Audiobooks narrated by Peter Van Norden

COVID: The Politics of Fear and the Power of Science

From Fox News Medical Analyst and the author of False Alarm (Wiley, 2008) comes COVID and the Politics of Fear by Marc Siegel, M.D. This shocking expose of the facts as the media covers the national pandemic news and spread of the invisible virus, reinforces the notion that we must arm ourselves against fear tactics that limit our abilities to safely make decisions and protect our families in a world of uncertainty.Life for citizens of the developed world before the pandemic was safer, easier, and healthier than for any other people in history thanks to modern medicine, science, technology, and intelligence-but COVID-19 has stolen that security and our nations peace of mind. Now there is a pandemic virus, as well as a crippling epidemic of fear sweeping America. Why? The answer, according to nationally renowned health commentator Dr. Marc Siegel, is that we already lived in an artificially created culture of fear that was just waiting to be unleashed. In COVID and the Politics of Fear, Siegel identifies three major catalysts of the culture of fear-government, the media, and our own psyche. With fascinating, blow-by-blow analyses of the most sensational false alarms of the past few years, compounded now by the worst contagion of our lifetimes, he shows how fearmongers manipulate our most primitive instincts-often without our even realizing it. COVID shows us how to look behind the hype and hysteria, inoculate ourselves against these crippling fear tactics, and develop the emotional and intellectual skills needed to take back our lives even as we battle the pandemic itself.

Marc Siegel, Marc Siegel, M.D. (Author), Peter Van Norden (Narrator)

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The Assembled Parties

It's Christmas 1980, and inside a sprawling Upper West Side apartment, Faye Bascov is about to throw an opulent Christmas dinner-a tradition for this secular, well-educated Jewish family. But any family gathering is an invitation for old resentments to boil over, as Faye's sister-in-law Julie and the extended family have plenty to hash out. Flash-forward to 2000, and the apartment, now much shabbier, reflects how the family's fortunes have changed, and the Bascovs now have to reckon with the legacy of their family discord. An L.A. Theatre Works full cast performance featuring: Matthew Arkin as Ben Wilson Bethel as Scotty/Tim Dana Delany as Julie Seamus Dever as Jeff Zoe Perry as Shelley/Timmy Susan Sullivan as Faye Peter Van Norden as Mort with Justin Huen as the Voice of Hector Directed by JoBeth Williams. Recorded in Los Angeles before a live audience at The James Bridges Theater, UCLA in November of 2016.

Richard Greenberg (Author), Dana Delany, Justin Huen, Matthew Arkin, Peter Van Norden, Seamus Dever, Susan Sullivan, Wilson Bethel, Zoe Perry (Narrator)

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Snowing in Greenwich Village

The Maples Stories consists of eighteen classic stories from across John Updike’s career, forming a luminous chronicle of the life and times of one marriage in all its rich emotional complexity. In 1956, Updike published the story “Snowing in Greenwich Village,” about a young couple, Joan and Richard Maple, at the beginning of their marriage. Over the next two decades, he returned to these characters again and again, tracing their years together raising children, finding moments of intermittent happiness, and facing the heartbreak of infidelity and estrangement. In this first story from the collection, Richard and Joan Maple, newlyweds still feeling out married life, receive a visit from their friend Rebecca Cune. “The stories are full of striking passages…and Updike’s rich prose, his rhythmic, acute, fertile, and, at times, even somewhat glutting use of language.”—Guardian on The Maples Stories

John Updike (Author), Peter Van Norden (Narrator)

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Wife-Wooing

The Maples Stories consists of eighteen classic stories from across John Updike’s career, forming a luminous chronicle of the life and times of one marriage in all its rich emotional complexity. In 1956, Updike published the story “Snowing in Greenwich Village,” about a young couple, Joan and Richard Maple, at the beginning of their marriage. Over the next two decades, he returned to these characters again and again, tracing their years together raising children, finding moments of intermittent happiness, and facing the heartbreak of infidelity and estrangement. This second story from the collection finds the Maples seven years—and three children—into their marriage. Despite the effects of time, Richard is still very much in love with, and sexually attracted to, his wife. But the complexities of Joan still elude him. “The stories are full of striking passages…and Updike’s rich prose, his rhythmic, acute, fertile, and, at times, even somewhat glutting use of language.”—Guardian on The Maples Stories

John Updike (Author), Peter Van Norden (Narrator)

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Giving Blood

The Maples Stories consists of eighteen classic stories from across John Updike’s career, forming a luminous chronicle of the life and times of one marriage in all its rich emotional complexity. In 1956, Updike published the story “Snowing in Greenwich Village,” about a young couple, Joan and Richard Maple, at the beginning of their marriage. Over the next two decades, he returned to these characters again and again, tracing their years together raising children, finding moments of intermittent happiness, and facing the heartbreak of infidelity and estrangement. This third story in the collection finds Richard and Joan Maple in their ninth year of marriage. A brilliant metaphor full of irony and eloquent prose, “Giving Blood” reveals to listeners a hint of the tension and verbal lacerations that are slowly but surely causing the destruction of a marriage. “The stories are full of striking passages…and Updike’s rich prose, his rhythmic, acute, fertile, and, at times, even somewhat glutting use of language.”—Guardian on The Maples Stories

John Updike (Author), Peter Van Norden (Narrator)

