author), Jonathan Davis (Narrator)

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The Presidents: Noted Historians Rank America's Best--and Worst--Chief Executives

The complete rankings of our best -- and worst -- presidents, based on C-SPAN's much-cited Historians Surveys of Presidential Leadership. Over a period of decades, C-SPAN has surveyed leading historians on the best and worst of America's presidents across a variety of categories -- their ability to persuade the public, their leadership skills, the moral authority, and more. The crucible of the presidency has forged some of the very best and very worst leaders in our national history, along with much in between. Based on interviews conducted over the years with a variety of presidential biographers, this book provides not just a complete ranking of our presidents, but stories and analyses that capture the character of the men who held the office. From Abraham Lincoln's political savvy and rhetorical gifts to James Buchanan's indecisiveness, this book teaches much about what makes a great leader--and what does not. As America looks ahead to our next election, this book offers perspective and criteria that may help us choose our next leader wisely.

Brian Lamb, Susan Swain (Author), Gary Tiedemann, Grace Angela Henry (Narrator)

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Barack and Joe: The Making of an Extraordinary Partnership

A vivid and inspiring account of the 'bromance' between Barack Obama and Joe Biden. The extraordinary partnership of Barack Obama and Joe Biden is unique in American history. The two men, their characters and styles sharply contrasting, formed a dynamic working relationship that evolved into a profound friendship. Their affinity was not predestined. Obama and Biden began wary of each other: Obama an impatient freshman disdainful of the Senate's plodding ways; Biden a veteran of the chamber and proud of its traditions. Gradually they came to respect each other's values and strengths and rode into the White House together in 2008. Side-by-side through two tension-filled terms, they shared the day-to-day joys and struggles of leading the most powerful nation on earth. They accommodated each other's quirks: Biden's famous miscues kept coming, and Obama overlooked them knowing they were insignificant except as media fodder. With his expertise in foreign affairs and legislative matters, Biden took on an unprecedented role as chief adviser to Obama, reshaping the vice presidency. Together Obama and Biden guided Americans through a range of historic moments: a devastating economic crisis, racial confrontations, war in Afghanistan, and the dawn of same-sex marriage nationwide. They supported each other through highs and lows: Obama provided a welcome shoulder during the illness and death of Biden's son Beau. As many Americans turn a nostalgic eye toward the Obama presidency, Barack and Joe offers a new look at this administration, its absence of scandal, dedication to truth, and respect for the media. This is the first book to tell the full story of this historic relationship and its substantial impact on the Obama presidency and its legacy.

Steven Levingston (Author), Ron Butler (Narrator)

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Dumpty: The Age of Trump in Verse

Award-winning actor and bestselling author John Lithgow wields a whip-smart, satirical pen in this poetic diatribe chronicling the last few abysmal years in politics. With lacerating wit, he takes readers verse by verse through the history of Donald Trump's presidency, lampooning the likes of Betsy DeVos, Anthony Scaramucci, Scott Pruitt, Paul Manafort, Trump's doctors, and many others. Illustrated from cover to cover with Lithgow's never-before-seen line drawings, the poems collected in Dumpty draw inspiration from A. A. Milne, Lewis Carroll, Edward Lear, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Mother Goose, and many more. A YUGE feat of laugh-out-loud lyrical storytelling, this hilarious and timely volume is bound to bring joy to poetry lovers, political junkies, and Lithgow fans.

John Lithgow (Author), John Lithgow (Narrator)

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The Hidden History of the Supreme Court and the Betrayal of America

Thom Hartmann, the most popular progressive radio host in America and a New York Times bestselling author, explains how the Supreme Court has spilled beyond its Constitutional powers and how we the people should take that power back. Taking his typically in-depth, historically informed view, Thom Hartmann asks, What if the Supreme Court didn't have the power to strike down laws? According to the Constitution, it doesn't. From the founding of the republic until 1803, the Supreme Court was the final court of appeals, as it was always meant to be. So where did the concept of judicial review start? As so much of modern American history, it began with the battle between the Federalists and Anti-Federalists, and with Marbury v. Madison. Hartmann argues it is not the role of the Supreme Court to decide what the law is but rather the duty of the people themselves. He lays out the history of the Supreme Court of the United States, since Alexander Hamilton's defense to modern-day debates, with key examples of cases where the Supreme Court overstepped its constitutional powers. The ultimate remedy to the Supreme Court's abuse of power is with the people--the ultimate arbiter of the law--using the ballot box. America does not belong to the kings and queens; it belongs to the people.

