Current Affairs Audiobooks | Politics

Trust the Plan: The Rise of QAnon and the Conspiracy That Reshaped the World

How did a conspiracy theory reshape global politics? How did it tear families apart, inspire an insurrection and convince millions that a shadowy cabal was hellbent on eating children, and only Donald Trump could stop them? On the 6th of January, 2021 thousands of Trump supporters stormed the United States Capitol. Their banners read, Trust the Plan, a reference to an alarming conspiracy theory that had gained unstoppable momentum over the last four years: these were followers of QAnon. Decoding online clues from a mysterious figure – who has claimed to be a high-level government insider – QAnon adherents believe that Donald Trump has been anointed by God to stop a depraved deep state government, that sexually abuse, kill, and eat children. But QAnon has also become a broad church of out-there beliefs, offering a welcoming community to anti-vaxxers, flat earthers, eugenicists and white nationalists. With first hand access to the leading figures in the movement, investigative journalist Will Sommer unpacks the bizarre story of how a post from one of the darkest corners of the internet, became a belief system for millions; how politicians cozied up to extremists; how an unwavering trust in these ideas tore apart families, caused a mafia boss’s assassination, and threatened democracy. Trust the Plan is a timely and essential look on how the internet radicalised our politics, and how millions were convinced to believe the unbelievable.

Will Sommer (Author), Joe Knezevich (Narrator)

Audiobook

Uncovered: How the Media Got Cozy With Power, Abandoned its Principles, and Lost the People

Media critic and former CNN executive Steve Krakauer spotlights the problems of a news industry filled with geographically isolated, introspection-free, egomaniacal journalists. The fourth estate is supposed to be a conduit to the people and a check on power. Instead, we have a bunch of geographically isolated, introspection-free, cozy-with-power, egomaniacal journalists thirsty for elite approval. No one understands these problems (and people) better than Steve Krakauer, one of America's sharpest media critics. He has spent years getting to know some of the most influential players in the industry. This fascinating book is what he's learned--and why every American should care. In Uncovered, Krakauer gives readers an extended peek behind the curtain of the media challenges in America today. The book dives deep into some of the most important and egregious examples of the elite censorship collusion racket, like how tech suppression and media fear led to the New York Post-Hunter Biden email debacle before the 2020 election. Krakauer takes readers inside CNN after the shock Trump election, inside the New York Times after the Tom Cotton op-ed backlash, inside ESPN after the shift away from sports-only coverage, and more--revealing never-before-seen details about the press over the past five years. Krakauer pulls from his own experience as a former CNN executive and through dozens of exclusive on-the-record interviews with media members in and around the industry--from Tucker Carlson and others at Fox News, to journalists at the New York Times, MSNBC, and CNN. This is a rational, independent (and fun) inside look at the broken news industry in America--assessing where everything went wrong, and how to fix it. Steve Krakauer doesn't hate the media. He loves it and he wants to make it better. But it has a long way to go, and admitting the problems is the first step. In Uncovered, the long road back to trust and relevance begins.

Steve Krakauer (Author), Steve Krakauer (Narrator)

Audiobook

NOT Accountable: Rethinking the Constitutionality of Public Employee Unions

'Elected leaders come and go, but public unions just say no.' Hiding in plain sight is a fatal defect of modern democracy. Public employee unions have a death grip on the operating machinery of government. Schools can't work, bad cops can't be fired, and politicians sell their souls for union support. With this searing five-point indictment, Philip K. Howard argues that union controls have disempowered elected executives and should be unconstitutional. Elected officials answer to public employees. Basic tools of good government have been eliminated. There's no accountability, detailed union entitlements make government largely unmanageable and unaffordable, and public policies are driven by what is good for public employees, not what is good for the public. Public unions keep it that way by brute political force-harnessing the huge cohort of public employees into a political force dedicated to preventing the reform of government. The solution, Howard argues, is not political but constitutional. America's republican form of government requires an executive branch that is empowered to implement public policies, not one shackled to union controls. Public employees have a fiduciary duty to serve the public and should not be allowed to organize politically to harm the public.

Philip K. Howard (Author), Eric Jason Martin (Narrator)

Audiobook

This Was CNN: How Sex, Lies, and Spies Undid the World's Worst News Network

A CNN insider reveals what he saw behind the scenes at the cable news giant and the investigation that revealed even more shocking secrets. Cary Poarch started working at CNN in the summer of 2017 as a die-hard Bernie Sanders supporter. But on his first location shoot during the Charlottesville riots, he quickly became disillusioned with how the network created the “fine people” hoax. This began a political odyssey as he documented numerous incidents of outright bias, eventually leading him to contact James O’Keefe of Project Veritas. For months, Cary Poarch documented CNN’s rampant political bias for Project Veritas, and saw how the network was dividing the country. When the story was released by Project Veritas, it was seen by millions. This audiobook continues his investigation and uncovers even more shocking information about the behavior of network personnel, CNN’s ties to the Biden White House, CNN’s creation of a terrifying digital warfare capacity, and the possible penetration of CNN by our own intelligence agencies. Cary partnered with two-time New York Times bestselling author, Kent Heckenlively, and together they uncovered even more shocking secrets about “the most trusted name in news.

