
The Quiet Damage
QAnon and the Destruction of the American Family
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $20.25
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Jesselyn Cook
-
By:
-
Jesselyn Cook
About this listen
The “gripping” (The Atlantic) story of five families shattered by pernicious, pervasive conspiracy theories, and how we might set ourselves free from a crisis that could haunt American life for generations.
“Excellent . . . This is the intimate side of the cold civil war America has been stuck in for nearly a decade.”—Michelle Goldberg, The New York Times
“SHED MY DNA”: three excruciating words uttered by a QAnon-obsessed mother, once a highly respected lawyer, to her only son, once the closest person in her life. QAnon beliefs and adjacent conspiracy theories have had devastating political consequences as they’ve exploded in popularity. What’s often overlooked is the lasting havoc they wreak on our society at its most basic and intimate level—the family.
In The Quiet Damage, celebrated reporter Jesselyn Cook paints a harrowing portrait of the vulnerabilities that have left so many of us susceptible to outrageous falsehoods promising order, purpose, and control. Braided throughout are the stories of five American families: an elderly couple whose fifty-year romance takes a heartbreaking turn; millennial sisters of color who grew up in dire poverty—one to become a BLM activist, the other, a hardcore conspiracy theorist pulling her little boy down the rabbit hole with her; a Bay Area hippie-type and her business-executive fiancé, who must decide whether to stay with her as she turns into a stranger before his eyes; evangelical parents whose simple life in a sleepy suburb spirals into delusion-fueled chaos; and a rural mother-son duo who, after carrying each other through unspeakable tragedy, stop speaking at all as ludicrous untruths shatter a bond long thought unbreakable.
Charting the arc of each believer’s path from their first intersection with conspiracy theories to the depths of their cultish conviction, to—in some cases—their rejection of disinformation and the mending of fractured relationships, Cook offers a rare, intimate look into the psychology of how and why ordinary people come to believe the unbelievable. Profound, brilliantly researched, and beautifully written, The Quiet Damage lays bare how we have been taken hostage by grifters peddling lies built on false hope—and how we might release our loved ones, and ourselves, from their grasp.
©2024 Jesselyn Cook (P)2024 Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...
-
Black Pill
- How I Witnessed the Darkest Corners of the Internet Come to Life, Poison Society, and Capture American Politics
- By: Elle Reeve
- Narrated by: Elle Reeve
- Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Award-winning journalist and CNN correspondent Elle Reeve was not surprised by the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6, 2021. With years of in-depth research and on-the-ground investigative reporting under her belt, Reeve was aware of the preoccupations of the online far right and their journey from the computer to QAnon, militias, and racist groups. At the same time, Reeve saw a parallel growth of counterforces, with citizen vigilantes using new tools and tactics to take down the far right.
-
-
Great story — uneven performance
- By SSG on 08-19-24
By: Elle Reeve
-
Selling the Dream
- The Billion-Dollar Industry Bankrupting Americans
- By: Jane Marie
- Narrated by: Jane Marie
- Length: 6 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Peabody and Emmy Award–winning journalist Jane Marie expands on her popular podcast The Dream to expose the scourge of multilevel marketing schemes and how they have profited off the evisceration of the American working class.
-
-
Surprisingly Fun
- By Flamingo Girl #3 on 03-14-25
By: Jane Marie
-
Culture Warlords
- My Journey into the Dark Web of White Supremacy
- By: Talia Lavin
- Narrated by: Talia Lavin
- Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One reporter takes an immersive dive into white supremacy's explosive online presence, exploring the undercurrents of propaganda, racism, misogyny, and history that led us to where we are now. Shocking, humorous, and merciless in equal measure, Culture Warlords explores some of the vilest subcultures on the web - and shows us how we can fight back.
-
-
I took this book too personally.
- By Will on 10-22-20
By: Talia Lavin
-
Beyond the Big Lie
- The Epidemic of Political Liars, Why Republicans Do It More, and How It Could Burn Down Our Democracy
- By: Bill Adair
- Narrated by: Jacques Roy
- Length: 7 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bill Adair knows a lie when he hears one. Since 2008, the site he founded, PolitiFact, has been the go-to spot for media members and political observers alike to seek the truth in an increasingly deceitful world. Since the site’s launching, politics’ tenuous relationship with the truth has only gotten weaker—and weirder. In this groundbreaking book, Adair reveals how politicians lie and why.
