History Audiobooks | Politics

Ellie Mae O’hagan (Author), TBD (Narrator)

Audiobook

Blockchain Radicals: Building Beyond Capitalism

Blockchain Radicals uncovers the radical political potential of the blockchain, showing how it can be used by the left in the fight against capitalism. Over the last decade, blockchains and crypto have opened up a new terrain for political action. It is not surprising, however, that the crypto space has also become overrun by unscrupulous marketing, theft, and scams. The problem is real, but it isn't a new one. Capitalism has ruined crypto, but that shouldn't be the end of it. Blockchain Radicals shows us how this has happened, and how to fix crypto in a way that is understandable for those who have never owned a cryptocurrency as well as those who are building their own decentralized applications. Covering everything from how Bitcoin saved WikiLeaks to decentralized finance, worker cooperatives, the environmental impact of Bitcoin and NFTs, and the crypto commons, it shows how these new tools can be used to challenge capitalism and build a better world for all of us. While crypto is often thought of as being synonymous with unbridled capitalism, Blockchain Radicals shows how the technology can be used for more radical purposes, beyond individual profit and towards collective autonomy.

Josh Davila, Joshua Dávila (Author), Jonathan Todd Ross (Narrator)

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The Spanish and Portuguese in the New World: The History and Legacy of the First European Rivalry in

In 1451, Prince Henry the Navigator helped fund and develop a new type of ship, the caravel, that featured triangular lateen sails and would be able to travel in the open ocean and sail against the wind. In 1488, Bartholomew Diaz rounded the southern tip of Africa, named the Cape of Good Hope by King John of Portugal, and entered the Indian Ocean from the Atlantic. One explorer, Christopher Columbus, sought funding from the Portuguese to search for a passage to Asia by sailing westwards, but he was rejected. At this time in the late 15th century, Portugal’s domination of the western African sea routes prompted the neighboring Crown of Castile and the Catholic monarchs in modern Spain to search for an alternative route to south and east Asia (termed Indies), so they provided Columbus with the funding he required. By the time Christopher Columbus started setting back east from the New World after landing there in October 1492, he had explored San Salvador in the Bahamas (which he thought was Japan), Cuba (which he thought was China), and Hispaniola, the source of gold. As the common story goes, Columbus, en route back to Spain from his first journey, called in at Lisbon as a courtesy to brief the Portuguese King John II of his discovery of the New World. King John subsequently protested that according to the 1479 Treaty of Alcáçovas, which divided the Atlantic Ocean between Spanish and Portuguese spheres of influence, the newly discovered lands rightly belonged to Portugal. To make clear the point, a Portuguese fleet was authorized and dispatched west from the Tagus to lay claim to the “Indies,” which prompted a flurry of diplomatic activity in the court of Ferdinand and Isabella.

Charles River Editors (Author), Victoria Woodson (Narrator)

Audiobook

Empireworld: How British Imperialism Has Shaped the Globe

Brought to you by Penguin. Empireland examined imperialism's lasting impact on Britain. Empireworld traces the legacies of British empire across the globe. 2.6 billion people are inhabitants of former British colonies. The empire's influence upon the quarter of the planet it occupied, and its gravitational influence upon the world outside it, has been profound: from the spread of Christianity by missionaries to nearly 1 in 3 driving on the left side of the road, and even shaping the origins of international law. Yet Britain's idea of its imperial history and the world's experience of it are two very different things. In Empireworld, award-winning author and journalist, Sathnam Sanghera extends his examination of British imperial legacies beyond Britain. Travelling the globe to trace its international legacies - from Barbados and Mauritius to India and Nigeria and beyond - Sanghera demonstrates just how deeply British imperialism is baked into our world. And why it's time Britain was finally honest with itself about empire. PRAISE FOR EMPIRELAND 'Empireland, [a] scorching polemic on the afterburn of empire' Ferdinand Mount, Financial Times 'This book should be on the compulsory reading list of every secondary school in the country' John Simpson 'A compelling and distressing look at how imperialism has defined modern Britain' David Harewood 'I am sold on the larger part of Sanghera's thesis, that the empire could be rotten and we didn't know enough about it . . . The history is on Sanghera's side. The facts speak for themselves' Tim Stanley, Daily Telegraph ©2024 Sathnam Sanghera (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Sathnam Sanghera (Author), Homer Todiwala, TBD (Narrator)

