Sociology

Now available as an unabridged recording for the first time NATIONAL BESTSELLER Discover the game-changing theory of the cycles of history and what past generations can teach us about living through times of upheaval—with deep insights into the roles that Boomers, Generation X, and...

Imagine you are dying with a secret. Something you've never had the courage to tell your friends and family. Or a last wish - a task you need carried out before you can rest in peace. Now imagine there's a man who can take care of all that, who has no respect for the living, who will do anything...

Campbell outlines the Hero's Journey, a universal motif of adventure and transformation that runs through virtually all of the world's mythic traditions....

A private investigator with a haunting past, Bill Edgar's life was never destined to be ordinary. Rising to international fame as the 'Coffin Confessor' - the man who crashes funerals on behalf of the deceased, giving voice to their last wishes - Bill dismantled many of the assumptions we hold...

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A bold work from the author of The Black Swan that challenges many of our long-held beliefs about risk and reward, politics and religion, finance and personal responsibility In his most provocative and practical book yet, one of the foremost thinkers of our...

Since the original publication of Nudge more than a decade ago, the title has entered the vocabulary of businesspeople, policy makers, engaged citizens, and consumers everywhere....

Procrastination. Disorganization. Distractibility. Millions of adults have long considered these the hallmarks of a lack of self-discipline. But for many, these and other problems in school, at work and in social relationships are actually symptoms of an inborn neurological problem: ADD, or...

Melissa Lucashenko is one of Australia's most admired and awarded novelists. She is renowned for writing about ordinary Australians and the extraordinary lives they lead.

Brought to you by Penguin. This Penguin Classic is performed by Philip Stevens. This definitive recording includes an introduction by Christopher Brooke. Thomas Hobbes lived through the Thirty Years War and Britain's civil wars, and the trauma of these events led to his great masterpiece of...

Navigating the challenges of long-term commitment takes effort - and it just got simpler, with this empowering, step-by-step guide to communicating about the things that matter most to you and your partner....

In The Culting of America, cult survivor, military veteran, and bestselling author of Uncultured Daniella Mestyanek Young delivers a gripping investigation into the invisible systems of control shaping our lives.

My Big TOE: Awakening, written by a nuclear physicist in the language of contemporary culture, unifies science and philosophy, physics and metaphysics, mind and matter....

Why do well-intentioned plans for improving the human condition go tragically awry? Author James C. Scott analyzes failed cases of large-scale authoritarian plans in a variety of fields....

Today, we are told that medical interventions increased our lifespan and single-handedly prevented masses of deaths. But is this really true? Dissolving Illusions details facts and figures from long-overlooked medical journals, books, newspapers, and other sources....

What exactly are the weird and the eerie? In this new essay, Mark Fisher argues that some of the most haunting and anomalous fiction of the 20th century belongs to these two modes....

From political speeches to TikTok trends, from courtroom dramas to the carefully curated campaigns of global brands, Truth & Persuasion unpacks how influence is crafted, consumed, and contested in today’s world.

In The Farthest Reaches of Human Nature, an extension of his classic Toward a Psychology of Being, Maslow explores the complexities of human nature by using both the empirical methods of science and the aesthetics of philosophical inquiry....

Do you wish you could decode people? Do you want a formula for charisma? Do you want to know exactly what to say to your boss, your date or your networking partner? You need to know how people work. As a human behavior investigator, Vanessa Van Edwards studies the hidden forces that drive our...

Written after his wife's tragic death, A Grief Observed is C.S. Lewis's honest reflection on the fundamental issues of life, death, and faith in the midst of loss....

Brought to you by Penguin. 'We love a rags-to-riches story, and we love to see someone triumph through sheer determination. But the story is rarely that simple. My story isn't, anyway.' As the middle of five kids growing up in dire poverty, the odds were low on Katriona O'Sullivan making...

With the appearance of Grunch of Giants, R. Buckminster Fuller consummates his literary canon, his panoramic lifetime survey of all aspects of the responsibility of human beings for their own destiny.

From economist Anne Case and Nobel Prize winner Angus Deaton, a groundbreaking account of how the flaws in capitalism are fatal for America's working class....

This 10th anniversary edition of the beloved #1 New York Times bestseller includes a new introduction and afterword by the author. Chronicling the lifelong friendship between a busy sales executive and a disadvantaged young boy that began with one small gesture of kindness, this is a “ray of...

