Showing results by narrator "Simon Jones" in All Categories

In his groundbreaking book Predictably Irrational, social scientist Dan Ariely revealed the multiple biases that lead us into making unwise decisions. Now, in The Upside of Irrationality, he exposes the surprising negative and positive effects irrationality can have on our lives. Focusing on our behaviors at work and in relationships, he offers new insights and eye-opening truths about what really motivates us on the job.

Misinformation affects us daily, from social media to politics and even personal relationships. Policing social media alone cannot solve the complex problem shaped by partisan politics and subjective interpretations of truth. In Misbelief social scientist Dan Ariely explores the behaviour of 'misbelief' that leads people to distrust accepted truths and embrace conspiracy theories. Misinformation taps into something innate in all of us, regardless of political affiliation. By understanding this psychology, we can mitigate its effects.

A dynamic remastering of the original BBC Radio 4 full-cast serial - Fit the First to Fit the Sixth - which spawned a phenomenal hitchhiking legend. The original series of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, remastered by Dirk Maggs (director of the Tertiary, Quandary and Quintessential Phases) to give a full, vibrant sound, now with Philip Pope’s version of the familiar theme tune and specially re-recorded announcements by John Marsh.

An Englishman's continuing search through space and time for a decent cup of tea....Arthur Dent's accidental association with that wholly remarkable book The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy has not been entirely without incident. Arthur has travelled the length, breadth and depth of known, and unknown, space. He has stumbled forwards and backwards through time.

Stranded on Prehistoric Earth since the end of the first series, Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect are once again trying to hitch their way off the planet. Zaphod finds his visit to the offices of the Guide rudely interrupted by Frogstar fighters, who further threaten to feed him to the Total Perspective Vortex. Eventually reunited, the three fetch up on the planet Brontitall and discover the indigenous species in something of a flap. Arthur meets Lintilla (several of her), Marvin gets to be a hero once again, and there is a meeting with the Man in the Shack who apparently runs the Universe.... 

Why do smart people make irrational decisions every day? The answers will surprise you. Predictably Irrational is an intriguing, witty and utterly original look at why we all make illogical decisions. Why can a 50p aspirin do what a 5p aspirin can't? If an item is free, it must be a bargain, right? Why is everything relative, even when it shouldn't be? How do our expectations influence our actual opinions and decisions? In this astounding audiobook, behavioural economist Dan Ariely cuts to the heart of our strange behavior....

Why does paying for things often feel like it causes physical pain? Why does it cost you money to act as your own real estate agent? Why are we comfortable overpaying for something now just because we've overpaid for it before? In Small Change, world renowned economist Dan Ariely answers these intriguing questions and many more as he explains how our irrational behaviour often interferes with our best intentions when it comes to managing our finances.

While frequent flyer Arthur Dent searches the universe for his lost love, Ford Prefect discovers a disturbing blast from the past at The Hitchhiker’s Guide HQ. Meanwhile, on one of many versions of Earth, a blonder, more American Trillian gets tangled up with a party of lost aliens having an identity crisis. And just when Arthur thinks he has found his true vocation on the backwater planet of Lamuella, the original Trillian turns up with more than a little spanner in the works. A stolen ship, a dramatic stampede and a new and sinister Guide lead to a race to save the Earth...again. But this time, will they succeed? 

Johann Wolfgang Goethe was a colossus of German literature and a true Renaissance man. A novelist, dramatist, poet, humanist, scientist and philosopher, he wrote the first international bestseller, The Sorrows of Young Werther, and his epic masterpiece Faust is one of the most famous and celebrated dramas of all time.

Don’t panic! The Hitchhiker’s saga returns once again with a full-cast dramatisation of So Long and Thanks For All the Fish, the fourth book in Douglas Adams’s famous ‘trilogy in five parts’. The Earth has miraculously reappeared and, even more miraculously, Arthur Dent has found it. Returning to his cottage after...well...ages, he falls in love with the girl of his dreams. But Ford Prefect is on to something which might well burst Arthur’s bubble. 

