Audiobooks narrated by Chris Sorensen

Why Religion Went Obsolete: The Demise of Traditional Faith in America

"Is traditional American religion doomed? Traditional religion in the United States has suffered huge losses in recent decades. The number of Americans identifying as 'not religious' has increased remarkably. Religious affiliation, service attendance, and belief in God have declined. More and more people claim to be 'spiritual but not religious.' Religious organizations have been reeling from revelations of sexual and financial scandals and cover-ups. Public trust in 'organized religion' has declined significantly. Crucially, these religious losses are concentrated among younger generations. This means that, barring unlikely religious revivals among youth, the losses will continue and accelerate in time, as less-religious younger Americans replace older more-religious ones and increasingly fewer American children are raised by religious parents. All this is clear. But what is less clear is exactly why this is happening. We know a lot more about the fact that traditional American religion has declined than we do about why this is so. Why Religion Went Obsolete aims to change that. Drawing on survey data and hundreds of interviews, Christian Smith offers a sweeping, multifaceted account of why many Americans have lost faith in traditional religion. An array of large-scale social forces came together to render traditional religion culturally obsolete. For growing numbers of Americans, traditional religion no longer seems useful or relevant. Using quantitative empirical measures of big-picture changes over time as well as exploring the larger cultural environment, the cultural 'zeitgeist', Smith explains why this is the case and what it means for the future. Crucially, he argues, it does not mean a strictly secular future. Rather, Americans' spiritual impulses are being channeled in new and interesting directions. Why Religion Went Obsolete is a tour de force from one of our leading chroniclers of religion in America."

Christian Smith (Author), Chris Sorensen (Narrator)

Audiobook

Surviving Wall Street: A Tale of Triumph, Tragedy, and Timing

"Surviving Wall Street portrays the dramatic transformation of the investment banking business in recent decades through the tumultuous saga of one firm (Greenhill & Co., a specialist in mergers and acquisitions) and one man (Scott Bok, the longtime CEO of that firm). Written in the style of an adventure tale, this book is also a 'coming of age' story for a naive young man who came to Wall Street and managed to grab a front-row seat for a period of epic change. Listeners will gain an insider's perspective on an M&A firm's journey from start-up to wildly successful first-of-a-kind IPO and later to a sale to a major global bank; numerous crises that rocked Greenhill and all of Wall Street, including the dot-com crash, global financial crisis, and pandemic; how the creation of new firms and mergers or collapses of old ones have driven the evolution and growth of the industry; and the author's role in a battle for control of the University of Pennsylvania that featured activist shareholder and corporate takeover tactics. A firsthand account of deals and dealmakers told from inside the boardroom, Surviving Wall Street will captivate those wanting to understand the dramatic evolution and expansion of Wall Street, as well as younger listeners hoping to chart their own path to success in this Darwinian industry."

Scott L. Bok (Author), Chris Sorensen (Narrator)

Audiobook

They Built the Earth: Then they seeded life 3.7 billion years ago-it’s time to unlock the message th

Alan Butler, Christopher Knight (Author), Chris Sorensen (Narrator)

Audiobook

Crisis on Mount Hood: Stories from a Hundred Years of Mountain Rescue

"In Crisis on Mount Hood, author and emergency room doctor Christopher Van Tilburg looks at the history of America's oldest all-volunteer mountain rescue team, the Hood River Crag Rats, and his own three-decade commitment to search and rescue. Centered on Oregon's iconic 11,249-foot-high Mount Hood, considered by many to be the world's most-climbed glaciated peak, this dramatic narrative leads listeners through a century of life-and-death challenges. Covering the past, present, and future of Mount Hood, Van Tilburg highlights the titans of mountain rescue, the ways that outdoor recreation has changed over time, the challenging effects of climate change, and, most of all, the unwavering passion of search and rescue volunteers."

