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The War on Science
- Who's Waging It, Why It Matters, What We Can Do About It
- Narrated by: Peter Berkrot
- Length: 20 hrs and 12 mins
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Publisher's summary
"Wherever the people are well informed," Thomas Jefferson wrote, "they can be trusted with their own government." But what happens when they are not? In every issue of modern society - from climate change to vaccinations, transportation to technology, health care to defense - we are in the midst of an unprecedented expansion of scientific progress and a simultaneous expansion of danger. At the very time we need them most, scientists and the idea of objective knowledge are being bombarded by a vast, well-funded, three-part war on science: the identity politics war on science, the ideological war on science, and the industrial war on science.
The result is an unprecedented erosion of thought in Western democracies as voters, policymakers, and justices actively ignore the evidence from science, leaving major policy decisions to be based more on the demands of the most strident voices.
Shawn Lawrence Otto's provocative new book investigates the historical, social, philosophical, political, and emotional reasons for why and how evidence-based politics are in decline and authoritarian politics are once again on the rise, and offers a vision, an argument, and some compelling solutions to bring us to our collective senses, before it's too late.
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As we approach the most important presidential election in America’s history, something has been lost among all of the debates, attack ads, and super- PACs - something that Americans used to hold in very high regard: THE TRUTH. The truth can no longer be something we hope for; it must be something we live. When courage prevails, cowards do not - and this book was written to ensure that’s exactly what happens.
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Guess what... Its by Glenn Beck!!
- By Joseph on 07-17-12
By: Glenn Beck
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48 Liberal Lies About American History
- (That You Probably Learned in School)
- By: Larry Schweikart
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 10 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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The problem isn’t that liberal authors present their opinions or interpretations of history from an obvious left-wing bias. Students learn, for example, that the Founding Fathers were elitists who drafted the Constitution in order to protect their own economic interests; that Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation only because he needed black soldiers; that racist groups such as the KKK represented our society in the early twentieth century.
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amazingly accurate...
- By Anthony on 01-23-16
By: Larry Schweikart
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The Precipice
- Neoliberalism, the Pandemic and the Urgent Need for Social Change
- By: Noam Chomsky, C.J. Polychroniou
- Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
- Length: 13 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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In The Precipice, Noam Chomsky sheds light into the phenomenon of Trumpism, exposes the catastrophic nature and impact of Trump's policies on people, the environment, and the planet as a whole, and captures the dynamics of the brutal class warfare launched by the masters of capital to maintain and even enhance the features of a dog-eat-dog society to the unprecedented mobilization of millions of people against neoliberal capitalism, racism, and police violence.
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Of Incalculable Importance
- By Anonymous User on 12-15-21
By: Noam Chomsky, and others
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The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars
- By: Michael Mann
- Narrated by: Luke Daniels
- Length: 11 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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In its 2001 report on global climate, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change of the United Nations prominently featured the "Hockey Stick", a chart showing global temperature data over the past 1,000 years. The Hockey Stick demonstrated that temperature had risen with the increase in industrialization and use of fossil fuels. The inescapable conclusion was that worldwide human activity since the industrial age had raised CO2 levels, trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and warming the planet.
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Speaking truth to power
- By Anonymous User on 06-06-24
By: Michael Mann
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The Myth of the Rational Voter
- Why Democracies Choose Bad Policies
- By: Bryan Caplan
- Narrated by: David Drummond
- Length: 8 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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The greatest obstacle to sound economic policy is not entrenched special interests or rampant lobbying, but the popular misconceptions, irrational beliefs, and personal biases held by ordinary voters. This is economist Bryan Caplan's sobering assessment in this provocative and eye-opening book.
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Refreshing
- By Lyle Wincentsen on 05-12-11
By: Bryan Caplan
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The Tyranny of Clichés
- How Liberals Cheat in the War of Ideas
- By: Jonah Goldberg
- Narrated by: Jonah Goldberg
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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According to Goldberg, if the greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist, the greatest trick liberals ever pulled was convincing themselves they’re not ideological. Today “objective” journalists and academics and “moderate” politicians peddle some of the most radical arguments by hiding them in homespun aphorisms.
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I enjoyed it...and I'm a Democrat!!
