Science & Technology Audiobooks

Elderflora: A Modern History of Ancient Trees

The stories of the planet's oldest trees and what they have meant to human beings. Humans have always revered long-lived trees. But as historian Jared Farmer reveals in Elderflora, our veneration took a modern turn in the eighteenth century when naturalists embarked on a quest to locate and precisely date the oldest living things on earth. The new science of tree time prompted travellers to visit ancient specimens and conservationists to protect sacred groves. Exploitation accompanied sanctification, as old-growth forests succumbed to imperial expansion and the industrial revolution. Taking us from Lebanon to New Zealand to California, Farmer surveys the complex history of the world's oldest trees, including voices of Indigenous peoples, religious figures, and contemporary scientists who study elderflora in crisis. In a changing climate, a long future is still possible, Farmer shows, but only if we give care to young things that might grow old. Combining rigorous scholarship with lyrical writing, Elderflora chronicles the complex roles ancient trees have played in the modern world and illuminates how we might need old trees now more than ever.

Jared Farmer (Author), TBD (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Wise Animals: How Technology Has Made Us What We Are

Wise Animals explores the history of our relationship with technology, pointing out that we have been deeply involved with our creations from the first use of tools and the taming of fire, via the invention of reading and printing, to the development of the computer and the creation of the internet. Human children know no more of modern technology than their ancestors did of older technologies thousands of years ago, and develop in relation to the technologies of their time. We co-evolve with technology as individuals as we have as a species over thousands of years. The central message of Wise Animals is that we are neither masters nor victims of our technologies. They are part of who we are, and our future - and theirs - is in our hands.

Tom Chatfield (Author), TBD, Tom Chatfield (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Mediatrician's Guide: A Joyful Approach to Raising Healthy, Smart, Kind Kids in a Screen-Saturat

Children are growing up in a world of screens. They move seamlessly back and forth in a physical-digital environment. But parents are both worried and confused about when and how to introduce tablets, smartphones, even television. When it comes to navigating kids' use of media, all-or-nothing approaches are doomed to fail. Giving children free reign over their screen use carries potential risks to their physical and mental health and their emotional and social development. Yet rejecting digital media is undesirable (and probably impossible), since today's kids must navigate that realm to succeed in school and the world in which, as adults, they'll be expected to function well in a technology-rich environment. So how do we help young people establish mastery of screens and harness them for healthy development and social engagement? Features include: - Ask the Mediatrician: questions and answers based on Dr. Rich's long-running advice column and podcast - Media Rx: prescriptive content based on insights from the Digital Wellness Lab and CIMAID - Let's Chat: detailed discussions of special topics in media use and how to talk with your child about them - Digital Wellness Toolkit: a one-stop guide for actionable advice that you can customize for your family's specific needs Backed by evidence as well as decades of professional and personal practice, The Mediatrican's Guide will give parents peace of mind and kids much-needed tools to navigate digital media for the rest of their lives.

Michael Ogden Rich, Michael Rich, M.D., Mph (Author), Michael Rich, TBD (Narrator)

Audiobook

Fatal to Fearless: 12 Steps to Beating Cancer in a Broken Medical System

An empowering, soul-baring personal account and guide from a two-time cancer survivor and healthcare disrupter that shows anyone how to deal with a frightening medical diagnosis in America today, providing the knowledge necessary to take ownership of personal wellbeing and maximize the chances for survival. More than twenty-five years ago, Kathryn Giusti was diagnosed with multiple myeloma at age thirty-seven and given three years to live. With a young child, a happy marriage, and a successful career, Giusti had too much to live for. An “impatient patient,” she overcame her fear and got to work, learning to advocate for her own care. This book is the result of all she’s learned about how to get the best outcome from America’s opaque and sometimes impossible-to-navigate healthcare system. Fatal to Fearless tells the story of how Giusti took on the system and turned it to her advantage not once but twice when she was diagnosed with breast cancer a few years ago. It is a crash course in surviving a grim diagnosis, organized around twelve simple steps, with practical tips for everything from how to build your healthcare team and learning which online sources to trust, to understanding the science and identifying which tests to ask for in the new genomic era and how to access the treatments and studies that could save your life. At its center is a gripping personal story that reveals difficult, yet honest truths about illness, family, friendship, marriage, and the business of medicine. Giusti lays bare her soul as she walks you through the steps for handling any diagnosis and includes insights from medicine’s top insiders on the frontlines of physical and emotional healing and care. Sick people deserve a fighting chance. Giusti’s mission to democratize medicine—and healthcare—has never been more imperative, or more urgent. Hopeful, wise, and packed with hard-won knowledge, this book gives you the concrete tools and inspiration to fear less and live more.