Audiobook

A First-Rate Madness: Uncovering the Links Between Leadership and Mental Illness

The New York Times bestseller "A glistening psychological history, faceted largely by the biographies of eight famous leaders . . ." -The Boston Globe "A provocative thesis . . . Ghaemi's book deserves high marks for original thinking." -The Washington Post "Provocative, fascinating." -Salon.com Historians have long puzzled over the apparent mental instability of great and terrible leaders alike: Napoleon, Lincoln, Churchill, Hitler, and others. In A First-Rate Madness, Nassir Ghaemi, director of the Mood Disorders Program at Tufts Medical Center, offers a myth-shattering exploration of the powerful connections between mental illness and leadership and sets forth a controversial, compelling thesis: The very qualities that mark those with mood disorders also make for the best leaders in times of crisis. From the importance of Lincoln's 'depressive realism' to the lackluster leadership of exceedingly sane men as Neville Chamberlain, A First-Rate Madness overturns many of our most cherished perceptions about greatness and the mind.

Nassir Ghaemi (Author), Adam Barr (Narrator)

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The Grounds of Political Legitimacy

Political decisions have the potential to greatly impact our lives. Think of decisions in relation to abortion or climate change, for example. This makes political legitimacy an important normative concern. But what makes political decisions legitimate? Are they legitimate in virtue of having support from the citizens? Democratic conceptions of political legitimacy answer in the affirmative. Such conceptions rightly highlight that legitimate political decision-making must be sensitive to disagreements among the citizens. Peter argues that the legitimacy of political decisions doesn't just depend on respect for the citizens' will; and defends a novel hybrid conception of political legitimacy, called the Epistemic Accountability conception. According to this conception, political legitimacy also depends on how political decision-making responds to evidence for what there is most reason to do. The Grounds of Political Legitimacy starts with an overview of the main ways in which philosophers have thought about political legitimacy, and identifies the epistemic accountability conception as an overlooked alternative. Considering the norms that should govern political debate, it examines the role of experts in politics, and probes the responsibilities of democratically elected political leaders and as well as of citizens.

Fabienne Peter (Author), Eva Wilhelm (Narrator)

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Aid State: Elite Panic, Disaster Capitalism, and the Battle to Control Haiti

Haiti’s state is near-collapse: armed groups have overrun the country, many government officials have fled after the 2021 assassination of President Moise, refugees desperately set out on boats to reach the US and Latin America, and the economy reels from the after-effects of disasters, both man-made and natural, that destroyed much of Haiti’s infrastructure. How did a nation founded on liberation—a people that successfully revolted against their colonizers and enslavers—come to such a precipice? In Aid State, Jake Johnston, researcher and writer at the Center for Economic and Policy Research, reveals how US and European capitalist goals re-enslaved Haiti under the guise of helping it. To the global West, Haiti has always been a place where labor is cheap, politicians are compliant, and profits are to be made. Over the course of nearly 100 years, the US has sought to control Haiti with occupying police, military, and euphemistically-called peacekeeping forces, as well as hand-picked leaders meant to quell uprisings and protect corporate interests. Earthquakes and hurricanes only further hurt a state already decimated by the aid industrial complex. Based on years of on-the-ground reporting in Haiti and interviews with politicians in the US and Haiti, UN officials, and Haitians who struggle for their lives, homes, and families, Aid State is a conscience-searing book of witness.

Jake Johnston (Author), James Lurie (Narrator)

Audiobook

American Epic: Reading the U.S. Constitution

In 1987, E. L. Doctorow celebrated the Constitution's bicentennial by reading it. 'It is five thousand words long but reads like fifty thousand,' he said. Distinguished legal scholar Garrett Epps disagrees. It's about 7,500 words. And Doctorow 'missed a good deal of high rhetoric, many literary tropes, and even a trace of, if not wit, at least irony,' he writes. In American Epic, Epps takes us through a complete reading of the Constitution to achieve an appreciation of its power and a holistic understanding of what it says. In this book he seeks not to provide a definitive interpretation, but to listen to the language and ponder its meaning. He draws on four modes of reading: scriptural, legal, lyric, and epic. The Constitution's first three words, for example, sound spiritual-but Epps finds them to be more aspirational than prayer-like. He turns the Second Amendment into a poem to illuminate its ambiguity. He notices oddities and omissions. The Constitution lays out rules for presidential appointment of officers, for example, but not removal. Should the Senate approve each firing? Can it withdraw its 'advice and consent' and force a resignation? And he challenges himself, as seen in his surprising discussion of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in light of Article 4, which orders states to give 'full faith and credit' to the acts of other states.

