Political Study

Social media connected the world - and gave rise to fake news and increasing polarization. Now a leading researcher at MIT draws on 20 years of research to show how these trends threaten our political, economic, and emotional health in this eye-opening exploration of the dark side of technological progress.

For far too long, the history of how American women won the right to vote has been told as the tale of a few iconic leaders, all white and native-born. But Susan Ware uncovered a much broader and more diverse story waiting to be told. Why They Marched is a tribute to the many women who worked tirelessly in communities across the nation, out of the spotlight, protesting, petitioning, and insisting on their right to full citizenship.

Lies with a Straight Face tells the fascinating story of the precipitous rise and fall of the “ex-gay” conversion industry in a manner that is both enlightening and entertaining. This fast-moving, fact-based book is perfect for those who enjoy the marriage of politics, history and current events. The book features the riveting story of the 1998 Truth in Love ad campaign, where the religious right’s most prominent organizations joined forces to prove that LGBTQ people could be converted to heterosexuality through prayer and therapy.

Noll demonstrates how supporters and opponents of slavery and segregation drew equally on the Bible to justify the morality of their positions. He shows how a common evangelical heritage supported Jim Crow discrimination and contributed powerfully to the black theology of liberation preached by Martin Luther King Jr.

In this provocative book, Mugambi Jouet describes why Americans are far more divided than other Westerners over basic issues, including wealth inequality, health care, climate change, evolution, gender roles, abortion, gay rights, sex, gun control, mass incarceration, the death penalty, torture, human rights, and war.

According to Bernard Goldberg, the media crossed an important line in the 2008 presidential race, moving from their usual unthinking liberal bias to crass partisanship of the crudest kind, practically acting as spin doctors for the presidential campaign of Barack Obama. In A Slobbering Love Affair, his most provocative book yet, Goldberg demonstrates how the media launched an unparalleled effort to ensure the election of the man they regarded as the One.

In A Moonless, Starless Sky Okeowo weaves together four narratives that form a powerful tapestry of modern Africa: a young couple, kidnap victims of Joseph Kony's LRA; a Mauritanian waging a lonely campaign against modern-day slavery; a women's basketball team flourishing amid war-torn Somalia; and a vigilante who takes up arms against the extremist group Boko Haram.

Do you want the greatest political and societal challenges of the day to be addressed with thoughtful, reality-based solutions rather than with cherry-picked quotations from scripture? Do you want to shrink religion - especially fundamentalist religion - to the point that it plays no noticeable role in public life? Do you want right-wing religious leaders to be so unpopular that politicians avoid them rather than pander to them for endorsements? This book illustrates specific, actionable steps for facilitating fundamentalist religion's decline.

ISIS - the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria - has taken on the mantle of being the single most dangerous terrorist threat to global security since al-Qaeda. In Defeating ISIS, internationally renowned intelligence veteran, author, and counterterrorism expert Malcolm Nance gives an insider's view to explain the origins of this occult group, its violent propaganda, and how it spreads its ideology throughout the Middle East and to disaffected youth deep in the heart of the Western world.

When Aspen Baker had an abortion at the age of 24, she felt caught between the warring pro-life and pro-choice factions, with no safe space to share her conflicted feelings. In this hopeful and moving book, Baker describes how she and Exhale, the organization she cofounded, developed their "pro-voice" philosophy and a set of tools that enable anyone to have respectful, compassionate exchanges about even the most contentious topics. Initially distrusted by both sides, Exhale now receives postabortion referrals from pro-life and pro-choice organizations.

This is an unconventional biography of an unconventional woman. Eglantyne Jebb moved from drawing rooms to war zones, often defying expectation and at times breaking the law. Although not fond of individual children, she founded Save the Children and originated the revolutionary concept of children's human rights. Clare Mulley brings to life the brilliant, charismatic, passionate, and compassionate woman, whose work has saved millions of lives and permanently changed the way the world treats children. Save the Children ambassador Joely Richardson narrates this extraordinary story.

Politics Reformed makes a provocative contribution to understanding foundational questions in an era of rising fundamentalism and emboldened secularism, inspiring listeners to rethink the importance of religion in political theory and practice, and the role of the covenant tradition in particular.

From the explosion of fake news to the challenges of the 24-hour news cycle, legendary journalist Bob Schieffer examines political journalism today and those who practice it. Based on interviews with over 40 media leaders, Schieffer provides an inside look at the changing role of media and asks whether today's citizens are more informed or just overwhelmed.

For acclaimed historian William Jelani Cobb, the historic election of Barack Obama to the presidency is not the most remarkable development of the 2008 election; even more so is the fact that Obama won some 90 percent of the black vote in the primaries across America despite the fact that the established black leadership since the civil rights era-men like Jesse Jackson, John Lewis, Andrew Young, who paved the way for his candidacy-all openly supported Hillary Clinton.

An inspired and original compilation for the 2016 election year, God Is in the House is a collection of essays by members of Congress who reflect on their deep faith and how it guides them as legislators. Compiled by Representative Virginia Foxx, who personally asked for contributions from congressional colleagues and coworkers, God Is in the House features essays from 18 members of Congress from both political parties, representing 11 faiths and denominations.

Low-level dishonesty is rife everywhere, in the form of exaggeration, selective use of facts, economy with the truth, careful drafting - from Trump and the Brexit debate to companies that tell us 'your call is important to us'. How did we get to a place where bullshit is not just rife but apparently so effective that it's become the communications strategy of our times? This brilliantly insightful book steps inside the panoply of deception employed in all walks of life and assesses how it has come to this.

Der SPIEGEL-Bestseller jetzt als Hörbuch: Sie lehnen alles Staatliche ab, propagieren "White-Supremacy", kämpfen gegen Abtreibung, befürworten erzkonservative Geschlechterrollen und wähnen sich im Krieg gegen satanische Mächte: die Religiöse Rechte in den USA. Seit Jahrzehnten baut diese Bewegung ihre landesweite Infrastruktur aus Organisationen und Medienimperien immer weiter auf, unter der Regierung Trump konnten zahlreiche ihrer Vertreter Posten im Weißen Haus und in den Gerichten besetzen.

Pro-life feminism is not only possible, it is vital if the complex struggles facing women are to be adequately met. Abolition of Woman is a rallying cry to feminists to stand with the pro-life movement, fighting to build a society in which women are equal and every human life is protected.

Though the female fighter is often seen as an anomaly, women make up nearly 30 percent of militant movements worldwide. Historically, these women - viewed as victims, weak-willed wives, and prey to Stockholm Syndrome - have been deeply misunderstood. Radicalizing Her holds the female fighter up in all her complexity as a kind of mirror to contemporary conversations on gender, violence, and power.

This exhilarating Cold War narrative takes listeners from top-secret Cabinet Room meetings to exclusive social clubs, and into the pages of a powerful man's intimate diary. Ike's Mystery Man brings a new dimension to our understanding of the inner-workings of the Eisenhower White House. It also shines a bright light on the indispensable contributions and sacrifices made by patriotic gay Americans. Ike's Mystery Man relies on thousands of personal letters, interviews, and previously classified archives to tell a gripping story that has never before been told.