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Puff Piece
- Narrated by: John Safran
- Length: 10 hrs and 2 mins
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Depends What You Mean by Extremist
- Going Rogue with Australian Deplorables
- By: John Safran
- Narrated by: John Safran
- Length: 8 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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No one turns up where they're not wanted quite like John Safran. In this hilarious and disorienting adventure, he gets among our diverse community of white nationalists, ISIS supporters, anarchists and more, digging away at the contradictions that many would prefer be left unexamined. Who is this black puppet master among the white nationalists? And this Muslim fundamentalist who geeks out on Monty Python? Is there a secret radicalisation network operating in John’s own Jewish suburb?
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That wiley jew! As predicted, worth a listen.
- By Ben on 17-07-2017
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Murder in Mississippi
- By: John Safran
- Narrated by: John Safran
- Length: 12 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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The internationally acclaimed true-crime story you have to hear to believe. Taking us places only John Safran can, Murder in Mississippi paints an engrossing, revealing portrait of a dead man, his murderer, the place they lived and the process of trying to find out the truth about anything.
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A bit of a slog at times
- By Ryan on 27-05-2019
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The Men Who Stare at Goats
- By: Jon Ronson
- Narrated by: Jon Ronson
- Length: 6 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In 1979, a secret unit was established by the most gifted minds within the US Army. Defying all known accepted military practice - and indeed, the laws of physics - they believed that a soldier could adopt the cloak of invisibility, pass cleanly through walls and, perhaps most chillingly, kill goats just by staring at them. Entrusted with defending America from all known adversaries, they were the First Earth Battalion. And they really weren't joking. What's more, they're back and fighting the War on Terror.
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Who knew goats were so maligned?
- By Amazon Customer on 16-09-2017
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Tripping Over Myself
- A Memoir of a Life in Comedy
- By: Shaun Micallef
- Narrated by: Shaun Micallef
- Length: 6 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Comedy has been Shaun Micallef’s guiding light, his refuge, his passport, his lifebuoy, his drug, his mask, his means, his end, his lingua franca, his Self. But it’s not everything. Join Shaun on a journey from his earliest days as a gangly, bespectacled comedy nerd growing up on the mean streets of Adelaide to his rightful place today as a glittering star in Australia’s TV firmament. Though his road to success has not been without its failures – in fact, many, many failures – only a few of them can be blamed on others.
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Enjoyable journey with Shaun
- By Anonymous User on 23-02-2023
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Doppelganger
- A Trip into the Mirror World
- By: Naomi Klein
- Narrated by: Naomi Klein
- Length: 14 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
When Naomi Klein discovered that a woman who shared her first name, but had radically different, harmful views, was getting chronically mistaken for her, it seemed too ridiculous to take seriously. Then suddenly it wasn't. She started to find herself grappling with a distorted sense of reality, becoming obsessed with reading the threats on social media, the endlessly scrolling insults from the followers of her doppelganger. Why had her shadowy other gone down such an extreme path? Why was identity - all we have to meet the world - so unstable?
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Both brilliant and infuriating
- By Saraghina on 04-10-2023
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Them: Adventures with Extremists
- By: Jon Ronson
- Narrated by: Jon Ronson
- Length: 8 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Them began as a book about different kinds of extremists, but after Jon had got to know some of them - Islamic fundamentalists, neo-Nazis, Ku Klux Klansmen - he found that they had one oddly similar belief: that a tiny, shadowy elite rule the world from a secret room. In Them, Jon sets out, with the help of the extremists, to locate that room. The journey is as creepy as it is comic, and along the way Jon is chased by men in dark glasses, unmasked as a Jew in the middle of a Jihad training camp, and more.
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The truth is out there! Really out there... No, really, really out there!
- By Lawrence on 20-01-2016
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Depends What You Mean by Extremist
- Going Rogue with Australian Deplorables
- By: John Safran
- Narrated by: John Safran
- Length: 8 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
No one turns up where they're not wanted quite like John Safran. In this hilarious and disorienting adventure, he gets among our diverse community of white nationalists, ISIS supporters, anarchists and more, digging away at the contradictions that many would prefer be left unexamined. Who is this black puppet master among the white nationalists? And this Muslim fundamentalist who geeks out on Monty Python? Is there a secret radicalisation network operating in John’s own Jewish suburb?
