Social Science Audiobooks | Non-Fiction

Thraldom: A History of Slavery in the Viking Age

Nordic slavery is an elusive phenomenon, with few similarities to the systematic exploitation of slaves in households, mines, and amphitheaters in the ancient Mediterranean or the widespread slavery at American plantations during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Scandinavians in the early Middle Ages lived in a society foreign to us, characterized by different and shifting social statuses. A person could be at once socially respected and unfree. It was possible to hand oneself over as a slave to someone else in exchange for protection and food. One could be sentenced temporarily to enslavement for some offense but later purchase his manumission. Young men could enter into a kind of “contract' with a king or chieftain to join his retinue, accepting his authority, patronage, and jurisdiction, while at the same time making a quick social elevation. Slavery was widespread all over Europe during the early Middle Ages and Scandinavians, as Stefan Brink illustrates in this book, became a major player in the northern slave trade. However, the Vikings were not particularly interested in taking slaves to Scandinavia; instead, their “business model” seems to have been to raid, abduct, and then sell captured people at major slave markets. Their goal was not laborers but silver. Using a wide variety of source materials, including archaeology, runes, Icelandic sagas, early law, place names, personal names, and not least etymological and semantic analyses of the terminology of slaves, Thraldom provides the most comprehensive survey of slavery in the Viking Age.

Stefan Brink (Author), Tim Fannon (Narrator)

Audiobook

We Called it a War

We Called It A War is Sargent Shriver’s first-hand account of leading President Johnson’s War on Poverty. Written on the cusp of the 1970s, the manuscript was recently rediscovered among Shriver’s personal papers and subsequently edited by long-time friend and law partner, David Birenbaum. The book recounts Shriver’s role in translating President Johnson’s audacious pledge to end poverty into a working set of social programs that continue to uplift and empower communities across the United States today. In leading this effort, Shriver was tasked with drafting the requisite legislation, ushering it through a skeptical Congress, creating the Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO), and recruiting the talented anti-poverty warriors who would take the OEO from concept to implementation. Shriver’s words reveal a public administrator skilled at creating major social policy; a global citizen driven by his Catholic faith and commitment to social justice; a principled pragmatist who successfully executed grand ideas; a social entrepreneur whose skeptical approach to bureaucracy enabled him to liberate the creative energies of the diverse individuals who collaborated with him; and a politician who earned the trust and respect of his adversaries. Shriver’s anti-poverty efforts continues to resonate. Virtually all of the War on Poverty programs, many of them conceived personally by Shriver, continue to deliver tangible, consequential benefits to millions of people in all stages of life. These programs include Head start, Community Action, Legal Services, Job Corps, Americorps VISTA, Foster Grandparents, Upward Bound, and Neighborhood Health Services. Fifty years on, Shriver’s words remind us that to achieve equal opportunity and justice for all of our sisters and brothers, we must again create an environment that nurtures bold ideas and empowers decisive, community-based action.

Sargent Shriver (Author), TBD (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Only One in the Room

Broadcaster and activist June Sarpong OBE lays bare an honest and intimate account of a life spent at the forefront of the fight for inclusivity. Following a career spanning over twenty-five years, June Sarpong has become one of the most recognisable faces of British television. The recipient of both an MBE and OBE for her work in charity and broadcasting, in 2019 June made history by becoming the first ever Director of Creative Diversity for the BBC. In this memoir June invites us all into her life. From her early childhood spent in Ghana to her experiences as a black woman forging a career in the media – where she was often the only black person, or woman, in the room – June opens the door to her world and paints a poignant picture of what has helped shape her into who she is today. The Only One in the Room is a passionate story about breaking down barriers and advocating for equality in all areas of life, and one that will empower others to do the same.

June Sarpong (Author), To Be Announced (Narrator)

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The Intimate Animal: Why we’ve evolved to live and die for love

