STEM and the City (second edition) is a book that takes the topics of the first edition and brings them into a post-Covid educational world. Urban public schools are under attack, and the American culture wars are re-emerging and finding their way back into public school curriculum. The authors remain true to their original premise: that American public schools are the greatest vehicle for democracy we have, and because of that they are struggling to re-invent themselves in an Ame...

This book examines American societal structures and institutions, beginning and ending with public education, and exposes how dysfunction and the investment in this dysfunction is an actual political agenda. The Investments focuses on the capitalization, privatization and dismantling of public education, and how other social systems such as for-profit prisons, healthcare (or the lack thereof), racism and current immigration issues, the investment in criminalizing people called “the other”,...

American science education is in trouble. As the United States continues to lag behind other nations in science achievement, the question is asked: how can we better get our students excited and inspired by science? This is the science teacher’s duty. The irony of the education profession is that some of the most important aspects of it are the hardest to measure and replicate. The things that matter most can be the hardest to quantify. Some teachers can know the different learning styles,...

Based on exciting discoveries in mathematics, genetics, psychology and sociology, ‘Connected’ is an innovative and fascinating exploration of how social networks operate.Think it’s all about who you know? It is. But not the way you think.Turns out your colleague’s husband’s sister can make you fat, even if you don’t know her. And a happy friend is more relevant to your happiness than a bigger income.Our connections – our friends, their friends, and even their friend...

**Get a science-based introduction to cultural and human evolution—and discover a blueprint for a better future—in this fascinating book for fans of Sapiens and Guns, Germs, and Steel.Who are we, and what makes us different from other species?**Playing on the phrase “a theory of everything” from physics, Michael Muthukrishna’s ambitious, original, and deeply hopeful book A Theory of Everyone draws on the most recent research from across t...

**'Mind expanding - this book will change your view of the world forever' Matthew SyedA blueprint for a better future.**Playing on the phrase "a theory of everything" in physics, Michael Muthukrishna offers a unified theory of human behavior, culture, and society - a theory of everyone.Drawing on the most recent research across the sciences, humanities, and the emerging field of cultural evolution, he paints a panoramic picture of who we are and exactly wha...

Bestselling author Michael Shermer explains how evolution shaped the modern economy—and why people are so irrational about moneyHow did we make the leap from ancient hunter-gatherers to modern consumers and traders? Why do people get so emotional and irrational about bottom-line financial and business decisions? Is the capitalist marketplace a sort of Darwinian organism, evolved through natural selection as the fittest way to satisfy our needs? In this eye-opening e...

The partisan divide in the United States has widened to a chasm. Legislators vote along party lines and rarely cross the aisle. Political polarization is personal, too—and it is making us miserable. Surveys show that Americans have become more fearful and hateful of supporters of the opposing political party and imagine that they hold much more extreme views than they actually do. We have cordoned ourselves off: we prefer to date and marry those with similar opinions and are less willing t...

Though the scientific community largely agrees that climate change is underway, debates about this issue remain fiercely polarized. These conversations have become a rhetorical contest, one where opposing sides try to achieve victory through playing on fear, distrust, and intolerance. At its heart, this split no longer concerns carbon dioxide, greenhouse gases, or climate modeling; rather, it is the product of contrasting, deeply entrenched worldviews. This brief examines what causes peopl...

A novel and scientific approach to creating transformative social change—and the surprising ways that each of us can help make a real difference.Changing the world is difficult. One reason is that the most important problems, like climate change, racism, and poverty, are structural. They emerge from our collective practices: laws, economies, history, culture, norms, and built environments. The dilemma is that there is no way to make structural change witho...

It is widely recognised that the foreign aid system - which today involves every country in the world - is in need of drastic change. But there are conflicting opinions as to what is needed. Some call for dramatic increases in resources, to meet long-overdue commitments, and to scale up what is already being done around the world. Others point to the flaws in aid, and bang the drum for cutting it altogether - and argue that the fate of poor and vulnerable people be best placed in the hands...

"[The anti-testing] movement now has a guidebook. . . . Kamenetz shows how fundamentally American it would be to move toward a more holistic system." -- New York Times Book ReviewThe Test is an essential and critically acclaimed book for any parent confounded by our national obsession with standardized testing. It recounts the shocking history and tempestuous politics of testing and borrows strategies from fields as diverse as games, neuroscience,...