Showing results by narrator "James Rottger" in All Categories

Most of us want to make a difference. We donate to charity, buy Fairtrade coffee, or try to cut down on our carbon emissions. Rarely do we know if we're really helping, and despite our best intentions, our actions can have ineffective -- and sometimes downright harmful - outcomes. Confronting this problem, William MacAskill developed the concept of effective altruism, a practical, data-driven approach which shows that each of us has the power to do an astonishing amount of good, given the right information.

A collection of transdisciplinary essays by scholars and designers which explore humanity’s relationship with the planet, its ecosystems and inhabitants, now and in the future. Global challenges like climate change and ecosystem degradation are proving that a singular disciplinary approach is inadequate to respond to issues where societal behaviours, individual choices, political decisions, economic, technological and scientific developments are so densely entangled - not least in design. But what happens when we turn things around and decentre “the human” to look at our relationship with...

Ross Bentley has a gift – he can move things with his mind. Ross has always known he was different, but he’s kept his talent secret, even from those closest to him. Everything changes when he hears about a contest called The Million Dollar Gift – a wealthy businessman has pledged a million dollars to anyone who can prove they have superhuman powers. It’s too good a chance to miss …

In the 11th century, a feral child is taken in by three witches after the wolves who raised her are slaughtered by hunters. Three hundred years later, gentle, observant Brother Rowan is supposed to be making copies of historical fragments. In truth, he spends most of his time in the garden of his priory in the Scottish Lowlands. He hasn't fully recovered from the Great Plague, which killed most of the other monks. But the Benedictine order wants to send him north in search of an ancient library and the true history of Scotland's kings.

When the Faerie folk flee their world and come to ours, running from the nightmare of war, nobody in the everyday knows what to do. So they are locked away. Thirteen-year-old Samm Wolfback lives in Glass Forest, a sprawling Faerae refugee camp in England. Life in Glass Forest is hard, poisoned by disease and crime and poverty. But Samm has a unique gift that lines his pockets – he can find lost things.

Ross Bentley has spent the past 12 months in hiding on the west coast of Ireland. He has turned his back on the Guild and his gifts. In trying to escape his past and the dangers brought with his gifts, Ross has spiraled into a world of anxiety and depression and, with Cathy leaving for Paris, Ross is completely alone. Suddenly an unexpected visitor arrives. Hunter has come to call in his favor. Through loneliness and a sense of debt, Ross agrees to join Hunter for one day only. What first appears to be a simple task becomes so much more.

Not long after starting a new job, Neil meets Chrissie. Romance soon blossoms and together they move to a lavish flat in Edinburgh. Everything seems to be falling into place perfectly. But an innocuous, throwaway comment unintentionally causes Neil's career to collapse, and, at the same time, a cruel betrayal shatters the life he thought he knew. His only option is to escape to the secluded, remote beauty of a breathtaking Hebridean island. Here, he finds a different way of life, and new friendships develop. But he can't escape the past forever...

Ross Bentley has supernatural gifts – he can move things with his mind – but this doesn’t stop him feeling alone and miserable when he’s cut off from family and friends in a remote farmhouse with Hunter, the taciturn but powerful Guild-member tasked with protecting and training him. But suddenly Hunter is summoned by the Guild. A gifted child has been kidnapped. Hunter needs to track her down, and he has no choice but to take Ross with him.