Cary Poarch, Kent Heckenlively (Author), Chris Abell (Narrator)

Audiobook

An End to the Upside Down Reset: The Leftist Vision for Society Under the “Great Reset”—and How It C

Whether you realize it or not, a vision for society—called the “Great Reset”—was formally unveiled by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in 2020, several months after COVID-19 emerged. The WEF is one of the most influential bodies in the world and has ties to the highest levels of global governments and industries. In fact, its Great Reset has implications for our collective future in terms of culture, politics, economics, the environment, technology, and metaphysics. So if you don’t think this subject affects you and your family—think again. In Mark Gober’s An End to the Upside Down Reset, he deconstructs the Great Reset’s stated vision. He demonstrates that while the proposed societal changes might sound compassionate, in practice they could be harmful. Moreover, the Great Reset largely aligns with a leftist worldview that dominates modern education and media—and it becomes even more entrenched because of unconscious psychological biases. Breaking through the fog of this programming allows one to see that the Great Reset risks bringing about a dystopia. This book enables listeners to view ongoing trends with a fresh set of eyes. And it’s an essential exercise: our ability to discern where the Great Reset is taking us could determine our civilization’s future.

Mark Gober (Author), Mark Gober (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Rise of the BJP: The Making of the World's Largest Political Party: The Making of the World's La

The Bharatiya Janata Party is an idea that was seeded into the minds of nationalist Jana Sangh leaders when they began to envision India after Independence. Much like the very core the freedom struggle was built on, they saw India as a demographically, culturally and historically cohesive and unified nation - as Bharat.In this book, senior BJP leader and cabinet minister Bhupender Yadav and leading economist Ila Patnaik come together to trace the BJP's journey from its humble roots, through ups and downs and to eventually getting 303 seats in Lok Sabha in 2019 and becoming the world's largest political party. While focusing on the larger economics and political story, the book encapsulates many smaller, yet hugely significant stories of individuals and incidents, which brought the BJP to where it stands now.For the first time ever, The Rise of the BJP, tells us the inside story of how one of the most powerful political parties makes decisions, implements ideas and executes policy. Meticulously researched and immensely readable, the book shows us how the BJP fought competing ideologies, political assaults and catapulted to the centre stage of national politics.

Bhupendar Yadav, Ila Pattnaik (Author), Dipti Singh (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Case for Cancel Culture: How This Democratic Tool Works to Liberate Us All

This program is read by the author. 'A necessary discourse about power and control, and who ultimately has a voice versus whose is often stifled.' —Preston D. Mitchum, LGBTQIA attorney, activist, and adjunct professor of law at Georgetown University The first major case for cancel culture as a fundamental means of democratic expression throughout history, and timely necessity aimed at combating systems of oppression. “ is canceled.” Chances are, you’ve heard this a lot lately. What might’ve once been a niche digital term has been legitimized in the discourse of presidents, politicians, and lawmakers. But what really is cancel culture? Blacklisting celebrities? Censorship? Until now, this has been the general consensus in the media. But it’s time to raise the bar on our definition— to think of cancel culture less as scandal or suppression, and more as an essential means of democratic expression and accountability. The Case for Cancel Culture does just that. This cultural critique from award-winning journalist Ernest Owens offers a fresh progressive lens in favor of cancel culture as a tool for activism and change. Using examples from politics, pop culture, and his own personal experience, Owens helps readers reflect on and learn the long history of canceling (spoiler: the Boston Tea Party was cancel culture); how the left and right uniquely equip it as part of their political toolkits; how intersections of society wield it for justice; and ultimately how it levels the playing field for the everyday person’s voice to matter. Why should we care? Because in a world where protest and free speech are being challenged by the most powerful institutions, those without power deserve to understand the nuance and importance of this democratic tool available to them. Readers will walk away from this first-of-its-kind exploration not despising cancel culture but embracing it as a form of democratic expression that’s always been leading the charge in liberating us all. 'An important tool for all times, and for anyone looking to learn how to have the difficult but necessary conversations about race, injustice, inequality, and oppression.' —Dawn Ennis, award-winning journalist, advocate, and university professor A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press.