-
-
Beyond the Big Lie
- By Steve Tone on 10-22-24
By: Bill Adair
-
The Mother Next Door
- Medicine, Deception, and Munchausen by Proxy
- By: Andrea Dunlop, Mike Weber
- Narrated by: Andrea Dunlop
- Length: 8 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
No bond is more sacred than the one between a mother and child. And no figure is more sympathetic than a mother whose child faces a life-threatening illness. But what if the mother is the reason for the illness? What if the sympathy is the point? With help from some of the top MBP experts in the world, Dunlop and Weber uncover the complex maze of psychological, systemic, and cultural issues that compound MBP and offer solutions for how we might find our way out.
-
-
Hard to follow
- By San Diego on 04-24-25
By: Andrea Dunlop, and others
-
Rift
- A Memoir of Breaking Away from Christian Patriarchy
- By: Cait West
- Narrated by: Cait West
- Length: 8 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Raised in the Christian patriarchy movement, Cait West was homeschooled and could only wear clothes her father deemed modest. She was five years old the first time she was told her swimsuit was too revealing, to go change. There would be no college in her future, no career. She was a stay-at-home daughter and would move out only when her father allowed her to become a wife. She was trained to serve men, and her life would never be her own.
-
-
Compelling narrative and beautifully written
- By Maria Hauskins on 05-05-24
By: Cait West
-
Black Pill
- How I Witnessed the Darkest Corners of the Internet Come to Life, Poison Society, and Capture American Politics
- By: Elle Reeve
- Narrated by: Elle Reeve
- Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Award-winning journalist and CNN correspondent Elle Reeve was not surprised by the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6, 2021. With years of in-depth research and on-the-ground investigative reporting under her belt, Reeve was aware of the preoccupations of the online far right and their journey from the computer to QAnon, militias, and racist groups. At the same time, Reeve saw a parallel growth of counterforces, with citizen vigilantes using new tools and tactics to take down the far right.
-
-
Great story — uneven performance
- By SSG on 08-19-24
By: Elle Reeve
-
Selling the Dream
- The Billion-Dollar Industry Bankrupting Americans
- By: Jane Marie
- Narrated by: Jane Marie
- Length: 6 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Peabody and Emmy Award–winning journalist Jane Marie expands on her popular podcast The Dream to expose the scourge of multilevel marketing schemes and how they have profited off the evisceration of the American working class.
-
-
Surprisingly Fun
- By Flamingo Girl #3 on 03-14-25
By: Jane Marie
-
Culture Warlords
- My Journey into the Dark Web of White Supremacy
- By: Talia Lavin
- Narrated by: Talia Lavin
- Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One reporter takes an immersive dive into white supremacy's explosive online presence, exploring the undercurrents of propaganda, racism, misogyny, and history that led us to where we are now. Shocking, humorous, and merciless in equal measure, Culture Warlords explores some of the vilest subcultures on the web - and shows us how we can fight back.
-
-
I took this book too personally.
- By Will on 10-22-20
By: Talia Lavin
-
Beyond the Big Lie
- The Epidemic of Political Liars, Why Republicans Do It More, and How It Could Burn Down Our Democracy
- By: Bill Adair
- Narrated by: Jacques Roy
- Length: 7 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bill Adair knows a lie when he hears one. Since 2008, the site he founded, PolitiFact, has been the go-to spot for media members and political observers alike to seek the truth in an increasingly deceitful world. Since the site’s launching, politics’ tenuous relationship with the truth has only gotten weaker—and weirder. In this groundbreaking book, Adair reveals how politicians lie and why.
-
-
Beyond the Big Lie
- By Steve Tone on 10-22-24
By: Bill Adair
-
The Mother Next Door
- Medicine, Deception, and Munchausen by Proxy
- By: Andrea Dunlop, Mike Weber
- Narrated by: Andrea Dunlop
- Length: 8 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
No bond is more sacred than the one between a mother and child. And no figure is more sympathetic than a mother whose child faces a life-threatening illness. But what if the mother is the reason for the illness? What if the sympathy is the point? With help from some of the top MBP experts in the world, Dunlop and Weber uncover the complex maze of psychological, systemic, and cultural issues that compound MBP and offer solutions for how we might find our way out.
-
-
Hard to follow
- By San Diego on 04-24-25
By: Andrea Dunlop, and others
-
Rift
- A Memoir of Breaking Away from Christian Patriarchy
- By: Cait West
- Narrated by: Cait West
- Length: 8 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Raised in the Christian patriarchy movement, Cait West was homeschooled and could only wear clothes her father deemed modest. She was five years old the first time she was told her swimsuit was too revealing, to go change. There would be no college in her future, no career. She was a stay-at-home daughter and would move out only when her father allowed her to become a wife. She was trained to serve men, and her life would never be her own.
