Discover the Best Audio Stories in Non-Fiction, Current Affairs, Law, & Politics

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/722503 to listen full audiobooks.

Title: The Achilles Trap: Saddam Hussein, the United States and the Middle East, 1979-2003

Author: Steve Coll

Narrator: Malcolm Hillgartner

Format: Unabridged Audiobook

Length: 17 hours 58 minutes

Release date: February 27, 2024

Genres: Current Affairs, Law, & Politics

Publisher's Summary:

Brought to you by Penguin. The Achilles Trap masterfully untangles the people, ploys of power and geopolitics that led to America's disastrous war with Iraq and, for the first time, details America's fundamental miscalculations during its ruinous, decades-long relationship with Saddam Hussein. Beginning with Saddam's rise to power in 1979 and the birth of Iraq's secret nuclear weapons programme, Steve Coll traces Saddam's motives through understanding his inner circle. He brings to life the diplomats, scientists, family members and generals who had no choice but to defer to their leader - a leader directly responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, as well as the torture or imprisonment of many more. This was a man whose reasoning was impossible to reduce to a simple explanation, and the CIA and successive presidential administrations failed to grasp critical nuances in his paranoia, resentments and inconsistencies - even when the stakes were incredibly high. Using unpublished and underreported sources, interviews with surviving participants, and Saddam's own transcripts and audio files, The Achilles Trap is a remarkable picture of a dictator who was convinced the world was out to get him and acted accordingly. A work of great historical significance, it is the definitive account of how corruptions of power, lies of diplomacy and vanity - on both sides - led to avoidable errors of statecraft: ones that would enact immeasurable human suffering and forever change our political landscape. ©2024 Steve Coll (P)2024 Penguin Audio

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Title: White Rural Rage: The Threat to American Democracy

Author: Paul Waldman, Tom Schaller

Narrator: Ray Porter

Format: Unabridged Audiobook

Length: 11 hours 2 minutes

Release date: February 27, 2024

Ratings: Ratings of Book: 4.67 of Total 3

Ratings of Narrator: 4.5 of Total 2

Genres: Current Affairs, Law, & Politics

Publisher's Summary:

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A searing portrait and damning takedown of America’s proudest citizens—who are also the least likely to defend its core principles “This is an important book that ought to be read by anyone who wants to understand politics in the perilous Age of Trump.”—David Corn, New York Times bestselling author of American Psychosis White rural voters hold the greatest electoral sway of any demographic group in the United States, yet rural communities suffer from poor healthcare access, failing infrastructure, and severe manufacturing and farming job losses. Rural voters believe our nation has betrayed them, and to some degree, they’re right. In White Rural Rage, Tom Schaller and Paul Waldman explore why rural Whites have failed to reap the benefits from their outsize political power and why, as a result, they are the most likely group to abandon democratic norms and traditions. Their rage—stoked daily by Republican politicians and the conservative media—now poses an existential threat to the United States. Schaller and Waldman show how vulnerable U.S. democracy has become to rural Whites who, despite legitimate grievances, are increasingly inclined to hold racist and xenophobic beliefs, to believe in conspiracy theories, to accept violence as a legitimate course of political action, and to exhibit antidemocratic tendencies. Rural White Americans’ attitude might best be described as “I love my country, but not our country,” Schaller and Waldman argue. This phenomenon is the patriot paradox of rural America: The citizens who take such pride in their patriotism are also the least likely to defend core American principles. And by stoking rural Whites’ anger rather than addressing the hard problems they face, conservative politicians and talking heads create a feedback loop of resentments that are undermining American democracy. Schaller and Waldman provocatively critique both the structures that permit rural Whites’ disproportionate influence over American governance and the prospects for creating a pluralist, inclusive democracy that delivers policy solutions that benefit rural communities. They conclude with a political reimagining that offers a better future for both rural people and the rest of America.

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/717137 to listen full audiobooks.

