Social Health

The New York Times best-selling Freakonomics changed the way we see the world, exposing the hidden side of just about everything. Then came SuperFreakonomics, a documentary film, an award-winning podcast, and more. Now, with Think Like a Freak, Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner have written their most revolutionary book yet. With their trademark blend of captivating storytelling and unconventional analysis, they take us inside their thought process and teach us all to think a bit more productively, more creatively, more rationally.

Epictetus, one of the greatest of the ancient thinkers, believed that the primary mission of philosophy is to help ordinary people meet the challenges of daily life and deal with losses, disappointments, and grief. His prescription for the good life: master desires, perform one's duties, and learn to think clearly about oneself and the larger community. This recording includes an interview with philosopher Jacob Needleman on the significance of Epictetus' work.

Adults with ADHD face unique challenges that impact every aspect of life, including work and relationships. This expansion and update of psychologist Abigail Levrini’s bestselling book offers realistic, proven strategies to help adults with ADHD lead more fulfilling and productive lives. With her extensive experience researching and treating adults with ADHD, Levrini provides user-friendly strategies for setting meaningful and realistic goals, developing a plan to achieve the goals, and staying on track while following the plan.

Men tend to express their anger differently than women do. Research shows men are often more violent and less willing to confront and deal with their emotions than women. Written by a psychologist who specializes in the treatment of male rage, Beyond Anger shows the angry - and miserable - man how to change his life and relationships for the better. This book helps men understand their anger by explaining what the specific symptoms of chronic anger are and by showing angry men how their actions negatively affect family, friends, and coworkers.

In Glow Kids, Dr. Nicholas Kardaras will examine how technology - more specifically, age-inappropriate screen tech, with all of its glowing ubiquity - has profoundly affected the brains of an entire generation. Brain imaging research is showing that stimulating glowing screens are as dopaminergic (dopamine activating) to the brain’s pleasure center as sex. And a growing mountain of clinical research correlates screen tech with disorders like ADHD, addiction, anxiety, depression, increased aggression, and even psychosis.

Few things in life are more satisfying than beating a rival. We love to win and hate to lose, whether it's on the playing field or at the ballot box, in the office or in the classroom. In this bold new look at human behavior, award-winning journalist and Olympian Matthew Syed explores the truth about our competitive nature: why we win, why we don't, and how we really play the game of life.

First published in 2006, this updated edition describes new findings on the origins of DDD, the brain science supporting the diagnosis, and cutting-edge treatment approaches. DDD is examined from medical and psychiatric perspectives, but as the authors reveal, it also emerges in literary, philosophical, and spiritual investigations. Feeling Unreal thoroughly explores these different aspects in a fascinating and essential resource that is accessible to medical professionals and general listeners alike.

We all worry about what others think of us. We all long to succeed and fear failure. We all suffer - to a greater or lesser degree, usually privately and with embarrassment - from status anxiety. For the first time, Alain de Botton gives a name to his universal condition and sets out to investigate both its origins and possible solutions. He looks at history, philosophy, economics, art, and politics - and reveals the many ingenious ways that great minds have overcome their worries. The result is a book that is not only entertaining and thought-provoking - but genuinely wise and helpful as well.

More than 100 years ago, the American philosopher William James wrote that the knowledge that we must die is "the worm at the core" of the human condition - a universally shared fear that informs all our thoughts and actions, from the great art we create to the devastating wars we wage.

In her early twenties, Charlotte Shane quit her women’s studies graduate program to devote herself to sex work because it was a way to devote herself to men. Her lifelong curiosity about male lust, love, selfishness, and social capital dovetailed with her own insatiable desire for intimacy to sustain a long career in escorting, with unexpectedly poignant results. Shane uses her personal and professional history to examine how men and women struggle in their attempts at romantic and sexual bonding, no matter how true their intentions.

For most women, getting their period sucks. Bloating. Cramps. Acne. Aches. Moodiness. Messiness. No wonder we call it "The Curse"! For many, it's not just an inconvenience - it's a colossal life disruption, forcing them to miss work, school, appointments, or dates. We've been encouraged to medicate away common period problems with birth control and ibuprofen and just survive the mood swings as best we can. But as Nicole Jardim explains, periods aren't a nuisance, they're information.