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That wiley jew! As predicted, worth a listen.
- By Ben on 17-07-2017
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Murder in Mississippi
- By: John Safran
- Narrated by: John Safran
- Length: 12 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The internationally acclaimed true-crime story you have to hear to believe. Taking us places only John Safran can, Murder in Mississippi paints an engrossing, revealing portrait of a dead man, his murderer, the place they lived and the process of trying to find out the truth about anything.
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A bit of a slog at times
- By Ryan on 27-05-2019
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The Men Who Stare at Goats
- By: Jon Ronson
- Narrated by: Jon Ronson
- Length: 6 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1979, a secret unit was established by the most gifted minds within the US Army. Defying all known accepted military practice - and indeed, the laws of physics - they believed that a soldier could adopt the cloak of invisibility, pass cleanly through walls and, perhaps most chillingly, kill goats just by staring at them. Entrusted with defending America from all known adversaries, they were the First Earth Battalion. And they really weren't joking. What's more, they're back and fighting the War on Terror.
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Who knew goats were so maligned?
- By Amazon Customer on 16-09-2017
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Tripping Over Myself
- A Memoir of a Life in Comedy
- By: Shaun Micallef
- Narrated by: Shaun Micallef
- Length: 6 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Comedy has been Shaun Micallef’s guiding light, his refuge, his passport, his lifebuoy, his drug, his mask, his means, his end, his lingua franca, his Self. But it’s not everything. Join Shaun on a journey from his earliest days as a gangly, bespectacled comedy nerd growing up on the mean streets of Adelaide to his rightful place today as a glittering star in Australia’s TV firmament. Though his road to success has not been without its failures – in fact, many, many failures – only a few of them can be blamed on others.
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Enjoyable journey with Shaun
- By Anonymous User on 23-02-2023
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Doppelganger
- A Trip into the Mirror World
- By: Naomi Klein
- Narrated by: Naomi Klein
- Length: 14 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Naomi Klein discovered that a woman who shared her first name, but had radically different, harmful views, was getting chronically mistaken for her, it seemed too ridiculous to take seriously. Then suddenly it wasn't. She started to find herself grappling with a distorted sense of reality, becoming obsessed with reading the threats on social media, the endlessly scrolling insults from the followers of her doppelganger. Why had her shadowy other gone down such an extreme path? Why was identity - all we have to meet the world - so unstable?
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Both brilliant and infuriating
- By Saraghina on 04-10-2023
-
Them: Adventures with Extremists
- By: Jon Ronson
- Narrated by: Jon Ronson
- Length: 8 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Them began as a book about different kinds of extremists, but after Jon had got to know some of them - Islamic fundamentalists, neo-Nazis, Ku Klux Klansmen - he found that they had one oddly similar belief: that a tiny, shadowy elite rule the world from a secret room. In Them, Jon sets out, with the help of the extremists, to locate that room. The journey is as creepy as it is comic, and along the way Jon is chased by men in dark glasses, unmasked as a Jew in the middle of a Jihad training camp, and more.
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The truth is out there! Really out there... No, really, really out there!
- By Lawrence on 20-01-2016
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The Elephant in the Room
- A Journey into the Trump Campaign and the "Alt-Right"
- By: Jon Ronson
- Narrated by: Jon Ronson
- Length: 1 hr and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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'But Hillary is a known Luciferian,' he tried. 'She's not a known Luciferian,' I said. 'Well, yes and no,' he said. In The Elephant in the Room, Jon Ronson, the New York Times best-selling author of The Psychopath Test, Them, and So You've Been Publicly Shamed, travels to Cleveland at the height of summer to witness the Republican National Convention.
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I used a credit on this?
