The Science of Fear
Why We Fear the Things We Should Not - and Put Ourselves in Great Danger
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Narrated by:
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Scott Peterson
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By:
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Daniel Gardner
About this listen
The Science of Fear is a disarmingly cheerful roundtrip shuttle to the new brain science, dissecting the fears that misguide and manipulate us every day. As award-winning journalist Daniel Gardner demonstrates, irrational fear springs from how humans miscalculate risks. Our hunter-gatherer brains evolved during the old Stone Age and struggle to make sense of a world utterly unlike the one that made them. Numbers, for instance, confuse us. Our "gut" tells us that even if there aren't "50,000 predators...on the Internet prowling for children," as a recent U.S. Attorney General claimed, then there must be an awful lot. And even if our "head" discovers that the number is baseless and no one actually knows the truth - there could be 100,000 or 500,000 - we are still more fearful simply because we heard the big number. And it is not only politicians and the media that traffic in fearmongering. Corporations fatten their bottom lines with fear. Interest groups expand their influence with fear. Officials boost their budgets with fear. With more information, warnings and scary stories coming at us every day from every direction, we are more prone than ever to needlessly worry.
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Moneyball meets medicine in this remarkable chronicle of one of the greatest scientific quests of our time - the groundbreaking program to answer the most essential question for humanity: How do we live and die? - and the visionary mastermind behind it.
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Fabulously insightful read!
- By Dr. Jack E. Fincham on 10-08-15
By: Jeremy N. Smith
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Denialism
- How Irrational Thinking Hinders Scientific Progress, Harms the Planet, and Threatens Our Lives
- By: Michael Specter
- Narrated by: Richard Poe
- Length: 8 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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New Yorker staff writer Michael Specter has twice won the Global Health Council’s Excellence in Media Award, as well as the Science Journalism Award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In Denialism, he fervently argues that people are turning away from new technologies and engaging in a kind of magical thinking that is hindering scientific progress.
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A compelling read
- By S on 05-17-11
By: Michael Specter
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Would You Kill the Fat Man?
- By: David Edmonds
- Narrated by: Gareth Armstrong
- Length: 5 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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A train is racing toward five men, tied to the track. Unless the train is stopped, it will inevitably kill all five men. If a fat man is pushed onto the line, although he will die, his body will stop the train, saving five lives. Would you kill the fat man? As David Edmonds shows, answering the question is far more complex, and important, than it first appears. In fact, how we answer it tells us a great deal about right and wrong.
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Wonderfully Rendered Book...
- By Douglas on 01-25-14
By: David Edmonds
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Polio
- An American Story
- By: David M. Oshinsky
- Narrated by: Jonathan Hogan
- Length: 14 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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This comprehensive and gripping narrative, which received the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for history, covers all the challenges, characters, and controversies in America's relentless struggle against polio. Funded by philanthropy and grassroots contributions, Salk's killed-virus vaccine (1954) and Sabin's live-virus vaccine (1961) began to eradicate this dreaded disease.
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Wonderful
- By Patricia B Tripoli on 07-22-08
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Presidential Takedown
- How Anthony Fauci, the CDC, NIH, and the WHO Conspired to Overthrow President Trump
- By: Dr. Paul Elias Alexander, Kent Heckenlively
- Narrated by: Bob Johnson
- Length: 9 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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In January 2020, Donald Trump was on the fast track to an easy re-election. While his first two years had been stymied by House Speaker Paul Ryan, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and the Democrats, his third year had been one of remarkable success. The United States had low unemployment and was making strides across the globe. The president's rallies were well-attended, and he was being projected to win four hundred electoral votes and about forty-five states. Then came COVID-19.
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Must listen!!
- By Christina Borkowski on 01-10-23
By: Dr. Paul Elias Alexander, and others
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Tomorrowland
- Our Journey From Science Fiction to Science Fact
- By: Steven Kotler
- Narrated by: Tom Parks
- Length: 8 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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New York Times, Wired, Atlantic Monthly, Discover bestselling author Steven Kotler has written extensively about those pivotal moments when science fiction became science fact...and fundamentally reshaped the world. Now he gathers the best of his best, updated and expanded upon, to guide listeners on a mind-bending tour of the far frontier, and how these advances are radically transforming our lives.
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Covers a lot of different topics in many industries
- By ErnieA on 06-27-15
By: Steven Kotler
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Willful Blindness
- Why We Ignore the Obvious at Our Peril
- By: Margaret Heffernan
- Narrated by: Margaret Heffernan
- Length: 11 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Margaret Heffernan argues that the biggest threats and dangers we face are the ones we don't see - not because they're secret or invisible, but because we're willfully blind. A distinguished businesswoman and writer, she examines the phenomenon and traces its imprint in our private and working lives, and within governments and organizations, and asks: What makes us prefer ignorance? What are we so afraid of? Why do some people see more than others? And how can we change?
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How Not to Be the Blind Leading the Blind
- By Cynthia on 06-29-13
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An Inconvenient Book
- Real Solutions to the World's Biggest Problems (Unabridged)
- By: Glenn Beck
- Narrated by: Glenn Beck
- Length: 6 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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The world is a mess. It seems that everywhere listeners turn, there's another problem. What is needed now are solutions. If only there was a man who could simplify things, cut through the rhetoric, and fix everything. Then, if he was just able to put all of that insight into something that people could buy...in a store and online...man, that would great. Wait a minute!
