Heather Schulz

The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life, originally released in 1996, was a controversial piece of literature in which the authors opine that low intelligence is associated with criminality, unemployment, and other poor life choices and outcomes. Listen to this summary, and learn how IQ is considered the common denominator that relegates some people to the bottom of the social class while others are exemplified as being superior for their exceptional intellect, rising to the top of the social ladder.

In Made in China, investigative journalist Amelia Pang pulls back the curtain. What she reveals is a closely guarded network of laogai - forced labor camps - that power the rapid pace of American consumerism. Through extensive interviews and firsthand reportage, Pang shows us the true cost of America’s cheap goods and shares what is ultimately a call to action - urging us to ask more questions and demand more answers from the companies we patronize.

In 2012, an Oregon mother named Julie Keith opened up a package of Halloween decorations. The cheap foam headstones had been five dollars at Kmart, too good a deal to pass up. But when she opened the box, something shocking fell out: an SOS letter, handwritten in broken English.

In 2012, on his third tour of duty in Afghanistan, an improvised explosive device left Dan Crenshaw's right eye destroyed and his left blinded. Only through the careful hand of his surgeons, and what doctors called a miracle, did Crenshaw's left eye recover partial vision. And yet, he persevered, completing two more deployments. Why? There are certain stories we tell ourselves about the hardships we face—we can become paralyzed by adversity or we can adapt and overcome. We can be fragile or we can find our fortitude. Crenshaw delivers a set of lessons to help you do just that.