-
-
Compelling narrative and beautifully written
- By Maria Hauskins on 05-05-24
By: Cait West
-
Extremely Hardcore
- Inside Elon Musk's Twitter
- By: Zoë Schiffer
- Narrated by: Jaime Lamchick
- Length: 8 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Before he conceived of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Elon Musk flexed his control and influence during his unprecedented, $44 billion buyout of Twitter. This is the stunning true story of how Musk managed to upend the world's largest free speech platform through sheer, unilateral force—and what that means for the protection of power in the modern age.
-
-
THE EMPERORS NEW CLOTHES
- By C.Schillings~ on 03-20-24
By: Zoë Schiffer
-
Careless People
- A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism
- By: Sarah Wynn-Williams
- Narrated by: Sarah Wynn-Williams
- Length: 13 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From trips on private jets and encounters with world leaders to shocking accounts of misogyny and double standards behind the scenes, this searing memoir exposes both the personal and the political fallout when unfettered power and a rotten company culture take hold. In a gripping and often absurd narrative where a few people carelessly hold the world in their hands, this eye-opening memoir reveals what really goes on among the global elite.
-
-
Only a few hours in
- By Cody Konior on 03-24-25
-
The Longest Con
- How Grifters, Swindlers, and Frauds Hijacked American Conservatism
- By: Joe Conason
- Narrated by: Steve Marvel
- Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Longest Con tells the fascinating story of the partisan con artists who have corrupted conservative politics in our time, creating a toxic phenomenon that culminated in the election of Donald Trump, a bumptious fraud whose checkered career and tawdry retinue, including his presidential cabinet, have featured almost every variety of scam. But long before he appeared, Trump's path to power was blazed by the motley horde of swindlers and quacks who preceded him.
-
-
America Needs to Know the Truth and Dangers of Trump
- By Tiberius on 12-01-24
By: Joe Conason
-
Character Limit
- How Elon Musk Destroyed Twitter
- By: Kate Conger, Ryan Mac
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 15 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The billionaire entrepreneur and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has become inextricable from the social media platform that until 2023 was known as Twitter. Started in the mid-2000s as a playful microblogging platform, Twitter quickly became a vital nexus of global politics, culture, and media—where the retweet button could instantly catapult any idea to hundreds of millions of screens around the world, unleashing raw collective emotion like nothing else before.
-
-
Depressing but engrossing
- By Jason Jablonski on 10-25-24
By: Kate Conger, and others
-
Superbloom
- How Technologies of Connection Tear Us Apart
- By: Nicholas Carr
- Narrated by: Jonathan Todd Ross
- Length: 9 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the telegraph and telephone in the 1800s to the internet and social media in our own day, the public has welcomed new communication systems. Whenever people gain more power to share information, the assumption goes, society prospers. Superbloom tells a startlingly different story. As communication becomes more mechanized and efficient, it breeds confusion more than understanding, strife more than harmony. Media technologies all too often bring out the worst in us.
-
-
Humanity is really doomed, eh?
- By Classical Ideas Podcast on 02-14-25
By: Nicholas Carr
-
A Well-Trained Wife
- My Escape from Christian Patriarchy
- By: Tia Levings
- Narrated by: Tia Levings
- Length: 10 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Recruited into the fundamentalist Quiverfull movement as a young wife, Tia Levings learned that being a good Christian meant following a list of additional life principles—a series of secret, special rules to obey. Being a godly and submissive wife in Christian Patriarchy included strict discipline, isolation, and an alternative lifestyle that appeared wholesome to outsiders. Women were to be silent, “keepers of the home.” A Well-Trained Wife is an unforgettable memoir about a woman's race to save herself and her family and details the ways that extreme views can manifest in a marriage.
-
-
A review from a chronic non-reviewer
- By T. L. P. on 08-11-24
By: Tia Levings
-
Minority Rule
- The Right-Wing Attack on the Will of the People - and the Fight to Resist It
- By: Ari Berman
- Narrated by: Gary Tiedemann
- Length: 11 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The mob that stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, represented an extreme form of the central danger facing American democracy today: a blatant disregard for the will of the majority. Through voter suppression, election subversion, gerrymandering, dark money, the takeover of the courts, and the whitewashing of history, reactionary white conservatives have strategically entrenched power in the face of a massive demographic and political shift.