Most of us have at some point in our lives felt like an outsider, sometimes considering ourselves "too weird" to fit in. Growing up as a Russian immigrant in West Texas, Olga Khazan always felt there was something different about her. This feeling has permeated her life, and as she embarked on a science writing career, she realized there were psychological connections between this feeling of being an outsider and both her struggles and successes later in life.

Stephen Jenkinson explores the great paradox of elderhood in North America: how we are awash in the aged and yet somehow lacking in wisdom; how we relegate senior citizens to the corner of the house while simultaneously heralding them as sage elders simply by virtue of their age. Our own unreconciled relationship with what it means to be an elder has yielded a culture nearly bereft of them. Taking on the sacred cow of the family, Jenkinson argues that elderhood is a function rather than an identity.

What does it really mean to be a man? What are some of the landmarks along the road to mature masculinity? And what of the feminine components of a man's personality? Women have developed, over the centuries, considerable expertise in the technique of adapting to men, and for good reason, but that is not the same as truly understanding them. The transition from male childhood to real manhood is a complicated struggle, and explored in this book. As timely today as when it was first published, He provides a fascinating look into male identity and how female dynamics influence men.

Carol Dweck’s multi-million-copy bestseller Mindset transformed our view of individual potential, coining the terms “fixed” and “growth” mindset: in a “fixed” mindset, talent and intelligence are viewed as predetermined traits, while in a “growth” mindset, talent and intelligence can be nurtured. In Cultures of Growth, Dweck’s protégé, Mary Murphy, a social psychologist at both Stanford and Indiana University, shows that mindset transcends individuals.

Women growing older contend with ageism, misogyny and loss. Yet as Mary Pipher shows, most older women are deeply happy and filled with gratitude for the gifts of life. Their struggles help them grow into the authentic, empathetic and wise people they have always wanted to be. In Women Rowing North, Pipher offers a timely examination of the cultural and developmental issues women face as they age.

Throughout the course of his ordeal battling esophageal cancer, Christopher Hitchens adamantly and bravely refused the solace of religion, preferring to confront death with both eyes open. In this riveting account of his affliction, Hitchens poignantly describes the torments of illness, discusses its taboos, and explores how disease transforms experience and changes our relationship to the world around us. By turns personal and philosophical, Hitchens embraces the full panoply of human emotions as cancer invades his body and compels him to grapple with the enigma of death.

Several years ago, Sam Walker set out to answer one of the most hotly debated questions in sports: What are the greatest teams of all time? He devised a formula, then applied it to thousands of teams from leagues all over the world, from the NBA to the English Premier League to Olympic field hockey. When he was done, he had a list of the 16 most dominant teams in history. At that point he became obsessed with another, more complicated question: What did these freak teams have in common?

Social and emotional intelligence, cunning, mystery, persuasion, audacity, and femininity. All qualities that characterize the femme fatale, a woman loved and feared, but always respected, from ancient times to the present day. Thanks to this audiobook, you will be able to acquire and fully develop these qualities to achieve the success you deserve in relationships, work, and life in general.

For the audio book version, Dr. Warren Farrell personally rewrote the highlights of The Myth of Male Power as a dialogue. The questions are similar to what others will ask you when you discuss these issues. You’ll have Dr. Farrell’s best answers. The Myth of Male Power helps each family member understand that genuine power is neither status nor money, but “control over one's life.” He documents that virtually every society that has survived has done so by persuading its sons to be disposable--whether in war or in work; and therefore indirectly as dads. And disposability is not power. Considered the Bible of men's studies—yet highly empathetic to women (Dr. Farrell was repeatedly elected to the Board of the National Organization for Women in NYC)-- the meticulously researched The Myth of Male Power takes the listener on a captivating journey around the world, throughout history, biology, the Bible, the law, and everyday life, challenging every currently-held assumption about men, women and the family.