Showing results by narrator "Chris Newman" in All Categories

The Candy House opens with the staggeringly brilliant Bix Bouton, whose company, Mandala, is so successful that he is “one of those tech demi-gods with whom we’re all on a first name basis.” Bix is forty, with four kids, restless, and desperate for a new idea, when he stumbles into a conversation group, mostly Columbia professors, one of whom is experimenting with downloading or “externalizing” memory. Within a decade, Bix’s new technology, “Own Your Unconscious”—which allows you access to every memory you’ve ever had, and to share your memories in exchange for access to the memories of others—has seduced multitudes.

Conquistadores (or Conquistadors) were the Spanish and Portuguese conquerors who invaded parts of the world that hadn’t been discovered by the Europeans before the 16th century. Some were incentivized by greed, lust, and dominance, which caused them to pillage, steal, and enslave the indigenous people they encountered. In this audiobook, you will learn more about one infamous sadist in particular: Francisco Pizarro, who abused and attacked the Peruvian peoples, acted as an inquisitor for the Catholic Church, and inflicted physical and psychological wounds on his subjects.

It’s a hard name to pronounce, but hey, it’s been the legend of Native American peoples for centuries. Was it a man? Was it a god? Was it a white person? Or, was it some animal or strange thing? Quetzalcoatl is an Aztec divine being whose name originates from the Nahuatl language and meaning "valuable snake" or "Quetzal-feathered snake".

The infamous double murder that inspired elementary school rhymes is a controversial one: partially because of the insidious nature and grossness of the crime and on the other hand because some people still believe the defendant is innocent. There are many reasons to believe why Lizzie killed both her parents with an axe, and there are some that could be used to argue that she didn’t.

This is a great package of several titles in one book. The topics are all related to the history of the Netherlands.

Claude Monet has been the icon for the impressionist movement. His family life wasn’t perfect, but despite all obstacles, the French genius painter has left us a legacy and a new perspective on realism and technique in their purest forms. In this guide, we’ll go over his youth, his style, his methods, his most famous paintings, and many of the reasons why he made the decisions he made.

It's 2010. Staggeringly successful and brilliant tech entrepreneur Bix Bouton is desperate for a new idea. He's 40, with four kids, and restless when he stumbles into a conversation with mostly Columbia professors, one of whom is experimenting with downloading or 'externalising' memory. Within a decade, Bix's new technology, Own Your Unconscious—that allows you access to every memory you've ever had, and to share every memory in exchange for access to the memories of others—has seduced multitudes. But not everyone.

Pol Pot was a Cambodian political leader and revolutionary who worked as Prime Minister of Democratic Kampuchea from 1975 till 1979. He was a key member of Cambodia's communist party, the Khmer Rouge, from 1963 to 1997, and acted as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Kampuchea from 1963 to 1981. He was a Marxist-Leninist and a Khmer nationalist. Cambodia was changed into a one-party communist state under his management, and the Cambodian genocide happened.

The following cruel dictators, mass murderers, torturers, and sadists from an extensive world history will be described and discussed in further detail: Adolf Eichmann, Benito Mussolini, Enver Pasha, Francisco Pizarro, Josef Mengele, Oliver Cromwell, Paul Joseph Goebbels, Pol Pot, Robespierre, Rudolf Hoess, and Torquemada.

Al Capone was an infamous mob boss between the two world wars in the city of New York and surrounding areas. His name and style have been emulated in movies. The mass shootings, tax evasion, and revenge on Italian murders in the mafia gangs on the United States' East Coast were so notorious that they have become iconic and stereotyped. How did Al Capone get the scars on his face? How did he manage to control so many of the gangs in the cities? How was he able to bribe the police, evade taxes, and become a terror for anyone who opposed him? And how did his life finally come to an end?

Initially diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, and after a separation of his parents, Edmund Kemper already showed his twisted mind at 15 years old, when he murdered both his grandparents, who were taking care of him. Whether through nature or nurture, this man didn’t show a promising future from the get-go. But perhaps nobody could have suspected the horrors he would inflict on his many victims later in his life.

There are doers and there are preachers. The people who were executing orders or abusing people in World War Two wouldn’t have been able to commit any atrocities if the country hadn’t warmed up to an inhumane narrative. That’s where propaganda came in. Propaganda has long been part of various countries and societies to make the population believe something, and to find culprits, create feelings of animosity, and glorify local leaders or military campaigns.

Michael Faraday was born in Newington Butts, Surrey, on September 22, 1791 (which is now part of the London District of Southwark). He grew up in a bad home. His dad, James, was a Christian who came from the Glasite sect.

The cult image, female divine being, and folk saint Nuestra Seora de la Santa Muerte (Spanish meaning: Our woman of the holy death) is a cult image, female divine being, and folk saint in Mexican Neopaganism and folk Catholicism. Her worshippers relate her with healing, security, and safe delivery to the afterlife simply because she's a personification of death. In spite of condemnation from Catholic Church leaders and, more just recently, evangelical movements, her following has grown substantially since the start of the 21st century.

The war between the Protestant Netherlands, mostly led by William of Orange, and Catholic Spain was one of the marks in Dutch history. This war had determined the beliefs of many people who now lived along the three rivers that went through the country. Most of the people north of the rivers were Protestant, and most of the believers below them (even throughout Belgium as well) were Catholic. This was no coincidence. The war in the 1600s had become a symbol of Dutch resistance, independence, and the royal family (of Orange).

Don't think that because it is such a small country with only about 17 million people, it should be neglected. The Netherlands has a long history, with a high influence on our cultures, trading routes, the stock market, business, and art. The Dutch were all over the world. They "owned" and colonized a big portion of what was then the known world. They were among the first settlers, had the biggest haven, and biggest fleet for some time. The Dutch East-Indian Trading Company, or VOC, is probably the biggest or at least one of the biggest companies that has ever existed.

Mother Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu, typically referred to as Saint Teresa of Calcutta in the Catholic Church, was an Albanian-Indian Roman Catholic nun and missionary. She was born in Skopje (today the capital of North Macedonia), which was then part of the Ottoman Empire's Kosovo Vilayet. After 18 years in Skopje, she went to Ireland and ultimately to India, where she spent the remainder of her life. Teresa formed the Missionaries of Charity in the year 1950, a Roman Catholic spiritual order with about 4,500 nuns active in about 133 nations in the year 2012.

This is a combo of 16 topics, and unique artists, composers, writers, and actors, compiled into a comprehensive biography guide. Listen to the struggles, the background, the poverty and wealth, and genius brains from the16th to the 20th century - all of which have brought certain insights, and understandings in artistic, literature, musical, or dramatic movements, to the next level. You will understand the motivation and circumstances of these great artists better. It will help you rethink your own life, your own legacy, and your plans for the future.

There is no doubt that Michelangelo is one of the most influential artists of all time, together with some other Renaissance geniuses, such as Leonardo and Rafael. Michelangelo had a vision, a dream, and the talent to carry out those imaginations. His life, in our perspective, is a compilation of great works of art, architecture, sculptures, paintings, and intricate movements, contrast, colors, and anatomy of the human body. Religious and thematic symbolism are intertwined in his frescos and structures. Let us learn more about this great artist.

We’ve all had our humble beginnings, and we seemed so innocent as children. However, for some people, given their childhood and circumstances, and then the political or war-driven environment they face, it goes completely wrong. Such was the case for Rudolf Hoess, a cruel, murderous Nazi commander who had been brainwashed by the system that justified his aid in exterminating millions of Jews. Hoess was the commandant of the Auschwitz concentration and extermination camp for the longest time. Learn more about what Rudolf Hoess did and why he has become so infamous.