-
-
SO much great information!
- By CharlieSeymourJr on 05-01-24
By: Ari Berman
-
Hiding in Plain Sight
- The Invention of Donald Trump and the Erosion of America
- By: Sarah Kendzior
- Narrated by: Sarah Kendzior
- Length: 9 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The story of Donald Trump’s rise to power is the story of a buried American history - buried because people in power liked it that way. It was visible without being seen, influential without being named, ubiquitous without being overt. Sarah Kendzior’s Hiding in Plain Sight pulls back the veil on a history spanning decades, a history of an American autocrat in the making. In doing so, she reveals how our continual loss of freedom, the rise of consolidated corruption, and the secrets behind a burgeoning autocratic United States have been hiding in plain sight for decades.
-
-
Not as good as she thinks it is
- By Douglas A. Greenberg on 05-01-20
By: Sarah Kendzior
-
The Exvangelicals
- Loving, Living, and Leaving the White Evangelical Church
- By: Sarah McCammon
- Narrated by: Sarah McCammon
- Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Growing up in a deeply evangelical family in the Midwest in the ‘80s and ‘90s, Sarah McCammon was strictly taught to fear God, obey him, and not question the faith. Persistently worried that her gay grandfather would go to hell unless she could reach him, or that her Muslim friend would need to be converted, and that she, too, would go to hell if she did not believe fervently enough, McCammon was a rule-follower. But through it all, she was plagued by fears and deep questions as the belief system she'd been carefully taught clashed with her expanding understanding of the outside world.
-
-
Multiple Reasons
- By Meghan Smith on 03-30-24
By: Sarah McCammon
-
The Storm Is upon Us
- How QAnon Became a Movement, Cult, and Conspiracy Theory of Everything
- By: Mike Rothschild
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 7 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Its messaging can seem cryptic, even nonsensical, yet for tens of thousands of people, it explains everything: What is QAnon, where did it come from, and is the Capitol insurgency a sign of where it’s going next? Mike Rothschild, a journalist specializing in conspiracy theories, has been collecting their stories for years, and through interviews with QAnon converts, apostates, and victims, as well as psychologists, sociologists, and academics, he is uniquely equipped to explain the movement and its followers.
-
-
Great book, lousy narrator
- By Denise Lavely on 06-22-21
By: Mike Rothschild
-
Ministry of Truth
- Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past
- By: Steve Benen
- Narrated by: Rachel Maddow
- Length: 5 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For as long as historical records have existed, authoritarian regimes have tried to rewrite history to suit their purposes, using their dictatorial powers to create myths, spread propaganda, justify decisions, erase opponents, and even dispose of crimes. Today, as America’s Republican Party becomes increasingly radicalized, it’s not surprising to see the GOP read from a similarly despotic script. Indeed, the party is taking dangerous, aggressive steps to rewrite history—and not just from generations past.
-
-
Reinforced long held suspicions
- By Dennis M Olson Jr on 08-18-24
By: Steve Benen
-
Rebellion
- How Antiliberalism Is Tearing America Apart—Again
- By: Robert Kagan
- Narrated by: Jason Culp
- Length: 5 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The 2024 election could be the last free election held in a unified America. So warns Robert Kagan in this brilliant and terrifying analysis of the perilous state of democracy in the United States today. If Donald Trump loses the upcoming election, as he did in 2020, but refuses to accept the result, as he also did in the last election, he is likely to call on his millions of followers to repudiate the election results. It will be a short step from there to Republican-dominated states rejecting the legitimacy of the federal government and effectively seceding.
-
-
Best Book In Its Class
- By Laurie on 05-02-24
By: Robert Kagan
Critic reviews
“Where the book shines is in creating empathy for a group of people frequently dismissed or misunderstood, and for their grieving and divided families . . . By delving into the ways people become susceptible to QAnon, Cook uncovers a deeper truth: Many of us go through life with a gaping hole caused by trauma, isolation or shame, and we find healthy and unhealthy ways to fill it. For people like Doris and Kendra, QAnon’s message, however insane it sounds (and is), makes them feel valued and valuable.”—The New York Times
“Each is tragic and heartbreaking in its own way. All feel highly pertinent to the political realities of the moment, where great masses of people share beliefs that are demonstrably untrue.”—The Bulwark
“Cook illuminates vividly the experience of loving someone in crisis—a crisis you can’t fully understand and definitely didn’t anticipate—and the impossible question of how long to stand by them. . . . The stories are gripping not just because QAnon is so bewilderingly strange but also because the idea of a person you love disappearing before your eyes is so terrible—and perhaps for many readers, relatable. . . . [T]he book feels briefly hopeful. With patience and empathy, it seems to suggest, you can reach someone who once felt very, very far away.”—The Atlantic
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
Trust the Plan
- The Rise of QAnon and the Conspiracy That Unhinged America
- By: Will Sommer
- Narrated by: Joe Knezevich
- Length: 8 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The definitive book on QAnon from the reporter knows them best; Will Sommer explains what it is, how it has gained a mainstream following among Republican lawmakers and ordinary citizens, the threat it poses to democracy, and how we can reach those who have embraced the conspiracy and are disseminating its lies.
