Audiobooks by Steven Pinker

When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows...: Common Knowledge and the Science of Harmony, Hypocrisy a

"Brought to you by Penguin. As a cognitive scientist, the ultimate subject of Steven Pinker’s fascination is how we think about each other’s thoughts, ad infinitum. It sounds impossible, but Steven Pinker shows that we do it all the time. This awareness, which we experience as something that is public or “out there,” is called common knowledge, and it has a momentous impact on our social, political, and economic lives. Common knowledge, Pinker shows, can make sense of many of life’s enigmas: financial bubbles and crashes, revolutions that come out of nowhere, the posturing and pretence of diplomacy, the eruption of social media shaming mobs and academic cancel culture, the awkwardness of a first date. But people also go to great lengths to avoid common knowledge—to ensure that even if everyone knows something, they can’t know that everyone else knows they know it. And so we get rituals like benign hypocrisy, veiled bribes and threats, sexual innuendo, and pretending not to see the elephant in the room. In exploring the paradoxes of human behaviour, When Everyone Knows that Everyone Knows… invites us to understand the ways we try to get into each other’s heads, and the harmonies, hypocrisies, and outrages that result. © Steven Pinker 2025 (P) Simon & Schuster LLC 2025"

Steven Pinker (Author), TBD (Narrator)

Audiobook

Think with Pinker: How to be a better critical thinker

"Steven Pinker's 12-part guide to thinking better 'A paean to human potential' The Telegraph Cognitive scientist Professor Steven Pinker has spent his life thinking about thinking, and now he wants us to join him. With the aid of his critical thinking toolkit, he hopes to help us make smarter choices, become more rational, gain a greater understanding of the confused world we live in - and maybe even become better citizens. In this fascinating series, produced in partnership with the Open University, he examines the different ways the human brain can be tripped up, from understanding probability to the difference between correlation and causation. Joined by an array of other prominent thinkers, he explores such diverse subjects as whether formulas can predict how well an athlete will perform, why it's dangerous to see patterns in the randomness of everyday experience and why so many of us believe in conspiracy theories. He also considers the life and death choices made by judges and juries, ponders whether some thoughts are too evil to think, asks why making future predictions can be hard, and wonders: should we eat, drink and be merry, or make sacrifices now to benefit our future selves? And what can the game 'Rock, Paper, Scissors' teach us about preventing a climate catastrophe? In addition, he and his fellow experts discuss how we can stop the news distorting our understanding of the world - and why getting it right might mean admitting you're wrong... Among his special guests are Tim Harford, presenter of BBC Radio 4's More or Less; Pulitzer Prize-winning author Siddartha Mukherjee; Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; Professor Hannah Fry, co-presenter of Radio 4's popular science show The Curious Cases of Rutherford & Fry; Daniel Kahneman, winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics; and one of the most influential psychologists of the 20th Century, Elizabeth Loftus. Production credits Presented by Steven Pinker Produced by Imogen Walford and Joe Kent Edited by Emma Rippon Think with Pinker is produced in partnership with The Open University Episode 1: Think twice Featuring: Sig Mejdal and Professor Ellen Peters Episode 2: Methinks it is a weasel Featuring: Charlie Munger and Tim Harford Episode 3: In touch with reality Featuring: Jonathan Rauch and Ellen Cushing Episode 4: Don't expect a zebra Featuring: Talithia Williams and Siddartha Mukherjee Episode 5: You can't think that! Featuring: Philip Tetlock and Sally Satel Episode 6: Future you Featuring: Dr Maria Kournikova and Bina Venkataraman Episode 7: The climate game Featuring: Bill Gates and Professor Hannah Fry Episode 8: Rational soothsaying Featuring: Barbara Mellers and Thomas Friedman Episode 9: Nudges and noise Featuring: Daniel Kahneman and Robyn Scott Episode 10: Sentence first, verdict afterwards Featuring: Judge Nancy Gertner and Elizabeth Loftus Episode 11: Headlines and trendlines Featuring: James Harding and Anna Rosling Rutland Episode 12: Being right Featuring: Julia Galef and Daniel Willingham First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 18 November 2021 - 3 February 2022 © 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P) BBC Studios Distribution Ltd"

Steven Pinker (Author), Bill Gates, Daniel Kahneman, Elizabeth Loftus, Hannah Fry, Siddartha Mukherjee, Steven Pinker, Tim Harford (Narrator)