Title: Canada Alone: Navigating the Post-American World

Author: Kim Richard Nossal

Narrator: Kyle Snyder

Format: Unabridged Audiobook

Length: 5 hours 42 minutes

Release date: February 27, 2024

Genres: Current Affairs, Law, & Politics

Publisher's Summary:

Canada must prepare for an isolationist and unpredictable neighbor to the South should a MAGA leader gain the White House in 2025. The American-led global order has been increasingly challenged by Chinese assertiveness and Russian revanchism. As we enter this new era of great-power competition, Canadians tend to assume that the United States will continue to provide global leadership for the West. Canada Alone sketches the more dystopian future that is likely to result if the illiberal, anti-democratic, and authoritarian Make America Great Again movement regains power. Under the twin stresses of a reinvigorated America First policy and the purposeful abandonment of American global leadership, the West will likely fracture, leaving Canadians all alone with an increasingly dysfunctional United States. Canada Alone outlines what Canadians will need to navigate this deeply unfamiliar post-American world.

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/716028 to listen full audiobooks.

Title: The Poverty of the World: Rediscovering the Poor at Home and Abroad, 1941-1968

Author: Sheyda F. A. Jahanbani

Narrator: Teri Schnaubelt

Format: Unabridged Audiobook

Length: 12 hours 54 minutes

Release date: February 27, 2024

Genres: Current Affairs, Law, & Politics

Publisher's Summary:

In The Poverty of the World, Sheyda Jahanbani brings together the histories of United States foreign relations and domestic politics to explain why, during a period of unprecedented affluence, Americans rediscovered poverty and supported major policy initiative to combat it. Revisiting a moment of triumph for American liberals in the 1940s, Jahanbani shows how the United States's newfound role as a global superpower prompted novel ideas among liberal thinkers about how to address poverty and generated new urgency for trying to do so. Their sense of responsibility about deploying American knowledge and wealth as a beneficent force in the world, produced such foreign aid programs as the Peace Corps. Drawing on a wide variety of archival material, Jahanbani reinterprets the lives and work of prominent liberal figures in postwar American social politics to show the global origins of their ideas. By tracing how American liberals invented the problem of 'global poverty' and executed a war against it, The Poverty of the World sheds new light on the domestic impacts of the Cold War, the global ambitions of American liberalism, and the way in which key intellectuals and policymakers worked to develop an alternative vision of United States empire in the decades after World War II.

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/713562 to listen full audiobooks.

Title: Bad Therapy: Why the Kids Aren't Growing Up

Author: Abigail Shrier

Narrator: Abigail Shrier

Format: Unabridged Audiobook

Length: 8 hours 56 minutes

Release date: February 27, 2024

Ratings: Ratings of Book: 4.75 of Total 20

Ratings of Narrator: 5 of Total 8

Genres: Current Affairs, Law, & Politics

Publisher's Summary:

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER. From the author of Irreversible Damage, an investigation into a mental health industry that is harming, not healing, American children In virtually every way that can be measured, Gen Z’s mental health is worse than that of previous generations. Youth suicide rates are climbing, antidepressant prescriptions for children are common, and the proliferation of mental health diagnoses has not helped the staggering number of kids who are lonely, lost, sad and fearful of growing up. What’s gone wrong with America’s youth? In Bad Therapy, bestselling investigative journalist Abigail Shrier argues that the problem isn’t the kids—it’s the mental health experts. Drawing on hundreds of interviews with child psychologists, parents, teachers, and young people, Shrier explores the ways the mental health industry has transformed the way we teach, treat, discipline, and even talk to our kids. She reveals that most of the therapeutic approaches have serious side effects and few proven benefits. Among her unsettling findings: - Talk therapy can induce rumination, trapping children in cycles of anxiety and depression - Social Emotional Learning handicaps our most vulnerable children, in both public schools and private - “Gentle parenting” can encourage emotional turbulence – even violence – in children as they lash out, desperate for an adult in charge Mental health care can be lifesaving when properly applied to children with severe needs, but for the typical child, the cure can be worse than the disease. Bad Therapy is a must-read for anyone questioning why our efforts to bolster America’s kids have backfired—and what it will take for parents to lead a turnaround.

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/710492 to listen full audiobooks.