-
-
The best one so far
- By joey carbo on 03-02-23
By: Will Sommer
-
Black Pill
- How I Witnessed the Darkest Corners of the Internet Come to Life, Poison Society, and Capture American Politics
- By: Elle Reeve
- Narrated by: Elle Reeve
- Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Award-winning journalist and CNN correspondent Elle Reeve was not surprised by the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6, 2021. With years of in-depth research and on-the-ground investigative reporting under her belt, Reeve was aware of the preoccupations of the online far right and their journey from the computer to QAnon, militias, and racist groups. At the same time, Reeve saw a parallel growth of counterforces, with citizen vigilantes using new tools and tactics to take down the far right.
-
-
Great story — uneven performance
- By SSG on 08-19-24
By: Elle Reeve
-
The Storm Is upon Us
- How QAnon Became a Movement, Cult, and Conspiracy Theory of Everything
- By: Mike Rothschild
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 7 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Its messaging can seem cryptic, even nonsensical, yet for tens of thousands of people, it explains everything: What is QAnon, where did it come from, and is the Capitol insurgency a sign of where it’s going next? Mike Rothschild, a journalist specializing in conspiracy theories, has been collecting their stories for years, and through interviews with QAnon converts, apostates, and victims, as well as psychologists, sociologists, and academics, he is uniquely equipped to explain the movement and its followers.
-
-
Great book, lousy narrator
- By Denise Lavely on 06-22-21
By: Mike Rothschild
-
Rift
- A Memoir of Breaking Away from Christian Patriarchy
- By: Cait West
- Narrated by: Cait West
- Length: 8 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Raised in the Christian patriarchy movement, Cait West was homeschooled and could only wear clothes her father deemed modest. She was five years old the first time she was told her swimsuit was too revealing, to go change. There would be no college in her future, no career. She was a stay-at-home daughter and would move out only when her father allowed her to become a wife. She was trained to serve men, and her life would never be her own.
-
-
Compelling narrative and beautifully written
- By Maria Hauskins on 05-05-24
By: Cait West
-
Jewish Space Lasers
- The Rothschilds and 200 Years of Conspiracy Theories
- By: Mike Rothschild
- Narrated by: Jon Vertullo
- Length: 12 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 2018 Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene took to social media to share her suspicions that the California wildfires were started by 'space solar generators' which were funded by powerful, mysterious backers. Instantly, thousands of people rallied around her, blaming the fires on "Jewish space lasers" and, ultimately, the Rothschild family. For more than 200 years, the name "Rothschild" has been synonymous with two things: great wealth, and conspiracy theories about what they're "really doing" with it.
-
-
Overall well done, but strays off course
- By Jeremy and Maureen Lawson on 02-17-24
By: Mike Rothschild
-
Conspirituality
- How New Age Conspiracy Theories Became a Health Threat
- By: Derek Beres, Matthew Remski, Julian Walker
- Narrated by: Matthew Remski
- Length: 13 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, a disturbing social media trend emerged: a large number of yoga instructors and alt-health influencers were posting stories about a secretive global cabal bent on controlling the world’s population with a genocidal vaccine. Instagram feeds that had been serving up green smoothie recipes and Mary Oliver poems became firehoses of Fox News links, memes from 4chan, and prophecies of global transformation.
-
-
Thorough and thoughtful
- By Lindsay Robinson on 11-16-23
By: Derek Beres, and others
-
Trust the Plan
- The Rise of QAnon and the Conspiracy That Unhinged America
- By: Will Sommer
- Narrated by: Joe Knezevich
- Length: 8 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The definitive book on QAnon from the reporter knows them best; Will Sommer explains what it is, how it has gained a mainstream following among Republican lawmakers and ordinary citizens, the threat it poses to democracy, and how we can reach those who have embraced the conspiracy and are disseminating its lies.