Audiobook

Rationality: What It Is, Why It Seems Scarce, Why It Matters

"Brought to you by Penguin. Can reading a book make you more rational? Can it help you understand why there is so much irrationality in the world? These are the goals of Rationality, Steven Pinker's follow-up to Enlightenment Now. In the twenty-first century, humanity is reaching new heights of scientific understanding - and at the same time appears to be losing its mind. How can a species that developed vaccines for Covid-19 in less than a year produce so much fake news, quack cures and conspiracy theorizing? Pinker rejects the cynical cliché that humans are an irrational species - cavemen out of time saddled with biases, fallacies and illusions. After all, we discovered the laws of nature, lengthened and enriched our lives and set the benchmarks for rationality itself. Instead, he explains that we think in ways that are sensible in the low-tech contexts in which we spend most of our lives, but fail to take advantage of the powerful tools of reasoning we have built up over the millennia: logic, critical thinking, probability, correlation and causation, and decision-making. These tools are not a standard part of our educational curricula, and have never been presented clearly and entertainingly in a single book - until now. Rationality also explores its opposite: how the rational pursuit of self-interest, sectarian solidarity and uplifting mythology by individuals can add up to crippling irrationality in a society. Collective rationality depends on norms that are explicitly designed to promote objectivity and truth. Rationality matters. It leads to better choices in our lives and in the public sphere, and is the ultimate driver of social justice and moral progress. Brimming with insight and humour, Rationality will enlighten, inspire and empower. © Steven Pinker 2021 (P) Penguin Audio 2021"

Steven Pinker (Author), Arthur Morey (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person's Guide to Writing in the 21st Century

"Brought to you by Penguin. What is the secret of good prose? Does writing well even matter in an age of instant communication? Should we care? In this funny, thoughtful book about the modern art of writing, Steven Pinker shows us why we all need a sense of style. More than ever before, the currency of our social and cultural lives is the written word, from Twitter and texting to blogs, e-readers and old-fashioned books. But most style guides fail to prepare people for the challenges of writing in the 21st century, portraying it as a minefield of grievous errors rather than a form of pleasurable mastery. They fail to deal with an inescapable fact about language: it changes over time, adapted by millions of writers and speakers to their needs. Confusing changes in the world with moral decline, every generation believes the kids today are degrading society and taking language with it. A guide for the new millennium, writes Steven Pinker, has to be different. Drawing on the latest research in linguistics and cognitive science, Steven Pinker replaces the recycled dogma of previous style guides with reason and evidence. This thinking person's guide to good writing shows why style still matters: in communicating effectively, in enhancing the spread of ideas, in earning a reader's trust and, not least, in adding beauty to the world. Eye-opening, mind-expanding and cheerful, The Sense of Style shows that good style is part of what it means to be human. Winner, Plain English Campaign's International Award 2014: 'a superbly and clearly written celebration of the best, least fuzzy kind of writing.' ©2014 Steven Pinker (P)2019 Penguin Audio"

Steven Pinker (Author), Arthur Morey (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature

"Brought to you by Penguin. In The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature, Steven Pinker looks at how the relationship between words and thoughts can help us understand who we are. Why do so many swear words involve topics like sex, bodily functions or the divine? Why do some children's names thrive while others fall out of favour? Why do we threaten and bribe and seduce in such elaborate, often comical ways? How can a choice of metaphor damn a politician or start a war? And why do we rarely say what we actually mean? Language, as Steven Pinker shows, is at the heart of our lives, and through the way we use it - whether to inform, persuade, entertain or manipulate - we can glimpse the very essence of what makes us human. ©2008 Steven Pinker (P)2019 Penguin Audio"

Steven Pinker (Author), John Chancer (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature

"Brought to you by Penguin. Recently many people have assumed that we are blank slates shaped by our environment. But this denies the heart of our being: human nature. Violence is not just a product of society; male and female minds are different; the genes we give our children shape them more than our parenting practices. To acknowledge our innate abilities, Pinker shows, is not to condone inequality, but to understand the very foundations of humanity. 'A passionate defence of the enduring power of human nature ... both life-affirming and deeply satisfying' Daily Telegraph 'Brilliant ... enjoyable, informative, clear, humane' New Scientist 'Startling ... This is a breath of air for a topic that has been politicized for too long' Economist ©2003 Steven Pinker (P)2019 Penguin Audio"