- By Private. on 05-14-12
By: Jonah Goldberg
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Makers and Takers
- By: Peter Schweizer
- Narrated by: Johnny Heller
- Length: 5 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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In Makers and Takers, Peter Schweizer broadens his scope to examine the damaging effects of liberal philosophy on ordinary Americans. Drawing on national polls and academic studies, as well as the revealing testimony of liberals themselves, Schweizer shows that liberals are, on the whole, less honest, less generous, lazier, and more materialistic than their conservative counterparts.
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Excellent!
- By Eileen J. O'Connor on 03-08-16
By: Peter Schweizer
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The Democracy Project
- A History, a Crisis, a Movement
- By: David Graeber
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 9 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Democracy has been the American religion since before the Revolution - from New England town halls to the multicultural democracy of Atlantic pirate ships. But can our current political system, one that seems responsive only to the wealthiest among us and leaves most Americans feeling disengaged, voiceless, and disenfranchised, really be called democratic? And if the tools of our democracy are not working to solve the rising crises we face, how can we - average citizens - make change happen? David Graeber, one of the most influential scholars and activists of his generation, takes listeners on a journey through the idea of democracy.
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Must-read: such insight, an awakening!
- By Kevin on 10-15-14
By: David Graeber
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They Don't Represent Us
- Reclaiming Our Democracy
- By: Lawrence Lessig
- Narrated by: Lawrence Lessig
- Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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In They Don’t Represent Us, Harvard law professor Lawrence Lessig charts the way in which the fundamental institutions of our democracy, including our media, respond to narrow interests rather than to the needs and wishes of the nation’s citizenry. But the blame does not only lie with “them” - Washington’s politicians and power brokers, Lessig argues. The problem is also “us.”
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All Americans should read/listen to this.
- By Christopher W Catron on 03-22-20
By: Lawrence Lessig
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Why We're Polarized
- By: Ezra Klein
- Narrated by: Ezra Klein
- Length: 8 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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In Why We’re Polarized, Klein reveals the structural and psychological forces behind America’s descent into division and dysfunction. Neither a polemic nor a lament, this book offers a clear framework for understanding everything from Trump’s rise to the Democratic Party’s leftward shift to the politicization of everyday culture. America is polarized, first and foremost, by identity. Everyone engaged in American politics is engaged, at some level, in identity politics.
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Good as an intro, skip if you’re a wonk
- By Tony on 01-29-20
By: Ezra Klein
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The Big Sort
- Why the Clustering of Like-Minded America Is Tearing Us Apart
- By: Bill Bishop, Robert G. Cushing
- Narrated by: Paul Brion
- Length: 12 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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In 2004, journalist Bill Bishop coined the term "the big sort". Armed with startling new demographic data, he made national news in a series of articles showing how Americans have been sorting themselves into alarmingly homogeneous communities - not by region or by state but by city and even neighborhood. Over the past three decades, we have been choosing the neighborhoods (and churches and news shows) compatible with our lifestyles and beliefs.
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Build the Wall?
- By Amazon Customer on 01-23-19
By: Bill Bishop, and others
What listeners say about The War on Science
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Amazon Customer
- 07-16-18
An incredibly important book
The issues are highlighted in exquisite detail, and then final portion of the books presents a sampling of proposed solutions. Extremely intricate (but clear and methodical) breakdown of the massively complex, multi-pronged assault on science and education in the modern workd.
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3 people found this helpful
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- fishman
- 09-25-17
Good not Great
Very informative, but slightly pedantic. The what to do about it section not reasonable. Okay.
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2 people found this helpful
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- John Weber
- 10-25-17
Important Read
This is an important book for politicians, educators, scientists, and all individuals who want to be responsible citizens in a democracy. Shawn Otto diagnoses the problem, explains the importance of change, and provides specific recommendations for a “cure“. He explains that, unless we recover our understanding and appreciation of science, the vibrancy of our democracy and economy is seriously threatened. If that assertion seems extreme, see how you feel after reading this book.
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3 people found this helpful
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- lisa robin webster
- 01-26-23
A must read
Important information all citizens need to protect our nation. We need all the scientists to speak up.