-
-
The best one so far
- By joey carbo on 03-02-23
By: Will Sommer
-
Black Pill
- How I Witnessed the Darkest Corners of the Internet Come to Life, Poison Society, and Capture American Politics
- By: Elle Reeve
- Narrated by: Elle Reeve
- Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Award-winning journalist and CNN correspondent Elle Reeve was not surprised by the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6, 2021. With years of in-depth research and on-the-ground investigative reporting under her belt, Reeve was aware of the preoccupations of the online far right and their journey from the computer to QAnon, militias, and racist groups. At the same time, Reeve saw a parallel growth of counterforces, with citizen vigilantes using new tools and tactics to take down the far right.
-
-
Great story — uneven performance
- By SSG on 08-19-24
By: Elle Reeve
-
The Storm Is upon Us
- How QAnon Became a Movement, Cult, and Conspiracy Theory of Everything
- By: Mike Rothschild
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 7 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Its messaging can seem cryptic, even nonsensical, yet for tens of thousands of people, it explains everything: What is QAnon, where did it come from, and is the Capitol insurgency a sign of where it’s going next? Mike Rothschild, a journalist specializing in conspiracy theories, has been collecting their stories for years, and through interviews with QAnon converts, apostates, and victims, as well as psychologists, sociologists, and academics, he is uniquely equipped to explain the movement and its followers.
-
-
Great book, lousy narrator
- By Denise Lavely on 06-22-21
By: Mike Rothschild
-
Rift
- A Memoir of Breaking Away from Christian Patriarchy
- By: Cait West
- Narrated by: Cait West
- Length: 8 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Raised in the Christian patriarchy movement, Cait West was homeschooled and could only wear clothes her father deemed modest. She was five years old the first time she was told her swimsuit was too revealing, to go change. There would be no college in her future, no career. She was a stay-at-home daughter and would move out only when her father allowed her to become a wife. She was trained to serve men, and her life would never be her own.
-
-
Compelling narrative and beautifully written
- By Maria Hauskins on 05-05-24
By: Cait West
-
Jewish Space Lasers
- The Rothschilds and 200 Years of Conspiracy Theories
- By: Mike Rothschild
- Narrated by: Jon Vertullo
- Length: 12 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 2018 Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene took to social media to share her suspicions that the California wildfires were started by 'space solar generators' which were funded by powerful, mysterious backers. Instantly, thousands of people rallied around her, blaming the fires on "Jewish space lasers" and, ultimately, the Rothschild family. For more than 200 years, the name "Rothschild" has been synonymous with two things: great wealth, and conspiracy theories about what they're "really doing" with it.
-
-
Overall well done, but strays off course
- By Jeremy and Maureen Lawson on 02-17-24
By: Mike Rothschild
-
Conspirituality
- How New Age Conspiracy Theories Became a Health Threat
- By: Derek Beres, Matthew Remski, Julian Walker
- Narrated by: Matthew Remski
- Length: 13 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, a disturbing social media trend emerged: a large number of yoga instructors and alt-health influencers were posting stories about a secretive global cabal bent on controlling the world’s population with a genocidal vaccine. Instagram feeds that had been serving up green smoothie recipes and Mary Oliver poems became firehoses of Fox News links, memes from 4chan, and prophecies of global transformation.
-
-
Thorough and thoughtful
- By Lindsay Robinson on 11-16-23
By: Derek Beres, and others
-
Selling the Dream
- The Billion-Dollar Industry Bankrupting Americans
- By: Jane Marie
- Narrated by: Jane Marie
- Length: 6 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Peabody and Emmy Award–winning journalist Jane Marie expands on her popular podcast The Dream to expose the scourge of multilevel marketing schemes and how they have profited off the evisceration of the American working class.
-
-
Surprisingly Fun
- By Flamingo Girl #3 on 03-14-25
By: Jane Marie
-
Wild Faith
- How the Christian Right Is Taking Over America
- By: Talia Lavin
- Narrated by: Talia Lavin
- Length: 9 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From school boards to the Supreme Court, Christian theocracy is ascendant in America—and only through exploring its motivations and impacts can we understand the crisis we face. In Wild Faith, Lavin fearlessly confronts whether our democracy can survive an organized, fervent theocratic movement, one that seeks to impose its religious beliefs on American citizens.