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Twin Beds in Rome

The Maples Stories consists of eighteen classic stories from across John Updike’s career, forming a luminous chronicle of the life and times of one marriage in all its rich emotional complexity. In 1956, Updike published the story “Snowing in Greenwich Village,” about a young couple, Joan and Richard Maple, at the beginning of their marriage. Over the next two decades, he returned to these characters again and again, tracing their years together raising children, finding moments of intermittent happiness, and facing the heartbreak of infidelity and estrangement. As Richard and Joan Maple’s story continues in this fourth story in the collection, their marriage is falling apart. Though both intensely desire separation, they continue to hold on to their broken relationship. So rather than get away from each other, they go away with each other—to Rome. “The stories are full of striking passages…and Updike’s rich prose, his rhythmic, acute, fertile, and, at times, even somewhat glutting use of language.”—Guardian on The Maples Stories

John Updike (Author), Peter Van Norden (Narrator)

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Marching through Boston

The Maples Stories consists of eighteen classic stories from across John Updike’s career, forming a luminous chronicle of the life and times of one marriage in all its rich emotional complexity. In 1956, Updike published the story “Snowing in Greenwich Village,” about a young couple, Joan and Richard Maple, at the beginning of their marriage. Over the next two decades, he returned to these characters again and again, tracing their years together raising children, finding moments of intermittent happiness, and facing the heartbreak of infidelity and estrangement. The fifth story in this collection, “Marching through Boston,” finds Richard and Joan Maple still holding on to the tattered threads of their marriage. As Joan is caught up in the civil rights movement, an unwell Richard joins her at a march in Boston. “The stories are full of striking passages…and Updike’s rich prose, his rhythmic, acute, fertile, and, at times, even somewhat glutting use of language.”—Guardian on The Maples Stories

John Updike (Author), Peter Van Norden (Narrator)

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The Taste of Metal

The Maples Stories consists of eighteen classic stories from across John Updike’s career, forming a luminous chronicle of the life and times of one marriage in all its rich emotional complexity. In 1956, Updike published the story “Snowing in Greenwich Village,” about a young couple, Joan and Richard Maple, at the beginning of their marriage. Over the next two decades, he returned to these characters again and again, tracing their years together raising children, finding moments of intermittent happiness, and facing the heartbreak of infidelity and estrangement. In this sixth story from The Maples Stories, Richard and Joan attend a party, after which an intoxicated Richard gets behind the wheel. With his wife in the backseat and Eleanor, a woman to whom Richard is undeniably attracted, in the passenger seat, he sets off into the snowy night. “The stories are full of striking passages…and Updike’s rich prose, his rhythmic, acute, fertile, and, at times, even somewhat glutting use of language.”—Guardian on The Maples Stories

John Updike (Author), Peter Van Norden (Narrator)

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Your Lover Just Called

The Maples Stories consists of eighteen classic stories from across John Updike’s career, forming a luminous chronicle of the life and times of one marriage in all its rich emotional complexity. In 1956, Updike published the story “Snowing in Greenwich Village,” about a young couple, Joan and Richard Maple, at the beginning of their marriage. Over the next two decades, he returned to these characters again and again, tracing their years together raising children, finding moments of intermittent happiness, and facing the heartbreak of infidelity and estrangement. In this seventh story, “Your Lover Just Called,” Richard Maple suspects his wife of having affair after receiving a mysterious telephone call. “The stories are full of striking passages…and Updike’s rich prose, his rhythmic, acute, fertile, and, at times, even somewhat glutting use of language.”—Guardian (London) on The Maples Stories

John Updike (Author), Peter Van Norden (Narrator)

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Eros Rampant

The Maples Stories consists of eighteen classic stories from across John Updike’s career, forming a luminous chronicle of the life and times of one marriage in all its rich emotional complexity. In 1956, Updike published the story “Snowing in Greenwich Village,” about a young couple, Joan and Richard Maple, at the beginning of their marriage. Over the next two decades, he returned to these characters again and again, tracing their years together raising children, finding moments of intermittent happiness, and facing the heartbreak of infidelity and estrangement. In this ninth story, “Eros Rampant,” the loves and loyalties of Maple family are revealed, to the heartbreak of some. “The stories are full of striking passages…and Updike’s rich prose, his rhythmic, acute, fertile, and, at times, even somewhat glutting use of language.”—Guardian (London) on The Maples Stories

John Updike (Author), Peter Van Norden (Narrator)

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Plumbing

The Maples Stories consists of eighteen classic stories from across John Updike’s career, forming a luminous chronicle of the life and times of one marriage in all its rich emotional complexity. In 1956, Updike published the story “Snowing in Greenwich Village,” about a young couple, Joan and Richard Maple, at the beginning of their marriage. Over the next two decades, he returned to these characters again and again, tracing their years together raising children, finding moments of intermittent happiness, and facing the heartbreak of infidelity and estrangement. In this tenth story, “Plumbing,” Richard Maple reflects on the past as his family moves into a new home. “The stories are full of striking passages…and Updike’s rich prose, his rhythmic, acute, fertile, and, at times, even somewhat glutting use of language.”—Guardian (London) on The Maples Stories

John Updike (Author), Peter Van Norden (Narrator)

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The Red-Herring Theory

The Maples Stories consists of eighteen classic stories from across John Updike’s career, forming a luminous chronicle of the life and times of one marriage in all its rich emotional complexity. In 1956, Updike published the story “Snowing in Greenwich Village,” about a young couple, Joan and Richard Maple, at the beginning of their marriage. Over the next two decades, he returned to these characters again and again, tracing their years together raising children, finding moments of intermittent happiness, and facing the heartbreak of infidelity and estrangement. In this eleventh story, Richard and Joan, after hosting a party, talk about love and deceit in the suburbs. “The stories are full of striking passages…and Updike’s rich prose, his rhythmic, acute, fertile, and, at times, even somewhat glutting use of language.”—Guardian (London) on The Maples Stories

John Updike (Author), Peter Van Norden (Narrator)

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Audiobooks Narrated by Peter Van Norden