Political Ideologies Audiobooks | Politics

When the Clock Broke: Con Men, Conspiracists, and How America Cracked Up in the Early 1990s

A lively, revelatory look back at the convulsions at the end of the Reagan era—and their dark legacy today. With the Soviet Union extinct, Saddam Hussein defeated, and U.S. power at its zenith, the early 1990s promised a “kinder, gentler America.” Instead, it was a period of rising anger and domestic turmoil, anticipating the polarization and resurgent extremism we know today. In When the Clock Broke, the acclaimed political writer John Ganz tells the story of America’s late-century discontents. Ranging from upheavals in Crown Heights and Los Angeles to the advent of David Duke and the heartland survivalists, the broadcasts of Rush Limbaugh, and the bitter disputes between neoconservatives and the “paleo-con” right, Ganz immerses us in a time when what Philip Roth called the “indigenous American berserk” took new and ever-wilder forms. In the 1992 campaign, Pat Buchanan's and Ross Perot’s insurgent populist bids upended the political establishment, all while Americans struggled through recession, alarm about racial and social change, the specter of a new power in Asia, and the end of Cold War–era political norms. Conspiracy theories surged, and intellectuals and activists strove to understand the “Middle American Radicals” whose alienation fueled new causes. Meanwhile, Bill Clinton appeared to forge a new, vital center, though it would not hold for long. In a rollicking, eye-opening book, Ganz narrates the fall of the Reagan order and the rise of a new and more turbulent America.

John Ganz (Author), Eric Jason Martin, TBD (Narrator)

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Invisible Rulers: The People Who Turn Lies into Reality

A brilliant, original investigation into the radical shift of power as invisible rulers create bespoke realities revolutionizing politics, culture, and society. Anyone who wishes to destroy legitimate political and social power has a new weapon. It is the anarchist's dream, a force so shockingly effective that its destructive power seems limitless. Scientific proof is powerless in front of it; democratic validity is bulldozed by it; leaders are humiliated by it. What we used to call influence has become something violently toxic. Renée DiResta gives us a powerful original framing to explain how it now shapes public opinion through a virtual rumor mill of niche propagandists. While they position themselves as trustworthy "Davids", their reach, influence, and economics make them classic Goliaths, invisible rulers who create bespoke realities that control the destinies of millions of people, their work driven by a simple maxim: "if you make it trend, you make it true." By revealing the machinery and the dynamics of the interplay between influencers, algorithms, and online crowds, DiResta vividly illustrates the way belief in the fundamental legitimacy of institutions that make society work is deliberately undermined. This alternate system for shaping public opinion, unexamined until now, is rewriting the relationship between the people and their government in profoundly disturbing ways. From taking on and defeating California's anti-vaxxers a decade ago to uncovering the ways that China and Russia target the American public and our elections, - and now herself a target of Congressmen Jim Jordan and hyper-partisans of the lunatic fringe - DiResta has not merely been an observer of the machinery promulgating the Big Lie and the unyielding culture wars. As analyst, investigator, and participant, she provides unprecedented insight into the way influencers shape the opinion and behavior of massive crowds, with the power to drive those crowds into battle - while bearing no responsibility for the consequences.

Renee Diresta (Author), Anna Caputo, TBD (Narrator)

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Progressively Worse: Why Today's Democrats Ain't Your Daddy's Donkeys

The beloved Fox News contributor and national bestselling author delves into the ideological war between today’s Democrats and opinions they held just a few years ago. In the 1990s, Democrats supported balanced budgets, smaller government, border security, equal opportunity (not outcomes), reducing the deficit, and prioritizing blue-collar issues. However, according to Joe Concha, these are things that Democrats are against now. Today, Democrats want people to believe that they know what is morally right and that they have always supported their current views. However, Concha argues that nothing sums up the Democrats better than John Kerry's famous quote, 'I actually did vote for the $87 billion, before I voted against it.' In his book, Progressively Worse, Concha delves deep into the political landscape, unearthing how the Democratic Party has changed. He covers every hot-button issue, from identity politics to socialism to the war in Ukraine, as he criticizes today's left and its allies in the media.

