Showing results by narrator "Sean Patrick" in All Categories

William Deresiewicz, a leading critic of the arts and of contemporary culture, set out to answer those questions. Based on interviews with artists of all kinds, The Death of the Artist argues that we are in the midst of an epochal transformation. If artists were artisans in the Renaissance, bohemians in the 19th century, and professionals in the 20th, a new paradigm is emerging in the digital age, one that is changing our fundamental ideas about the nature of art and the role of the artist in society.

The bicycle is a vestige of the Victorian era, seemingly out of pace with our age of smartphones and ridesharing apps and driverless cars. Yet we live on a bicycle planet. Across the world, more people travel by bicycle than by any other form of transportation. Almost anyone can learn to ride a bike—and nearly everyone does. In Two Wheels Good, writer and critic Jody Rosen reshapes our understanding of this ubiquitous machine, an ever-present force in humanity's life and dreamlife, and a flashpoint in culture wars for more for than 200 years.

Deputy Sergeant David Wolf has been waiting 16 years for today's opportunity to follow in the footsteps of his late father - to become Sheriff of Sluice County, headquartered in the small ski resort town of Rocky Points, Colorado. What he's offered, however, isn't quite what he's expecting. And for Wolf, refusing turns out to be harder, and much deadlier, than he could have anticipated.

When Isabel Marshall moved away from her hometown with hopes of making a name for herself in Los Angeles, she didn’t mean to abandon her roots, but that’s what happened. Now, four years later and having amassed an interior design empire, Isabel must return to Mapleton to film a home renovation special for her TV show. While most of the village welcomes her with open arms, her family and the ex-boyfriend she left in her dust are another story.

In the 1990s, researchers in the Arctic noticed that floating summer sea ice had begun receding. This was accompanied by shifts in ocean circulation and unexpected changes in weather patterns throughout the world. The Arctic's perennially frozen ground, known as permafrost, was warming, and treeless tundra was being overtaken by shrubs. What was going on? Brave New Arctic is Mark Serreze's riveting firsthand account of how scientists from around the globe came together to find answers.

This definitive history of presidential lying reveals how our standards for truthfulness have eroded - and why Trump's lies are especially dangerous.

When Sadie and Max are selected as contestants on the famed reality singing show STARMAKER's special festive season, Sadie thinks she's finally gotten her big break—and Max sees a chance to step out of his megastar father's shadow. But then they're paired up for duet week and stun the world with their onstage chemistry. With fans going wild for #Saxie, the judges demand they remain a duo—on and offstage—or exit the competition. Faking a relationship shouldn't be too hard, except for one small problem: Sadie and Max can't stand each other.

Laney McGregor’s previous holiday season ended in disaster. Add to that her recent Election Day loss, and her spirits are decidedly un-bright. She’s determined to spend a quiet Christmas at home in Mapleton, helping out on her family’s tree farm when needed but mostly keeping to herself. That is, until a job opportunity sweeter than sugar plums gets dangled in front of her … if only she’ll participate in a sequence of Christmas clichés.

As Tanner rips apart a drug gang in Arizona, he thinks back on an episode from his past. Cody and Romeo help Spenser fulfill a contract while in Tucson, Arizona in 1998. Twenty years later, in New York City, Tanner believes he's seen a man whom he and Romeo killed long ago. In 1998, Cody and Romeo train hard, then face tests that will decide their fate. In the present, Tanner seeks vengeance on a man who once tried to kill him.

Liberal democracy in America has always contained contradictions—most notably, a noble but abstract commitment to freedom, justice, and equality that, tragically, has seldom been realized in practice. While these contradictions have caused dissent and even violence, there was always an underlying and evolving solidarity drawn from the cultural resources of America’s “hybrid Enlightenment”. James Davison Hunter, who introduced the concept of “culture wars” 30 years ago, tells us in this new book that those historic sources of national solidarity have now largely dissolved.

Nora Clanton sells caskets. It wasn't her dream job, but it's the family business. She lives in a sleepy town in the middle-of-nowhere, and her only friends are decades older than her. Her life might be comfortable but sometimes she finds herself wanting more. Then Garrett Bishop turns up and sweeps her off her feet. He's handsome, charming and seems to have a good (if vague) job. There is one little thing though . . . death seems to follow him and rumours never stay buried in her tiny town.

As Lawrence Ingrassia shows in this timely and eye-opening audiobook, a growing number of digital entrepreneurs have found new and creative ways to crack the code on the bonanza of physical goods that move through our lives every day. They have discovered that manufacturing, marketing, logistics, and customer service have all been flattened - where there were once walls that protected big brands like Gillette, Sealy, Victoria’s Secret, or Lenscrafters, savvy and hungry innovators now can compete on price, value, quality, speed, convenience, and service.

To dive into Notes to Myself is one of those rare experiences that comes only once in a great while. The editor who discovered the book said, "When I first read Prather's manuscript it was late at night and I was tired, but by the time I finished it, I felt rested and alive. Since then I've reread it many times and it says even more to me now." The book serves as a beginning for the listener's exploration of his or her own life and as a treasury of thoughtful and insightful reminders.

A natural history of the wilderness in our homes, from the microbes in our showers to the crickets in our basements Even when the floors are sparkling clean and the house seems silent, our domestic domain is wild beyond imagination. In Never Home Alone, biologist Rob Dunn introduces us to the nearly 200,000 species living with us in our own homes, from the Egyptian meal moths in our cupboards and camel crickets in our basements to the lactobacillus lounging on our kitchen counters. You are not alone.

Climate change is here and we have more tools to combat it than ever before – by cutting emissions in inventive new ways that protect our health and livelihoods, and by repairing the damage we have caused. Into the Clear Blue Sky explores the practical changes that can make drastic improvements to the atmosphere within our lifetime. This visionary and transformative book is the call to action we need right now.

Inside Hero Maker, Duffy Gaver shares the knowledge and motivational sit-downs that get his stars to take hold of their own bodies. None of these stars bought their way to their impressive physiques; they earned it with old fashioned work and dedication. He will tell you what you need to do to look super heroic, and he will show you how you too can do this if you put yourself to the task. Inside, you will also find some of his game-changing workouts to help get you there.

A “problem of twelve” arises when a small number of institutions acquire the means to exert outsized influence over the politics and economy of a nation. The Big Three index funds of Vanguard, State Street, and BlackRock control more than twenty percent of the votes of S&P 500 companies—a concentration of power that’s unprecedented in America.

Unique insights from pioneers of Google’s Startup Accelerator on why building teams is harder than building tech—and a proven way to develop a strong, resilient and effective team.

When diggers at a high altitude surface mine exhume the corpse of one of their workers, the Sluice-Byron SD is called to the scene. Upon arrival, detectives find answers are hard to come by, but one thing’s for certain — they are looking at murder. David Wolf, now acting interim sheriff, is finding this second time around running the show less desirable than the last, so when a spot opens up in the investigation, he wastes no time jumping into the action.

During one crazy week in January 2021, a motley crew of retail traders on Reddit's r/wallstreetbets forum had seemingly done the impossible - they had brought some of the biggest, richest players on Wall Street to their knees. Their weapon was GameStop, a failing retailer whose shares briefly became the most-traded security on the planet and the subject of intense media coverage. The Revolution That Wasn't is the riveting story of how the meme stock squeeze unfolded, and the real architects (and winners) of the GameStop rally.