What's it about? Take a Shot at Happiness (2023) is a guide to cultivating happiness through small, intentional practices. It encourages us to take control of our lives by shifting our perspective and embracing the present. Drawing on years of experience in a creative industry, it offers a practical, artistic approach to living with more joy, clarity, and meaning. It’s easy to feel like happiness is always a few steps away – just beyond a career breakthrough, a perfect weekend, or a long-overdue holiday. Life turns into a cycle of chasing joy instead of living it. But what if you could shift your perspective and start building happiness right where you are? That begins with changing how you experience the everyday. Drinking your morning coffee slowly, noticing the way light falls across your kitchen wall, writing down one thing that felt good today – these small moments aren’t trivial. They’re powerful. Over time, they train your brain to spot the good, even when life feels messy...

What's it about? Strangers and Intimates (2025) traces the evolution of private life from ancient Athens through the Victorian era to our digital present, arguing that privacy is a historical construct rather than a natural right. It examines key transformations including Luther’s development of individual conscience, the Victorian cult of domesticity, and the 1970s feminist movement’s politicization of personal experience. When Harry and Meghan stepped away from royal duties in 2020, citing a desire for privacy, many were puzzled by their subsequent tell-all interviews and memoirs. Were they being hypocritical? Actually, their story reveals something fascinating about how we think about public and private life today. The truth is, having a “private life” isn’t natural or universal – it’s a historical invention. In ancient Athens, life was divided between the polis, the public sphere of politics and citizenship, and the oikos, the household realm. Meanwhile, medieval Europeans...

What's it about? The Headache (2025) is a deep exploration of one of the most common – and most misunderstood – human ailments. It blends personal experience with scientific investigation to reveal why headache disorders are so often dismissed, and how that’s finally beginning to change. One sunny day in Montana, high on hope and a large dose of psychedelic mushrooms, the author, Tom Zeller Jr., found himself zipping up a mountain road on an e-bike, convinced that this bold experiment might finally quiet the agony inside his skull. Cluster headaches – sometimes called “suicide headaches” – had taken over his days and nights, and nothing else seemed to work. As the drug took hold, the hills shimmered, the balsam root flowers seemed to cheer, and he imagined accepting an award for finally conquering his invisible tormentor. It would have been a triumphant scene – if the next headache hadn’t hit the very next day. For millions of people, headaches are more than an occasional nuisanc...

What's it about? Deep Listening (2025) explores how truly hearing others can transform relationships, leadership, and community. It introduces an eight-step method that will help you move beyond surface conversations and create space for genuine understanding – even in moments of tension or disagreement. Grounded in research and real-world stories, it offers practical tools for building deeper, more human connections. In South Africa’s early post-apartheid days, a crowd of former soldiers gathered in frustration outside the government buildings in Pretoria. They were tired, angry, and desperate for recognition from their new leaders. Emotions were raw, and the risks were real. Nelson Mandela chose to meet them face-to-face. Instead of heading directly to a microphone, he walked through the crowd – steady, respectful, and fully present. He asked questions. He listened carefully. And gradually, the energy shifted. Voices lowered. People shared what was weighing on them. And when Ma...

What's it about? Firm Feedback in a Fragile World (2025) is for anyone who’s tired of walking on eggshells while trying to lead their team. It will show you how to give clear, direct feedback without crushing your people’s spirit – or your credibility. If you want to build a culture of accountability while keeping trust strong, this is the guide you’ve been waiting for. Let’s face it – most people don’t exactly look forward to getting feedback. And many leaders aren’t well-trained communicators and therefore don’t feel confident giving it, either. But there’s an important paradox at play here. Even though nearly seven out of ten managers admit they feel uncomfortable giving feedback, three out of four employees actually want more feedback. This leaves our workplaces starved for the very thing they need to grow. Leaders often feel caught in a difficult spot. If they push too hard, they’re afraid people will leave – if they don’t say anything, they’re left cleaning up the mess them...

What's it about? Algospeak examines how digital platforms are transforming language. It shows how internet culture creates new ways of speaking and writing, shaping both online and offline communication. It also reveals how this technology-driven linguistic change reflects broader shifts in social norms, as well as our relationship to language itself. Algospeak Have you ever noticed that different online content platforms sound different? With YouTube, TikTok, Instagram Live, and beyond, it’s almost as if different social media platforms have their own accents.YouTube creators speak with rapid-fire delivery and minimal pauses – since any silence is an opportunity for someone to click away. TikTok creators use exaggerated intonation and strategically stretch out words like “aaand” and “soooo,” to keep viewers watching just a few seconds longer. It’s no coincidence. These are adaptations to each platform’s algorithm – the specific way each platform measures, prioritizes, and re...

What's it about? Who Is Government? (2025) asks an all-star team of US journalists to consider the questions: Who works for the government? And why is their work important? The answers uncover remarkable stories of the people, from cybersleuths to archivists, whose work keeps the United States running. In 2016, Donald Trump won his first US presidential election. Both Trump and his opponent, Hillary Clinton, had assembled teams who were poised to manage the transition of office across the 15 large federal departments and hundreds of smaller federal agencies that comprise the US civil service. But days after winning office, Trump fired the 500 or so staff on his transition team. He reportedly told governor Chris Christie that the two of them could handle the transition themselves. But in the days and weeks that followed, after a series of perplexing decisions – for example, appointing Rick Perry as Secretary of Energy, despite the fact that Perry had said in his own presidential...