Garrett Epps (Author), Lee Goettl (Narrator)

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Robert's Rules of Order Fast Track: The Brief and Easy Guide to Parliamentary Procedure for the Mode

Must-Have Advice on Running Effective and Organized Meetings Easy, accessible, and to the point. Robert's Rules of Order gives you everything you need to know to conduct shorter, fairer, and more orderly meetings. In this new and improved update, you'll find: -The fundamentals of parliamentary procedure, with tips on knowing which rules to use for your meetings. -Simple suggestions for making, seconding, and debating motions. -A primer on voting, from knowing when it's required, to breaking ties, to handling absentee and proxy votes. -Straightforward strategies for setting and sticking to an agenda and efficiently recording your meeting's minutes. -Tips for handling disruptive members and tyrannical chairs. -All-new guidance on conducting the modern virtual meeting. Jim Slaughter is an attorney, professional parliamentarian, and past president of the American College of Parliamentary Lawyers. He serves as parliamentarian to many of the largest trade and professional associations. He is co-author of Notes and Comments on Robert's Rules. Jim is a partner in the North Carolina law firm Rossabi Black Slaughter, PA. © 2022 Jim Slaughter © 2023 DK Audio

Jim Slaughter (Author), Greg Lockett (Narrator)

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The Last Best Hope: A History of American Realism

In this brilliant exploration of American history and contemporary conservative politics, foreign policy expert John Hulsman draws on his years at the heart of Washington to present a compelling new vision of conservative realism. In our current Age of Insecurity, Hulsman suggests, there has never been a bigger need for the re-ascendance of realist principles in conservative circles. By drawing on U.S. history to illustrate realist precepts at the heart of the American story, The Last Best Hope provides a practical, realist foreign policy for a new age of American politics. There has never been a greater time to re-claim the primacy of conservative thought. By fusing the populist Jacksonian base of the GOP with the more libertarian Jeffersonian school of thought, this cogently argued manifesto hopes to grasp that opportunity, and to act as a clarion call for a new dominant realist foreign policy.

John Hulsman (Author), John Hulsman (Narrator)

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[German] - Hedwig Dohm: Der Frauen Natur und Recht: Ein Essay. Ungekürzt gelesen.

Hedwig Dohm (1831-1919) war eine deutsche Schriftstellerin, Frauenrechtlerin und eine der ersten feministischen Theoretikerinnen. Die Großmutter von Katia Mann, der Gattin Thomas Manns, war sie obendrein. Im Jahr 1874 veröffentlichte sie ihr Essay 'Der Frauen Natur und Recht', das unter anderem die den Frauen zugeschriebenen 'weiblichen' Eigenschaften behandelt, sowie das Frauenwahlrecht. . Cover-Illustration von Lea Pfeiffer

Hedwig Dohm (Author), Lea Pfeiffer (Narrator)

Audiobook

[German] - Hedwig Dohm: Die wissenschaftliche Emanzipation der Frau: Ein Essay. Ungekürzt gelesen.

Hedwig Dohm (1831-1919) war eine deutsche Schriftstellerin, Frauenrechtlerin und eine der ersten feministischen Theoretikerinnen. Die Großmutter von Katia Mann, der Gattin Thomas Manns, war sie obendrein. Im Jahr1874 veröffentlichte sie ihr Essay 'Die wissenschaftliche Emanzipation der Frau', das unter anderem die Fragen behandelt, ob Frauen studieren dürfen, können - oder sogar sollen. . Cover-Illustration von Lea Pfeiffer

Hedwig Dohm (Author), Lea Pfeiffer (Narrator)

Audiobook

History Audiobooks in Politics