Audiobooks narrated by Nas Mehdi

Is There Always Value to Adversity?: Looking Beyond 'What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger'

"Clear and compelling, Is There Always Value to Adversity? presents an interdisciplinary exploration of the age-old idea that adversity can lead to personal growth. Can adversity have an upside? Is there a purpose to suffering? Can difficult experiences involving trauma and hardship make us stronger? These age-old questions, both intuitively compelling yet scientifically problematic, have fascinated philosophers and researchers for centuries. In Is There Always Value to Adversity?, Eranda Jayawickreme examines whether post-traumatic growth—the positive changes people report after adversity—reflects real transformation or is simply a coping mechanism. As Jayawickreme explains, the idea that struggle, trauma, and adversity can be a catalyst for positive outcomes has a long intellectual history. He outlines the history of this thinking, tracking its development in different cultural, religious, and philosophical traditions. He then discusses its recent emergence as a popular topic and evaluates the current research, highlighting guidelines for how we should think about this phenomenon. Throughout the course of the book, Jayawickreme interrogates the quality of the research on post-traumatic growth. In the current age of worries about replication and the credibility revolution in science, can we trust this research at all? Is it possible to do good science on a topic with such intuitive appeal? Ultimately, Jayawickreme asks: is growth through suffering real, or just a comforting story we tell ourselves?"

Eranda Jayawickreme (Author), Nas Mehdi (Narrator)

Audiobook

Swamp Sorcery: Folk Magic from America's Southern Wetlands

"From practical spells to swampy tales, this grimoire serves up a heaping helping of Southern magic that's as charming as a front porch on a summer evening. The swamp witch wanders through misty bayous and mysterious wetlands in search of ingredients for their magical work. From Spanish moss to bone curios, Mystic Dylan teaches you how to harness the fierce power of the natural world. Follow him down a path lit by fireflies, serenaded by cicadas, and guarded by alligators, where you'll learn the transformative magic of the dark and mysterious swamp. Whether you're looking for love, protection, or prosperity, the swamp is sure to have a cure for whatever ails you. Hop in the crawdad boat, mind the mud, and beware of snakes and alligators. Oh, and don't forget the mosquito repellent. This grimoire is your guide to the rich traditions of Cuban, Creole, Cajun, and other coastal Southern folk magic—so grab your charm bag and get ready for a spellbinding journey! Includes essays by guest contributors Denise Alvarado and Col. Kemp."

Mystic Dylan (Author), Nas Mehdi (Narrator)

Audiobook

Battle of the Big Bang: The New Tales of Our Cosmic Origins

"By most popular accounts, the universe started with a bang some 13.8 billion years ago. But what happened before the Big Bang? And how do we know it happened at all? Here prominent cosmologist Niayesh Afshordi and science communicator Phil Halper offer a tour of the peculiar possibilities: bouncing and cyclic universes, time loops, creations from nothing, multiverses, black hole births, string theories, and holograms. Along the way, they offer both a call for new physics and a riveting story of scientific debate. Incorporating insights from Afshordi's cutting-edge research and Halper's original interviews with scientists like Stephen Hawking, Roger Penrose, and Alan Guth, Battle of the Big Bang compares these models for the origin of our origins, showing each theory's strengths and weaknesses and explaining new attempts to test these notions. Battle of the Big Bang is a tale of rivalries and intrigue, of clashes of ideas that have raged from Greek antiquity to the present day over whether the universe is eternal or had a beginning, whether it is unique or one of many. But most of all, Afshordi and Halper show that this search is filled with wonder, discovery, and community—all essential for remembering a forgotten cosmic past."

Niayesh Afshordi, Phil Halper (Author), Nas Mehdi (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Shortest History of Turkey: From the Ottoman Empire to the Turkish Republic - A Retelling for Our Times (The Shortest History Series)

"The world-changing story of Turkey—a country caught between two worlds This brilliant distillation traces Turkey's long and complicated history from the rise and decline of the Ottoman Empire—the most enduring, and perhaps the most important, Islamic empire in history—to the emergence of the modern Turkish Republic in the early twentieth century and the populist, authoritarian leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan today. Over more than nine centuries of change, Turkey has been a cultural melting pot, straddling Asia and Europe, and a nation-state bent on ethnic unity. It has seen conquest and reform, appeals to tradition and calls to modernize. It has been a home to Christians, Jews, Muslims and more, and it has aggressively pursued both secularization and Islamization. In The Shortest History of Turkey, historian Benjamin Fortna offers a concise yet nuanced overview of this complex trajectory, revealing how persistent tensions between opposing visions for Turkey have shaped, and continue to shape, the country and its people."

