Psychology & Sociology

59 SECONDS: THINK A LITTLE, CHANGE A LOT

by Richard Wiseman

read by Jonathan Cowley

running time 8hrs 30mins

A useful look at some diverse scientific advice that can help you change your life in under a minute, and guides you toward becoming more decisive, more imaginative, more engaged, and altogether more happy.

AFTER THE CRASH

by Martin Spinelli

read by Brian Voakes

running time 11hrs 30mins

This is Martin Spinelli's inspiring story of finding purpose in his life after the tragic death of his wife in a car crash, and the story of his son's miraculous recovery.

THE BELIEVER: ENCOUNTERS WITH LOVE, DEATH AND FAITH

by Sarah Krasnostein

read by Jennifer Vuletic

running time 11hrs 17mins

From the award-winning author of The Trauma Cleaner comes an exploration of the power of belief. This book is about ghosts and gods and flying saucers and certainty in the absence of knowledge. Weaving together the stories of six extraordinary ordinary people, The Believer looks at the stories we tell ourselves to deal with the distance between the world as it is, and the world as we'd like it to be. How they can stunt us - or save us. Some of the people you will meet believe in things most people don't. Ghosts. UFOs. Heaven and the Devil. The literal creation of the universe in six days. Others believe in things most people would like to. Dying with autonomy. Facing one's own transgressions with an open heart. Intensely personal and gorgeously written Krasnostein talks with her characteristic compassion and empathy to these believers - and finds out what happens when their beliefs crash into her own.

CHANGING YOUR STORY

by Bill Beswick

read by Bill Beswick

running time 2hrs 57mins

We all love stories. They make us feel, help us connect, relate to one another, and make sense of our lives. Bill Beswick is a storyteller who has 20 powerful life lessons to share from his work with his clients at the top of their fields to help us all overcome our fears, boost our performance and achieve success. Leading sports and performance psychologist, Bill Beswick, sees sport as a story of human connection. When faced with physical challenges, pressure and fatigue, the mind is the athlete and the body is simply the means. Changing Your Story explores how the way we think and feel is vital for releasing positive energy and improving our performance. Beswick's 20 lessons will bestow resilience and guide you through the process of harnessing the full power of your physical abilities.This is a book about change. Bill Beswick's advice is guaranteed to equip you with new, more efficient ways to think. Through his powerful storytelling, he will help you let go of a negative mind-set and embrace a much stronger, positive and determined one. Anything is possible when you realise it's never too late to switch direction and change your story.

THE DARKER THE NIGHT THE BRIGHTER THE STARS

by Paul Broks

read by Simon Bubb

running time 11hrs 20mins

A man's wife dies. What next? He smothers his sorrow and gets on with the days, but his brain won't rest. As a neuropsychologist he has spent a career trying to fathom the human brain, but now, he comes to realise, his brain is struggling to make sense of him. Combining neurological case stories and memoir, and with excursions into speculative fiction and mythology, this is a deeply personal meditation on grief, time and selfhood.

EMOTIONAL: THE NEW THINKING ABOUT FEELINGS

by Leonard Mlodinow

read by Dan John Miller

running time 8hrs

It has long been held that thinking and feeling are separate and opposing forces in our behaviour. But as best-selling author Leonard Mlodinow tells us, extraordinary advances in psychology and neuroscience have proven that emotions are as critical to our well-being as thinking. How can you connect better with others? How can you improve your relationship to frustration, fear and anxiety? What can you do to live a happier life? The answers lie in understanding emotions. Taking us on a journey from the labs of pioneering scientists to real-world scenarios that have flirted with disaster, Mlodinow shows us how our emotions help, why they sometimes hurt, and what we can make of the difference.

THE FEAR BUBBLE

by Ant Middleton

read by Ant Middleton

running time 8hrs

Ant Middleton thrillingly retells the story of his death-defying climb of Everest and reveals the concept of the Fear Bubble, showing how it can be used in our lives to help us break through our limits. An inspirational call to action, The Fear Bubble is essential listening for anyone who wants to harness their fears and conquer their own personal Everest.

A GRIEF OBSERVED: READERS' EDITION

by C S Lewis

read by Ann Stutz

running time 3hrs

Narnia author C.S. Lewis had been married to his wife for four blissful years. When she died of cancer, he found himself alone, inconsolable in his grief. In this intimate journal, he chronicles the aftermath of the bereavement and mourning with blazing honesty. He grapples with a crisis of religious faith, navigating hope, rage, despair, and love - but eventually regains his bearings, finding his way back to life. A luminous modern classic, A Grief Observed has offered solace to countless readers for decades.