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- Midwestbonsai
- 02-06-17
couldn’t be timelier
In an emergency, medics are taught to look for those that are not speaking among those who are screaming for help. In a similar light, we may be missing those most important scientific voices because they can’t be heard above the din of media attention some unscientific work gets. In the audiobook, The War on Science: Who's Waging It, Why It Matters, What We Can Do About It, by Shawn Otto, it’s clear that the issue is complex and he doesn’t shy away from the whole story. In this 20- hour volume, which resembles an eloquent offering from the Great Courses line-up, we get the full story from beginning to end, that we as a country, are often in the dark.
The volume couldn’t be timelier as the new administration, whether you are for or against, puts stops on the dissemination of information from the USDA, the CDC, and EPA. Before tackling the current issues, it makes sense to look back at the rise and decline of our leader's desire for scientific evidence.
Who would want to listen to twenty hours of content? Scientists. policymakers, and those with a vested interest in science and government that want the free and transparent distribution of information. The writing is at a very high and sometimes inaccessible level for many and the sheer depth of research would normally make it difficult to digest. However, the logic is sound, the arguments clear, and well documented. The expectation for many would be to listen from beginning to end, but with multiple parts, chronological movement from a presidential policy of one administration to another, it becomes difficult to follow if in that way. It is really, I believe, a great catalyst for upper-level undergraduate or graduate classroom discussion. The book provides a great return on investment for the single credit Audible charges.
About the Narrator
Peter Berkrot is a veteran narrator with a few hundred titles on Audible.com alone. I first listened to him with The Design of Everyday Things, a classic from Donald A. Norman and his voice works especially well for non-fiction. With his readings of the 30-hour Untold History of the United States and other classics, it’s not just a veteran narrator, but a key fit.
Audiobook was provided for review by the publisher.
Please find this complete review and many others at my review blog
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21 people found this helpful
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- Scott
- 05-11-17
Definitely worth listening to.
Excellent book. Takes a much broader perspective than books such as Merchants of Doubt, which focus more specifically on corporate interference with and obfuscation of science to protect industrial interests. Otto covers this, but also looks more deeply at cultural and philosophical threats to science, as well as the failure of science to promote itself and nurture its own relationship with society.
In some places the early chapters are a little thinly argued, but I think that's just a consequence of taking a broad perspective and trying to cover a lot of territory in a single book.
The audio is slightly marred by Peter Berkrot's delivery. His voice is fine, but unfortunately he has the intonation of a video game villain. It really isn't appropriate to the subject matter and was very distracting for the first several chapters, although I eventually got used to it.
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7 people found this helpful
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- Tyler Burke
- 05-24-17
Essential
This book is essential to anyone in the fields of science, engineering, technology, journalism, politics, theology, etc. I'm not a scientist, just a concerned citizen, and I reccomend this to everyone I know.
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6 people found this helpful
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- Trebla
- 01-19-17
Too many words, not enough substance
What do you think the narrator could have done better?
His style of breathless excitement punctuated with pregnant pauses conjures up a vision of a revival preacher- exactly not the tone needed. Way too many "air quotes" phrasing.
Any additional comments?
while I already agree with most of the aim of the book, Otto ironically drops the ball on several issues of fact. e.g. I went back to listen again to Ike's farewell speech- he did indeed warn of the Military Industrial Complex, but that had NO spill-over to the Science establishment. Also- I am part of the Baby Boomers who hid under desks & heard the bomb survival instructions. I am not, as are my classmates, horribly scared into an anti-science trance. Did not happen.
Worst, he several times mentions the Toxic Chemicals things in the environment (Pesticides!! Run!!) with no mention of any science about the actual toxicity or effect on human disease. The Skeptical Community spends a lot of time debunking those kind of rants and try to demonstrate perspective. Otto fails badly.
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5 people found this helpful
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- northwoods woman
- 11-14-17
excellent
This book is a great listen , the book is well written and well researched. The author does an excellent job in putting forth information to make the listener think . The narration is also excellent, too many times I find that I am listening to a book and do not like the narrator .
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4 people found this helpful
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- Angie
- 08-07-17
Terrifying and a Must Read
As a science lover, mother, and human being, I can't recommend this book enough. I'll be tracking down a physical copy for my library.
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6 people found this helpful