**One of Nature's Best Books of the YearA May 2025 Next Big Idea Club Must-Read BookAn eye- (and ear-) opening investigation into how our ever-noisier world affects our health, our well-being, and our planet.**Early-morning jackhammering from construction down the block. The dull roar of jets flying overhead. Your office mates’ phone conversations. We are surrounded by noise, but it is a problem many of us shrug off once the immediate annoyance passes. Yet a...

“Our brains can’t help but look forward. We spend very little of our mental lives completely in the here and now. Indeed, the power of expectations is so pervasive that we may notice only when somebody pulls back the curtain to reveal a few of the cogs and levers responsible for the big show.”We all know expectations matter—in school, in sports, in the stock market. From a healing placebo to a run on the bank, hints of their self-fulfilling potential have been obse...

An eye- (and ear-) opening investigation into how the cacophony of our ever-noisier world affects our health, our well-being, and our planet.Early-morning jackhammering from construction down the block. The dull roar of jet overflights. Your officemate's phone conversations. Noise is everywhere, disrupting our sleep, ratcheting up our stress, destroying our concentration—yet it's a problem that many of us shrug off once the immediate annoyance passes. In Clamor...