Social Society

The men involved in secret societies use their special knowledge for the benefit of all mankind. At least, that is what they claim. How are we to know, since their knowledge and actions have been secret? Fortunately, some of it has become public knowledge.

This book offers first-person accounts of the experience of psychosis from the inside and the outside, through the eyes of two doctors, one of whom has experienced psychosis and both of whom have worked for decades in the field of psychiatry. Underpinned by rigorous academic analysis using an evocative duo-ethnographic approach, the book explores the cultural and subcultural influences from childhood onwards—both traumatic and resilience-building—that have shaped their lives.

The internet seems to have brought the world together only so we can tear each other apart. Social media platforms have become toxic and polarizing environments. Many of us are overwhelmed and disillusioned by the endless online conflict and negativity. How did we get here, and what can we do about it? The internet is changing not only how we communicate but also what we communicate. Pastor and former radio host Douglas Bursch provides a spiritual examination of why social media divides people and how Christians can address polarization through a ministry of peacemaking.

Cuando el asesino es el Estado: un libro durísimo, pero necesario, que recoge los desgarradores testimonios de las víctimas civiles de la violencia ejercida por las fuerzas de seguridad. "Esta es una guerra contra el pueblo de México. Se dice que es una guerra contra el crimen organizado, pero no. Nosotros pensamos que es una guerra contra el pueblo, porque es al pueblo al que han estado desapareciendo y matando".- Yolanda Morán, mamá de Dan Jeremeel Fernández Morán, desaparecido por el Ejército en 2008.

« Il est bien tard pour passer à l’action. Mais supposons qu’il nous reste dix années pour enfin affronter le monde tel qu’il est devenu, à savoir de moins en moins favorable à nos existences, et à celles des autres êtres vivants. Dix ans pour un virage politique très serré. Dix ans pour nous débarrasser de nos lubies productivistes et consuméristes. Dix ans pour apprendre à régénérer une nature en voie de destruction accélérée.»

Is philanthropy, by its very nature, a threat to today's democracy? Though we may laud wealthy individuals who give away their money for society's benefit, Just Giving reveals how such generosity not only isn't the unassailable good we think it to be but might also undermine democratic values and set back aspirations of justice.

Shyima Hall was born in Egypt on September 29, 1989, the seventh child of desperately poor parents. When she was eight, her parents sold her into slavery. Shyima then moved two hours away to Egypt's capitol city of Cairo to live with a wealthy family and serve them eighteen hours a day, seven days a week. When she was ten, her captors moved to Orange County, California, and smuggled Shyima with them. Two years later, an anonymous call from a neighbor brought about the end of Shyima's servitude - but her journey to true freedom was far from over.

In this provocative book, Jonathan Rothwell draws on the latest empirical evidence from across the social sciences to demonstrate how rich democracies have allowed racial politics and the interests of those at the top to subordinate justice. He looks at the rise of nationalism in Europe and the United States, revealing how this trend overlaps with racial prejudice and is related to mounting frustration with a political status quo that thrives on income inequality and inefficient markets. But economic differences are by no means inevitable.

“A fascinating, provocative case that the metaverse will not merely transform our virtual experience—it may actually enrich the quality of our lives” (Adam Grant)—from the visionary co-founder of one of today’s most innovative technology companies.

Heralded as the most significant technological innovation since the smartphone, virtual reality is poised to transform our very notions of life and humanity. Though this tech is still in its infancy, to those on the inside, it is the future. VR will change how we work, how we experience entertainment, how we feel pleasure and other emotions, how we see ourselves, and most importantly, how we relate to each other in the real world. And we will never be the same. Peter Rubin, senior culture editor for Wired and the industry's go-to authority on the subject, calls it an "intimacy engine".

Former big-city crime reporter Tamara Cherry calls on her award-winning skills as a journalist to examine the impact of the media on trauma survivors and the impact of trauma on members of the media. As Tamara documents the experiences of those who were forced to suffer on the public stage, she is confronted by everything she got wrong on the crime beat. Covering murders and traffic fatalities to sexual violence and mass violence, Cherry exposes a system set up to fail trauma survivors and journalists.

Artificial intelligence is revolutionizing the modern world. It is ubiquitous-in our homes and offices, in the present and most certainly in the future. Today, we encounter AI as our distant ancestors once encountered fire. If we manage AI well, it will become a force for good, lighting the way to many transformative inventions. If we deploy it thoughtlessly, it will advance beyond our control. As AI policy experts Ben Buchanan and Andrew Imbrie show in The New Fire, few choices are more urgent—or more fascinating—than how we harness this technology and for what purpose.

Is it really human nature to stab one another in the back in our climb up the corporate ladder? Competitive, selfish behavior is often explained away as instinctive, thanks to evolution and "survival of the fittest", but in fact, humans are equally hard-wired for empathy. Using research from the fields of anthropology, psychology, animal behavior, and neuroscience, Frans de Waal brilliantly argues that humans are group animals.

A Spontaneous Order: The Capitalist Case for a Stateless Society is an astonishingly concise, rigorous, and accessible presentation of anarcho-capitalist ideals. It covers a wide range of topics including: money and banking, monopolies and cartels, insurance, health care, law, security, poverty, education, environmentalism, and more! To enjoy this compelling listen requires no previous political, philosophical, or economic knowledge as all uncommon concepts are defined and explained

In the revolutionary excitement of the 1960s, young people around the world called for a radical shift away from the old industrial order, imagining a future of technological liberation and unfettered prosperity. Industrial society did collapse, and a digital economy has risen to take its place, yet many are left feeling marginalized and deprived of the possibility of a better life. The Inglorious Years explores the many ways we have been let down by the rising tide of technology, showing how our new interconnectivity is not fulfilling its promise.

Eres un animal. No te preocupes. ¡No tiene nada de malo reconocerlo! Por mucho que nos queramos resistir a aceptarlo, somos tan animales como el perro que se siente dueño de tu sillón o el gato que se duerme sobre el teclado de tu computadora. Sin embargo, algo nos distingue de todos ellos y nos convierte en, bueno, humanos. ¿Qué es eso que nos separa? Con letras certeras sobre la pérdida de la confianza en estos días, que nos condena a una vida tan hiperconectada como solitaria, Vico nos enseña que la amistad es importante, que compartir y sabernos parte de algo es vital.

In The Republic, Plato tackles the big issues of the state and the individual: how the state should be ruled, and by whom; and the way the individual should lead his life - and why. The lively quality of the dialogue can be clearly appreciated in this new translation by Tom Griffith.

People love what's natural: It's the best way to eat, the best way to parent, even the best way to act - naturally, just as nature intended. Appeals to the wisdom of nature are among the most powerful arguments in the history of human thought. Yet Nature (with a capital N) and natural goodness are not objective or scientific. In this groundbreaking book, scholar of religion Alan Levinovitz demonstrates that these beliefs are actually religious and highlights the many dangers of substituting simple myths for complicated realities.

In this fascinating character-driven history, a New York Times editorial writer and Pulitzer Prize finalist spotlights the American economists who championed the rise of markets and fundamentally reshaped the modern world.

The Freemasons. The Satanic Hell-Fire Club. The Illuminati. This fascinating book delves into 100 mysterious conspiracies across time, ranging from secret societies that planned revolutions to underground groups with sometimes-nefarious agendas. The Conspiracy Book is a must-listen for anyone interested in learning more about the hidden forces that have shaped some of the most significant events in history.