Stranded on prehistoric Earth, Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect find escape in the form of a time-travelling sofa. But as eleven homicidal, bat-wielding robots proceed to blow up Lord’s Cricket Ground, it seems that Arthur is far from Home and Dry. In fact, he is not even Home and Vigorously Towelling Himself. Off. Soon he is on an explosive quest to save the Universe, equipped with only a rabbit bone, a worn dressing gown, and a spaceship which looks remarkably like an Italian bistro. 

When Earthman Arthur Dent learns that first his house and then his planet are about to be bulldozed, it’s the beginning of an interplanetary adventure for him and his friend, Ford Prefect. After fleeing Earth they hitch a lift with hoopy frood Zaphod Beeblebrox, who hurtles from one improbability to another - literally. With Trillian and Marvin the Paranoid Android in tow, the answer to life, the universe and everything is soon revealed: 42. But what was the question?

In this moving collection, Shaun Usher gathers together some of the most powerful letters about love ever written. Whether inspired by love’s first blush or the recriminations at its ending, the regrets of unrequited feelings and the joys of passions known, Letters of Note: Love is essential listening for anyone with a heart.

The brand new BBC Radio 4 full-cast series based on And Another Thing… the sixth book in the famous Hitchhiker’s Guide 'trilogy'. Forty years on from the first ever radio series of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Arthur Dent and friends return in six brand new episodes, in which they are thrown back into the Whole General Mish Mash in a rattling adventure involving Viking Gods and Irish Confidence Tricksters, with our first glimpse of Eccentrica Gallumbits and a brief but memorable moment with The Ravenous Bugblatter Beast Of Traal.

In Letters of Note: Art, Shaun Usher celebrates extraordinary correspondence about art, from missives on the agony of being overlooked, the ecstasy of producing work that excites, to surprising sources of inspiration and rousing manifestos. A star-studded cast of readers brings the letters to life, with contributions from Sanjeev Bhaskar, Louise Brealey, Simon Callow, Crystal Clarke, Benedict Cumberbatch, Stephen Fry, Neil Gaiman, Toby Jones, Ferdinand Kingsley, Jude Law, Helen McCrory, Stephen Mangan, Clarke Peters, Juliet Stevenson, Mark Strong and Meera Syal.

In Letters of Note: Sex, Shaun Usher collects together some of the most noteworthy missives ever written on the subject, from euphemism-laden, flirtatious exchanges and desire-driven expressions of passion to sincere and thoughtful meditations on the meaning of sex. Includes letters by John Cheever, Sigmund Freud, Dorothy Day, James Joyce, Margaret Mead, Henry Miller, Anaïs Nin, Mae West and many others. 

A coming-of-age, coming-out cocktail with a twist of terror. Thirteen-year-old Franklin Robertson is trying to survive adolescence. His parents don’t understand him, his brother torments him, he has no friends, and he’s more interested in the high school quarterback than any girl. The one bright spot in his life is the glow of the black-and-white TV in his parents’ basement.....

Sometime Never tells the story of a chance meeting between Nancy Timperley and the mysterious David Voland, at the site of a past tragedy. Just why is Nancy there, and what does David know of her past and the tragic events of so many years ago?

Shaun Usher brings together fascinating correspondence about the universe beyond our planet, containing hopeful thoughts about the future of space travel, awestruck messages penned about the worlds beyond our own and celebrations of the human ingenuity that has facilitated our understanding of the cosmos. 

In Letters of Note: War, Shaun Usher brings together some of the most remarkable letters that encapsulate the human experience of war, from unimaginable feats of courage and compassion, to unthinkable episodes of violence and horror. A star-studded cast of readers brings the letters to life, with contributions from Sanjeev Bhaskar, Louise Brealey, Simon Callow, Benedict Cumberbatch, Adrian Edmondson, Stephen Fry, Neil Gaiman, Danny Huston, Toby Jones, Ferdinand Kingsley, Jude Law, Natascha McElhone, Clarke Peters, Juliet Stevenson and Mark Strong.