Title: Kuni: A Japanese Vision and Practice for Urban-Rural Reconnection

Author: Tsuyoshi Sekihara, Richard Mccarthy

Narrator: Kym Miller

Format: Unabridged Audiobook

Length: 5 hours 3 minutes

Release date: February 27, 2024

Genres: Current Affairs, Law, & Politics

Publisher's Summary:

“Reading Kuni makes me want to dive into rural Japan...this book reminds me that leaders emerge when and where you least expect it.” — ALICE WATERS, founder of Chez Panisse restaurant, activist, and author A guide to reviving and revitalizing forgotten places and communities through the Japanese principles of kuni Kuni offers a unique model for the revitalization of rural and deindustrialized lands and communities--and shares lessons in citizen-led regeneration for all of us, regardless of where we live. “Kuni” is both a reimagining of the Japanese word for nation and an approach to reviving communities. It shows what happens when dedicated people band together and invest their hearts, minds, and souls back into a community, modeling a new way of living that actually works. A kuni can be created anywhere--even a hamlet on the verge of extinction--and embodies 7 key principles: - Everyone is equal in a kuni - Kuni is equipped with a Regional Management Organization--a democratic organization that takes care of small public services - Kuni is a link between residents and repeat visitors - Life in a kuni is circular--consumption and production are in balance - Kuni embraces the whole person - Kuni can be a place for young people who seek interconnectedness - The time for kuni is now Kuni offers a compelling vision of regenerative relationships that can take root in the United States--and anywhere. With spare and beautiful prose and useful principles for reviving rural places, this book addresses our longing for a hopeful revolution of everyday life.

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/719900 to listen full audiobooks.

Title: The Mark Steel Solution: The BBC Radio Comedy Series

Author: Mark Steel

Narrator: Mark Steel

Format: Unabridged Audiobook

Length: 6 hours 14 minutes

Release date: February 22, 2024

Genres: Current Affairs, Law, & Politics

Publisher's Summary:

Mark Steel uses his unique logic to propose subversive solutions to society's problems What if the Royal Family was chosen by weekly lottery? Why should giving to charity be illegal? Could government economic policy be decided by sport? Award-winning writer and comedian Mark Steel aims to put the world to rights in these 15 episodes, as he comes up with radical proposals to improve our lives and sort out our social ills. From the economy to transport, housing, crime and our current age of pessimism, Mark’s got a brilliant idea that’s sure to fix the problem. Each show sees him using witty, persuasive arguments and short, sharp sketches to present his case, as he contends that having a job should be illegal, everyone should have to be gay for two years, and nobody should have to go to school until they’re 36. Whatever the issue, Mark’s got the answer – whether it’s dealing with immigration by deporting everyone born in England, or healing religious divisions by making everyone change their faith every Monday. Lend him your ears and he’ll convince you of anything, as he sets about proving that the ridiculous is really very sensible indeed – and that changing the world is easy, if you’re willing to listen to his advice... Written and performed by Mark Steel and Spitting Image writer Pete Sinclair, this funny, thought-provoking series also features Maria McErlane and Kim Wall. Written by Mark Steel and Pete Sinclair Starring Mark Steel, Pete Sinclair, Maria McErlane and Kim Wall Produced by Turan Ali (Series 1) and Phil Clarke (Series 2-4) Contents: Series 1 The Family: ‘No-one should live in the same family for more than one year’ Judges: ‘Ex-convicts should be recruited as High Court judges’ The Economy: ‘Government economic policy should be decided by sport’ Series 2 Unemployment: ‘Having a job should be illegal’ Transport: ‘Transport should only be paid for by people who don’t use it’ Housing: ‘Everyone in Britain should be re-housed at random’ The Royal Family: ‘The Royal Family should be chosen by weekly lottery’ Series 3 Sexual Politics: ‘Everyone should have to be gay for two years’ Charity : ‘Anybody who gives to charity should be jailed’ Crime: ‘Criminals should decide their own punishment’ Immigration: ‘Anyone born in England should be deported’ Series 4 Religion: ‘People should have to change their religion every Monday’ The Media: ‘Anyone in charge of the media should be sacked after thirty minutes’ Education: ‘Nobody should go to school until they are 36’ Pessimism: ‘Pessimists should be persecuted by law’ First broadcast BBC Radio 5 from 16 Oct-13 Nov 1992 (Series 1), 15 July-5 Aug 1994 (Series 2), 4 Aug-25 Aug 1995 (Series 3), 16 Aug-6 Sept 1996 (Series 4) © 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/722928 to listen full audiobooks.

