Manufacturing jobs, once the backbone of the modern US economy, have declined as a share of GDP over recent decades, darkening opportunities for middle-class advancement. Similar trends have impacted export superpowers like China, Germany, Japan, Singapore, and South Korea. Driven by nostalgia for a bygone era, however, many countries have turned to reshoring and “industrial policies” to revive manufacturing employment. In this book, Robert Z. Lawrence argues that these efforts are unlikel...

The pursuit of nuclear weapons moved the scientist nearer to the role of combatant, placing special responsibilities on the scientific community to make critical moral decisions. However, as they developed atomic weapons, they could at the same time only warn military powers of their use. Advocates for nuclear power as a civilian energy resource but expressing misgivings about nuclear war put them at odds with uninformed branches of the military. The american government and the population ...

An examination of the performance of U.S. manufacturing in historical and global perspective indicates that, contrary to recent fears, international trade competition has not induced the deindustrialization of America. During the 1970s the U.S. manufacturing sector fared relatively well compared to its counterparts in other industrual countries and its own post-war track record. Most of its problems in the early 1980s are linked to domestic recession and the strong U.S. dollar. A number of...

How do the microscopic particles that make up our brains cause us to experience the tranquil beauty of a setting sun, the haunting strains of Mozart’s "Requiem," or the flush of romantic love?How, in short, can consciousness be explained?In this three-part series, neuroscientist Robert Lawrence Kuhn interviews 18 guest experts about the nuts and bolts of consciousness as well its illusory aspects. Dr. Kuhn engages with his experts on a sophisticated plane without alienating...

Follow the adventures and misadventures of kids from a small mining town in southeastern Arizona!

This inspirational book "is a road map to reach the places in the soul which can give life meaning" (Marian Wright Edelman, New York Times –bestselling author of T he Measure of Our Success )."The most valuable aspect of religion," writes Robert Lawrence Smith, "is that it provides us with a framework for living. I have always felt that the beauty and power of Quakerism is that i...

Have you ever wondered what’s “new” about New Atheism?Coined in 2006, the term New Atheism has been used to describe the shared sentiments of prominent 21st-century atheists - perhaps most notably the “Four Horsemen” and talk-show host Bill Maher. In popular perception, the term has also garnered a negative connotation - implying hostility towards religion at large.Now, in this series of 14 one-on-one interviews, you have the rare opportunity to listen in on conversations w...

In this provocative series, you’ll hear from luminaries such as Jaron Lanier, the computer scientist who popularized the term “virtual reality”; David Chalmers, whose 1996 book The Conscious Mind is widely considered an essential work on consciousness and the mind-body problem; the Venerable Dr. Yifa, a religious studies scholar and Buddhist nun; and Galen Strawson, the British analytic philosopher and longtime consultant editor for The Times Literary Supplement.I...

Join NIH Director Francis Collins in exploring the intersection of science and religion.For some, science and religion occupy separate, irreconcilable spheres. For others, they share a common goal: to explore big questions, discover meaning, and synthesize knowledge.In this captivating audio course, Dr. Robert Lawrence Kuhn, creator and host of the hit PBS series Closer to Truth, interrogates the relationship between religion and science with 13 ex...

Benny the Not-so-Busy Beaver is a heartwarming story that follows a lazy beaver named Benny who would rather play than prepare for the upcoming winter. By the end of the story, Benny learns a valuable lesson about friendships and hard work.

Join Pulitzer-Prize-winning, bestselling author Jared Diamond in asking some of the biggest questions of our existence.Do you create your own destiny? Or do you merely play whatever hand the universe has dealt you? This provocative audieries will stimulate your mind by raising these and other timeless questions about free will and determinism. As you analyze these competing philosophies, you will find that every answer raises fascinating new questions about moralit...

After Midnight is a collection of macabre stories and poems by Robert Lawrence that showcases his morbid imagination. In these fourteen tales, we see a blood-thirsty cougar ("The Hunter"), an infestation of flesh-eating bugs ("Joe's Last Letter"), a sinister serial killer ("Spirit in the Sky"), and many more. This is a horrifying compilation that is best read after midnight.