Joe Concha (Author), John Pruden, TBD (Narrator)

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Democracy or Else: How to Save America in 10 Easy Steps

From your friends at Pod Save America comes a useful and illustrated guide to saving American democracy just in time for the 2024 election and 2025 insurrection If you’re looking to navigate the chaotic, dunce-infested waters of American politics, Democracy or Else is here to help you tackle what might be the greatest question of our time: How do you get involved in the political process and make a real difference without giving in to the sense of impending dread that hangs over our society like a nameless stench? Each chapter will take readers step-by-step through the perilous journey of - Getting informed when you don’t know which influencer to trust (all of them!) - Donating and volunteering where you can have the biggest impact - Organizing, protesting, and even running for office yourself - Staying engaged in politics without losing hope or your mind or all of your friends Democracy or Else is a resource for everyone—from political junkies following every turn of the news cycle to young people getting ready to vote for the first time. And it's filled with practical advice from some of the smartest experts and least annoying politicians around. The stakes and average global temperatures have never been higher—but there have also never been so many opportunities to join the fight. It’s an age of contradictions!

Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, Josh Halloway, Tommy Vietor (Author), Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, TBD, Tommy Vietor (Narrator)

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American Covenant: How the Constitution Unified Our Nation—And Could Again

A top conservative scholar reveals the Constitution's remarkable power to repair our broken civic culture, rescue our malfunctioning politics, and unify a fractious America Common ground is hard to find in today's politics. In a society teeming with irreconcilable political perspectives, many people have grown frustrated under a system of government that constantly demands compromise. More and more on both the right and the left have come to blame the Constitution for the resulting discord. But the Constitution is not the problem we face; it is the solution. Blending engaging history with lucid analysis, conservative scholar Yuval Levin's American Covenant recovers the Constitution's true genius and reveals how it charts a path to repairing America's fault lines. Uncovering the framers' sophisticated grasp of political division, Levin showcases the Constitution's exceptional power to facilitate constructive disagreement, negotiate resolutions to disputes, and forge unity in a fractured society. Clear-eyed about the ways that contemporary politics have malfunctioned, Levin also offers practical solutions for reforming those aspects of the constitutional order that have gone awry. Hopeful, insightful, and rooted in the best of our political tradition, American Covenant celebrates the Constitution's remarkable power to bind together a diverse society, reassuring us that a less divided future is within our grasp.

Yuval Levin (Author), Leon Nixon, TBD (Narrator)

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Fear Itself

Tammy Bruce (Author), Tammy Bruce, Tbd (Narrator)

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Rebellion: The Antiliberal Tradition That is Tearing America Apart – Again

Robert Kagan (Author), Jason Culp, TBD (Narrator)

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The Court v. the Voters: The Troubling Story of How the Supreme Court Has Undermined Voting Rights

An urgent and gripping look at the erosion of voting rights and its implications for democracy, told through the stories of 9 Supreme Court decisions-and the next looming case In The Court v. The Voters, law professor Joshua Douglas takes us behind the scenes of significant cases in voting rights-some surprising and unknown, some familiar-to investigate the historic crossroads that have irrevocably changed our elections and the nation. In crisp and accessible prose, Douglas tells the story of each case, sheds light on the intractable election problems we face as a result, and highlights the unique role the highest court has played in producing a broken electoral system. Douglas charts infamous cases like: - Bush v. Gore, which opened the door to many election law claims - Citizens United, which contributed to skewed representation-but perhaps not in the way you might think - Shelby County v. Holder, which gutted the vital protections of the Voting Rights Act - Crawford v. Marion County Elections Board, which allowed states to enforce voter ID laws and make it harder for people to vote The Court v. The Voters powerfully reminds us of the tangible, real-world effects from the Court's voting rights decisions. While we can-and should-lament the democracy that might have been, Douglas argues that we can-and should-double down in our efforts to protect the right to vote.

Joshua A. Douglas (Author), Chris Baetens, TBD (Narrator)

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The Parent Revolution: Rescuing Your Kids from the Radicals Ruining Our Schools