Title: I Never Did Like Politics: How Fiorello La Guardia Became America's Mayor, and Why He Still Matters

Author: Terry Golway

Narrator: Jon Vertullo

Format: Unabridged Audiobook

Length: 9 hours 0 minutes

Release date: February 20, 2024

Genres: Current Affairs, Law, & Politics

Publisher's Summary:

Fiorello LaGuardia was one of the twentieth century's most colorful politicians—on the New York and national stage. He was also quintessentially American: the son of Italian immigrants, who rose in society through sheer will and chutzpah. Almost one hundred years later, America is once again grappling with issues that would have been familiar to the Little Flower, as he was affectionately known. It's time to bring back LaGuardia, argues historian and journalist Terry Golway, to remind us all what an effective municipal officer (as he preferred to call himself) can achieve . . . Golway examines LaGuardia's extraordinary career through four essential qualities: As a patriot, a dissenter, a leader, and a statesman. He needed them all when he stood against the nativism, religious and racial bigotry, and reactionary economic policies of the 1920s, and again when he faced the realities of Depression-era New York and the rise of fascism at home and abroad in the 1930s. Just before World War II, the Roosevelt administration formally apologized to the Nazis when LaGuardia referred to Hitler as a 'brown-shirted fanatic.' There was nobody quite like Fiorello LaGuardia. In this immensely listenable book, as entertaining as the man himself, Terry Golway captures the enduring appeal of one of America's greatest leaders.

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/720292 to listen full audiobooks.

Title: Turning Points: The Role of the State Department in Vietnam (1945–75)

Author: Ambassador Thomas J. Corcoran

Narrator: Joel Richards

Format: Unabridged Audiobook

Length: 9 hours 35 minutes

Release date: February 20, 2024

Genres: Current Affairs, Law, & Politics

Publisher's Summary:

Details how the US State Department attempted, and failed, to save South Vietnam from North Vietnamese aggression and the powerful domestic political influences that ultimately led to America's defeat. Ten years after the end of the American involvement in the Vietnam War, a career Foreign Service officer, Thomas J. Corcoran, set down in writing his thoughts on the history of US State Department policy during America's involvement with South Vietnam. Like many Americans of his generation, he was perplexed by the failure of America to achieve its goals in South Vietnam. As an ambassador and with over thirty years of diplomatic experience—beginning in 1948 when he was assigned to Hanoi and involving other postings in Southeast Asia—he brought to his analysis a long and rich personal experience with events in Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. The result is a thoughtful, objective, and well-researched study that chronicles the key policy decisions made by the US State Department throughout the entire period from 1945 to 1975; decisions that ultimately led to the first war lost by the United States. In his extensive study, Corcoran does an excellent job of exposing many of the myths and falsehoods found in orthodox histories of US involvement in Vietnam.

Please visit https://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/719818 to listen full audiobooks.

Title: A Real Right to Vote: How a Constitutional Amendment Can Safeguard American Democracy

Author: Richard L. Hasen

Narrator: Daniel Henning

Format: Unabridged Audiobook

Length: 5 hours 22 minutes

Release date: February 20, 2024

Genres: Current Affairs, Law, & Politics

Publisher's Summary:

Throughout history, too many Americans have been disenfranchised or faced needless barriers to vote. Part of the blame falls on the Constitution, which does not contain an affirmative right to vote. The Supreme Court has made matters worse by failing to protect voting rights and limiting Congress's ability to do so. The time has come for voters to take action and push for an amendment to the Constitution that would guarantee this right for all. Drawing on troubling stories of state attempts to disenfranchise military voters, women, African Americans, students, former felons, Native Americans, and others, Richard Hasen argues that American democracy can and should do better in assuring that all eligible voters can cast a meaningful vote that will be fairly counted. He shows how a constitutional right to vote can deescalate voting wars between political parties that lead to endless rounds of litigation and undermine voter confidence in elections, and can safeguard democracy against dangerous attempts at election subversion. The path to a constitutional amendment is undoubtedly hard, especially in these polarized times. A Real Right to Vote explains what's in it for conservatives who have resisted voting reform, and reveals how the pursuit of an amendment can yield tangible dividends for democracy long before ratification.