Science Analysis

The United States is addicted to crude oil. In this book, Andrew Price-Smith argues that this addiction has distorted the conduct of American foreign policy in profound and malign ways, resulting in interventionism, exploitation, and other illiberal behaviors that hide behind a facade of liberal internationalism. The symbiotic relationship between the state and the oil industry has produced deviations from rational foreign energy policy, including interventions in Iraq and elsewhere.

This is a summary and analysis of the book by Rachel Maddow and not the original book. In Blowout, Rachel Maddow explains how the oil and gas industry is experiencing a Renaissance thanks to fracking and horizontal drilling. The book tells the history of oil and gas over the last decade, and shows how all these pieces are interconnected and are affecting our lives, right now. In fact, it is argued by the author that the geopolitical impact of the oil and gas industry activities is the key explanatory variable of the current global chaos and democratic downturn.

In Infinite Powers, Strogatz attempts to show us the link between the universe and calculus. Everything human civilization has created has been based on some form of calculus, including cellphones, radios, HIV drugs, and human genome technology. Strogatz makes a compelling argument that without integral and differential equations, there would be no modern civilization. Infinite Powers is a classic description of the history, development, and future of calculus, as well as the phenomenal mathematicians who mastered it.

Marcus Aurelius is most known for his philosophical musings, especially one brand of philosophical thought called stoicism. This philosophy has as much application in today's world as it did in his age. Marcus put his philosophical musings to paper; this work is now famously known as the Meditations. This is an analysis and review of Meditations.

In this summary, we will analyze, discuss, and summarize the key points in The Myth of the Rational Voter by Bryan Caplan. Most people would agree that democracy is broken yet we all know that it is the best governmental system we have. Despite it being the best system, we are facing an unprecedented crisis.

There is no doubt that the economic crisis of 2008 was one of the worst in recorded history. It was scary times. What is even scarier still is the fact that it's only a matter of time before another crisis will occur. In Thomas E. Wood's book Meltdown, he makes the case that the US Government was to blame for the 2008 meltdown and asks how the government can insure it doesn't happen again. In this edition of Summary Shorts, we will analyze and summarize the ideas put forth in Meltdown and learn how a future financial crisis can be avoided.

Though written around 1513, more than 500 years ago, Italian diplomat Niccolò Machiavelli's The Prince is still very influential. Listeners turn to it for its direct advice on the question of how to attain - and retain - power. Machiavelli's answer, in brief: use any means necessary to make sure the state survives. Given the changeable nature of politics, the strong ruler that Machiavelli describes may need to lie or cheat, deceive and, if necessary, resort to acts of violence - all the while maintaining an "image" of goodness.

Peggy Orenstein’s Boys and Sex provides an open and incisive look into the sexual experiences of boys and the challenges that come with being a sexually active teen. She goes deep into the teenage psyche to uncover what they think about rape, consent, porn, homosexuality, hookups, and much more. A must-listen for every teen and their parents!

In Tightrope: Americans Reaching for Hope, Pulitzer Prize winning journalists Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn take a personal and harrowing look at the pervasive problems of poverty, drug abuse, and rising death rate in America through the stories of the people in America's forgotten towns. What they discover is a problem that goes far beyond unemployment or personal choice: they discover America's great social depression.

The Tangled Tree is David Quammen's detailed, fascinating, and artful look into the history of evolutionary biology and the brilliant minds behind it, as well as the answers to those eternal questions: who are we and where did we come from? The Tangled Tree is so much more than a book about evolution. Quammen covers every facet of this incredible story from the personal history of Charles Darwin to the technological hurdles facing scientists today.

Note: This is a summary and analysis of Everything Is F*cked: A Book About Hope and not the original book. If the world is statistically better off than ever before, then how come everything feels so f*cking terrible? This is the question Manson attempts to answer in his latest best-selling book, Everything Is F*cked.

It’s a shove off the fence post and a call to action - The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming will not be satisfied until barriers to understanding climate change are obliterated. David Wallace-Wells taps into our collective survival instinct by challenging our individual roles in this all-encompassing issue.

In Winners Take All, Anand Giridharadas bursts the great myth that large corporations are the key drivers of social change and poverty reduction. He provides critical evidence that shows just how self-serving these large donations are, highlighting the behind-the-scenes machinations that keep the system skewed in favor of the wealthy. Giridharadas pulls no punches as he exposes the inner workings of what he calls MarketWorld, a reference to the philanthropic individuals and companies that make a killing off the misery of poor people.

Author and culture critic Ben Shapiro tells in no uncertain terms how Americans are ruining their nation by forsaking the values and virtues that their Founding Fathers believed in. If the people don’t stop being angry and ungrateful at the country that has offered them so much, then the struggle for America’s soul will be lost forever.

Stephen Hawking’s final book is a brilliant yet succinct look into some of the biggest questions that face humanity, such as "Where did it all begin?" and "Is time travel possible?" While the first six questions look towards issues science may already be able to answer (at least to some degree), the last four questions focus on Hawking’s outlook for the future of humanity, Earth, and our civilization.

Tucker Carlson’s Ship of Fools is a collection of essays presented as a call to change the elite power structure that has grown beyond its usefulness in America. As conservative as Carlson is, he laments the loss of classic liberal values such as worker’s rights and international peacekeeping. The liberal position, he argues, was critical for maintaining the checks and balances necessary to keep a functioning, middle-class society. Carlson argues that we, as America, need to take back our democracy and demand accountability from the "fools" in charge.

Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women's Anger is a timely and thoughtful exploration into the history of women’s anger and oppression, the revolutions it has led to, as well as the current momentum all of those things in the wake of Donald Trump’s election...Rebecca Traister offers not only a guide for navigating your own anger in a system that was meant to suppress it, but also a guide to the history of feminism, oppression, and social justice movements from abolitions and women's suffrage to the tides of political change today.

This is an audio summary of Bob's Woodward's best-selling book that explores the detailed inner workings of Trump's highly unorthodox, and often toxic, White House. It is intended as a companion to, not a replacement for, the original book.

In his thought-provoking and deeply moving book, Matthew Desmond tackles the issue of poverty in America through the lens of eviction. Desmond's Pulitzer Prize winning book follows the personal lives of several families and individuals struggling to survive in Milwaukee during the Great Recession. (Disclaimer: This is NOT the original book. If you’re looking for the original book, it is available from Amazon and Audible.)

PLEASE NOTE: This is a summary and analysis of the book and not the original book. Author and physician Atul Gawande analyzes the diverse and problematic landscape of end-of-life care. By providing examples of the good and bad, Gawande shows that we as a society can do much better for the elderly and dying.