Five Titles to Read

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The microbiome is a vital part of life on Earth. Modern science has shown that the microbiome is involved in almost all aspects of human functioning, including human behavior. But how does the microbiome influence how we think about God as well as how God may interact with us?

In this work, John F. Pohl explores the intersection of humanity, the microbiome, and God from the perspectives of process theology and open & relational theology. This book is a wonderful read for the person interested in science and faith from an integrative perspective.

Endorsements

In A Theology of the Microbiome, Dr. Pohl presents a spiritually enlivening approach to understanding the intricate world within our bodies. Looking through the lens of a microscope as well as that of open and relational theology, Pohl invites readers to witness the divine at work even in the minute interactions of our gut’s microbial community. His book reveals the profound connections between our physical and spiritual health, opening up yet another avenue for more fruitful dialogue between science and religion.

—Matt Segall, Ph. D., author of Physics of the World-Soul

Good theology addresses all facets of life. And when we explore the world through science, the most robust theology that emerges is affected by what science suggests. In this fascinating book, John Pohl weaves together microbiome research with a compelling vision of God. The result is truly groundbreaking!

—Thomas Jay Oord, Ph.D., author of Open and Relational Theology

“Contemporary discourse in science and religion harbors all manner of questions extending from various perspectives internal to the sciences and theology alike. Here’s one you don’t often hear: What has theology to do with the microbiome? Better yet: What has God to do with your gut? Integrating his experience as a Gastroenterologist and his study of process philosophy and theology, Pohl creatively advances a metaphysics of the microbiome, with wide-ranging implications for how we think about our place in the universe. From our gut to God and back, digesting this theology is a process, but its aim is overall health.”

—Andrew M. Davis, Ph.D., author of Metaphysics of Exo-Life

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A lot has changed in 25 years. A quarter-century after the publication of his groundbreaking first book, Malcolm Gladwell returns with a brand-new volume that reframes the lessons of The Tipping Point in a startling and revealing light — this time in an immersive audio format that transports you, the listener, directly inside of each riveting story.

Why is Miami… Miami? What does the heartbreaking fate of the cheetah tell us about the way we raise our children? Why do Ivy League schools care so much about sports? What is the Magic Third, and what does it mean for racial harmony? In this provocative new work, Malcolm Gladwell returns to the subject of social epidemics and tipping points, this time with the aim of explaining the dark side of contagious phenomena.

Through a series of gripping stories, Gladwell traces the rise of a new and troubling form of social engineering. As with his podcast Revisionist History and bestsellers Talking to Strangers and The Bomber Mafia, pressing play on this audiobook will bring each scene and story to life with vivid first-person accounts, captivating oral histories, illuminating moments from history past and present, and a cinematic original music score.

Take to the streets of Los Angeles with Malcolm to meet the world’s most successful bank robbers, rediscover a forgotten television show from the 1970s that changed the world, visit the site of a historic experiment on a tiny cul-de-sac in northern California, and explore an alternate history of two of the biggest epidemics of our day: COVID and the opioid crisis.

Revenge of the Tipping Point is Gladwell’s most personal book yet. With his characteristic mix of storytelling and social science, he offers a guide to making sense of the contagions of the modern world. It’s time we took tipping points seriously.

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From the bestselling author of The Bomber Mafia: discover Malcolm Gladwell's breakthrough debut and explore the science behind viral trends in business, marketing, and human behavior.

The tipping point is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire. Just as a single sick person can start an epidemic of the flu, so too can a small but precisely targeted push cause a fashion trend, the popularity of a new product, or a drop in the crime rate. This widely acclaimed bestseller, in which Malcolm Gladwell explores and brilliantly illuminates the tipping point phenomenon, is already changing the way people throughout the world think about selling products and disseminating ideas.

“A wonderful page-turner about a fascinating idea that should affect the way every thinking person looks at the world.” —Michael Lewis

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In this stunning new book, Malcolm Gladwell takes us on an intellectual journey through the world of "outliers"--the best and the brightest, the most famous and the most successful. He asks the question: what makes high-achievers different?

His answer is that we pay too much attention to what successful people are like, and too little attention to where they are from: that is, their culture, their family, their generation, and the idiosyncratic experiences of their upbringing. Along the way he explains the secrets of software billionaires, what it takes to be a great soccer player, why Asians are good at math, and what made the Beatles the greatest rock band.

Brilliant and entertaining, Outliers is a landmark work that will simultaneously delight and illuminate.

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Malcolm Gladwell, host of the podcast Revisionist History and author of the number-one New York Times best seller Outliers, reinvents the audiobook in this immersive production of Talking to Strangers, a powerful examination of our interactions with people we don’t know.

How did Fidel Castro fool the CIA for a generation? Why did Neville Chamberlain think he could trust Adolf Hitler? Why are campus sexual assaults on the rise? Do television sitcoms teach us something about the way we relate to each other that isn't true?

While tackling these questions, Malcolm Gladwell was not solely writing a book for the page. He was also producing for the ear. In the audiobook version of Talking to Strangers, you’ll hear the voices of people he interviewed - scientists, criminologists, military psychologists. Court transcripts are brought to life with re-enactments. You actually hear the contentious arrest of Sandra Bland by the side of the road in Texas. As Gladwell revisits the deceptions of Bernie Madoff, the trial of Amanda Knox, and the suicide of Sylvia Plath, you hear directly from many of the players in these real-life tragedies. There’s even a theme song - Janelle Monae’s “Hell You Talmbout”.

Something is very wrong, Gladwell argues, with the tools and strategies we use to make sense of people we don't know. And because we don't know how to talk to strangers, we are inviting conflict and misunderstanding in ways that have a profound effect on our lives and our world.

The audiobook edition of Talking to Strangers was an instant number-one best seller, and was one of the most pre-ordered audiobooks in history. It seamlessly marries audiobooks and podcasts, creating a completely new and real listening experience.