Antibiotics: one of humanity’s greatest achievements – but invented by microbes.An epic narrative of discovery and innovation – but also of extraction and exploitation.This is the spellbinding story of how we have burned through the fossil fuels of medicine.Since their advent, antibiotics have saved millions of lives, marking one of the greatest medical advances in our history.Dangerous Miracleweaves together the grand arc of the evolution of antibiotics over millions of year...
When does a bandit become a monarch? When does a gang become a government? And is organised crime at the heart of every modern state?On a thrilling whistle-stop tour of how the world's criminal underbelly has shaped state-making, capitalism, globalisation and all forms of so-called legitimate power, Homo Criminalis shows the emergence of modern society through the evolution of the underworld and its crimes. From Chinese banditry and eighteenth-century English tea smuggling to...
Is it true that orange juice can help ward off colds? How does age affect our immune system? Is mental health really connected to inflammation?We are surrounded by bold claims and quick fixes for ‘boosting’ our immune health. But one thing the science is clear on is that everyone’s immune system is completely unique – what is good for one person may not work well for another. So how do we separate the bogus claims from the useful advice? And given its sheer complexity, is the...
The riveting account of Nvidia, the tech company that has exploded in value for its artificial intelligence computing hardware, and Jensen Huang, Nvidia’s charismatic, uncompromising CEO.In June of 2024, spurred by the frenzy of investment following the launch of ChatGPT, and thirty-one years after its founding in a Denny’s restaurant, Nvidia became the most-valuable corporation on Earth. In The Thinking Machine, acclaimed journalist Stephen Witt recounts the unlikely story o...
A smart, incisive take-down of the bogus claims being made about so-called ‘artificial intelligence’, exposing the real harm these technologies do to our jobs, health, society and environment, who stands to gain from them, and how to fight back.Is AI going to take over the world? Have scientists created an artificial lifeform that can think on its own? Is it going to replace all our jobs, even creative ones, like doctors, teachers and care-workers? Are we about to enter an ag...
Once upon a time, the most brilliant engineering minds once collaborated with government to advance world-changing technologies. Their efforts secured the West’s dominance and kept its people safe. Now, our relationship with new technologies has become shallow—and the repercussions could not be more perilous. Today, engineers and founders build photo-sharing apps and marketing algorithms, furthering the ambitions of whoever can exploit them. This complacency has spread into a...
Drawing on decades of research, The Extinction of Experience is a philosophical defence of what makes us human – and a powerful, urgent call to reclaim ourselves in a digital world. Human experiences are disappearing.Social media, gaming and dating apps have usurped in-person interaction; handwriting is no longer prioritised in schools; and emotion is sooner expressed through likes and emojis than face-to-face conversations. With headphones in and eyes trained on our phones, ...
