Seriously Curious

Steven D. Levitt / Stephen J. Dubner

The legendary bestseller that made millions look at the world in a radically different way returns in a beautiful 20th anniversary edition featuring a new foreword Which is more dangerous: a gun or a swimming pool? Why do drug dealers still live with their moms? What do real estate agents and the KKK have in common? These may not sound like typical questions for an economist to...

John Cassidy

A Financial Times Most Anticipated Book of 2025A Publishers Weekly Top 10 Book of 2025A sweeping, dramatic history of capitalism as seen through the eyes of its fiercest critics. Capitalism has long been understood as a driving force behind the biggest political, economic, and social dislocations of our time. But in this sweeping, kaleidoscopic history of the economic system th...

Ian Kumekawa

The rise of globalization and financialization as seen from a barge—one Swedish barge, to be exact, built in 1979What do a barracks for British troops in the Falklands War, a floating jail off the Bronx, and temporary housing for VW factory workers in Germany have in common? The Balder Scapa: a single barge that served all three roles. Though the name would eventually change to...

Faiz Siddiqui

The rise, fall, and revival of the Caesar of Silicon Valley. Elon Musk has cast himself as the savior of humanity, an altruistic force whose fortune is tied to noble pursuits from halting our dependence on fossil fuels to colonizing Mars. Once frequently heralded as a modern-day Edison, Musk has taken up a new place in the public consciousness with his growing desire to disrupt...

Gary Rivlin

A veteran Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist shadows the top thinkers in the field of Artificial Intelligence, introducing the breakthroughs and developments that will change the way we live and work. Artificial Intelligence has been "just around the corner" for decades, continually disappointing those who long believed in its potential. But now, with the emergence and growing u...

David L. Shrier

A clear-eyed guide to the metaverse and how this powerful technology--along with advances in spatial computing, VR, and AR--will impact our economy, our lives, and our world. The metaverse. That term elicits a wide range of ideas and opinions. For many, it represents the next evolutionary phase of the internet--a fully immersive, digital universe where people can interact, work...

Tom Standage

From the bestselling author of A History of the World in 6 Glasses, an eye-opening road trip through 5,500 years of humans on the go, revealing how transportation inevitably shapes civilization. Tom Standage's fleet-footed and surprising global histories have delighted readers and cemented his reputation as one of our leading interpreters of technologies past and present. Now, ...

Tom Standage

The world can be an amazing place if you know the right questions to ask: How much does a ghost reduce a house's value? How are winemakers responding to climate change? How much should you tip your Uber driver? Should your dog fear Easter more than fireworks? The keen minds of The Economist love to look beyond everyday appearances to find out what really makes things tick. In t...

Tom Standage

The world can be an amazing place if you know the right questions to ask:How did carrots become orange? What's stopping us from having a four-day week? How can we remove all the broken bits of satellite from orbit? If everything is so terrible, why is the global suicide rate falling?The keen minds of the Economist love to look beyond everyday appearances to find out what really...

Tom Standage

From beer to Coca-Cola, the six drinks that have helped shape human historyThroughout human history, certain drinks have done much more than just quench thirst. As Tom Standage relates with authority and charm, six of them have had a surprisingly pervasive influence on the course of history, becoming the defining drink during a pivotal historical period.A History of the World i...