Kathryn Giusti, Kathy Giusti (Author), Rosemary Benson, TBD (Narrator)

Audiobook

How AI Thinks: How we built it, how it can help us, and how we can control it

Brought to you by Penguin. Those who understand how AI thinks are about to win big. We are used to thinking of computers as being a step up from calculators - very good at storing information, and maybe even at playing a logical game like chess. But up to now they haven't been able to think in ways that are intuitive, or respond to questions as a human might. All that has changed, dramatically, in the past few years. Our search engines are becoming answer engines. Artificial intelligence is already revolutionising sectors from education to healthcare to the creative arts. But how does an AI understand sentiment or context? How does it play and win games that have an almost infinite number of moves? And how can we work with AI to produce insights and innovations that are beyond human capacity, from writing code in an instant to unfolding the elaborate 3D puzzles of proteins? We stand at the brink of a historic change that will disrupt society and at the same time create enormous opportunities for those who understand how AI thinks. Nigel Toon shows how we train AI to train itself, so that it can paint images that have never existed before or converse in any language. In doing so he reveals the strange and fascinating ways that humans think, too, as we learn how to live in a world shared by machine intelligences of our own creation. ©2024 Nigel Toon (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Nigel Toon (Author), Joe Jameson, TBD (Narrator)

Audiobook

Does My Dog Love Me?: Understanding how your dog sees the world

Brought to you by Penguin. Have you ever wondered what your dog is really thinking? Our dogs mean the world to us and as owners we do our best to make sure they feel happy and loved, whilst also keeping them in line when needed. But wouldn’t it be so much easier if we spoke the same language and could ask what they were thinking or feeling? In his latest book, top dog trainer, Graeme Hall, reveals the secrets to understanding what your furry companion is trying to say and how they see the world. Drawing on 15 years of experience training over 5,000 dogs, and backed up with scientific evidence, he tackles all the tricky questions you’ve ever wanted to ask, such as ‘how do I tell my dog he’s been naughty?’ and ‘how long does a dog remember?’. Sharing his own personal stories and practical tips, Graeme demonstrates how to interpret your dog's body language and use that knowledge to build a stronger, more rewarding relationship, as well as how to avoid common mistakes. Whether you're a seasoned dog owner or a new pup parent, this book will change the way you think about your four-legged best friend. ©2024 Graeme Hall (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Graeme Hall (Author), Graeme Hall, TBD (Narrator)

Audiobook

Turn to the Sun: Your Guide to Release Stress and Cultivate Better Health Through Nature

Turn to the Sun guides you down a nourishing path of uplifting affirmations, soul-refreshing meditations, and lush botanical photography that helps you heal in the company of nature. Approach your days with less anxiety, renewed vigor, and a deeper sense of well-being as you become grounded and soak up nature's restorative qualities. Whether you live in an urban jungle, on a suburban cul-de-sac, or at the edge of a national forest, you might find yourself more connected to technology than to nature. In the midst of the pings and rings of a device-dependent life, is getting close to nature even possible-or worth it? Wellness coach and the founder of Pause with Plants Brittany Gowan shows you how slowing down, unplugging, and connecting with the natural world is not only possible and absolutely worth it, but also essential. Brittany creates a reflective experience enhanced by plants that helps you find the calm and tranquility you crave. In these gorgeous, photo-filled pages, you'll find ways to: - Cultivate mindfulness as you let go of daily distractions - Let nature guide you into relishing the present moment - Use a nature-focused mindset to persist through challenges - Connect and ground yourself with nature anywhere, anytime - Nourish your relationship with yourself and the world around you Turn to the Sun includes: - Affirmations: simple statements that have a positive effect on your thoughts and actions - Meditations: guidance for reflection and contemplation to center your mind and body - How-tos: doable exercises to fully engage with the natural world - Stunning botanical photography: lush images of plants that pair with affirmations, meditations, and how-tos When in your life have you felt most alive? You can feel that way again. You can flourish, with purpose, whether you are in a waiting season or ready to blossom. It's time to pause. It's time to breathe. It's time to grow.