A HANDFUL OF EARTH: A YEAR OF HEALING AND GROWING

by Barney Bardsley

read by Ruth Sillers

running time 9hrs 30mins

When Barney Bardsley’s husband died of cancer, she steeled herself to cope by taking one day at a time. During this dark time she took to tending her small, scruffy allotment and she slowly began to find comfort in nature. As the seasons unfold, she charts how her own life is slowly restored under the garden’s healing influence.

I'LL NEVER GIVE UP ON YOU (X Rated)

by Becky Hope

read by Ann Stutz

running time 9hrs 10mins

Becky Hope works on the front line of child protection, a job which takes her into the lives of some of the most vulnerable children. Although some days are very tough, her dedication to the fight against abuse, and her determination to give all children the safety they deserve, shines through. X rated, contains graphic violence.

THE JOURNEY OF HUMANITY: THE ORIGINS OF WEALTH AND INEQUALITY

by Oded Galor

read by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith

running time 9hrs

In The Journey of Humanity, Oded Galor offers a revelatory explanation of how humanity became, only very recently, the unique species to have escaped a life of subsistence poverty, enjoying previously unthinkable wealth and longevity. He reveals why this process has been so unequal around the world, resulting in the great disparities between nations that exist today. He shows why so many of our efforts to improve lives have failed and how they might succeed.

THE KNIFE'S EDGE

by Stephen Westaby

read by Gordon Griffin

running time 9hrs 45mins

Although Professor Stephen Westaby was born with the necessary coordination and manual dexterity, it was a head trauma sustained during university that gifted him the qualities of an exceptional heart surgeon: qualities that are frequently associated with psychopathy. This is his intimate and compelling exploration into the unique psyche of the heart surgeon, by one of the profession’s most eminent figures.

THE LANGUAGE GAME: HOW IMPROVISATION CREATED LANGUAGE AND CHANGED THE WORLD

by Nick Chater & Morten H Christiansen

read by Peter Noble

running time 9hrs 30mins

What is language? Why do we have it? Where does it come from? Why does that matter? Upending centuries of scholarship (including, most recently, Chomsky and Pinker) The Language Game shows how people learn to talk not by acquiring fixed meanings and rules, but by picking up, reusing and recombining countless linguistic fragments in novel ways.

MAKING IT HAPPEN

by Mark Pollock

read by Fred Parker

running time 4hrs

Mark Pollock lost his sight at the age of twenty-two. This is the story of how he overcame the odds to rebuild his life and put into practice the axiom that the key to happiness lies in taking control of your own life.

NEVER EAT ALONE

by Tahl Raz & Keith Ferrazzi

read by Richard Harries

running time 14hrs

Do you want to get ahead in life? Climb the ladder to success? Master networker Keith Ferrazzi says the secret is in reaching out to others. As he discovered early in life, what distinguishes highly successful people is the way they use the power of relationships—so that everyone wins. In this classic, global best seller, you'll discover the timeless strategies used by the world's most connected people, from Bill Clinton to the Dalai Lama. And you'll learn how to transform your own network, career and life.

OLIVER BURKEMAN: EPIDEMICS OF MODERN LIFE: A BBC RADIO 4 COLLECTION

by Oliver Burkeman

read by Miscellaneous

running time 5hrs 30mins

Journalist and author Oliver Burkeman is well-known for his long-running Guardian column, 'How to Change Your Life', and has written three bestselling books on happiness, productivity and time management. In this radio collection, he looks at four central ills of modernity - busyness, anger, the insistence on positivity and the decline of nuance. Talking to a range of experts, he discovers how these problems became so widespread, and how we can go about tackling them.

PARTNERING: FORGE THE DEEP CONNECTIONS THAT MAKES GREAT THINGS HAPPEN

by Jean Oelwang

read by Jean Oelwang

running time 7hrs 30mins

Our individualistic society has created a cult of self-sufficiency. The result: fear, division and domination, which has crushed our ability to relate meaningfully to each other in the workplace and diminished our ability to innovate and collaborate. Jean Oelwang, president of Virgin Unite, has interviewed over 60 business and life partnerships - including Desmond and Leah Tutu, and Ben and Jerry - revealing how to nurture relationships with depth and purpose. Packed with wisdom to nourish the relationships that give us strength and meaning, Partnering is a call-to-action for individuals resisting individualism to lead with purpose and impact.

QUIT: THE POWER OF KNOWING WHEN TO WALK AWAY

by Annie Duke

read by Annie Duke

running time 7hrs 30mins

We are often told that the secret to success is hard work, determination, and hours of practice. But in a fast-changing world, what if the really crucial skill is knowing when to stick at something and when to change track and walk away?Quit makes the under-appreciated case for quitting and also shows you how to get really good at it. Drawing on stories from elite athletes to Everest climbers, comedians to musicians, Annie Duke (who left a successful poker career) explains why learning to quit well is often crucial to success. She provides clear strategies for working out when to cut your losses from a business product that isn't working, a relationship turned toxic, or a career that won't take you where you want to go.