- By Joel on 22-03-2017
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Lost at Sea: The Jon Ronson Mysteries
- By: Jon Ronson
- Narrated by: Jon Ronson
- Length: 15 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Jon Ronson is fascinated by madness, extraordinary behaviour and the human mind. He has spent his life investigating crazy events, following fascinating people and unearthing unusual stories. Collected here from various sources (including the Guardian and GQ America) are the best of his adventures.
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Enjoyable
- By RCF on 09-03-2015
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Sonic Life
- By: Thurston Moore
- Narrated by: Thurston Moore
- Length: 19 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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A music-obsessed retrospective, beginning with Thurston Moore's childhood epiphany of rock 'n' roll in the early 1960s into an infatuation with the subversive world of 1970s punk and no wave blasting forth from New York City - where he eventually runs off to join a band in 1978. By 1981 Moore would form the legendary and notorious experimental rock group Sonic Youth, who proceeded to record and tour relentlessly for almost 30 years, always progressing, always exploring. Along the way we meet a constellation of artists and musicians who colluded and collided with Sonic Youth.
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Sonic rambles
- By Linley Kissick on 02-11-2023
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Alan Partridge: Big Beacon
- By: Alan Partridge
- Narrated by: Alan Partridge
- Length: 7 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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In Big Beacon, Norwich's favourite son and best broadcaster, Alan Partridge, triumphs against the odds. TWICE. Using an innovative 'dual narrative' structure you sometimes see in films, Big Beacon tells the story of how Partridge heroically rebuilt his TV career, rising like a phoenix from the desolate wasteland of local radio to climb to the summit of Mount Primetime and regain the nationwide prominence his talent merits.
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Superb
- By GARETH on 23-11-2023
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Harold
- By: Steven Wright
- Narrated by: Steven Wright
- Length: 5 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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Story
From the outside, Harold is an average seven-year-old third grader growing up in the 1960s. Bored by school. Crushing on a girl. Likes movies and baseball—especially the hometown Boston Red Sox. Enjoys spending time with his grandfather. But inside Harold’s mind, things are a lot more complex and unusual. His thoughts come to him as birds flying through a small rectangle in the middle of his brain. He visits an outdoor cafe on the moon and is invited aboard a spaceship by famed astronomer Carl Sagan.
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Outside the box
- By Amiel on 25-09-2023
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The Psychopath Test
- A Journey Through the Madness Industry
- By: Jon Ronson
- Narrated by: Jon Ronson
- Length: 7 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Story
This is a story about madness. It all starts when journalist Jon Ronson is contacted by a leading neurologist. She and several colleagues have recently received a cryptically puzzling book in the mail, and Jon is challenged to solve the mystery behind it. As he searches for the answer, Jon soon finds himself, unexpectedly, on an utterly compelling and often unbelievable adventure into the world of madness.
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Could easily have been condensed.
- By C.J.R Flanagan on 03-02-2014
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Number Go Up
- Inside Crypto’s Wild Rise and Staggering Fall
- By: Zeke Faux
- Narrated by: Dan Bittner
- Length: 9 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Story
After years on the financial world's margins, crypto went mainstream in early 2021. Everybody was talking about it: giant investment funds were buying it, celebrities like Tom Brady and Justin Bieber endorsed it, and Washington bigwigs debated new regulations, as if it would be a permanent part of our financial system. It seemed like everyone knew someone who was bragging about their returns from Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin and other bizarrely named "digital assets." Observing this mania, Zeke Faux set out on a quest to pull back the curtain on the wizards behind this new financial machinery.
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Superb book
- By Ian on 18-11-2023
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Theroux the Keyhole
- When the world went weird (and so did I)
- By: Louis Theroux
- Narrated by: Louis Theroux
- Length: 8 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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Story
Like millions of others, Louis’ plans were mothballed by the onset of COVID. Unable to escape to the porn sets, prisons and maximum-security psychiatric units that are his usual journalistic beat, he began reporting on a location even more full of pitfalls and hostile objects of inquiry: his own home during a pandemic. Theroux the Keyhole is an honest, hilarious and ultimately heartwarming diary of the weirdness of family life in COVID World.
