Audiobooks by Chuck Collins

Burned by Billionaires: How Concentrated Wealth and Power Are Ruining Our Lives and Planet

"Recently, it has become increasingly evident that extreme concentrations of wealth and power have profound impacts on our politics, but extreme inequality's influence on our daily lives—and our futures—has been vastly overlooked. In Burned by Billionaires, Chuck Collins, an author and a senior scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington DC, chronicles how the actions of the top .01% have severe consequences for the rest of us. Collins takes down the 'myth of meritocracy,' unraveling how the rich rig the game in their favor, resulting in a concentration of wealth in the hands of a tiny (but growing) class of billionaires—leading to intense income and political polarization. Collins charts this economic, social, and ecological destruction and shows how these effects manifest in every facet of our society. Collins argues that perhaps, worst of all, the concentration of wealth and power is leading to political hijacking, undermining the democratic principle that our votes matter equally. This book is an urgent call-to-action and road map to a more equitable society, where everyone has access to the resources that will allow them to thrive. Burned by Billionaires offers a pointed prescription for taking power back from the billionaire class and achieving the shared prosperity that comes from a healthy and equal society."

Chuck Collins (Author), Patrick Zeller (Narrator)

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Altar to an Erupting Sun

"Rae Kelliher is a veteran environmental activist and pioneer in the death-with-dignity movement. Her husband Reggie calls her 'party in a box' and 'a weaver of people and movements.' Facing a diagnosis of terminal illness, Rae engages in a shocking suicide-murder, taking the life of an oil company CEO for his complicity in delaying responses to climate catastrophe. Seven years later, Rae's friends and family gather at her Vermont farm to try to understand her violent exit and the rapid social transformations triggered by her desperate act."

Chuck Collins (Author), Corinna May (Narrator)

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The Wealth Hoarders: How Billionaires Pay Millions to Hide Trillions

"For decades, a secret army of tax attorneys, accountants and wealth managers has been developing into the shadowy Wealth Defense Industry. These 'agents of inequality' are paid millions to hide trillions for the richest 0.01%. In this book, inequality expert Chuck Collins, who himself inherited a fortune, interviews the leading players and gives a unique insider account of how this industry is doing everything it can to create and entrench hereditary dynasties of wealth and power. He exposes the inner workings of these 'agents of inequality', showing how they deploy anonymous shell companies, family offices, offshore accounts, opaque trusts, and sham transactions to ensure the world's richest pay next to no tax. He ends by outlining a robust set of policies that democratic nations can implement to shut down the Wealth Defence Industry for good. This shocking exposé of the insidious machinery of inequality is essential listening for anyone wanting the inside story of our age of plutocratic plunder and stashed cash."

Chuck Collins (Author), Paul Heitsch (Narrator)

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Born on Third Base: A One Percenter Makes the Case for Tackling Inequality, Bringing Wealth Home, and Committing to the Common Good

"As inequality grabs headlines, steals the show in presidential debates, and drives deep divides between the haves and have nots in America, class war brews. On one side, the wealthy wield power and advantage, wittingly or not, to keep the system operating in their favor-all while retreating into enclaves that separate them further and further from the poor and working class. On the other side, those who find it increasingly difficult to keep up or get ahead lash out-waging a rhetorical war against the rich and letting anger and resentment, however justifiable, keep us from seeing new potential solutions. But can we suspend both class wars long enough to consider a new way forward? Is it really good for anyone that most of society's wealth is pooling at the very top of the wealth ladder? Does anyone, including the one percent, really want to live in a society plagued by economic apartheid? It is time to think differently, says longtime inequality expert and activist Chuck Collins. Born into the one percent, Collins gave away his inheritance at 26 and spent the next three decades mobilizing against inequality. He uses his perspective from both sides of the divide to deliver a new narrative. Collins calls for a ceasefire and invites the wealthy to come back home, investing themselves and their wealth in struggling communities.  And he asks the non-wealthy to build alliances with the one percent and others at the top of the wealth ladder. Stories told along the way explore the roots of advantage, show how taxpayers subsidize the wealthy, and reveal how charity, used incorrectly, can actually reinforce extreme inequality. Readers meet pioneers who are crossing the divide to work together in new ways, including residents in the author's own Boston-area neighborhood who have launched some of the most interesting community transition efforts in the nation. In the end, Collins's national and local solutions not only challenge inequality but also respond to climate change and offer an unexpected, fresh take on one of our most intransigent problems."

Chuck Collins (Author), Chuck Collins (Narrator)

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