Christopher Van Tilburg (Author), Chris Sorensen (Narrator)

Audiobook

Hurdle-isms: Wit and Wisdom from a Lifetime in Baseball

"A fun and easy listen filled with insight, humor, wisdom, and wit In Hurdle-isms, renowned Major League Baseball player, hitting coach, manager, and current Special Assistant to the General Manager for the Colorado Rockies, Clint Hurdle, delivers a collection of his most inspirational stories. You'll find a ton of funny, insightful, and otherwise notable anecdotes from one of Major League Baseball's most successful personalities. In each chapter, Hurdle also describes the experience, strength, and hope he's gained through his experiences playing, coaching, and managing his way through the MLB, as well as his successes and failures in the league. You'll also discover: ● Laughter and lessons from Clint Hurdle's storied life in the major leagues, filled with quick wit and pithy humor ● Coverage of hot topics currently dominating the discussions taking place in professional baseball ● A fun and illuminating journey through a remarkable experience in the MLB straight from the person who lived it Perfect for baseball fans everywhere, Hurdle-isms is a can't-miss book for sports enthusiasts filled with fun, humor, insight, and experience."

Clint Hurdle (Author), Chris Sorensen (Narrator)

Audiobook

Jewish Ethics: The Basics

"Jewish Ethics: The Basics demonstrates how ancient and contemporary ideas have shaped and reshaped Jewish traditions about how to act toward others. Listeners are introduced to foundational questions, controversies, and diverse ethical conclusions developed by Jewish thinkers throughout the ages. Topics addressed include: assumptions about authority; love, compassion, justice, and humility; human rights, war, land, and power; gender and sexuality; personal and social ethics; environmental and animal Ethics; and bioethical issues. Concise and engaging, this is the ideal introduction for anyone interested in religious ethics, secular traditions, Judaism, and the field of Jewish ethics."

Geoffrey D. Claussen (Author), Chris Sorensen (Narrator)

Audiobook

Agency and Cognitive Development

"Children of different ages live in different worlds. This is partly due to learning: as children learn more and more about the world they experience it in different ways. But learning cannot be the whole story or else children could learn anything at any age—which they cannot. Michael Tomasello argues that children of different ages live and learn in different worlds because their capacities to cognitively represent and operate on their experience change in significant ways over the first years of life. These capacities change because they are elements in a maturing cognitive architecture evolved for agentive decision making and action, including in shared agencies in which individuals must mentally coordinate with others. The developmental proposal is that from birth infants are goal-directed agents who cognitively represent and learn about actualities; at 9-12 months toddlers become intentional (and joint) agents who also imaginatively and perspectively represent and learn about possibilities; and at 3-4 years children become metacognitive (and collective) agents who also metacognitively represent and learn about objective/normative necessities. These developing agentive architectures—originally evolved in humans' evolutionary ancestors for particular types of decision making and action—help to explain why children learn what they do when they do."

Michael Tomasello (Author), Chris Sorensen (Narrator)

Audiobook

Cemetery World and Destiny Doll

"Brave explorers encounter a dangerous new world and a terrifying future Earth in these two classic novels by the pioneering SFWA Grand Master. Cemetery World After a disastrous planet-wide war, Earth is nothing more than an elite graveyard—but Fletcher Carson is venturing back in search of a vital bounty. Fletcher, a former artist, is joined by a sentient machine, an ancient, powerful robot, and a treasure-seeking beauty. They soon discover that Earth harbors more than the carefully groomed tombstones. In the wild land beyond the cemetery there are dangerous machines, mutant creatures, and even humans who never left their home planet. Destiny Doll When a team of explorers is beckoned to a strange planet, it closes around them like a Venus flytrap. Assailed by strange perils and even stranger temptations, the small group struggles to survive as, surrounded by creatures of myth and mystery, they are stalked by a deadly nemesis. Even more peculiar is the little wooden painted doll that offers them salvation . . . or damnation."