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A different side to Louis
- By Amazon Customer on 15-11-2021
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Merchants of Doubt
- How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming
- By: Naomi Oreskes, Erik M. Conway, Al Gore - foreword
- Narrated by: Liza Seneca
- Length: 14 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Merchants of Doubt has been praised—and attacked—around the world, for reasons easy to understand. This book tells, with “brutal clarity” (Huffington Post), the disquieting story of how a loose-knit group of high-level scientists and scientific advisers, with deep connections in politics and industry, ran effective campaigns to mislead the public and deny well-established scientific knowledge over four decades.
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Embracing Your Limitations
- How to Accept Your Inner Loser and Win at Life
- By: Lawrence Mooney
- Narrated by: Lawrence Mooney
- Length: 4 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Lawrence Mooney is a reformed self-help addict. He's read all those books so you don't have to. He's searched for the ever-moving cheese, lived with the power of now and has given subtlety a red-hot go. Now he's taking aim at these self-appointed, self-aggrandising self-help gurus who have failed him in his quest for enlightenment and happiness.
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Funny but a little polarising at times.
- By Anonymous User on 19-09-2023
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So You've Been Publicly Shamed
- By: Jon Ronson
- Narrated by: Jon Ronson
- Length: 8 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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From the Sunday Times top ten best-selling author of The Psychopath Test, a captivating and brilliant exploration of one of our world's most underappreciated forces: shame. "It's about the terror, isn't it?" "The terror of what?" I said. "The terror of being found out." For the past three years, Jon Ronson has travelled the world, meeting recipients of high-profile public shamings. The shamed are people like us - people who, say, made jokes on social media that came out badly or made mistakes at work.
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Not for me, but a sound tale for the internet era
- By Sam on 19-09-2015
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QAnon and On
- A Short and Shocking History of Internet Conspiracy Cults
- By: Van Badham
- Narrated by: Van Badham
- Length: 12 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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In QAnon and On, Guardian columnist Van Badham delves headfirst into the QAnon conspiracy theory, unpicking the why, how and who behind this century’s most dangerous and far-fetched internet cult. From Gamergate to Pizzagate and beyond to QAnon, internet manipulation and disinformation campaigns have grown to a geopolitical scale and spilled into real life with devastating consequences, entangling everyone from politicians to Hollywood celebrities.
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Is she for real?
- By Amanda Rochford on 26-09-2022
Publisher's Summary
The folks that bring you Marlboro - Philip Morris - are wheezing, slowly dying. Cigarettes are out of favour with everyone, from world governments and investors to, increasingly, smokers. So, what's their plan?
Prepare to be dazzled. Or, at the very least, befuddled.
Philip Morris has announced they will shut down as a cigarette company, and relaunch as a health enterprise, dedicated to convincing the one billion smokers of the world to quit.
The ever-curious John Safran leaves his apartment to find out what on God's green earth is going on. As he starts digging away he discovers a company up to brand-new shenanigans, wangling their way into unexpected places, desperately trying to keep their tobacco business alive by brandishing a mysterious new doohickey called an IQOS.
And not only that, now they're upending language itself, changing the meaning of words. Will they slip past bans by convincing governments they don't sell 'cigarettes' but rather 'HeatSticks', and that these don't emit 'smoke' but 'aerosol'? Can John get the real story out of them without his life catching fire?
Wild, hilarious and thought-provoking, Puff Piece is a probing look into Big Tobacco and the vaping industry, and how words can be literally a matter of life and death.
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What listeners say about Puff Piece
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Matthew
- 04-09-2021
Safran (Lucky) Strikes Again
As a long time fan of John Safran, I found this title to be an outstanding change of pace in terms of subject matter while still staying true to his roots. It's got Father Bob, it's got Raspberry Cordial, it's got John's classic self doubt despite his being, to my mind, well established in his credentials. While I hope he never loses that charming angst, the quality of this book challenges the validity of his concerns.
