Current Affairs Audiobooks | Politics

The Storm Before the Storm: The Beginning of the End of the Roman Republic

The creator of the massively popular, award-winning podcast series The History of Rome brings to life the story of the tumultuous years that set the stage for the fall of the Roman Republic.The Roman Republic was one of the most remarkable achievements in the history of civilization. After its founding in 509 BCE, the Romans refused to allow a single leader to seize control of the state and grab absolute power. The Roman commitment to cooperative government and peaceful transfers of power was unmatched in the history of the ancient world.But by the year 133 BCE, the republican system was unable to cope with the vast empire Rome now ruled. Almost as soon as they had conquered the Mediterranean, Rome became engulfed in violent political conflicts and civil wars that would destroy the Republic less than a century later.Chronicling the years 133-80 BCE, The Storm Before the Storm is a rollicking deep-dive into the bloody battles, political machinations, and human drama that defined a dangerous new political environment--a stark warning for modern readers about what happens to a civilization driven by increasing economic inequality, political polarization, and ruthless ambition. **Contact Customer Service for Additional Material**

Mike Duncan (Author), Mike Duncan (Narrator)

Audiobook

Overload: Finding the Truth in Today's Deluge of News

From the explosion of fake news to the challenges of the twenty-four-hour news cycle, legendary journalist Bob Schieffer examines political journalism today and those who practice it. Based on interviews with over forty media leaders, Schieffer provides an inside look at the changing role of media and asks whether today's citizens are more informed or just overwhelmed.

Bob Schieffer (Author), David De Vries (Narrator)

Audiobook

Billionaire at the Barricades: The Populist Revolution from Reagan to Trump

This program is read by the author. In Billionaire at the Barricades, Laura Ingraham details how Trump remade the Reagan Revolution in his own image, attracting a new coalition of voters who were angry and disgusted with the corporatist agenda of GOP elites. With an insider's access and knowledge, Ingraham reveals previously unreported details behind Trump's victory and the possible pitfalls that lay ahead for his ambitious populist agenda. "Unlike so many of my colleagues in the media," said Ingraham, "I instantly understood Trump's appeal and ignored those who repeatedly wrote his political obituary. Most of his critics and naysayers still don't understand the bipartisan appeal of the populist, pro-life, pro-growth, America First agenda on which he ran. In Billionaire at the Barricades, I take readers behind the scenes at the defining moments of a populist movement that began decades ago and map out where I think it should (and will) take us, whether fully realized by this Administration-or not."

Laura Ingraham (Author), Laura Ingraham (Narrator)

Audiobook

Trump is F*cking Crazy: (This is Not a Joke)

Witty, acerbic, hard-hitting, and timely, Keith Olbermann's Donald Trump commentaries come adapted from his hit GQ series The Resistance. Since Donald Trump's presidential nomination, Keith Olbermann has emerged as one of the web's most popular anti-Trump screedists-each installment of his GQ web series The Resistance receives nearly four million views, and his fiercely progressive monologues have garnered a new generation of fans and followers. In TRUMP IS F*CKING CRAZY, Olbermann takes our Commander in Chief and his politics apart with journalistic acuity and his classic in-your-face humor. With more than 50 individual essays adapted from his GQ commentaries, including new up-to-the-minute material, TRUMP IS F*CKING CRAZY is essential reading for concerned citizens who-like Olbermann-refuse to normalize or accept our new political reality. This has been adapted to include content exclusive to the audio, including the following commentaries: *Guess What Else Happened on 6/9/16? *A Timeline of Treason *Trump and Charlottesville: Too Little Too Late *Make America White Again *Impeachment by Facebook

Keith Olbermann (Author), Keith Olbermann (Narrator)

Audiobook

American Radical: Inside the World of an Undercover Muslim FBI Agent

The explosive memoir of a Muslim American FBI agent fighting terror from the inside It's no secret that federal agencies are waging a broad, global war against terror. But for the first time in this memoir, an active Muslim American federal agent reveals his experience infiltrating and bringing down a terror cell in North America. A longtime undercover agent, Tamer Elnoury joined an elite counterterrorism unit after September 11. Its express purpose is to gain the trust of terrorists whose goals are to take out as many Americans in as public and as devastating a way possible. It's a furious race against the clock for Tamer and his unit to stop them before they can implement their plans. Yet as new as this war still is, the techniques are as old as time: listen, record, and prove terrorist intent. Due to his ongoing work for the FBI, Elnoury writes under a pseudonym. An Arabic-speaking Muslim American, a patriot, a hero: To many Americans, it will be a revelation that he and his team even exist, let alone the vital and dangerous work they do keeping all Americans safe.

