Audiobooks by Gordon Brown

Permacrisis: A Plan to Fix a Fractured World

'An insightful playbook for getting out of the permacrisis we seem mired in' - Walter Isaacson 'A sensible plan for reform that can help us create a fairer and more equitable world' - Sheryl Sandberg Do you feel like we're in a permacrisis? Chances are you feel some anxiety about the state of the world. Gordon Brown, Mohamed A. El-Erian and Michael Spence certainly did. Three of the most internationally respected and experienced thinkers of our time, these friends found their pandemic Zooms increasingly focused on a cascade of crises: sputtering growth, surging inflation, poor policy responses, an escalating climate emergency, worsening inequality, increasing nationalism and a decline in global co-operation. They shared their fears and frustrations. And the more they talked, the more they realised that while past mistakes had set the world on this bumpy course, a better path leading to a brighter future exists. Informed by their different perspectives, they sought a common goal: achievable solutions to fix our fractured world. This book is the product of that thinking. At the heart of today's permacrisis are broken approaches to growth, economic management, and governance. While these approaches are broken, they are not beyond repair. An explanation of where we've gone wrong, and a provocative, inspiring plan to do nothing less than change the world, Permacrisis: A Plan to Fix a Fractured World, written with Reid Lidow, sets out how we can prevent crises and better manage the future for the benefit of the many and not the few. The longer a problem goes unresolved, the worse it will get; that's what happens in a permacrisis - and that's why we must act now.

Gordon Brown, Michael Spence, Mohamed El-Erian (Author), Gareth Armstrong (Narrator)

Audiobook

This is Capitalism: A BBC Economics Collection

Five eye-opening BBC documentaries about the hidden economic framework that surrounds our every move. Capitalism is all around us, affecting almost everything we do and impacting our daily lives in myriad ways. This comprehensive collection takes an in-depth look at this all-pervasive economic system, examining its triumphs and disasters and revealing how it puts money and markets at the centre of our world. In the explosive 10-part series The New Age of Capitalism, Newsnight's David Grossman probes the factors driving the turbo-charged growth in contemporary commerce. Exploring aspects ranging from the 'intangible economy' and AI to the trillion-dollar tech giants, he asks key questions about the way modern capitalism works, and the consequences for society. Insecure Overachievers sees leaders of elite City firms divulging the secret epidemic of anxiety and insecurity among elite professionals. Exceptionally capable and fiercely ambitious, they are driven by a deep belief in their own inadequacy, fostered by a competitive work culture that takes advantage of their vulnerabilities. The Bailout tells the compelling story of the race against time to agree a rescue plan to save Britain's banks from going bust. Told by former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, with contributions from Alistair Darling, Mervyn King and Robert Peston, this is a blow-by-blow account of how events unfolded during one incredible week in October 2008. The Money Clinic goes behind the scenes as families and couples open up about their finances and their feelings with a relationship counsellor. In frank, intimate discussions, they learn how to deal with the financial issues that are coming between them, and receive practical tips on managing both their cash and the emotional side of money. And in Our House, we meet young Brighton couple Tacita and Charlie, who are desperate to buy their first home - but a property on the south coast is out of their reach. We follow them as, guided by a team of financial experts, they travel back in time to 1968, 1979, 1988, 1997 and 2009 to see which decade would have given them the best chance to get on the housing ladder. Copyright © 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd The New Age of Capitalism Presented by David Grossman Produced by Diane Richardson and Matthew Chapman Editor: Hugh Levinson With: Jonathan Haskel; Stian Westlake; Tim Wu; James Williams; Diane Coyle; Andrew McAfee; Dr Asa Cusack; Professor Ricardo Hausmann; Fran Boait; Professor Sir Charles Bean; Brad Katsuyama; Professor Donald MacKenzie; Edward Luttwak; James Bloodworth; Joshua Kurlantzick; Dr Linda Yueh; Rana Foroohar; Joshua Ryan-Collins; Adam Lashinsky; Barry Lynn First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 10-21 September 2018 Insecure Overachievers Presented by Professor Laura Empson of London's Cass Business School Produced by Jonathan Brunert With: Jeremy Newman; Alex Michel; Jessica Carmody; Gerry Grimstone, Baron Grimstone of Boscobel; David Morley; Yuval Atsmon; Nigel Jones First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 24 September 2018 The Bailout Presented by Gordon Brown With: Alistair Darling; Mervyn King; Robert Peston; Shriti Vadera, Baroness Vadera; Kirsty McNeill; Tom Fletcher; Nicolas Sarkozy; Sir John Kingman First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 6 October 2018 The Money Clinic Presented by Ruth Alexander Produced by Smita Patel Editor: Emma Rippon Relationship counsellor: Dee Holmes from Relate First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 3-24 August 2019 Our House Narrated by Katherine Press Written and produced by Rosamund Jones and Paul Kerley Production co-ordinator: Janet Staples Sound engineer: James Beard With: Charlie Chatwood; Tacita French; Jonathan Cribb; Professor Sharon Collard; Professor Claire Langhamer First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 26-30 August 2019