Brought to you by Penguin. An evolutionary exploration of love, sex and relationships. Dr. Justin Garcia is a world-leading expert on the science of love and sex. In his first book, he explores the multiplicity of human sexual and romantic behaviour, the forces behind our intimacy instincts, and why humans across the globe live and die for love. Our competing evolutionary desires for sex and intimacy create highs and lows in our romantic and sexual lives. The Intimate Animal provides practical tips on love and attraction - two biological systems often in painful conflict - and presents compelling case studies to help deepen and strengthen our relationships. Sharing the knowledge that he has acquired working on the frontlines of modern love and sex research, Dr. Garcia helps us to understand the science behind a spectrum of human intimate experiences. From the intimacy crisis, physical affection, redefining gender roles and courtship norms, to understanding why we stay in abusive relationships and stray from fulfilling ones, this book will help you understand how to successfully look for love and cultivate a rewarding relationship in an ever-changing, high-speed digital age. From infatuation to heartbreak, The Intimate Animal offers us the first evolutionary understanding of the entire life course of our intimate relationships - how we date, mate, break and remake our love lives. © Dr Justin Garcia 2024 (P) Penguin Audio 2024

Justin Garcia (Author), TBD (Narrator)

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Seven Deadly Sins

Guy Leschziner (Author), TBD (Narrator)

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An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States (10th Anniversary Edition)

New York Times Bestseller This American Book Award winning title about Native American struggle and resistance radically reframes more than 400 years of US history A New York Times Bestseller and the basis for the HBO docu-series Exterminate All the Brutes, directed by Raoul Peck, this 10th anniversary edition of An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States includes both a new foreword by Peck and a new introduction by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz. Unflinchingly honest about the brutality of this nation's founding and its legacy of settler-colonialism and genocide, the impact of Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz's 2014 book is profound. This classic is revisited with new material that takes an incisive look at the post-Obama era from the war in Afghanistan to Charlottesville's white supremacy-fueled rallies, and from the onset of the pandemic to the election of President Biden. Writing from the perspective of the peoples displaced by Europeans and their white descendants, she centers Indigenous voices over the course of four centuries, tracing their perseverance against policies intended to obliterate them. Today in the United States, there are more than five hundred federally recognized Indigenous nations comprising nearly three million people, descendants of the fifteen million Native people who once inhabited this land. The centuries-long genocidal program of the US settler-colonial regimen has largely been omitted from history. With a new foreword from Raoul Peck and a new introduction from Dunbar Ortiz, this classic bottom-up peoples' history explodes the silences that have haunted our national narrative. Big Concept Myths That America's founding was a revolution against colonial powers in pursuit of freedom from tyranny That Native people were passive, didn't resist and no longer exist That the US is a "nation of immigrants" as opposed to having a racist settler colonial history

Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz (Author), Shaun Taylor-Corbett (Narrator)

Audiobook

A Woman Like Me: A Memoir

Brought to you by Penguin. A powerful memoir that tells the story of modern Britain, from one of the UK's most original and inspiring politicians June 1987: Diane Abbott makes history as the first elected Black female MP in the UK. Since then, she has survived more than three decades in parliament, campaigning tirelessly for a better future for Britain, from increasing access to education through the Black Child Initiative, to consistently voting in favour of higher disability benefits. With her trademark frankness and humour, her memoir, A Woman Like Me, will celebrate an extraordinary life and encourage a new generation to surpass expectations, just as she has done. In her honest and moving book, Diane takes the reader through her incredible journey, from growing up in North London with her Jamaican parents to entering the Houses of Parliament as a bright and ambitious young politician. In doing so, she paints a candid portrait of what it's like to face a barrage of hostility every day, shows us how she was able to battle impostor syndrome and succeed against the odds, and empowers us with the strength to change the fabric of this country for the better. © Diane Abbott 2022 (P) Penguin Audio 2022

Diane Abbott (Author), TBD (Narrator)

Audiobook

Why Not All Men?: How Violence Against Women is Every Man's Issue, and How You Can Help

Brought to you by Penguin. The paradigm-shifting book about men's violence against women, how it affects us all, and how men are the only ones that can stop it. Until now, violence against women has been seen as a women's issue that some good men help out with but Jackson Katz argues that, in fact, it is a men's issue and every man has a role to play in preventing it. As the world-leading writer, speaker and educator on men's violence, Jackson unpicks the causes of gender violence and shows how we can dismantle them, revealing a path to a brighter future. There are sections on: - The triad of men's violence that affects us all: women, other men and themselves, through suicide - The importance of inviting rather than inciting men to act out of responsibility rather than guilt - Men's responsibility as leaders and role models for young men - The Bystander Approach: how we can all speak up against misogyny safely and effectively. In a world where the headlines are continually filled with stories of sexual violence and misogynistic hate WHY NOT ALL MEN? is an urgent and vital read for anyone who wants to make the world a safer place. ©2024 Dr Jackson Katz (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Dr Jackson Katz (Author), TBD (Narrator)