Deeply revealing and insightful, The Mattering Instinct is a must-listen for those curious about why we seek to matter to ourselves and others—and how this insatiable longing that drives us apart may be the key to finally understanding each other.

A literal graveyard of wild coincidences, slapstick humor, and touching moments, Over Our Dead Bodies explores the lighter side of the dead, the living, and the lone undertaker who has to make it all go as planned - even if it doesn't....

Melissa Lucashenko is one of Australia's most admired and awarded novelists. She is renowned for writing about ordinary Australians and the extraordinary lives they lead. This timely collection of essays and journalism - published together for the first time - spans two turbulent decades. With her trademark wit and wisdom, Lucashenko reflects on being caught in a siege, on the marginalised lives of prisoners and the urban poor, on Blak identity, Australian literature and on meeting her writing idol.

Deeply revealing and insightful, The Mattering Instinct is a must-listen for those curious about why we seek to matter to ourselves and others—and how this insatiable longing that drives us apart may be the key to finally understanding each other.

In an eye-opening exploration of the most powerful force that drives our species, Kinsey Institute Director Dr. Justin Garcia illuminates the mysteries of how we date, mate and navigate our love lives. "The best book on modern mating.” - David M. Buss, author of The Evolution of Desire. Why do...

In The Culting of America, cult survivor, military veteran, and bestselling author of Uncultured Daniella Mestyanek Young delivers a gripping investigation into the invisible systems of control shaping our lives. Raised in the notorious sex cult the Children of God, she escaped to America as a teenager—only to find herself inside another rigid institution: the U.S. Army. Years later, as a Harvard-trained expert in organizational psychology, she began asking a dangerous question: What if we’re all in cults—and America is built to keep us there?

His Side brings previously silenced straight male perspectives to light with in-person interviews by psychologist and men's rights advocate Helen Smith, author of Men on Strike. These interviews are first-person accounts of how young, middle-aged, and older men experience dating apps, marriage, and work while living in a world that no longer values masculine traits and desires.

あなたの「懐かしい」は誰かの「武器」になる。人類史上、最も危険で、最も癒され、最も儲かる「エモい」感情の正体。政治やビジネスを動かし、消費を煽る、知られざる力とは。本当に「昔は良かった」のか。

Why do you immediately click with some people while others just as inexplicably turn you off? Do people emit vibes? Is it possible to read a room? Are bad habits contagious? This program is read by the author. "Narrating her own work, [Kate] Murphy is certainly worthy of the listener's attention...

La mort nous passionne, nous intrigue, nous inquiète. Guillaume Bailly revient dans cet ouvrage passionnant sur des anecdotes les plus marquantes de l'histoire de la mort dans le monde ! Au menu : le récit poignant du travail des croque-morts du Titanic, l'étonnante gare de Londres spécialement conçue pour soulager des cimetières pleins à craquer, les coutumes morbides tout autour du globe... Et des révélations comme celle portant sur la création des Catacombes ou celle revenant sur la première destination du cimetière du Père-Lachaise.

In We Have Nothing to Lose: A Dark Optimist's Call to Action, Ralph Groce III presents an unflinching narrative that intertwines personal memoir with a passionate political manifesto. This book is a bold exploration of leadership, responsibility, and the urgency of acting in a world on the cusp of pivotal change. With Groce's audacious life story as the backdrop, listeners will delve into: Thought-provoking insights on the power of individual choice and responsibility. A critical look at current global and political challenges, offering actionable solutions.

In The Racial Wealth Gap, Baradaran outlines two tectonic forces that have driven apart the economic fortunes of white and Black families: wealth creation for white Americans, who have been systematically receiving financial subsidies in the century and a half since emancipation, and wealth destruction for Black Americans—either by vigilante violence or by official means, such as allowing Black banks to collapse or building highways through segregated Black communities.

Empathy Machines identifies This American Life as a cultural institution in the evolution of empathy as a "liberal feeling" central to podcast storytelling and the neoliberal era in which it developed. The book explores sound studies, and podcasting more specifically, through the lens of "empathy" and a kind of affective feeling that can be seen in the history of radio, and focusing specifically on the centrality of This American Life as a focal point.

The Essence of Invention tells the story of medical inventors who have laid the foundation for modern patient care, from the development of anesthesia and safe surgery to the advent of vaccines against smallpox, polio, and COVID-19, and how, through creativity and persistence, they have changed the world.

