Showing results by narrator "Alex Boyles" in All Categories

Unraveling the mysteries of insurance markets, Liran Einav, Amy Finkelstein, and Ray Fisman explore such issues as why insurers want to know so much about us and whether we should let them obtain this information; why insurance entrepreneurs often fail (and some tricks that may help them succeed); and whether we’d be better off with government-mandated health insurance instead of letting businesses, customers, and markets decide who gets coverage and at what price.

When a forty-seven-foot sailboat disappears in the Gulf Stream in the throes of a disastrous storm, it leaves behind three weary passengers struggling to stay alive. This middle-grade adaptation of an adult nonfiction book tells the story of the four intrepid Coast Guardsmen who braved this ruthless storm in the hopes of saving them. A spellbinding tale of courage and survival from the author of The Finest Hours.

Since the Industrial Revolution, our civilization has depended on fossil fuels for energy - first it was coal; then petroleum. If business as usual continues, we are looking at a world where sea levels will be high enough to submerge many coastal cities and extreme weather events like 2012’s Hurricane Sandy are the new normal. In this audiobook, The Future of Energy: Earth, Wind, and Fire, we review the energy problem and analyze the options from the mundane to the far out.

We’re constantly seeking answers to these fundamental human questions, and now, science has the answers. The foods we enjoy, the people we love, the emotions we feel, and the beliefs we hold can all be traced back to our DNA, germs, and environment. This witty, colloquial book is popular science at its best, describing in everyday language how genetics, epigenetics, microbiology, and psychology work together to influence our personality and actions.  

On October 23, 2012, with Superstorm Sandy fast approaching, Captain Robin Walbridge made the fateful decision to sail the HMS Bounty from New London, Connecticut, to St. Petersburg, Florida, believing the wooden ship, a replica of the original, famous Bounty, would fare better at sea than at port. He told the crew that anyone who did not want to come on the voyage could leave the ship and there would be no hard feelings. No one took the captain up on his offer, and this decision would have fatal consequences.

Landon Murphy and Jade Shu, stepsiblings turned wizard-like janitors, must step up after a disastrous encounter with the Locksmith—an immortal Auran who commands an army of Thingamajunks. With the Bureau of Educational Maintenance in disarray and their allies captured, Landon and Jade rally their friends from the School of Garbage and work to uncover vital clues hidden within the discarded trash of the magical landfill.

In the two decades since astronomers first discovered the existence of a planet outside of our solar system, “exoplanetology” has become the hottest specialty in astrophysics. Scientists young and old, inspired by the thought of finding either another habitable world or the Holy Grail of space exploration - life itself - flocked to be part of this burgeoning field. With so much brainpower on hand, it’s no wonder that investigative techniques advanced more quickly than anyone would have thought. 

It’s 2336, and the future needs heroes! They must reach back in time to find them. What if they come for you? In 2336 there is no war, no pollution, no disease, no crime—but utopia has a price.

Shortly after her brother, Stormy, is convicted of the brutal murder of a classmate, seventeen-year-old Lizzy Greiner is found dead in an abandoned mountain shack, the result of an apparent suicide by fire. Next to Lizzy’s charred body, investigators find several of her journals, safely stored inside a fireproof box. It soon becomes evident that these journals contain a narrative that Lizzy wanted the police to read, the truth that she wanted them to know.

Worst. Birthday. Ever. My first boyfriend dumped me - happy birthday, Josie! - my dad is who knows where; I have some weird virus that makes me want to hurl; and now my ex is licking another girl’s tonsils. Oh, and I’m officially the same age as my brother was when he died. Yeah, today is about as fun-filled as the swamps of Dagobah. But then weird things start happening. Like I make something materialize just by thinking about it.

Once dismissed as a mathematical curiosity, black holes are so strange they almost defy belief. Since their existence was confirmed, research into the nature of black holes has opened up new vistas in physics. In this audiobook, we examine some of the most fascinating discoveries about black hole formation and behavior, the new and evolving research in gravitational wave astronomy, theoretical possibilities such as wormholes, and much more.

Our nearest planetary neighbor has been the subject of endless fascination and wide-ranging theories throughout history. Is there life on Mars? Was there ever life on Mars? What was the atmosphere like thousands or millions of years ago? From Percival Lowell, who built his own observatory so he could dedicate himself to studying the red planet, to NASA landing the car-sized Curiosity rover in 2012, this book traces Scientific American's coverage of the observation and exploration of Mars.

Tyler has always been known as Nelson High’s goofy clown, the guy with the big mouth. But there’s something people don’t know: he’s tired of being in the shadows of his Raiders’ buddies, and he’s ready to do whatever it takes to get the most popular girl in school to notice him: Roxanne Carmichael. Sammy is just one of the guys, known for her mad boarding skills and her razor-sharp wit. But she has a secret, too—a crush on her best friend. It’s a relationship she’s not willing to risk damaging by getting all romantic about it.

Walt Hodge had delivered 80 horses to Whipple Barracks for the Army, and he wasn’t in a big hurry to get home. He traveled down the Saginaw Mountains and into the upland cow country of Sunflower, Arizona, seeking only a cold glass of beer, food, and a bed for himself, along with feed for his horse. He should have listened and turned around when he asked the hostler what was going on and was told: “Trouble, mister. Bad trouble.”

The sense of position and movement is often called the sixth sense; the brain’s connection to the immune system might be a seventh. In this audiobook, we examine the diverse functions of the brain beyond the five senses, including the glymphatic system for maintaining brain health, the processes behind intuition, and new research raising questions about “brain death.”

Anna-Marie Halsey loves her job as a regular on the soap opera Southern Heat almost as much as she loves living the LA lifestyle: clubbing and partying and casually dating gorgeous men - most recently powerhouse agent Josh Rios. When Anna-Marie starts feeling more-than-casual about Josh - her signature cue to break things off - she finds a much-needed excuse to get away: a family reunion in small-town Wyoming.

Ordinary Elementary is anything but ordinary. Below the classrooms are winding, abandoned, underground passages filled with lost treasures. Fifth-grader Graysen Foxx, aka The Gray Fox—finder of secrets, solver of mysteries, and explorer of the unknown—is hot on the trail of the legendary treasure of long-since-retired Principal Redbeard, which includes a decades’ worth of confiscated gadgets, rare comic books, first-edition Pokémon trading cards, an original Rubik’s Cube, and a retro football handheld video game.

This audiobook, Tomorrow's Medicine, looks at some of the more fascinating areas where technology that could transform health is being developed, including cybernetics, regenerative medicine, nanotechnology, and genetically tailored treatments. Although many of these advances may not be ready to treat humans for many years, some of them may someday profoundly change - and extend - our lives. As exciting as the possibilities are to extend both the length and quality of life, immortality - or at least agelessness - may be forever out of our reach.

In Nebula Award-winning author Sam J. Miller’s devastating debut short-fiction collection—featuring an introduction by Amal El-Mohtar—queer infatuation, inevitable heartbreak, and brutal revenge seamlessly intertwine. Whether innocent, guilty, or not even human, the boys, beasts, and men roaming through Miller’s gorgeously crafted worlds can destroy listeners, yet leave them wanting more. 

Endometriosis is a physically and mentally debilitating disease that has tortured women for centuries. Symptoms of heavy periods and excruciating pain most often begin in middle school or high school, yet doctors take an average of 12 years to diagnose it in a patient. As a result, these undiagnosed and misdiagnosed women suffer into at least their mid-20s or early 30s, repeatedly told that the pain is in their minds, that it’s simply part of becoming a woman, or that it’s caused by some other disease or condition. That nonsense must stop, and it must stop now!