Benjamin C. Fortna (Author), Nas Mehdi (Narrator)

Audiobook

Iran and the Revolution: A History

"A major new history of revolutionary Iran, from the 1940s to the present Iran’s revolution in 1979 shook the world. The Pahlavi dynasty came crashing down, and the Islamic Republic rose in its place. But what led to this seismic event? How did the revolutionary movement gain such strength? And what has its legacy been for modern Iran? In this comprehensive history, Homa Katouzian explores Iran from the 1940s to the present, showing how the revolution came into being. From the chaos of oil nationalisation to the overthrow of Mosaddeq in 1953, through the revolutionary moment itself, to the resistance movements of contemporary Iran, the revolution has had long and lasting effects. We see the profound influence of US presidents and the ramifications of Saddam Hussein's invasion in 1980. Crucially, Katouzian shows how the revolution constituted an uprising of the whole of Iranian society and was not a purely Islamic movement. This is an engaging account of an epochal event—one which continues to shape Iran to this day."

Homa Katouzian (Author), Nas Mehdi (Narrator)

Audiobook

After Savagery: Gaza, Genocide, and the Illusion of Western Civilization

"Written during a genocide, After Savagery reveals the ethical bankruptcy of 'Western philosophy' and how it undergirds the erasure of the colonized. The death toll in Gaza continues to rise―a cold, lifeless number representing entire communities crushed under the weight of settler colonialism. What remains of the theories we use to understand our world? With lyrical and lucid fury, Hamid Dabashi exposes the racist roots of Western philosophy, demanding that listeners overcome its pernicious phantom of relevance. Rather than perceiving 'the West' as giving carte blanche to Israel, Dabashi insists that Israel must be understood as its quintessence. If Israel is the West and the West is Israel, then Palestine is the world and the world is Palestine. Holding to glimmers from revolutionary works of literature and film, Dabashi argues, in grief and love, that the wretched of the earth need poetry after barbarism—and that Palestine is the site of a liberated imagination."

Hamid Dabashi (Author), Nas Mehdi (Narrator)

Audiobook

Hicky's Bengal Gazette: The Untold Story of India's First Newspaper

"Hicky's Bengal Gazette is the story of India's first newspaper and its pivotal role in exposing the corruption of the British imperialist project. The story opens in late-eighteenth century Calcutta. The British are well-ensconced in Bengal but the Raj has yet to emerge. Irishman, James August Hicky, arrives in Calcutta as a surgeon's mate, seeking his fame and fortune. He soon finds himself in debtors' prison, however, and it's while in jail that he first acquires the printing press that sets him on a collision course with the British East India Company. Sensing a business opportunity, Hicky established the first newspaper in South Asia but quickly became committed to the freedom of the press at great personal cost. His Gazette exposed corruption in the East India Company and embezzlement in the Christian Church, making himself two powerful enemies in the process: Johann Zacharias Kiernander, an influential missionary and Warren Hastings, the Governor General. Staunchly anti-war and anti-colonialist, Hicky's Bengal Gazette was known for its provocative content. Trials, prison time, and assassination attempts follow before Hicky dies mysteriously on a boat to China. His legacy in India endures to this day through the vibrant, modern media landscape."

Andrew Otis (Author), Nas Mehdi (Narrator)

Audiobook

Love as a Business Strategy: Resilience, Belonging & Success, Updated Edition

"Chock-full of real-world examples of mistakes, heartbreak, and redemption that makes it sound more like a juicy exposé than a business book, Love as a Business Strategy offers a new, people-first framework for achieving any business outcome. Written by authors who aren't fans of run-of-the-mill, nap-inducing business or leadership books, this book clearly shows that a better way of doing business is possible, helping listeners ditch the status quo, embrace humanity, and achieve lasting success. This book steers clear from piety and theoretical concepts and instead share the realities of real people running real businesses, covering concepts including the potential harmony between organizational culture and hard data; the biggest mistakes that organizations make in pursuing profits at the expense of people; and practical ways to better serve customers, clients, and employees while still enjoying standout financial success. Entertaining, visionary, and highly practical, Love as a Business Strategy earns a well-deserved spot on the bookshelves of all entrepreneurs, managers, and executives seeking perspective-shifting knowledge and strategies to get better business results without sacrificing their human side."