An utterly shocking piece diving deep into Philip Morris and their seeming invulnerability through manipulation of language and seeming involvement in every aspect of our society. Don't be fooled into thinking this is just a take down of why smoking is bad for you, this is about corporate conspiracy and it's happening right now (written 2021).
John's shock at the lack of media coverage of what has gone on is surely shared by us, dear listeners, by the time the book is through. Actually way before that, but definitely by the end.
I've listened to all John's books and while I've enjoyed them all, this is by far the most important. Fundamentalists and Murders in Mississippi have nothing on big tobacco.
Read by the man himself, this is the only way to really enjoy anything by John in my opinion. The man with the golden lisp. If you love John, you've already got this book - if you're new then this is a fantastic place to start.
As a side note, I weirdly found myself wanting to vape after the first hour or so of the book, and I'm not a smoker, vapist or juicy fruiter. Maybe I'll suck my thumb instead.
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9 people found this helpful
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- Mark
- 01-09-2021
Classic Safran
John saffron is back in fine form delving into a world that I would’ve thought nothing about but now I’m fascinated bye
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5 people found this helpful
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- Kristyn Begnell
- 10-09-2021
honestly the best audio book I've heard all year
I couldn't stop playing, this book had me hooked from the first few minutes. John Safran delivers in such an entertaining and captivating way, with the perfect amount of sarcasm and outrage. I highly recommend!
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4 people found this helpful
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- Jack
- 24-10-2021
Philip Morris: International Juul Thief
Relatives of Edward Sapir may not like this book; however, Bob redeems linguistic merit where necessary. Thanks John.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Ginkgo Bing
- 13-10-2021
I want my ringtone to be John Saffron saying Fatwa
ever since John Saffron appeared in Race Around the World I have immensely enjoyed his take on controversy. This book points out the ludicrous tactics of the tobacco industry to convince consumers that they are the hapless middle man between us and our desires. Its informative and insightful and it also leaves even the most conservative right wing person feeling like we are all getting duped (heck, by any company who can afford a lobbyist).
I miss seeing this guy on our screen and hearing his familiar voice. I don't know if anyone gets him more than my generation but I think he's a genuine national treasure. I have one "burning" question - did John dump his PM shares?!?!
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2 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 11-10-2021
Corporations don't care about you
Loved it. Well told and never boring. Journalist Safran makes us understand the issues well.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 07-10-2021
Very good
Safran does a great job in making a complex issue entertaining and enlightening. Very good insight into the subtleties. John is also an entertaining reader. Don’t miss this one!
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2 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 06-10-2021
Brilliant entertaining rambling meandering safran
at his best with a superb amount of darling Father Bob. Checking my investments!
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2 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 02-10-2021
Fantastic and recommended
I’ve never smoked anything, yet this had me intrigued from the get-go!
I’ve loved John’s work since his Triple J days with Father Bob and his narration of his own book was amazing, I’m not good with words, I just cannot recommend this book enough, john’s intelligence and investigation into this subject blew me away! I’ve said enough, just listen to it!
Thanks John, I loved every second of it!
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2 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 11-09-2021
Much Needed & Hilarious
I’ve dug so deep for info about vaping and the industry since it helped me kick my 25 year cigarette addiction over 6 months ago. I’ve searched podcasts, articles, you name it. This is really the best resource I’ve found and it all makes more sense since listening. Bonus: I discovered John Safran who is pretty rad!
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- Mysterio
- 04-03-2022
Entertaining but meandering
This probably could have been a long essay rather than a whole book. It was entertaining enough but didn't really go anywhere in the end.
I'm still none the wiser about how safe the fire sticks or other vaping devices are
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- Brendan
- 16-09-2021
Excellent Blend of Comedy and Journalism
So much fun, and so interesting!
This is the most enjoyable non-fiction I’ve read/listened-to in a long time. While primarily focussed on Philip Morris, the content expands into so many compelling areas; such as language, lobbying, law, semantics, corporations, generational concerns, apathy and moral culpability. And the whole time the book is hilarious - John Safran is interested in the inconsistencies and complicated aspects to any issue, but also always finds a way to make hilarious! Self-deprecation mixed with political and social insight.
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