From the leader of the online army in America's parental rights movement comes the real story of how moms and dads across the country are turning the tide against radical activists in public schools. It's no secret that our government-run public education system has held generations of Americans hostage. The teachers unions-the government's stormtroopers-have been hard at work running a mass misinformation campaign to convince parents that because this is how it has always been, this is how it has to be. But here's what you may not realize: the parents are winning, and we have entered the death spiral of the education dictatorship. The school choice revolution is here, and moms and dads are successfully restoring parental rights in education, one state, one school district at a time. In The Parent Revolution, Dr. Corey A. DeAngelis-public enemy #1 of the teachers' unions - takes readers inside this movement like no one else can. As Vox reported in late 2023, DeAngelis has become "the public face" of the effort, "traveling from state to state, holding rallies, making media appearances, and tweeting constantly." Or as another education voice put it, "No one in education policy, advocacy, or activism has ever lived rent-free in more heads at once than Corey DeAngelis." As America's most prominent and influential advocate of school choice, DeAngelis unapologetically argues why parents and political leaders must lean into the culture war taking place in schools. He exposes the hypocritical elites who are content to hold other people's children captive to poorly run government schools while sending their own children to the best private and charter schools out there. And most importantly, he equips readers with the ability to make sure the potent forces of the educational industrial complex don't regain their footing.

Corey A. Deangelis (Author), Chris Abell, TBD (Narrator)

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The Searchers: Five Rebels, Their Dream of a Different Britain, and Their Many Enemies

Brought to you by Penguin. In the great revolutionary year of 1968, Tony Benn was a respectable Labour minister in his forties, and he was restless. While new social movements were shaking up Britain and much of the world, Westminster politics seemed stuck. It was time, he decided, for a different approach. Over the next half century, the radicalized Benn helped forge a new left in Britain. He was joined by four other politicians, who would become comrades, collaborators and rivals: Ken Livingstone, John McDonnell, Diane Abbott and Jeremy Corbyn. For Andy Beckett, the story of these admired and loathed political explorers - both their sudden breakthroughs and long stretches in the wilderness - is the untold story of British politics in modern times. As he reveals, their project to create a radically more equal, liberal and democratic Britain has been much more influential than electoral history might suggest, and can be seen from the shape of our city life to the causes of our culture wars. For their many detractors, this influence was and remains dangerous: a form of extremism that must be stamped out. But as these five searchers believed, in politics there is no total victory - nor total defeat. ©2024 Andy Beckett (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Andy Beckett (Author), Alexi Armitage, TBD (Narrator)

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No Going Back: The Truth on What's Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward

The New York Times bestselling author, governor of South Dakota, and former congresswoman shares eye-opening realities of DC dysfunction, revelations from leading her state through unprecedented challenge, and how we seize this moment to move America forward. Any elected official can talk about how broken our government is. But their solutions always seem to involve more money, new programs-and reelection to another term. Few offer an unfiltered glimpse into how government actually works, empowering citizens with the knowledge to be part of the solution. Governor Kristi Noem never planned on being in politics. But her concern for our nation compelled her, on a local, national, and global level. Because she took a different path into public service, as a concerned mom and rancher, her insights help every citizen understand how positive change really happens, despite the dysfunction in Washington DC. Governor Noem explains how the country is not going back to the Republican party of the 2000s. And that's a good thing. This book is packed with surprising stories and practical lessons from the front lines of the battle. And she names names. A lot has changed since 2016, and based on her accomplishments in Congress and as Governor, no one is better equipped than Kristi Noem to explain the tremendous opportunities this opens up for every American.

Kristi Noem (Author), Kristi Noem, TBD (Narrator)

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The Hollow Parties: The Many Pasts and Disordered Present of American Party Politics

America's political parties are hollow shells of what they could be, locked in a polarized struggle for power and unrooted as civic organizations. The Hollow Parties takes listeners from the rise of mass party politics in the Jacksonian era through the years of Barack Obama and Donald Trump. Today's parties, overbearing and ineffectual, have emerged from the interplay of multiple party traditions that reach back to the Founding. Daniel Schlozman and Sam Rosenfeld paint unforgettable portraits of figures such as Martin Van Buren, whose pioneering Democrats invented the machinery of the mass political party, and Abraham Lincoln and other heroic Republicans of that party's first generation who stood up to the Slave Power. And they show how today's fractious party politics arose from the ashes of the New Deal order in the 1970s. Activists in the wake of the 1968 Democratic National Convention transformed presidential nominations but failed to lay the foundations for robust, movement-driven parties. Instead, modern American conservatism hollowed out the party system. Party hollowness lies at the heart of our democratic discontents. With historical sweep and political acuity, The Hollow Parties offers answers to pressing questions about how the nation's parties became so dysfunctional-and how they might yet realize their promise.

Daniel Schlozman, Sam Rosenfeld (Author), Tom Beyer (Narrator)

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Political Ideologies Audiobooks in Politics