Kevin Maurer, Tamer Elnoury (Author), Peter Ganim (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 27 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President

This program is read by Nanette Gartrelle, Luba Kessler, Bandy X. Lee, Helen Litchfield, P. J. Ochlan, and Betty P. Teng. The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump describes the consensus view held by two dozen psychiatrists and psychologists that Donald Trump is dangerously mentally ill and that he presents a clear and present danger to the nation and our own mental health. This is not normal. Since the start of Donald Trump's presidential run, one question has quietly but urgently permeated the observations of concerned citizens: What is wrong with him? Constrained by the American Psychiatric Association's "Goldwater rule," which inhibits mental health professionals from diagnosing public figures they have not personally examined, many of those qualified to answer this question have shied away from discussing the issue at all. The public has thus been left to wonder whether he is mad, bad, or both. In The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump, twenty-seven psychiatrists, psychologists, and other mental health experts argue that, in Mr. Trump's case, their moral and civic "duty to warn" America supersedes professional neutrality. They then explore Trump's symptoms and potentially relevant diagnoses to find a complex, if also dangerously mad, man. Philip Zimbardo and Rosemary Sword, for instance, explain Trump's impulsivity in terms of "unbridled and extreme present hedonism." Craig Malkin speaks about pathological narcissism and politics as a lethal mix. Gail Sheehy, on a lack of trust that exceeds paranoia. Lance Dodes, on sociopathy. Robert Jay Lifton, on the "malignant normality" that can set in everyday life if psychiatrists do not speak up. His madness is catching, too. From the trauma people have experienced under the Trump administration to the cult-like characteristics of his followers, he has created unprecedented mental health consequences across our nation and beyond. It's not all in our heads. It's in his. Expertly compiled by author and editor Bandy X. Lee, this insightful audiobook is mental fuel for the concerned, contemplative listener. -- Chapters written by Noam Chomsky, Jennifer Contarino Panning, Howard H. Covitz, Lance Dodes, William J. Doherty, Edwin B. Fisher, Henry J. Friedman, John D. Gartner, Nanette Gartrell, James Gilligan, Leonard L. Glass, James A. Herb, Judith Lewis Herman, Diane Jhueck, Luba Kessler, Bandy X. Lee, Robert Jay Lifton, Craig Malkin, Elizabeth Mika, Dee Mosbacher, David M. Reiss, Tony Schwartz, Gail Sheehy, Thomas Singer, Rosemary Sword, Michael J. Tansey, Betty P. Teng, Harper West, Steve Wruble, and Philip Zimbardo.

Bandy X. Lee (Author), Alex Hyde-White, Bandy X. Lee, Betty P. Teng, Betty P. Teng M.F.A. L.M.S.W., Helen Litchfield, Hillary Huber, James R. Merikangas, Jennifer Contarino Panning, Jennifer Contarino Panning Psy.D., Jennifer Contarino Panning, Psy.D., Kevin Washington, L.M.S.W. M.F.A. Betty P. Teng, Leonard L. Glass, Leonard L. Glass M.P.H., M.D., Leonard L. Glass, M.D., Leonard L. Glass, M.D., Mph, Lise Van Susteren, Lise van Susteren, Luba Kessler, Luba Kessler, M.D., M.A. Elizabeth Mika, M.D. Betty P. Teng, M.D. Leonard L. Glass, M.D. Luba Kessler, M.D. Nanette Gartrell, M.D. Steve Wruble, M.D. Thomas Singer, M.F.A. Betty P. Teng, M.F.A. Betty P. Teng, Lmsw, M.P.H. Leonard L. Glass, M.D., Michael J. Tansey, Michael J. Tansey, PH.D., Michael J. Tansey, Ph.D., Michael J. Tansey, Phd, Nanette Gartrell, Nanette Gartrell, M.D., Nanette Gartrelle, P. J. Ochlan, Ph.D. Michael J. Tansey, Prudence Gourguechon, Psy.D. Jennifer Contarino Panning, Richard Painter, Rosa Maria Bramble, Rosemary Sword, Stephen Soldz, Steve Wruble, Steve Wruble, M.D., Thomas Singer, Thomas Singer, M.D., William Dufris (Narrator)