Living with Grief provides a guide to how to live when others have died. Written by a therapist and counselor who specializes in grief, loss, and bereavement, it helps listeners gain insight into some of the processes that might be happening when things feel overwhelming. Following an effective Q&A framework, it offers a valuable "dip in and out" approach with good signposting to guidance on all the questions that those touched by grief need to know.

Sociologist Ruth Glass coined the term gentrification in the 1960s to mark the displacement of working-class residents in London neighborhoods by the professional classes. The Death and Life of Gentrification traces how the word has far outgrown Glass's meaning, becoming a socially charged metaphor for cultural appropriation, upscaling, and the loss of authenticity.

It takes a collective dream, a colossally pressing issue and a civil engineering genius to design infrastructure projects that not only solve the problem of its time but also set a fine example of reliability, continuity and robustness. ‘Works’ takes the listener through some of London’s the most ingenious public works that tackled enormous challenges and fuelled growth and progress of London we know today.

The care of creation is the responsibility of all Christians. Join Sequola Dawson in her insightful exploration of death rituals as she examines funerals, memorials, and burial practices, urging us to take ownership and recognize the vital interdependence between humanity, the earth, and all living organisms, advocating for a more ecologically responsible approach to caring for creation.

A bold manifesto arguing that there is a clear precedent for paying reparations to atone for America’s original sin of slavery, offering a compelling legal strategy to achieve this goal—from the acclaimed author of The Whiteness of Wealth. The idea of reparations is not a new or original one...

Somewhere in the last 50 years, men and women forgot how to need each other. We convinced ourselves that independence was the highest virtue, that marriage was optional, and that gender roles were oppression. How's that working out? Marriage rates are at historic lows. Birth rates are collapsing.

Becoming Tangata Tiriti brings together twelve non-Māori voices–dedicated professionals, activists and everyday individuals–who have engaged with te ao Māori and have attempted to bring te Tiriti to life in their work. In stories of missteps, hard-earned victories and journeys through the complexities of cross-cultural relationships, Becoming Tangata Tiriti is a book of lessons learned.

In Red vs. Blue, JJ cuts straight through the fog of American politics, tracing how we ended up with two massive political identities that nobody fully understands but everyone is expected to defend. This isn’t a policy book. It’s not a campaign book. It’s a book about labels, identity, and the long, messy history behind why the United States split itself in two.

Here’s a secret: Hollywood insiders aren’t better at dating than the rest of us. They just have elite help. The age-old art of matchmaking meets Hollywood as Jaydi Samuels Kuba, founder of LJMatchmaking, takes us behind the scenes of her work as a matchmaker and date coach for the...

Unlock life's full potential by embracing the unavoidable. In a world that often shies away from its deepest truth, The Death Mindset dares to explore the profound paradox at the heart of human existence: that our awareness of death is not a source of fear to be avoided, but a powerful catalyst for living a richer, more meaningful life.

Deu anys després de la mort del seu pare, el narrador d'aquest llibre decideix escriure-la. Amb l'ombra del suïcidi que priva el dol, es pregunta: és possible trobar les paraules d'un comiat que no es va produir? Així, aquest relat personal i íntim esdevé una recerca per entendre com es forgen els vincles familiars, a què condemna el silenci, on s'amaga la veritat d'una història. Però l'escriptura falla, i l'autor recorre a les biografies d'escriptors que es van suïcidar i a les seves darreres notes per reconstruir un adeu possible, temptatiu.

Why can’t we seem to agree on facts? In this succinct volume, sociologist Joel Best turns his inimitable eye toward the social construction of what we think is true. He evaluates how facts emerge from our social worlds—including our beliefs, values, tastes, and norms—and how they align with those worlds’ standards. He argues that by developing a sociological perspective toward what we think we know, we can better parse the use of facts and untruths around us.

Something has changed in the way we live. Not suddenly, not loudly — but everywhere. Our ambitions feel familiar, yet slightly rehearsed. Our pleasures are polished, but strangely thin. We keep moving upward without quite knowing who built the staircase. This book enters the rooms where status takes shape:
the gallery opening dressed as a social ritual, the office that feels like a stage set, the home improved until it resembles a photograph. It is a study of progress — and its quiet costs. A portrait of a civilisation that prizes momentum while forgetting to ask where it is headed.