Christopher J. Pitre, Frank E. Danna, Jeffrey F. Ma, Mohammad Anwar (Author), Nas Mehdi (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Social Labs Revolution: A New Approach to Solving our Most Complex Challenges

"Current responses to our most pressing societal challenges—from poverty to ethnic conflict to climate change—are not working. These problems are incredibly dynamic and complex, involving an ever-shifting array of factors, actors, and circumstances. They demand a highly fluid and adaptive approach, yet we address them by devising fixed, long-term plans. Social labs, says Zaid Hassan, are a dramatically more effective response. Social labs bring together a diverse a group of stakeholders—not to create yet another five-year plan but to develop a portfolio of prototype solutions, test those solutions in the real world, use the data to further refine them, and test them again. Hassan builds on a decade of experience—as well as drawing from cutting-edge research in complexity science, networking theory, and sociology—to explain the core principles and daily functioning of social labs, using examples of pioneering labs from around the world. He offers a new generation of problem solvers an effective, practical, and exciting new vision and guide."

Zaid Hassan (Author), Nas Mehdi (Narrator)

Audiobook

Gaza Faces History

"Is the destruction of Gaza only a consequence of the October 7, 2023 attack, or is it also the outcome of a long process of dispossession and eradication? Do Palestinians have the right to resist the occupation? Is talking about genocide anti-Semitism? Enzo Traverso goes to the root of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict by calling history into question and offers a critical interpretation that overturns the one-sided perspective from which we have become accustomed to observing what is happening in Gaza. Israel is usually described as a democratic island in the middle of an obscurantist ocean, and Hamas as a movement inspired by bloodthirsty fanaticism. The destruction of Gaza is reminiscent of the golden age of colonialism, when the West perpetrated genocides in Asia and Africa in the name of its civilizing mission. But if a genocidal war is unleashed in the name of fighting anti-Semitism, it is our own ethical values and political norms that are tarnished: the assumptions of our moral conscience risk being turned upside down. The October 7 attack was terrifying, but it must be analyzed and not just condemned. And we must do so by summoning all the critical tools of historical research. In that case, neither American weapons nor Western media, nor the distorted and outraged memory of the Holocaust will be able to redeem it."

Enzo Traverso (Author), Nas Mehdi (Narrator)

Audiobook

Crossing the Desert: The Power of Embracing Life's Difficult Journeys

"At the age of 16, he escaped persecution and made his way to America as a refugee. At 28, he secured a billion-dollar IPO. Today, he's redefining what it means to be an entrepreneur by building a new model of capitalism. In the summer of 1987, Payam Zamani fled Iran. As a member of the Baha'i Faith, he had already survived years of religious persecution at the hands of Islamic fundamentalists. Taking the only path available to him, he escaped to Pakistan through the Emptiness Desert: a harrowing five-day trek through one of the hottest, driest, and most hostile regions on the planet. Twelve years later, he and his brother set records when the company they founded hit a $1.2 billion valuation on Wall Street. He was rich—on paper. But in the wake of yet another Wall Street meltdown, he learned the hard way that modern capitalism can be harmful to the human soul. In 2015, Payam set the example he wanted to see by merging his business acumen with his spiritual beliefs and founding a new company—One Planet Group—this time without letting Wall Street or the venture capital world dictate the terms. Today, One Planet Group is proving that it's not only possible but necessary to build strong businesses while taking care of our employees, customers, communities, and the planet. Crossing the Desert gives readers an intimate look at how the paths we choose, the values we embrace, and the systems we decide to participate in (or not) can make or break us, not only financially, but spiritually. Payam's story is a timely reminder that enduring and embracing life's most difficult journeys can lead us to a brighter future—not only for ourselves, but for the people around us, and even the world."

Payam Zamani (Author), Nas Mehdi (Narrator)

Audiobook

Dune and Philosophy: Minds, Monads, and Muad'Dib

"'He who controls the spice controls the universe.' Frank Herbert's Dune saga is the epic story of Paul, son of Duke Leto Atreides, and heir to the massive fortune promised by the desert planet Arrakis and its vast reservoirs of a drug called 'spice.' To control the spice, Paul and his mother Jessica, a devotee of the pseudo-religious Bene Gesserit order, must find their place in the culture of the desert-dwelling Fremen of Arrakis. Paul must contend with both the devious rival House Harkonnen and the gargantuan desert sandworms—the source of the spice. The future of the Imperium depends upon one young man who will need to lead a new jihad to control the universe. Dune and Philosophy recruits twenty-three philosophers to sift wisdom from Frank Herbert's Duniverse, including the first of an expected series of films following Paul 'Muad'Dib' Atreides and his descendants, captivatingly brought to the big screen in 2021. Substantial yet accessible chapters address philosophical questions including: ● Is it morally right to create a savior? ● Would interplanetary travel change human nature? ● In conflict, how can you stay light years ahead of your opponents? ● Does history repeat itself?"

unknown (Author), Ariana Delawari, Nas Mehdi (Narrator)

Audiobook

Audiobooks Narrated by Nas Mehdi

Join Our Community