Audiobook

Republican Like Me

The former CEO of NPR set out for conservative America to find out why these people are so wrong about everything. It turns out, they weren't. Ken Stern watched the increasing polarization of our country with growing concern. As a longtime partisan Democrat himself, he felt forced to acknowledge that his own views were too parochial, too absent of any exposure to the "other side." In fact, his urban neighborhood is so liberal, he couldn't find a single Republican--even by asking around. So for one year, he crossed the aisle to spend time listening, talking, and praying with Republicans of all stripes. With his mind open and his dial tuned to the right, he went to evangelical churches, shot a hog in Texas, stood in pit row at a NASCAR race, hung out at Tea Party meetings and sat in on Steve Bannon's radio show. He also read up on conservative wonkery and consulted with the smartest people the right has to offer. What happens when a liberal sets out to look at issues from a conservative perspective? Some of his dearly cherished assumptions about the right slipped away. Republican Like Me reveals what lead him to change his mind, and his view of an increasingly polarized America.

Ken Stern (Author), Ken Stern (Narrator)

Audiobook

Policing Ferguson, Policing America: What Really Happened . . . and What the Country Can Learn from

Following the fatal shooting in broad daylight of unarmed African American Michael Brown by a white cop in August 2014, Ferguson, Missouri, became the scene of protests that pitted law enforcement against locals and Black Lives matter activists. The media firestorm has not waned, and, in fact, has grown stronger in light of all the recent violence by and against police officers nationwide. According to Ferguson's former police chief Tom Jackson, the uninformed media actually fans the flames of unrest and exploits the situation: infotainment optics have become more important than truth, while social media spreads the news without providing context. Policing Ferguson, Policing America is the book that finally tells the inside story of what happened in Ferguson, and how good guys became the bad guys through media and political distortion. Pressure is at a boiling point. In 2016, America has been rocked by heart-wrenching fatal shootings of African Americans by police officers in Louisiana and in Minnesota, and by the shootings of police officers in Dallas, Baton Rouge, and Kansas City that left eleven officers dead and a dozen more wounded. To many Americans, the central theme of this continuing bloody story is one of racial injustice and out-of-control policing.

Thomas Jackson (Author), Todd Mclaren (Narrator)

Audiobook

What Happened

"In the past, for reasons I try to explain, I've often felt I had to be careful in public, like I was up on a wire without a net. Now I'm letting my guard down." -Hillary Rodham Clinton, from the introduction of What Happened For the first time, Hillary Rodham Clinton reveals what she was thinking and feeling during one of the most controversial and unpredictable presidential elections in history. Now free from the constraints of running, Hillary takes you inside the intense personal experience of becoming the first woman nominated for president by a major party in an election marked by rage, sexism, exhilarating highs and infuriating lows, stranger-than-fiction twists, Russian interference, and an opponent who broke all the rules. This is her most personal memoir yet. In these pages, she describes what it was like to run against Donald Trump, the mistakes she made, how she has coped with a shocking and devastating loss, and how she found the strength to pick herself back up afterward. With humor and candor, she tells readers what it took to get back on her feet-the rituals, relationships, and reading that got her through, and what the experience has taught her about life. She speaks about the challenges of being a strong woman in the public eye, the criticism over her voice, age, and appearance, and the double standard confronting women in politics. She lays out how the 2016 election was marked by an unprecedented assault on our democracy by a foreign adversary. By analyzing the evidence and connecting the dots, Hillary shows just how dangerous the forces are that shaped the outcome, and why Americans need to understand them to protect our values and our democracy in the future. The election of 2016 was unprecedented and historic. What Happened is the story of that campaign and its aftermath-both a deeply intimate account and a cautionary tale for the nation.