Brittany Gowan (Author), Brittany Gowan, TBD (Narrator)

Audiobook

Insulin: A Hundred-Year History

In 1922, researchers made one of the most important medical breakthroughs of the century: insulin. Their discovery seemed miraculous. When it was given to diabetic patients on the brink of death, their condition rapidly improved. However, this was no simple cure. Injections must be taken for life. Without them, symptoms quickly return, often with fatal results. But while a lifetime on insulin poses great challenges, it also offers opportunities. In this revelatory history, Stuart Bradwel looks back on one of medicine's most celebrated innovations. Setting professional narrative against subjective patient experience, he tells the story of a drug that has challenged many of the basic assumptions upon which medical practice is built, both inside and outside the clinic. Nevertheless, Bradwel reminds us that the centenary of this apparent 'wonder drug' should be no cause for celebration. Insulin often remains inaccessible to those who need it most: elusive prescriptions, uneven availability and sky-high prices result in rationing and desperate do-it-yourself research and development. In the face of bootstraps rhetoric and 'Pharma Bro' capitalists, patients across the world are left to fend for themselves. There is a long way to go in the twenty-first century until insulin truly fulfills the extraordinary promises made by its discovery.

Stuart Bradwel (Author), Michael Langan (Narrator)

Audiobook

Read Write Own: Building the Next Era of the Internet

Brought to you by Penguin. What will the internet of the future look like? The internet of today is a far cry from its early promise of a democratic network of unbridled innovation. In the last decade, it has fallen under the control of a small number of monopolistic companies like Apple, Google and Facebook; companies that limit the creative potential of the internet while seizing its proceeds for themselves. There is an alternative. Tech pioneer Chris Dixon has long advocated for a technology that can revive the dream of an open, entrepreneurial internet: blockchain networks. Often dismissed, sometimes vilified, these networks have until recently been dominated by amoral speculators and get-rich-quick schemes. But, more quietly, a group of visionaries have been using them to build the future. In Read Write Own, Dixon draws on 25 years at the vanguard of tech innovation to explore how blockchains will change the internet. He starts by introducing the three eras of the web. First came the ‘read’ era, in which the earliest networks democratized information – creating an anarchic playground for bloggers, coders and artists. Next came the ‘read-write’ era, in which sprawling corporations democratized publishing – turning us all into small-time content creators but offering us few of the rewards. We are now entering the ‘read-write-own’ era, sometimes called web3, in which blockchain networks have begun to democratize ownership – returning power and economic benefit to all who use the internet. And it is an internet we can all help create. Lucid and practical, Read Write Own offers both a vision of a better internet and a playbook for how to realise it. ©2024 Chris Dixon (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Chris Dixon (Author), Robert Petkoff, TBD (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Pride of a Lion: What the Animal Kingdom Can Teach Us About Survival, Fear and Family

Full of grit and resilience, the story of K’wasi the lion cub is one of heartbreak and triumph. He was born to Asha at Zoo Miami in late 2013 and captured the heart of the nation as an incredibly cute lion cub. K’wasi was orphaned in March 2014 when his mother tragically died. K’wasi’s remarkable journey takes him from the untimely death of his mother to stardom at Lion Country Safari. K’wasi’s story is told by world-renowned wildlife photographer and Zoo Miami’s “Goodwill Ambassador” Ron Magill, who documented and photographed every stage of K’wasi’s remarkable roller-coaster life. While society has only recently accepted the incredible emotional intelligence of dogs, pigs, and chimpanzees, through K’wasi’s remarkable story, Ron Magill details how evolved the animal kingdom truly is—lions in particular. Funny, engaging, touching and thrilling, The Pride of a Lion teaches us about family, resilience, and the meaning of life. Join Ron and his half-a-century career as he helps us all understand the life lessons the animal kingdom has for us.

