Popular Culture

Something has been going wrong on many college campuses in the last few years. Speakers are shouted down. Students and professors say they are walking on eggshells and are afraid to speak honestly. Rates of anxiety, depression, and suicide are rising—on campus as well as nationally. How did...

A New York Times bestseller and enduring classic, All About Love is the acclaimed first volume in feminist icon bell hooks' ""Love Song to the Nation"" trilogy. All About Love reveals what causes a polarized society, and how to heal the divisions that cause suffering. Here is the truth about...

THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “Could this be the best book on football ever?” —Tyler Cowen "Another masterwork from one of our greatest minds.” —Esquire “[An] essential playoff-season read.” —People A hilarious but nonetheless groundbreaking contribution to the argument...

In The 50th Law, hip hop and pop culture icon 50 Cent (aka Curtis Jackson) joins forces with Robert Greene, bestselling author of The 48 Laws of Power, to write a “bible” for success in life and work based on a single principle: fear nothing. With stories from 50 Cent's life on the streets...

In The Culting of America, cult survivor, military veteran, and bestselling author of Uncultured Daniella Mestyanek Young delivers a gripping investigation into the invisible systems of control shaping our lives.

A New York Times and Washington Post Notable Book Named one of the Best Books of the Year by TIME, NPR, Elle, and The Boston Globe “Searing… rigorously researched but never stuffy… Gilbert has compiled perhaps the first comprehensive examination of turn-of-the-millennium mainstream...

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER The ultimate story of the Scream movie franchise, featuring interviews from more than eighty key players and an in-depth exploration of the creation and legacy of the films that revived a dying genre In Your Favorite Scary Movie, entertainment journalist Ashley...

American Cosmic examines the mechanisms at work behind the thriving belief system in extraterrestrial life, a system that is changing and even supplanting traditional religions....

First published in 1966, Hell’s Angels is Thompson’s up-close and personal look at the infamous motorcycle gang during the time when its moniker was most feared....

One of the New York Times Book Review's Ten Best Books of the Year Winner of the James Beard Award Author of #1 New York Times Bestsellers In Defense of Food and Food Rules What should we have for dinner? Ten years ago, Michael Pollan confronted us with this seemingly simple question and, with...

Tom Wolfe's classic The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, an unflinching portrait of Ken Kesey, his Merry Pranksters, LSD, and the 1960s, ushered in an era of New Journalism and defined a generation....

Top political strategist Maya Rupert reveals how, for people of color, being real comes at a cost and authenticity is a privilege the marginalized cannot afford—that is, unless we change the system that keeps sending us the bill. . . One of Maya Rupert’s earliest memories was learning how to...

Ken Ivy pulls a square's coat on the unwritten rules that took him from the ghetto streets to the executive suites. Ken's lessons will serve any person in any interaction....

The groundbreaking bestseller from iconic behavioral psychologist Dan Ariely, now the inspiration for the Fall 2023 NBC show The Irrational “A marvelous book that is both thought provoking and highly entertaining, ranging from the power of placebos to the pleasures of Pepsi. Ariely unmasks the...

An exuberant, behind-the-scenes look at the designers and the company that brought us Mario, Zelda, Pokémon, and so much more “Keza MacDonald pulls back the curtain on the Nintendo dream factory.” —Walt Williams, author of Significant Zero What magical mushroom could have turned an...

It ain’t easy getting your shit together, but this book is the solution. And Tabitha Brown says, “you can trust him.” MJ Harris has got a lot of “best friends”—over five million to be exact. His hilarious, straightforward, raw advice has made him the go-to person across social media...

When Christina Haag was growing up on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, John F. Kennedy, Jr., was just one of the boys in her circle of prep-school friends....

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A fascinating and enlightening deep dive into the infamous Disney Adult community from the woman behind the popular website The Disney Food Blog. Disney Adults are grown-ups who derive singular, almost obsessive, joy from all things Disney. They devote countless...

NATIONAL BESTSELLER Now fully revised and updated, this evidence-based, user-friendly guide presents a 30-day digital detox plan that will help you set boundaries with your phone and live a more joyful and fulfilling life. “If you are a human being and you own a smartphone, you need this...

A SPECTATOR AND NEW STATESMAN BOOK OF THE YEAR 'Doyle writes beautifully, trenchantly, near-irrefutably' Richard Dawkins 'Thought provoking and entertaining. Andrew Doyle's intellect dazzles' Jimmy Carr 'A lovely blend of righteous polemic and wishful thinking' Julie Burchill 'A magisterial read...

NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW EDITORS’ CHOICE A sweeping chronicle of four tumultuous years in 1980s New York that changed the city forever—and anticipated the forces that would soon divide the nation—from the bestselling author of Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx Is Burning “A...