Aditya Chakrabortty, David Grossman, Gordon Brown (Author), Aditya Chakrabortty, David Grossman, Gordon Brown, Robert Peston (Narrator)

Audiobook

Seven Ways to Change the World: How To Fix The Most Pressing Problems We Face

THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER 'His vision, ideas and passion shine through on every page' Ed Balls 'Compelling, challenging, inspiring and very timely' Piers Morgan 'Immensely powerful and persuasive...I found it exhilarating throughout' Joanna Lumley When the Covid-19 pandemic swept across the globe in 2020, it created an unprecedented impact, greater than the aftermath of 9/11 or the global financial crisis. But out of such disruption can come a new way of thinking, and in this superb new book former UK prime minister Gordon Brown offers his solutions to the challenges we face in 2021 and beyond. In the book, he states that there are seven major global problems we must address: global health; climate change and environmental damage; nuclear proliferation; global financial instability; the humanitarian crisis and global poverty; the barriers to education and opportunity; and global inequality and its biggest manifestation, global tax havens. Each one presents an immense challenge that requires an urgent global response and solution. All should be on the world's agenda today. None can be solved by one nation acting on its own, but all can be addressed if we work together as a global community. However, Brown remains optimistic that, despite the many obstacles in our way, we will find a path to regeneration via a new era of global order. Yes, there is a crisis of globalisation, but we are beginning to see the means by which it might be resolved. Crises create opportunities and having two at once shouldn't just focus the mind, it might even be seen as giving greater grounds for hope. In Seven Ways to Change the World, Brown provides an authoritative and inspirational pathway to a better future that is essential reading for policy makers and concerned citizens alike.

Gordon Brown (Author), Angus King (Narrator)

Audiobook

My Life, Our Times

Random House presents the audiobook edition of My Life, Our Times by Gordon Brown, read by Gordon Kennedy. As former Prime Minister and our longest-serving Chancellor, Gordon Brown has been a guiding force for Britain and the world over three decades. This is his candid, poignant and deeply relevant story. In describing his upbringing in Scotland as the son of a minister, the near loss of his eyesight as a student and the death of his daughter within days of her birth, he shares the passionately held principles that have shaped and driven him, reminding us that politics can and should be a calling to serve. Reflecting on the personal and ideological tensions within Labour and its achievements the minimum wage, tax credits, Bank of England independence and the refinancing of the National Health Service he describes how to meet the challenge of pursuing a radical agenda within a credible party of government. He explains how as Chancellor he equipped Britain for a globalised economy while swimming against the neoliberal tide and shows what more must be done to halt rising inequality. In his behind-the-scenes account of the financial crisis and his leading role in saving the world economy from collapse, he addresses the question of who was to blame for the crash and why its causes and consequences still beset us. From the invasion of Iraq to the tragedy of Afghanistan, from the coalition negotiations of 2010 to the referendums on Scottish independence and Europe, Gordon Brown draws on his unique experiences to explain Britain's current fractured condition. And by showing us what progressive politics has achieved in recent decades, he inspires us with a vision of what it might yet achieve today. Riveting, expert and highly personal, this historic memoir is an invaluable insight into our times.

Gordon Brown (Author), Gordon Kennedy (Narrator)

Audiobook

Beyond the Crash: Overcoming the First Crisis of Globalization

The international financial crisis that has held our global economy in its grip for too long still seems to be in full stride. Former British Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown believes the crisis can be reversed, but that the world's leaders must work together if we are to avoid a decade of lost jobs and low growth. Brown speaks both as someone who was in the room driving discussions that led to some crucial decisions and as an expert renowned for his remarkable financial acumen. No one who had Brown's access has written about the crisis yet, and no one has written so convincingly about what the global community must do next in order to climb out of this abyss. Brown outlines the shocking recklessness and irresponsibility of the banks that he believes contributed to the depth and breadth of the crisis. As he sees it, the crisis was brought on not simply by technical failings, but by ethical failings too. Brown argues that markets need morals and suggests that the only way to truly ensure that the world economy does not flounder so badly again is to institute a banking constitution and a global growth plan for jobs and justice. Beyond the Crash puts forth not just an explanation for what happened, but a directive for how to prevent future financial disasters. Long admired for his grasp of economic issues, Brown describes the individual events that he believes led to the crisis unfolding as it did. He synthesizes the many historical precedents leading to the current status, from the 1933 London conference of world leaders that failed to resolve the Great Depression to the more recent crash in the Asian housing market. Brown's analysis is of paramount importance during these uncertain financial times. As Brown himself said of his ideas for the future, "We now live in a world of global trade, global financial flows, global movements of people, and instant global communications. Our economies are connected as never before, and I believe that global economic problems require global solutions and global institutions. In writing my analysis of the financial crisis, I wanted to help explain how we got here, but more important, to offer some recommendations as to how the next stage of globalization can be managed so that the economy works for people and not the other way around. ** Due to extended track length, it may not be possible to transfer this title to regular audio CD.

Gordon Brown (Author), Gordon Brown (Narrator)

Audiobook