-
-
Rough listen
- By Nick on 12-10-24
By: Talia Lavin
-
Attack from Within
- How Disinformation Is Sabotaging America
- By: Barbara McQuade
- Narrated by: Barbara McQuade
- Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Disinformation is designed to evoke a strong emotional response to push us toward more extreme views, unable to find common ground with others. The false claims that led to the breathtaking attack on our Capitol in 2020 may have been only a dress rehearsal. Attack from Within shows us how to prevent it from happening again, thus preserving our country's hard-won democracy.
-
-
Trump bashing
- By joseph clayson on 03-09-24
By: Barbara McQuade
-
Corruptible
- Who Gets Power and How It Changes Us
- By: Brian Klaas
- Narrated by: Brian Klaas
- Length: 9 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An “absorbing, provocative, and far-reaching” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) look at what power is, who gets it, and what happens when they do, based on over 500 interviews with those who (temporarily, at least) have had the upper hand - from the creator of the Power Corrupts podcast and Washington Post columnist Brian Klaas.
-
-
Not much substance
- By Nathan Parker on 04-06-22
By: Brian Klaas
-
Network of Lies
- The Epic Saga of Fox News, Donald Trump, and the Battle for America
- By: Brian Stelter
- Narrated by: Brian Stelter
- Length: 11 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Network of Lies, New York Times bestselling author Brian Stelter answers these questions by weaving together private texts, unpublished emails, depositions, and other primary sources to tell the chilling story of Trump’s alleged conspiracy to steal the 2020 election, and the right-wing media’s mission to put him back in office in 2024.
-
-
Eye opener .
- By catherine weaver on 11-21-23
By: Brian Stelter
-
Culture Warlords
- My Journey into the Dark Web of White Supremacy
- By: Talia Lavin
- Narrated by: Talia Lavin
- Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One reporter takes an immersive dive into white supremacy's explosive online presence, exploring the undercurrents of propaganda, racism, misogyny, and history that led us to where we are now. Shocking, humorous, and merciless in equal measure, Culture Warlords explores some of the vilest subcultures on the web - and shows us how we can fight back.
-
-
I took this book too personally.
- By Will on 10-22-20
By: Talia Lavin
-
Off the Edge
- Flat Earthers, Conspiracy Culture, and Why People Will Believe Anything
- By: Kelly Weill
- Narrated by: Xe Sands
- Length: 7 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Since 2015, there has been a spectacular boom in a centuries-old delusion: that the earth is flat. More and more people believe that we all live on a pancake-shaped planet, capped by a solid dome and ringed by an impossible wall of ice. How? Why? In Off the Edge, journalist Kelly Weill draws a direct line from today’s conspiratorial moment, brimming not just with Flat Earthers but also anti-vaxxers and QAnon followers, back to the early days of Flat Earth theory in the 1830s.
-
-
Unconvincing
- By Bruce Cline on 05-24-22
By: Kelly Weill
-
Broken Faith
- Inside the Word of Faith Fellowship, One of America's Most Dangerous Cults
- By: Mitch Weiss, Holbrook Mohr
- Narrated by: Vivienne Leheny
- Length: 12 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1979, a fiery preacher named Jane Whaley attracted a small group of followers with a promise that she could turn their lives around. In the years since, Whaley’s following has expanded to include thousands of congregants across three continents. Based on hundreds of interviews, secretly recorded conversations, and thousands of pages of documents, Pulitzer Prize winner Mitch Weiss and Holbrook Mohr’s Broken Faith is a terrifying portrait life inside the Word of Faith Fellowship, and the harrowing account of one family who escaped after two decades.
-
-
A must read!
- By laura toney on 03-22-20
By: Mitch Weiss, and others
-
White Rural Rage
- The Threat to American Democracy
- By: Tom Schaller, Paul Waldman
- Narrated by: Ray Porter
- Length: 11 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
White rural voters hold the greatest electoral sway of any demographic group in the United States, yet rural communities suffer from poor healthcare access, failing infrastructure, and severe manufacturing and farming job losses. Rural voters believe our nation has betrayed them, and to some degree, they’re right. In White Rural Rage, Tom Schaller and Paul Waldman explore why rural Whites have failed to reap the benefits from their outsize political power and why, as a result, they are the most likely group to abandon democratic norms and traditions.