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Waste of Time and Money
- By Crystal on 04-11-09
By: Glenn Beck
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Suspicious Minds
- How Culture Shapes Madness
- By: Joel Gold, Ian Gold
- Narrated by: Joel Gold, Ian Gold
- Length: 9 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Mr. A. was admitted to Dr. Joel Gold’s inpatient unit at Bellevue Hospital in 2002. He was, he said, being filmed constantly, and his life was being broadcast around the world "like The Truman Show" - the 1998 film depicting a man who is unknowingly living out his life as the star of a popular soap opera. Over the next few years, Gold saw a number of patients suffering from what he and his brother, Dr. Ian Gold, began calling the "Truman Show Delusion," launching them on a quest to understand the nature of this particular phenomenon and the nature of madness itself.
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Intriguing
- By L. K. on 04-18-16
By: Joel Gold, and others
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This is Your Country on Drugs
- The Secret History of Getting High in America
- By: Ryan Grim
- Narrated by: Milton Bagby
- Length: 10 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Past antidrug campaigns actually encouraged drug use. A few years ago, America stopped dropping acid altogether. The meth epidemic peaked a long, long time ago. NAFTA opened the border and created a bonanza for cocaine and meth traffickers just as President Clinton knew it would. President Reagan may have inadvertently caused the crack epidemic. Kids today are doing fewer illegal drugs than kids from any time in the recent past, and for a surprising reason.
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A good book but....
- By steve on 10-28-10
By: Ryan Grim
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Imaginable
- How to See the Future Coming and Feel Ready for Anything - Even Things That Seem Impossible Today
- By: Jane McGonigal
- Narrated by: Jane McGonigal
- Length: 16 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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The COVID-19 pandemic, increasingly frequent climate disasters, a new war—events we might have called “unimaginable” or “unthinkable” in the past are now reality. Today it feels more challenging than ever to feel unafraid, hopeful, and equipped to face the future with optimism. How do we map out our lives when it seems impossible to predict what the world will be like next week, let alone next year or next decade? What we need now are strategies to help us recover our confidence and creativity in facing uncertain futures.
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Fabulous content, INSUFFERABLE narration!
- By Kelly on 05-24-22
By: Jane McGonigal
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Galileo's Middle Finger
- Heretics, Activists, and the Search for Justice in Science
- By: Alice Dreger
- Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert
- Length: 10 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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A powerful defense of intellectual freedom told through the ordeals of contemporary scientists attacked for exploring controversial ideas, by a noted science historian and medical activist.
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Engrossing but...
- By Lilly F. on 12-30-20
By: Alice Dreger
What listeners say about The Science of Fear
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
- SAMA
- 04-30-10
Feel the Fear But Do It Anyway
If you're looking for a biological exploration of the mechanics of fear, then this isn't the book you're looking for.
Instead, this book looks at the social and psychological causes and effects of fear, and how to get over the negative impacts of fear.
Not the best book around, but definitely insightful.
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10 people found this helpful
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- Ryan
- 09-10-12
Great listen
This is a great book with interesting content and well structured. It moves at a good pace and addresses topics that are applicable to everyone. It can get a little heavy on the statistics at times but other than that a generally good experience. Would recommend to everyone.
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- Chad
- 09-01-22
The Business and Politics of Fear
I think I only heard the word "Amygdala" once. Not much science here at all.
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- Mettaphorica
- 03-12-13
Lots of Factoids
I purchased this because of all the great reviews. I found the delivery dry and dull, as if reading a list from the Guiness Book of Records or an Encyclopedia a lot of factoids collected from various schools of thought. Wasn't cohesive enough for me, so I stopped half way. I will try and listen to it again and if I change my mind, will amend review.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Stoy
- 07-24-19
If the News on the TV scares you, you should read.
You, just like everybody else, are guilty of worrying about the wrong things in life. Why is that, and what can you do about it? This book offers great insight into some of the internal mechanisms in the brain that lead us astray when attempting to estimate potential risks. Daniel also gives us some mental tools to defend ourselves when news, media, activists, politicians, corporations, and non-profits try to sway our opinions on what is and what isn't important. Overall a good read and great listen.
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- Fallob
- 02-11-17
Very educational
I found this book really enlightening to some areas where I had ignorance in. I have the hard copy and the audible version. The information is so dense visually, I found the audible much easier to listen to and learn from. I highly suggest this book to everyone.
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- David P. Wingert
- 06-02-24
Good—with numerous holes in the analysis.
Gardner has provided a valuable resource in understanding how fear impacts our decision-making. I believe that Gardner has difficulty seeing his own political bias in his analysis as it relates to the war on terror.
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- Greg E Helfrich
- 08-30-09
Excellent!
I have always beleived in the mantra "be careful of what you fear" as I have seen so many people go to great lengths to avoid products, situations or events that they feared - irrationally.
The author lays out the logic that I have tried to express in a simple, easy to understand manner.
Great listen!
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1 person found this helpful
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- Mic Tester
- 06-03-12
I didn't like the start, but it ended quite well
What did you like best about The Science of Fear? What did you like least?
Part 1 of this book (as it is divided into 2 files downloads) was not very enjoyable; I have heard it better explainations in other books. However, the 2nd part (i.e. the 2nd file download) was a lot better, so I found in the end that I liked the book.
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- Tech Medic NJ
- 10-14-18
Good information, even if a bit repetitive
An I opening book as many of us take for granted the dangers of day-to-day life even though statistics certainly show otherwise.
The author is a little repetitive in driving a few critical points home but definitely gets the point across.
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