Steven Pinker (Author), Victor Bevine (Narrator)

Audiobook

Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress

"Brought to you by Penguin. Is modernity really failing? Or have we failed to appreciate progress and the ideals that make it possible? If you follow the headlines, the world in the 21st century appears to be sinking into chaos, hatred and irrationality. Yet, as Steven Pinker shows, if you follow the trendlines, you discover that our lives have become longer, healthier, safer and more prosperous - not just in the West but worldwide. Such progress is no accident: it's the gift of a coherent value system that many of us embrace without even realising it. These are the values of the Enlightenment: of reason, science, humanism and progress. The challenges we face today are formidable. But the way to deal with them is not to sink into despair or try to lurch back to a mythical idyllic past; it's to treat them as problems we can solve, as we have solved other problems in the past. This is the case for an Enlightenment newly recharged for the 21st century. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio on our desktop site. © Steven Pinker 2018 (P) Penguin Audio 2018"

Steven Pinker (Author), Arthur Morey (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Language Instinct: How the Mind Creates Language

"In this classic, the world’s expert on language and mind lucidly explains everything you always wanted to know about language: how it works, how children learn it, how it changes, how the brain computes it, and how it evolved. With deft use of examples of humor and wordplay, Steven Pinker weaves our vast knowledge of language into a compelling story: language is a human instinct, wired into our brains by evolution. The Language Instinct received the William James Book Prize from the American Psychological Association and the Public Interest Award from the Linguistics Society of America. This edition includes an update on advances in the science of language since The Language Instinct was first published.“Pinker writes with acid verve.” —Atlantic Monthly“An extremely valuable book, very informative, and very well written.” —Noam Chomsky"

Steven Pinker (Author), Arthur Morey (Narrator)

Audiobook

How the Mind Works

"In this delightful, acclaimed bestseller, one of the world’s leading cognitive scientists tackles the workings of the human mind. What makes us rational—and why are we so often irrational? How do we see in three dimensions? What makes us happy, afraid, angry, disgusted, or sexually aroused? Why do we fall in love? And how do we grapple with the imponderables of morality, religion, and consciousness? How the Mind Works synthesizes the most satisfying explanations of our mental life from cognitive science, evolutionary biology, and other fields to explain what the mind is, how it evolved, and how it allows us to see, think, feel, laugh, interact, enjoy the arts, and contemplate the mysteries of life. This new edition of Pinker’s bold and buoyant classic is updated with a new foreword by the author.“Undeniably brilliant.” —Newsday“Big, brash, and a lot of fun.” —Time“Hugely entertaining…always sparkling and provoking.” —Wall Street Journal“Witty popular science that you enjoy reading for the writing as well as for the science.” —New York Times Book Review"

Steven Pinker (Author), Mel Foster (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined

"“If I could give each of you a graduation present, it would be this—the most inspiring book I've ever read.' —Bill Gates (May, 2017) Selected by The New York Times Book Review as a Notable Book of the Year The author of Enlightenment Now and The New York Times bestseller The Stuff of Thought offers a controversial history of violence. Faced with the ceaseless stream of news about war, crime, and terrorism, one could easily think we live in the most violent age ever seen. Yet as New York Times bestselling author Steven Pinker shows in this startling and engaging new work, just the opposite is true: violence has been diminishing for millennia and we may be living in the most peaceful time in our species's existence. For most of history, war, slavery, infanticide, child abuse, assassinations, programs, gruesome punishments, deadly quarrels, and genocide were ordinary features of life. But today, Pinker shows (with the help of more than a hundred graphs and maps) all these forms of violence have dwindled and are widely condemned. How has this happened? This groundbreaking book continues Pinker's exploration of the essence of human nature, mixing psychology and history to provide a remarkable picture of an increasingly nonviolent world. The key, he explains, is to understand our intrinsic motives--the inner demons that incline us toward violence and the better angels that steer us away--and how changing circumstances have allowed our better angels to prevail. Exploding fatalist myths about humankind's inherent violence and the curse of modernity, this ambitious and provocative book is sure to be hotly debated in living rooms and the Pentagon alike, and will challenge and change the way we think about our society."

Steven Pinker (Author), Arthur Morey (Narrator)

Audiobook