When it comes to the important things in life, we always take the time to prepare. Standardized tests, first dates, wedding speeches – everything would be a disaster without a little prep work.
So when it comes to the future of our world as a whole, why do we so often shrug our shoulders and hope for the best? As the ten great books below point out, there are real steps we can take to prepare for the future, and even help shape it ourselves.
Imaginable: how to see the future coming and feel ready for anything, even things that seem impossible today
By Jane McGonigal
A world-renowned future forecaster and game designer draws on the latest scientific research in psychology and neuroscience to show us how to think the unthinkable and imagine the unimaginable. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Jane McGonigal, in the Next Big Idea app
How big tech barons are crushing innovation and how to fight back
By Ariel Ezrachi and Maurice E. Stucke
Two market experts deconstruct the drivers and inhibitors of innovation in the digital economy, explain how big tech companies can quell disruption, and outline policy shifts to take power away from big tech and give it back to entrepreneurs. Listen to our summary of Book Bite, read by co-authors Ariel Ezrachi and Maurice E. Stucke, in the Next Big Idea app
We Must Build: Field Notes for Diverse Democracy
By Eboo Patel
From President Obama’s former religious adviser, here is an inspiring guide for those seeking to promote positive social change and build a more diverse and just democracy. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Eboo Patel, in the Next Big Idea app
The Loop: How Technology Creates a Choiceless World and How to Fight Back
By Jacob Ward
This eye-opening narrative journey into the rapidly changing world of artificial intelligence reveals the dangerous ways AI exploits the unconscious habits of our minds and the real threat it poses to humanity. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Jacob Ward, in the Next Big Idea app
The Internet Isn’t What You Think: A History, A Philosophy, A Warning
By Justin EH Smith
Combining the breadth of intellectual history with the incisiveness of philosophy, The internet is not what you think it is traverses our daily digital lives to provide a clear picture of what the Internet is, where it came from, and where it could take us in the decades to come. Listen to our summary of Book Bite, read by author Justin EH Smith, in the Next Big Idea app
The No Club: Ending women’s dead-end work
By Linda Babcock, Brenda Peyser, Lise Vesterlund and Laurie Weingart
The Non-Club tells you how to change your workload, empowering women to make informed decisions about the work they take on. The authors also discuss how organizations can reevaluate how they allocate and reward work to level the playing field. Listen to our summary of Book Bite, read by co-author Linda Babcock, in the Next Big Idea app
Why we fight: the roots of war and the paths to peace
By Christopher Blattman
why we fight exposes the root causes and remedies for war, showing that violence is not the norm; that there are only five reasons why conflict trumps compromise; and how peacemakers are turning the tide through tinkering, not transformation. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Christopher Blattman, in the Next Big Idea app
Rewired: Protecting Your Brain in the Digital Age
By Carl D. Marci
Rewired provides scientifically backed solutions for anyone who wants to restore their balance between technology and life, from parents concerned about their children’s exposure to the Internet to stressed workers who must manage the expectation of 24/7 availability /7. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Carl D. Marci, in the Next Big Idea app
Spin Dictators: The Changing Face of Tyranny in the 21st Century
By Sergei Guriev and Daniel Treisman
Offering incisive portraits of today’s authoritarian leaders, Spin dictators explains some of the great political conundrums of our time, from how dictators can survive an age of increasing modernity to the disturbing convergence and mutual sympathy between dictators and populists like Donald Trump. Listen to our summary of Book Bite, read by co-author Sergei Guriev, in the Next Big Idea app
The Next Era of Uncertainty: How the World Can Adapt to a Riskier Future
By Stephen Poloz
Filled with takeaways for employers, investors, and decision makers, as well as families discussing jobs and mortgage renewals around the kitchen table, The next era of uncertainty is an indispensable guide for those navigating the fault lines of the risky world ahead. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Stephen Poloz, in the Next Big Idea app
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