2024 Women's Prize for Non-Fiction, Winner 2023 New York Times Book Review Notable Books of the Year, Long-listed 2023 New York Magazine Best Books of the Year, Long-listed 2023 Audible.com Best of the Year, Long-listed 2023 The Guardian (UK) Best Books of the Year, Long-listed 2023 Slate Best...

“How many women cry when angry because we've held it in for so long? How many discover that anger turned inward is depression? Soraya Chemaly’s Rage Becomes Her will be good for women, and for the future of this country. After all, women have a lot to be angry about.” (Gloria Steinem) A...

An instant New York Times bestseller! “Informative, endlessly entertaining.”—BuzzFeed “Generation X’s definitive chronicler of culture.”—GQ From the author of But What If We’re Wrong comes an insightful, funny reckoning with a pivotal decade It was long ago, but not as long as it...

“Among the Bros is a harrowing and disturbing book. I have read about fraternity life but nothing like this. This book will blow your mind, each page digging deeper into the unimaginable. Except every word is true.”—Buzz Bissinger, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Mosquito Bowl...

THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “Could this be the best book on football ever?” —Tyler Cowen "Another masterwork from one of our greatest minds.” —Esquire “[An] essential playoff-season read.” —People A hilarious but nonetheless groundbreaking contribution to the argument...

A journey into the glittering, surreal heart of twenty-first century Russia, where even dictatorship is a reality show "A gripping and unsettling account." – Washington Post Professional killers with the souls of artists, would-be theater directors turned Kremlin puppet-masters, suicidal...

An exuberant, behind-the-scenes look at the designers and the company that brought us Mario, Zelda, Pokémon, and so much more “Keza MacDonald pulls back the curtain on the Nintendo dream factory.” —Walt Williams, author of Significant Zero What magical mushroom could have turned an...

Top political strategist Maya Rupert reveals how, for people of color, being real comes at a cost and authenticity is a privilege the marginalized cannot afford—that is, unless we change the system that keeps sending us the bill. . . One of Maya Rupert’s earliest memories was learning how to...

For fans of the witty and evocative writing of Anne Helen Petersen and Amanda Montell, a sharply clever exploration of what it means to be a “bad mom” by delving into the world of momfluencers, stage moms, trad wives, and more. We all have an idea what it means to be a good mom: little...

"By connecting our modern heroes to the archetypes of ancient myth, Peter Meineck's marvelous book bestows thrilling contemporary resonance upon those bygone legends." —Christopher Markus, coscreenwriter of Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame What connects Dionysus, the ancient Greek...

An audacious and inspiring debut social history that explores how entrepreneurial members of the tight-knit hardcore punk scene within the vibrant heart of Boston cashed in on one of baseball's greatest rivalries. For eighty-six years Boston Red Sox baseball fans lived in the shadow of their...

Brought to you by Penguin. A masterclass in telling stories - and how they shape our world - from the internationally renowned narrative expert To command narrative is to control a sometimes frightening power. What is it that turbocharges some tales, and how is it possible to harness that...

This is a book about ideas. Specifically, this is a book about the evolution of a certain set of ideas, and how these ideas have come to dominate every important discussion about race, gender, and identity today. Have you heard someone refer to language as literal violence, or say that science is sexist? Or declare that being obese is healthy, or that there is no such thing as biological sex? Or that valuing hard work, individualism, and even punctuality is evidence of white supremacy?

You didn’t notice it happening. No announcement. No official moment. No day the world voted to change. Life just slowly became… louder. At first it was helpful. You could find directions instantly. Call anyone anytime. Answer questions without wondering. But somewhere between convenience and constant connection, something subtle disappeared. We stopped waiting. We stopped wondering. We stopped being unreachable. And without realizing it — we stopped experiencing moments completely. This book isn’t anti-technology. It’s perspective. Because many of us lived in a rare time: We ...

For over 30 years I’ve followed trails that most people never realise exist, moving through neglected archives and even into Freemasonry itself, searching for the information that rarely makes it past controlled environments. The deeper I have gone, the clearer it’s become that the official version of the world is a carefully managed construction, not an honest record.

What happens when intelligence isn’t loud—but quietly overwhelming? This book explores the inner world of Reginald J. Worthington, a socially awkward, deeply introverted boy whose brilliance has always lived just beneath the surface—carefully hidden to avoid attention, pressure, and expectation. Inside this story, you’ll discover: A thoughtful, character-driven journey about quiet intelligence and emotional resilience A powerful exploration of introversion, giftedness, and invisible burnout A gentle but piercing critique of systems that extract talent instead of respecting capacity ...

Public life now runs on outrage, accusation, and moral escalation. Speech is policed, standards are contested, and conflicts are framed through harm and victimhood. Matrisensus argues that these developments stem from a single, largely unrecognized transformation in our moral culture. Why has political disagreement become so hostile and absolute? Why do online debates escalate instantly into denunciation and public shaming? Why is free speech increasingly framed as harm? Why do institutions respond to conflict by managing feelings rather than enforcing standards? Why are social disputes so ...

