Showing results by narrator "Steven Johnson" in All Categories

Innovation starts with a problem whose solution sets in motion all kinds of unexpected discoveries. That's why you can draw a line from pendulums to punching the clock at a factory, from ice blocks to summer movie blockbusters, from clean water to computer chips. In the lively storytelling style that has made him a popular, best-selling author Steven Johnson looks at how accidental genius, brilliant mistakes, and unintended consequences shape the way we live in the modern world.

In 1920, at the end of the last major pandemic, global life expectancy was just over 40 years. Today, in many parts of the world, human beings can expect to live more than 80 years. As a species, we have doubled our life expectancy in just one century. There are few measures of human progress more astonishing than this increased longevity.

Steven Johnson’s engrossing account of the epic struggle between the anarchist movement and the emerging surveillance state stretches around the world and between two centuries—from Alfred Nobel’s invention of dynamite and the assassination of Czar Alexander II to New York City in the shadow of World War I.

The final year at Lander has finally arrived for the Melbrook students and their peers, and with it comes a whole new set of challenges. Still reeling from the events of their junior year, the remaining students will have to push past their pain—and so much more—if they hope to be one of the ten to claim the title of Hero upon graduation. Constant tests and trials await the senior students. Beyond simulated missions and classes, they’ll also have to buckle down to learn about agents, prospective teams, internships, and other seemingly endless elements of being a Hero.

Have you ever felt uncomfortable or not “at home” in your body? In this book, the founders of Body Trust, licensed therapist Hilary Kinavey and registered dietician Dana Sturtevant, invite listeners to break free from the status quo and reject a diet culture that has taken advantage and profited from trauma, stigma, and disembodiment, and fully reclaim and embrace their bodies.

There's no one-size-fits-all model for the important decisions that can alter the course of a life, an organization, or a civilization. But Farsighted explains how we can approach these choices more effectively and how we can appreciate the subtle intelligence of choices that shaped our broader social history.

ARCHIE, one of the longest-running titles in comic book history, is rebooted here in this collection that brings together two of the most talented creators in comics, Mark Waid and Fiona Staples. Together they create a surprising and definitive take on Archie's origin—a story that has never been told. Meet America's favorite teenager Archie Andrews, his oddball, food-loving best friend Jughead, girl-next-door Betty and well-to-do snob Veronica Lodge as they embark on a modern reimagining of the beloved Archie world.

Hot on the heels of her 2018 This Is Horror Award–winning short story collection Spectral Evidence, critically horror author Gemma Files compiles fifteen more of her most startling recent nightmares—a creepily seductive downward spiral of dark poetry and existential dread, entirely suitable to the slow apocalypse going on all around us. So take your mind off your troubles and send it somewhere the rules still operate, if only to punish those who violate them.

The final year at Lander has finally arrived for the Melbrook students and their peers, and with it comes a whole new set of challenges. Still reeling from the events of their junior year, the remaining students will have to push past their pain—and so much more—if they hope to be one of the ten to claim the title of Hero upon graduation. Constant tests and trials await the senior students. Beyond simulated missions and classes, they’ll also have to buckle down to learn about agents, prospective teams, internships, and other seemingly endless elements of being a Hero.

Just hours after setting foot on a new planet, Cal and the crew find themselves caught up in an interplanetary kidnapping plot. Reuniting the suspiciously-silent young victim with her parents on their far-off home world will make Cal rich beyond his wildest dreams. Unfortunately, half the pirates and bounty hunters in the galaxy have the same idea, and they're more than happy to take the girl by force.

The tree is decorated, the cookies are baked, and the packages are wrapped, but the biggest celebration this Christmas is Gaby Summerhill's wedding. Since her husband died three years ago, Gaby's four children have drifted apart, each consumed by the turbulence of their own lives. They haven't celebrated Christmas together since their father's death, but when Gaby announces that she's getting married - and that the groom will remain a secret until the wedding day - she may finally be able to bring them home for the holidays. But the wedding isn't Gaby's only surprise....

Plenty of books offer useful advice on how to get better at making quick-thinking, intuitive choices. But what about more consequential decisions, the ones that affect our lives for years, or centuries, to come? Our most powerful stories revolve around these kinds of decisions: where to live, whom to marry, what to believe, whether to start a company, how to end a war. Full of the beautifully crafted storytelling and novel insights that Steven Johnson's fans know to expect, Farsighted draws lessons from cognitive science, social psychology, military strategy, environmental planning and great works of literature.

With this book, I want to help you learn about the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and to be more comfortable working with it, help you comply with the law, help your employees benefit from it, and help you guide your managers work with employees in using it. Most people who use FMLA need it for a legitimate reason, but some employees may be taking advantage of the law and claiming leave fraudulently. Inside, learn what is required of employers and employees, what qualifies for FMLA, and gain advice on preventing misuse and abuse of FMLA.

Who would fall for an assassin...except another assassin? After a security breach is written in the sky - literally - the Bod Squad jumps back into action. An important member of the team has been assassinated by the mob, and the squad's public enemy number one, Baba Samka, is getting too close. Could his deadly work be an inside job? Only trained assassins Tyka and Mahmoud have the very particular set of skills the Bod Squad needs to solve this case.

Archie, one of the longest-running titles in comic book history, is rebooted here in this collection that brings together two of the most talented creators in comics, Mark Waid and Fiona Staples. Together they create a surprising and definitive take on Archie's origin - a story that has never been told.

Murder in a Distant Land the stories for this annual collection of the Mystery Writers of America were selected for their strange and exotic locales. Breathtaking suspense, cold-blooded crime, and challenging twists of plot - set in the four corner of the world - make this recording a chilling audio experience. We suggest you listen with the lights on!

Immortality: A User's Guide takes listeners on a thrilling journey through recent scientific history and reveals the cutting-edge technology that may help us live deep into our second centuries. Featuring insightful conversations with longevity experts, archival footage, immersive sound design, and Johnson's trademark storytelling, Immortality explores the recent paradigm shift in our understanding of aging and wrestles with what we should do, as a society, to prepare for advances in science and technology that may radically transform the potential length of human life.

Here is the absolute best of Dave Barry; selections from four of his most popular books, including the hilarious Guide to Guys. Dave Barry is on the loose and no one is safe....

Humans live longer now than they ever have in their more than three hundred thousand years of existence on earth. And most (if not all) of the advances that have permitted the human lifespan to double have happened in living memory. Extra Life looks at vaccines, seat belts, pesticides, and more, and how each of our scientific advancements have prolonged human life.

"Stop the wedding!" No bride wants to hear those words, least of all Susannah "Legs" Carter, one of the Bod Squad's best agents. But when her colleague Jackson bursts in with news that her presumed-dead father may still be alive - and possibly a double agent - the vows are on hold, and the Bod Squad hits the road.