Audiobook

Friendly Fire: A Fractured Memoir

One month before his college graduation, Paul Rousseau is accidentally shot in the head by his roommate and best friend. At some point in the course of Paul and Mark's friendship, Mark acquired-legally and with required permits-five firearms. Those weapons lived with them in their college apartment. It was a non-issue for the two best friends. They were inseparable. They were twenty-two-year-old boys at the height of their college experience, unaware that everything was about to change forever. The bullet ripped through two walls before it struck Paul's skull. Mark had accidentally pulled the trigger while in the other room and-frightened for his own future-delayed getting treatment for Paul, who miraculously remained conscious the entire time. In vivid detail, Friendly Fire brings us into the world of both the shooting itself and its surgical counterpoint-the dark spaces of survival in the face of a traumatic brain injury and into the paranoid, isolating, dehumanizing maw of personal injury cases. Friendly Fire is the story of a friendship-both its formation and its destruction. Through phenomenal writing and gripping detail, Paul reveals a compelling and inspirational story that speaks to much of contemporary American life.

Paul Rousseau (Author), TBD (Narrator)

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Mayor of the Tenderloin: Del Seymour's Journey from Living on the Streets to Fighting Homelessness i

The unforgettable account of Del Seymour, who overcame 18 years of homelessness and addiction to become one of the most respected advocates in San Francisco In the Mayor of Tenderloin, journalist Alison Owings slips behind the cold statistics and sensationalism surrounding San Francisco's Tenderloin to reveal a harrowing and life-affirming account of Del Seymour-whose addiction led him into eighteen years of homelessness, pimping, and drug dealing. Once sober, he started Tenderloin Walking Tours and later Code Tenderloin, the remarkable organization teaching homeless, recovering addicts, sex workers, dealers, ex-felons, and other marginalized people how to get and keep a job. Owings traces Del's story and those in his orbit: from his daughters, sobriety buddy, and ex-girlfriend, to a police captain and a psychiatric social worker, housing activists and corporate philanthropists, and Del's Code Tenderloin students. In the Tenderloin, in a city known for its beauty and currently infamous for its divide between haves and have-nots, Owings highlights how Del gives back to people struggling with the same daunting setbacks-including a criminal record-he once faced. Honest and compelling, The Mayor of Tenderloin follows homelessness in one of America's toughest neighborhoods as it was lived-in the words of someone who lived it and is now fighting to solve it.

Alison Owings (Author), TBD (Narrator)

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I Am Maroon: The True Story of an American Political Prisoner

A cinematic memoir of justice and redemption that traces a former Black Panther's tumultuous life from gang member to Black liberation leader. Russell Shoatz was a gang member from age 11, battling for territory and dignity amid the white flight of 1950s Philadelphia. But at 23, after hearing Malcolm X speak on a street corner in Harlem, his life changed course. Shoatz would become a lifelong crusader for justice, a soldier in the most militant units of the Black Liberation Army, and a Black Panther fighting the notorious Frank Rizzo and his Blue Guards. The fight turned increasingly violent, and as one of the "Philly Five," Shoatz was convicted to life in prison after a coordinated attack on a police station, which left one officer dead. The prison walls, however, could not deter Shoatz's battle for personal and collective freedom. He escaped maximum security facilities twice, making him a living legend, and endowed him with the moniker "Maroon," once used to honor runaways from plantations. He survived 22 years in solitary confinement, prompting an international campaign for his freedom. And he radicalized his prison communities, working to resolve racial tensions, and collectively organize against mistreatment by guards. In October 2021, after 49 years in prison, Maroon was released into hospice care, reuniting briefly with his children before he passed away. But for nine years before his death, he worked furiously with Sri Lankan writer Kanya D'Almeida, whom he recognized as a comrade despite their vastly different backgrounds, to record his life's work in print. I Am Maroon charts a life of dizzying intrigue, a real-life Shawshank Redemption, set during the height of the struggle for Black liberation. With an unforgettable voice and a personality that comes off the page, Maroon reminds us that we too are capable of radical change, and leaves us a blueprint for how we might dedicate our lives and minds to the ongoing fight for freedom.

Russell Shoatz (Author), TBD (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Sing Sing Files: One Journalist, Six Innocent Men, and a Twenty-Year Fight for Justice

Dan Slepian (Author), Daniel Slepian, TBD (Narrator)

Audiobook

Social Science Audiobooks in Non-Fiction