REDESIGNING WORK

by Lynda Gratton

read by Lynda Gratton

running time 9hrs 30mins

We are experiencing the greatest global shift in the world of work for a century. So, how do we make the most of this unique opportunity and radically redesign the way we work - forever? Professor Lynda Gratton is the global thought-leader on the future of work. Whether you're leading a small team or running a multinational, this is the time to make lasting change and equip your business for the future. Redesigning Work is the definitive book on how to transform your organisation and make hybrid working work for you. It will help your team embrace change, increase productivity and thrive in our new, more flexible working world.

SAINT PATRICK'S PEOPLE: A NEW LOOK AT THE IRISH

by Tony Gray

read by Paul Connell

running time 8hrs

An exploration of the Irish identity, looking at the institutions and influences which have defined national character. Examining the influence of island geography and the country's natural resources, the author looks at the missionary days of Saint Patrick. He also examines Celtic myths and legends, and asks whether the 'little people' survive today.

TALKING TO STRANGERS

by Malcolm Gladwell

read by Malcolm Gladwell

running time 8hrs 45mins

Through a series of encounters and misunderstandings, Malcolm Gladwell takes us on an intellectual adventure into the darker side of human nature, where strangers are never simple and misreading them can have disastrous consequences. He uses stories of deceit and fatal errors to cast doubt on our strategies for dealing with the unknown, inviting us to rethink our thinking in these troubled times.

UNATTACHED: ESSAYS ON SINGLEHOOD

by Angelica Malin

read by Miscellaneous

running time 5hrs

Curated by journalist and author Angelica Malin, Unattached explores the nuances of being single today through the voices of 30 women, with personal essays from a multitude of game-changing voices, reflecting both the unique challenges of being single (hello, going to a wedding alone) and the glorious benefits of singlehood in a light-hearted way (goodbye, joint bank account). Unattached shines a light on brilliant women stepping into their power, shrugging off the shackles of traditional labels, owning being alone and reveals the true depth of female potential when we choose to go against what society expects of us and revel in our own strength.

VISUAL THINKING: THE HIDDEN GIFTS OF PEOPLE WHO THINK IN PICTURES, PATTERNS AND ABSTRACTIONS

by Temple Grandin

read by Temple Grandin

running time 12hrs 30mins

Do you think in pictures, patterns or words? In a world engineered for the verbal thinker, those of us with a visual brain can often be overlooked and underestimated. In this landmark book, international bestselling author and activist Temple Grandin transforms our understanding of how our brains are wired differently. Bringing together cutting-edge research and her own experience as a visual thinker, Grandin reveals a ground-breaking new approach to revolutionizing modern structures such as education, health and media so that they equally serve people with all kinds of minds.

WAKE UP!: ESCAPING A LIFE ON AUTOPILOT

by Chris Barez-Brown

read by Chris Barez-Brown

running time 4hrs 30mins

We all know the feeling of driving a long distance and arriving at our destination with little memory of the journey. That's because when we are doing routine activities our subconscious takes over to save energy: we are on autopilot. This doesn't just happen when we drive. It happens every day when we are at work, with our loved ones, or simply living our lives. Wake Up! is a series of experiments designed to help you break free from this trap. From climbing a tree to writing a letter, here are a year's worth of balanced, playful experiences that will engage your imagination and stimulate your senses. By escaping autopilot more often you'll feel tuned in, tap in to who you really are, and make every day count.

YOU ARE NOT ALONE

by Ken Duckworth

read by Ako Mitchell

running time 15hrs 6mins

Millions of people across the world are affected by mental illness every year. Yet the mental healthcare industry remains chaotic underfunded and often inaccessible with many people asking themselves the same questions: What does it mean when different doctors give me different diagnoses? Will I be on medication my whole life? Will I ever feel better? Too many of us are confused afraid and overwhelmed. Families and friends are often left in the dark about how best to help their loved ones from dealing with logistical issues to handling the emotional challenges of loving someone who is suffering. You Are Not Alone is here to offer help and compassion. Written by Dr Ken Duckworth whose own entry into psychiatry and journey to become the Chief Medical Officer for the National Alliance on Mental Illness was inspired by his father's lifelong battle with bipolar disorder this comprehensive guide pairs medical expertise with the empathy of someone who gets it. This book shares: Relatable first-person stories that illustrate the diversity of mental health journeys Practical guidance on dealing with mental health conditions and navigating care Research-based evidence on what treatments and approaches work Insight and advice from renowned clinical experts and practitioners This singular book is a powerful reminder that help is here and you are never alone.