When humanity finally ventures beyond our solar system, we will face questions no civilization has ever answered. Will we find ourselves joining galactic federations, submitting to alien empires, or discovering that we are utterly alone? The answers will depend not just on what exists among the stars but on choices we haven't yet made and challenges we can barely imagine. This book dismantles the comfortable assumptions of science fiction to confront what interstellar civilization might actually require. The physics of light-speed communication delays, the inevitable cultural drift of ...

Beginning with post-WW2 monitoring devices, Listening In traces an arc through the Cold War era into the present day in which state and commercial spyware can record our calls, copy messages and secretly film us. Exploring how mass audio surveillance is carried out through devices such as smart phones, speakers and baby monitors and used to inform and train AI algorithms, the book provides fresh insights into how we are allowing our personal privacies to be traded for enhanced social connectivity and technological convenience.

Somewhere in the vastness of space, civilizations may exist that have solved problems humanity has barely begun to comprehend. They might be utopians who achieved lasting peace, warriors who view the cosmos as a battlefield, or ancient minds that watched our sun ignite billions of years ago. This book explores not whether they exist but what their existence would mean for us, and what contact with each type might demand of a species that has never faced anything like it. The scenarios examined here range from the hopeful to the terrifying. Nomadic civilizations wander between stars, ...

Taylor Swift and Beyoncé aren't just pop megastars. They are working women whose astounding accomplishments defy patriarchal norms. And while not all women can be Rihanna or Dolly Parton or Reese Witherspoon, their successes help us understand the central role of everyday women in today's economy. Swiftynomics assesses the complex economic lives of American women. Drawing insights from pathbreakers like Taylor Swift, Misty Heggeness digs into the data, revealing women's hidden contributions and aspirations—the unexamined value they create by following their own ambitions.

What happens when a culture stops rewarding responsibility and starts celebrating escape? Kill to Party is a sharp, unflinching examination of a modern social pattern that many people recognize but few are allowed to name: the elevation of nightlife, social validation, and short-term pleasure above long-term responsibility, stability, and care for others. This book is not about condemning individuals. It is about exposing incentives. Across entertainment, social media, and modern lifestyle branding, adulthood itself has quietly been reframed as optional. Commitment is treated as a burden. ...

Most people sense it quietly. A feeling that life is more exhausting than it should be. That no matter how hard you try, the goalposts keep moving. That the systems meant to support you often seem to work against you instead. This book explores why that feeling is so common. Rather than pointing fingers or offering easy villains, it examines how modern life became structured around pressure, productivity, endless striving and how those structures slowly shape what we believe, buy, chase and tolerate without us noticing. From work and money to identity, status and belonging, Welcome to the ...

Why does it feel like people no longer agree on what’s real? Institutions still exist. Experts still speak. News still flows. But for many people, something more basic has changed. Authority no longer organizes reality in the way it once did. Trust has thinned. Shared standards have weakened. And in the space left behind, people are building their own systems for deciding what is true. The Trust Vacuum is not a book about misinformation, ignorance, or cognitive bias. It is about what happens psychologically and socially when shared authority stops working. It examines how people respond ...

Yeah Yeah Yeah is a landmark and addictive work that audaciously charts the entire story of pop music. Unlike other books, it comprehensively covers the genre's history, spanning from the advent of the music charts in the 1950s to the digital transition of the year 2000. It covers an astonishing range of artists, from Billy Fury and Roxy Music to TLC and Britney, including giants like Led Zeppelin and Donna Summer. This book will remind you exactly why you first fell in love with pop.

In "American Decline", Father Innocent Emechete delivers a passionate examination of America's cultural and moral transformation from a nation firmly rooted in Judeo-Christian values to one increasingly defined by secularism, moral relativism, and progressive politics. Drawing from his unique perspective as a Catholic priest with experience in both Nigeria and the United States, Emechete traces America's journey from the post-WWII era of traditional values through the societal upheavals of the 1960s to today's conflicts over abortion, LGBTQ+ issues, and religious expression in public life. ...

THE CURATORS OF CULTURE: Celebrate Black digital art in this essay collection revealing how Black artists have shaped everything from TikTok dances to viral memes Steven Underwood digs into the current Black digital arts movement that has shaped popular culture for the last decade. He connects...

In today’s digital world, your attention is the most valuable currency—and Big Tech wants every second of it. Your favorite apps, social platforms, streaming services, and online stores aren’t just convenient tools; they are carefully engineered environments designed to influence your behavior, guide your choices, and keep you endlessly scrolling, tapping, reacting, and buying.

In the age of comfort, a quiet collapse is happening inside people—not in governments, not in economies, but in the minds of ordinary adults who can no longer handle ordinary life. The Weak Generation tears apart the myths we hide behind and exposes why emotional weakness is rising while real resilience is disappearing.