Greg Cote, Ron Magill (Author), Jeffrey Beam (Narrator)

Audiobook

Paranoia: A Journey into Extreme Mistrust and Anxiety

'A TRULY IMPORTANT BOOK’ JOHN HUMPHRYS What is paranoia? What makes us mistrustful? How can this be overcome? Daniel Freeman, Professor of Psychology at Oxford, has spent thirty years at the vanguard of paranoia research and treatment. This remarkable and moving book tells the story of that journey. For decades, conventional wisdom held that paranoia was only experienced by people with severe mental health problems and little could be done to rectify its disastrous effects. Paranoia gives us a front row seat as Freeman turns the traditional view on its head. He develops life-changing treatments for clinical paranoia – often using state-of-the-art technology like virtual reality. He reveals that suspicion is rife in society, with paranoia widespread, conspiracy theories rampant and emotion all too often trumping evidence. He discovers the causes of mistrust, including the role of genes, trauma, lack of sleep, worry, low self-confidence, cannabis use and hearing voices, and delves into the murky world of Covid-19 conspiracy theories. Lighting up the narrative throughout are the rarely heard voices of people whose lives have been almost wrecked by paranoia – and then in many cases transformed by Freeman’s groundbreaking treatments. This is also a practical book. Freeman shows how we can measure our own levels of mistrust. He explains how we can remedy things if those levels are higher than we’d like, because although mistrust can seem engrained, things can change for the better. Ultimately, it can be overcome. Compelling and compassionate, this is a gripping tale from the front line of suspicion – an impassioned plea for the urgent rebuilding of trust between us all.

Daniel Freeman (Author), Robin Laing, TBD (Narrator)

Audiobook

Extremely Hardcore: Inside Elon Musk's Twitter

'Zoë Schiffer has written the definitive book on perhaps the weirdest business story of our time. A fast-paced and riveting account of a hilarious and tragic mess.' - Matt Levine, Bloomberg Opinion "Money Stuff" columnist "the bird is freed" - Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 27, 2022 When Elon Musk took over Twitter, commentators were rooting for the visionary behind Tesla and SpaceX to succeed. Here was a tough leader who could grab back power from Twitter's entitled workforce, motivate them to get "extremely hardcore," and supercharge Twitter's profit and potential. And it was all out of the goodness of his own heart, rooted in his fervent belief in the necessity of making Twitter friendlier to free speech. 'I didn't do it to make more money," Musk said. "I did it to try and help humanity, whom I love."  Once Musk charged into the Twitter headquarters, the command-and-control playbook Musk honed at Tesla and SpaceX went off the rails immediately. Distilling hundreds of hours of interviews with more than sixty employees, thousands of pages of internal documents, Slack messages, presentations, as well as court filings and congressional testimony, Extremely Hardcore is the true story of how Musk reshaped the world's online public square into his own personal megaphone. You'll hear from employees who witnessed the destruction of their workplace in real-time, seeing years of progress to fight disinformation and hate speech wiped out within a matter of months. There's the machine-learning savant who went all-in on Twitter 2.0 before getting betrayed by his new CEO, the father whose need for healthcare swept him into Musk's inner circle, the trust and safety expert who became the subject of a harassment campaign his former boss incited, and the many other employees who tried to save the company from their new boss's worst instincts. This is the story of Twitter, but it's also a chronicle of the post-pandemic labor movement, a war between executives and a workforce newly awakened to their rights and needs. Riveting, character-driven, and filled with jaw-dropping revelations, Extremely Hardcore is the definitive, fly-on-the-wall story of how Elon Musk lit $44 billion on fire and burned down Twitter. It's the next best thing to being there, and you won't have to sleep in the Twitter office to get the scoop.

Zoë Schiffer (Author), Jaime Lamchick (Narrator)

Audiobook