Hillary Rodham Clinton (Author), Hillary Rodham Clinton (Narrator)

Audiobook

Riot Days

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Riot Days by Maria Alyokhina, read by Kate Lock. From activist, Pussy Riot member and freedom fighter Maria Alyokhina, a raw, hallucinatory, passionate account of her arrest, trial and imprisonment in a penal colony in the Urals for standing up for what she believed in. One of the most brilliant and inspiring things Ive read in years. Couldnt put it down. This book is freedom Chris Kraus, author of I Love Dick People who believe in freedom and democracy think it will exist forever. That is a mistake. What happened in Russia - what happened to me - could happen anywhere. When I was jailed for political protest, I learned that prison doesnt just teach you to follow the rules. It teaches you to think that you can never break them. Its inevitable that the prison gates will open at some point. But this doesnt mean that you leave the prisoner category and go straight into the category of the free. Freedom does not exist unless you fight for it every day. This is the story about how I made a choice. We are all Pussy Riot. And actions break fear. To Back Down an Inch is to Give Up a Mile.

Maria Alyokhina (Author), Kate Lock (Narrator)

Audiobook

Pretty Powerful: Appearance, Substance, and Success

Women have been told that being pretty comes at the expense of being taken seriously. If a woman is physically attractive, there is often a presumption that she lacks the substance and smarts necessary to provide leadership in business and other endeavors. This narrative implies that being pretty and being capable are mutually exclusive. But in Pretty Powerful, Fox News political commentator and legal analyst Eboni Williams rejects that narrative. She says that to accept the false notion that beauty and power are mutually exclusive is to leave an incredibly powerful tool on the table. According to Williams, the knee-jerk reaction for most women is to feel shamed by the potential advantage their beauty grants them, but Williams says it's okay for women to take full advantage of the most immediate and obvious attribute at their disposal, encouraging women to embrace their beauty as positive and powerful.

Eboni K. Williams (Author), Eboni K. Williams (Narrator)

Audiobook

Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire: A 500-Year History

A razor-sharp thinker offers a new understanding of our post-truth world and explains the American instinct to believe in make-believe, from the Pilgrims to P. T. Barnum to Disneyland to zealots of every stripe . . . to Donald Trump. In this sweeping, eloquent history of America, Kurt Andersen demonstrates that what's happening in our country today-this strange, post-factual, "fake news" moment we're all living through-is not something entirely new, but rather the ultimate expression of our national character and path. America was founded by wishful dreamers, magical thinkers, and true believers, by impresarios and their audiences, by hucksters and their suckers. Believe-whatever-you-want fantasy is deeply embedded in our DNA. Over the course of five centuries-from the Salem witch trials to Scientology to the Satanic Panic of the 1980s, from P. T. Barnum to Hollywood and the anything-goes, wild-and-crazy sixties, from conspiracy theories to our fetish for guns and obsession with extraterrestrials-our peculiar love of the fantastic has made America exceptional in a way that we've never fully acknowledged. With the gleeful erudition and tell-it-like-it-is ferocity of a Christopher Hitchens, Andersen explores whether the great American experiment in liberty has gone off the rails. From the start, our ultra-individualism was attached to epic dreams and epic fantasies-every citizen was free to believe absolutely anything, or to pretend to be absolutely anybody. Little by little, and then more quickly in the last several decades, the American invent-your-own-reality legacy of the Enlightenment superseded its more sober, rational, and empirical parts. We gave ourselves over to all manner of crackpot ideas and make-believe lifestyles designed to console or thrill or terrify us. In Fantasyland, Andersen brilliantly connects the dots that define this condition, portrays its scale and scope, and offers a fresh, bracing explanation of how our American journey has deposited us here. Fantasyland could not appear at a more perfect moment. If you want to understand the politics and culture of twenty-first-century America, if you want to know how the lines between reality and illusion have become dangerously blurred, you must read this book. "This is an important book-the indispensable book-for understanding America in the age of Trump. It's an eye-opening history filled with brilliant insights, a saga of how we were always susceptible to fantasy, from the Puritan fanatics to the talk-radio and Internet wackos who mix show business, hucksterism, and conspiracy theories."-Walter Isaacson

Kurt Andersen (Author), Kurt Andersen (Narrator)

Audiobook

Current Affairs Audiobooks in Politics