Thom Hartmann (Author), Sean Pratt (Narrator)

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It's Up to Us: Ten Little Ways We Can Bring About Big Change

A Little Book about Big Change We all want the same things. We want to live a life of purpose and meaning. We want to leave a legacy for our children and grandchildren. We want to leave the world a better place. And yet we spend so much time wringing our hands over what’s wrong and not nearly enough time fixing those things within our control. John Kasich has walked the corridors of power both in the politics, as a former leader of Congress, governor of Ohio, presidential candidate, and in the private sector, as an in-demand public speaker, best-selling author and a strategic advisor to businesses and large non-profits. Yet he’s seen that the most powerful movements have started from the bottom up. Rather than waiting on Washington, the solutions happen once we become leaders in our own lives and communities. The strength and resilience of our nation lies in each of us. That’s what this book is about. In It’s Up to Us, Kasich shares the ten little ways we each can bring about big change. Taken together, they chart a path for each to follow as we look to live a life bigger than ourselves. Taken one-by-one, they can help to lift us from a place of outrage or complacency or helplessness and move us closer to our shared American dream.

John Kasich (Author), John Kasich (Narrator)

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The Drowning of Money Island: A Forgotten Community's Fight Against the Rising Seas Forever Changing

Offers a glimpse of the future of vanishing shorelines in America in the age of climate change, where the wealthy will be able to remain the longest while the poor will be forced to leave. Journalist Andrew Lewis chronicles the struggle of his New Jersey hometown to rebuild their ravaged homes in the face of the same environmental stresses and governmental neglect that are endangering coastal areas throughout the United States. Lewis grew up on the Bayshore, a 40-mile stretch of Delaware Bay beaches, marshland, and fishing hamlets at the southern end of New Jersey, whose working-class community is fighting to retain their place in a country that has left them behind. The Bayshore, like so many rural places in the US, is under immense pressure from a combination of severe economic decline, industry loss, and regulation. But it is also contending with one of the fastest rates of sea level rise on the planet and the aftereffects of one of the most destructive hurricanes in American history, Superstorm Sandy. If in the years prior to Sandy the Bayshore had already been slowly disappearing, its beaches eroding and lowland cedar woods hollowing out into saltwater-bleached ghost forests, after the hurricane, the community was decimated. Today, homes and roads and memories are crumbling into the rising bay. Cumberland, the poor, rural county where the Bayshore is located, had been left out of the bulk of the initial federal disaster relief package post-Sandy. Instead of money to rebuild, the Bayshore got the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection's Superstorm Sandy Blue Acres Program, which identified and purchased flood-prone neighborhoods where working-class citizens lived, then demolished them to be converted to open space. The Drowning of Money Island is an intimate yet unbiased, lyrical yet investigative portrait of a rural community ravaged by sea level rise and economic hardship, as well as the increasingly divisive politics those factors have helped spawn. It invites us to confront how climate change is already intensifying preexisting inequality.

Andrew S. Lewis (Author), Thom Rivera (Narrator)

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50 Things They Don't Want You to Know

Breitbart.com editor Jerome Hudson delivers the red pills his readers know him for, showing you the facts, statistics, and analysis that the mainstream media have worked so hard to hide. If you heard that one president deported more people than any other president, started the program of family separation, and did nothing to stop Russia's election meddling, would you guess it was Obama? In 50 Things They Don't Want You to Know Jerome Hudson dives deeply into the things Americans are not supposed to realize. Many of our most hotly debate topics are shaped by Davos power brokers, woke college professors, TV talking heads, social media activists and feckless Washington swamp monsters who want you to only follow their narrative. Your teachers, your politicians, and your local paper are not likely to ever tell you: Racial minorities fare far better in the absence of race-based affirmative action policies.Latinos make up a little more than 50% of the Border Patrol, according to 2016 data.The U.S. settled more refugees in 2017 than any other nation.Between 2011 and 2016, the IRS documented 1.3 million identity thefts by Illegal aliens.Half of federal arrests are immigration-related.Welfare recipients in 34 states earn more than a person making minimum wage.Taxpayers doled out $2.6 billion in food stamps to dead people in less than two years.1,700 private jets flew to Davos to discuss the impact of global warming.Google could swing an election by secretly adjusting its search algorithm, and we would have no way of knowing.Once you're done reading 50 Things They Don't Want You to Know, you'll never trust the powers that be to give you the whole truth again.