-
-
Preaching to the choir
- By Mike on 03-07-24
By: Tom Schaller, and others
-
The Longest Con
- How Grifters, Swindlers, and Frauds Hijacked American Conservatism
- By: Joe Conason
- Narrated by: Steve Marvel
- Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Longest Con tells the fascinating story of the partisan con artists who have corrupted conservative politics in our time, creating a toxic phenomenon that culminated in the election of Donald Trump, a bumptious fraud whose checkered career and tawdry retinue, including his presidential cabinet, have featured almost every variety of scam. But long before he appeared, Trump's path to power was blazed by the motley horde of swindlers and quacks who preceded him.
-
-
America Needs to Know the Truth and Dangers of Trump
- By Tiberius on 12-01-24
By: Joe Conason
-
Finish What We Started
- The MAGA Movement's Ground War to End Democracy
- By: Isaac Arnsdorf
- Narrated by: Will Damron
- Length: 8 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the immediate aftermath of the attack on the Capitol of January 6, 2021, a growing movement of grassroots activists began plotting around the country to pick up where the insurrection left off, laying the groundwork to succeed next time where Donald Trump had failed to keep himself in power. Inspired by Trump’s false claims of a stolen election, this nationwide groundswell quickly moved beyond rhetoric and into action. Election deniers began capturing local party committees, elevating like-minded insurgents, and developing a new way forward.
-
-
Mass Mental Illness
- By philip on 04-24-24
By: Isaac Arnsdorf
-
A Well-Trained Wife
- My Escape from Christian Patriarchy
- By: Tia Levings
- Narrated by: Tia Levings
- Length: 10 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Recruited into the fundamentalist Quiverfull movement as a young wife, Tia Levings learned that being a good Christian meant following a list of additional life principles—a series of secret, special rules to obey. Being a godly and submissive wife in Christian Patriarchy included strict discipline, isolation, and an alternative lifestyle that appeared wholesome to outsiders. Women were to be silent, “keepers of the home.” A Well-Trained Wife is an unforgettable memoir about a woman's race to save herself and her family and details the ways that extreme views can manifest in a marriage.
-
-
A review from a chronic non-reviewer
- By T. L. P. on 08-11-24
By: Tia Levings
What listeners say about The Quiet Damage
Highly rated for:
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 02-02-25
One side only
Disgusted and sad in how this book vilifies and denigrates one side of the political isle while failing to look in the mirror. The left is just as wound up in media driven brainwashing as the right may be in alternative media. Take 5 MSNBC watchers or 5 believers of The View and apply the same scrutiny and write a volume on the cult of the left. This book contributes to the division of Americans and does nothing but widen the gap. If you’re looking to reinforce your leftist viewpoint, here is your next read. If you’re looking for balance or non-bias views, keep looking.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Cary McKay
- 08-05-24
Great storytelling
Really loved the stories presented. Reminded me of people I know who fell down the “rabbit hole.”
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 02-10-25
Things I have heard my sister say.
A way to talk with her without insulting her. I think my best friend might believe these things as well.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Linda
- 08-16-24
Honest look at the damage conspiracy theories wreck on society.
Really good listen and gave me a lot of insight in some things going on right now.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 09-22-24
The Stories
Compassionate, nuanced stories of people’s lives gripped by disinformation. Useful insight. The author seems ethical and accountable in telling other people’s stories.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- John O
- 09-26-24
Great book. All too relatable.
Some great work here. Essential reading for anyone who’s lost a family member to such nonsense.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 09-19-24
Hit close to home
My brother and I agree there was no world where we wouldn’t grow up in a cult. With my mother at the helm the only question was which one.
Her decent into Qanon was as predictable as it was tragic, and the straw that broke the camel’s back. We are both estranged from her now. My estrangement is slightly softer than my brothers but it’s a terrible loss either way. Reading this gave me insight and simplified my view of her motivations. It made me sad, and helped lead me to a place of compassion. I don’t think we will ever have a story of restoration or reconciliation, but thankfully love does not require either to exist.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Victor Naranjo
- 10-12-24
Compassionate and Challenging
Thank you for sharing real people's experiences. No one was all good/bad or hero/ villain
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- S Mikesell
- 10-16-24
I felt seen and heard
She captured fully the myriad of emotions and impacts of losing a loved one to conspiracy theory. My heartbreak is intensified as I realize how many of my efforts to save mine increased his suspicion of me and pushed him further into the web of lies.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jojo627
- 12-09-24
A difficult but must read (or listen) book!
For anyone that has loved ones deeply entrenched in QAnon this is a very difficult reality to face. So much great information in here presented in such a friendly format I highly recommend it.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!