Clifford D. Simak (Author), Chris Sorensen (Narrator)

Audiobook

Help Your Child Build Wealth: A Parent's Guide to Teaching Children To Be Successful Investors

"In Help Your Child Build Wealth: A Parent's Guide to Teaching Children To Be Successful Investors, bestselling author and investing educator Michael Sincere delivers an exciting new take on the stock market. Perfect for rookie investors with children, this book explains exactly how you can get started as a long-term investor using index funds, ETFs, and individual stocks. You'll also discover how you can teach your kids about investing in a way that gets them excited about building wealth for their futures. In the book, the author walks you through what the stock market is, how to open a brokerage account, how much cash you'll need to get started, and how you can protect yourself and manage risk through diversification. You'll also find out: ● About new and interesting ideas such as a 529 or custodial plan and their proper place in a well-managed portfolio ● What the difference is between 'active' and 'passive' investing and which path is right for you ● How you can find stocks that perform well over the long-term and how you can use compound interest and dollar-cost averaging to multiply your profits ● Learn about the best investing apps and how to use them with your children"

Michael Sincere (Author), Chris Sorensen (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Elements of Negotiation: 103 Tactics for Everyone to Win in Each Deal

"Comprehensive guide to mastering negotiation, based on twenty-four years of research The Elements of Negotiation provides listeners with an easy-to-follow step-by-step approach to becoming exceptional negotiators in both their professional and personal lives. Grounded in twenty-four years of extensive research, studying the habits and techniques of 35,000 individual negotiators, the 103 steps provide a detailed roadmap for negotiation excellence, covering preparation, execution, and post-negotiation analysis. Backed by tested science proving the tips' efficacy, The Elements of Negotiation explores a wealth of real-world case studies and examples, with trends and predictions into the future of negotiation, and additional resources and training programs to further improve your negotiation skills. In this book, you'll learn: ● How to prepare for negotiations to achieve superior financial outcomes ● What to say—and not say—during any negotiation, big or small ● How successful negotiators achieve positive outcomes for both parties ● Why successful negotiators are usually successful in both their personal and professional lives"

Keld Jensen (Author), Chris Sorensen (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Thinkers: The Rise of Partisan Think Tanks and the Polarization of American Politics

"Increasingly, political parties have adopted not only different policies, but different sets of facts. As E. J. Fagan argues, partisan think tanks have helped create these alternate realities in their capacity as de facto formal party organizations. Through the analyses generated by aligned think tanks, political elites on both the left and right frequently offer radically different assessments of a policy's consequences. In The Thinkers, Fagan tells the story of how partisan think tanks displaced non-partisan experts to become the closest policy advisors to the Republican and Democratic Parties. He explores their history, how they influence policymakers, and how their influence impacts the polarization of American politics. More broadly, Fagan shows that the rise of partisan think tanks tracks closely with the increase in political polarization since the 1970s. Because they are funded and staffed by strong ideologues, partisan think tanks seek to move their party's preferences to the left or right of center. When they are successful, parties take more extreme positions than if they had only drawn information from non-partisan sources, which increases polarization. A powerful account of the impact of partisan think tanks on American democracy, The Thinkers will reshape our understanding of the fundamental drivers of the US's polarized political system."

E.J. Fagan (Author), Chris Sorensen (Narrator)

Audiobook

Ring Around the Sun

"In this classic novel by the Science Fiction Grand Master, a writer searching for explanations uncovers the existence of mutants and multiple Earths: 'First-rate Simak' (The New York Times). Author Jay Vickers would like nothing more than to be left alone so he can finish his next book. But 'there's something strange going on,' as his peculiar neighbor, Horton Flanders, says. The market is filling with new inventions that supposedly last forever—cars, razors, cigarette lighters, and more. Individuals and whole families are disappearing. Soon, even Mr. Flanders vanishes—but not before leaving Vickers a note. Following Flanders's advice, Vickers travels to his childhood home, where he makes a fantastic discovery. It is a mere child's toy, a brightly colored whistling top. But for Jay, it leads to other worlds and answers all his questions. What happened to all the vanished people? Who is behind these helpful inventions? And what sort of being would want to stop them? 'Unforgettable.' —New York Herald Tribune 'Solid entertainment, with plenty of startling plot twists.' —The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction 'Some of the most ingenious plot twists in recent science-fiction.' —Galaxy"

Clifford D. Simak (Author), Chris Sorensen (Narrator)

Audiobook

Audiobooks Narrated by Chris Sorensen