Ernest Owens (Author), Ernest Owens (Narrator)

Audiobook

What's Our Problem?: A Self-Help Book for Societies

From the creator of the wildly popular blog Wait But Why, a fun and fascinating deep dive into what the hell is going on in our strange, unprecedented modern times. Between 2013 and 2016, Tim Urban became one of the world’s most popular bloggers, writing dozens of viral, long-form articles about everything from AI to colonizing Mars to procrastination. Then, he turned his attention to a new topic: the society around him. Why was everything such a mess? Why was everyone acting like such a baby? When did things get so tribal? Why do humans do this stuff? This massive topic sent Tim tumbling down his deepest rabbit hole yet, through mountains of history, evolutionary psychology, political theory, neuroscience, and modern-day political movements, as he tried to figure out the answer to a simple question: What’s our problem? Six years later, he emerged from the hole holding this book. What’s Our Problem? is a deep and expansive analysis of our modern times, in the classic style of Wait But Why, packed with original concepts, sticky metaphors, and 300 drawings. The book provides an entirely new framework and language for thinking and talking about today’s complex world. Instead of focusing on the usual left-center-right horizontal political axis, which is all about what we think, the book introduces a vertical axis that explores how we think, as individuals and as groups. Readers will find themselves on a delightful and fascinating journey that will ultimately change the way they see the world around them. Anyway he wanted to say a lot more about all of this but there was a word limit on this book description so just go listen to the book.

Tim Urban (Author), Tim Urban (Narrator)

Audiobook

How Hitchens Can Save the Left: Rediscovering Fearless Liberalism in an Age of Counter-Enlightenment

Christopher Hitchens was for many years considered one of the fiercest and most eloquent left-wing polemicists in the world. But on much of today's left, he's remembered as a defector, a warmonger, and a sellout-a supporter of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq who traded his left-wing principles for neoconservatism after the September 11 attacks. In How Hitchens Can Save the Left, Matt Johnson argues that this easy narrative gets Hitchens exactly wrong. Hitchens was a lifelong champion of free inquiry, humanism, and universal liberal values. He was an internationalist who believed all people should have the liberty to speak and write openly, to be free of authoritarian domination, and to escape the arbitrary constraints of tribe, faith, and nation. He was a figure of the Enlightenment and a man of the left until the very end, and his example has never been more important. Across the democratic world, free speech, individual rights, and other basic liberal values are losing their power to inspire. Hitchens's case for universal Enlightenment principles won't just help genuine liberals mount a resistance to the emerging illiberal orthodoxies on the left and the right. It will also remind us how to think and speak fearlessly in defense of those principles.

Matt Johnson (Author), Mike Chamberlain (Narrator)

Audiobook

Pasión por la ignorancia

El concepto de ignorancia necesita ser reevaluado, porque estamos atravesando un cambio revolucionario en la naturaleza del conocimiento. El desarrollo de la genética, la neurociencia y el big data ha cambiado la manera en que entendemos lo que puede conocerse sobre una persona. Los nuevos tipos de información traen aparejadas nuevas angustias, agravadas por lo difícil que resulta determinar con exactitud qué significará dicha información, quiénes tendrán acceso a ella y quiénes podrán usarla o manipularla. El surgimiento de nuevos tipos de información en el campo de la medicina implica que 'saber o no saber' ha cobrado una importancia vital para el individuo. Igual de importante es examinar la ignorancia en relación con los nuevos mecanismos de poder. En tiempos de crisis la gente, individualmente, suele optar por la ignorancia para no tener que procesar eventos o sentimientos traumáticos. No obstante, para algunos esta ignorancia no implica desconocimiento, sino más bien rendirse a un torrente ilimitado de información. Renata Salecl

Renata Salecl (Author), Cecilia Bona (Narrator)

Audiobook

News and Democratic Citizens in the Mobile Era

Though people frequently use mobile technologies for news consumption, evidence from several fields shows that smaller screens and slower connection speeds pose major limitations for meaningful reading. In News and Democratic Citizens in the Mobile Era, Johanna Dunaway and Kathleen Searles demonstrate the effects of mobile devices on news attention, engagement, and recall, and identify a key cognitive mechanism underlying these effects: cognitive effort. They advance a theory that is both old and new: the costs of information-seeking curb participatory behaviors unless the benefits outweigh them. For news consumers in the mobile era, for example, mobile devices increase the time, economic, and cognitive costs associated with information-seeking. Only for a small few do the benefits of attending to the news on mobile devices outweigh the costs. Dunaway and Searles argue that attention, engagement, and recall suffer when people consume news on mobile devices. They then investigate the implications of these effects for the news industry and for an informed democratic citizenry. Drawing on both laboratory and real-world studies, Dunaway and Searles bring the psychophysiology of news consumption to bear on the question of what we could lose in an information environment characterized by a dramatic shift in reliance on mobile devices.

Johanna Dunaway, Kathleen Searles (Author), Kim Niemi (Narrator)

Audiobook

Drawing Lines: Why Conservatives Must Begin to Battle Fiercely in the Arena of Ideas

It is time to draw our lines in the sand as Christians and Conservatives by engaging in public conversations with truth and conviction. Kira Davis has built a brand on reaching out to the other side, on giving people space to be wrong, the space to discuss, the space to tolerate. Unfortunately, the people controlling the public conversations right now will have none of it. We're seeing the lengths they will go to and the lies they let stand in service of crushing 50 percent of this nation. They seek unity through complete elimination of the other side. There are times for compromise and times to draw a line in the sand; the latter has arrived. It is time to draw our lines as Christians and Conservatives.

Kira Davis (Author), Madeline Mccray (Narrator)

Audiobook

Current Affairs Audiobooks in Politics