Jerome Hudson (Author), Marc William (Narrator)

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A Year At The Circus: Inside Trump's White House

Brought to you by Penguin. Welcome to the White House. At the heart of Washington, there is a circus. It's raucous, noisy and full of clowns. Reporting on it is a daily cacophony. Four major stories can blow up and blow out before breakfast, and political weather systems are moving at warp speed. The one thing absent from the weather forecast is the tranquil eye of the storm. That we never see. In A Year at the Circus: Inside Trump's White House, BBC North America Editor, Jon Sopel, takes you inside Trump's West Wing and explores the impact this presidency has had on the most iconic of American institutions. Each chapter starts inside a famous Washington room, uncovering its history and its new resonance in the Trump era. You are invited to step inside the Oval Office where Trump called for loyalty from FBI Director James Comey, and experience life as a reporter in the Briefing Room, where the tense relationship between the media and the President is played out. Guiding you through these rooms, Jon reveals the inner workings of the Trump White House and details the key moments and conversations that have unfolded within its walls. From Kim Jong-un and Kavanaugh to Merkel and the Mueller Inquiry - this is your insider guide to the Washington Circus. Roll up, roll up ... (c) 2019, Jon Sopel (P) 2019 Penguin Audio

Jon Sopel (Author), Jon Sopel (Narrator)

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Power Grab: The Liberal Scheme to Undermine Trump, the GOP, and Our Republic

How much damage will the Democrats do to our republic in the name of saving it? In the years he served on and eventually chaired the United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Jason Chaffetz gained crucial insight into the inner workings of D.C. Things were bad then, but during the Trump administration, liberals have reached a new level of hysteria and misconduct. Democrat anger has grown so irrational that it has burst through the constitutional guardrails which protect our institutions and our republic. While they constantly label the right "fascist," the left imposes policies which suppress speech, limit freedom, and empower federal bullies. In Power Grab, Chaffetz pulls back the curtain on the world of hypocrisy, political intrigue, and procedural malfeasance that is Washington D.C. With stories you won't read anywhere else, he shows how the left weaves false narratives, drums up investigations in search of a crime, and refuses to direct congressional oversight towards its appropriate target: the government. Democrats weaponize nonprofit advocacy groups and monetize partisan anger to line the pockets of their political allies. They use "voter enrollment" as a smokescreen to hide their plans to destabilize free elections and seek to politicize federal agencies like the Federal Election Commission, the IRS, and the Department of Justice. It shouldn't be this way. Democrats have abandoned the wisdom set forth in the Constitution for short-term political wins. Power Grab shows the lengths to which Democrats will go to maintain their grip on power, and how the only thing that will stop them is a return to our founding principles.

Jason Chaffetz (Author), Jason Chaffetz (Narrator)

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Our Broken America: Why Both Sides Need to Stop Ranting and Start Listening

Discover what is needed to save America from the looming menace of fake news and political polarization. We are a country in crisis. America is extremely politically polarized. It's almost impossible to have a civil discussion about politics and political issues without emotions overflowing and people erupting, whether within your circle of friends, family, or just watching it happen on the news. Gone are the days of real, unbiased, fact-based news -- now our airwaves and device screens are dominated by opinion labelled as news. The idea of our nation marching toward civil war is very real. You can watch CNN or FOX News and think you are on two different planets. And the sheer vitriol you watch is reflective of the same feeling Democrats and Republicans -- and everyone in between -- are feeling throughout this country. It's more important than ever to find common ground. Throughout our history, our most inspirational leaders have believed that our future was bright, that our foundation was different, and that the American people would rise to the challenge. Together we can stop ranting and raving and save our country from the dangers of political polarization. Our Broken America is a wake-up call for our nation. Together, we can change politics and save our nation.

Jackie Cushman (Author), Newt Gingrich, Sabina Brendel (Narrator)

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Socialism 101: From the Bolsheviks and Karl Marx to Universal Healthcare and the Democratic Socialis

Socialism 101 is a comprehensive and accessible guide to the historical and modern applications of socialism. In today's political climate, more and more presidential candidates are espousing socialist—or democratic socialist—policies. Once associated with oppression, socialism is now a current topic of conversation with everyday Americans, including policies like taxing the rich and healthcare for all. But what exactly is socialism and why does it spark such an intense debate? Socialism 101 provides an easy-to-understand, unbiased overview to the nearly 300-year-old origins of this mode of government, its complex history, basic constructs, modern-day interpretations, key figures in its development, and up-to-date concepts and policies in today's world. As capitalism has become less appealing and socialism experiences a surge in popularity, the need for clarification of what it means has never been more necessary than now.

Kathleen Sears (Author), Samantha Desz (Narrator)

Audiobook

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