Michael David Axtell has narrated 43 audiobooks on Listento.it by 48 authors, with an average listener rating of 4.4★ across 750 ratings. The most-rated is Ninth House.

A Locus Award finalist! "Bardugo’s latest is a must-listen, introducing a haunting, Yale-based occult world populated with gloriously complicated characters.... A win-win-win, honestly." (Paste, best audiobooks of 2019) From number one New York Times best-selling author Leigh Bardugo comes a mesmerizing tale of power, privilege, and dark magic set among the Ivy League elite. This program includes a bonus conversation with the author. Galaxy "Alex" Stern is the most unlikely member of Yale’s freshman class. Raised in the Los Angeles hinterlands by a hippie mom, Alex dropped out of school early and into a world of shady drug-dealer boyfriends, dead-end jobs, and much, much worse. In fact, by age 20, she is the sole survivor of a horrific, unsolved multiple homicide. Some might say she’s thrown her life away. But at her hospital bed, Alex is offered a second chance: to attend one of the world’s most prestigious universities on a full ride. What’s the catch, and why her? Still searching for answers, Alex arrives in New Haven tasked by her mysterious benefactors with monitoring the activities of Yale’s secret societies. Their eight windowless "tombs" are the well-known haunts of the rich and powerful, from high-ranking politicos to Wall Street’s biggest players. But their occult activities are more sinister and more extraordinary than any paranoid imagination might conceive. They tamper with forbidden magic. They raise the dead. And, sometimes, they prey on the living. Ninth House is the long-awaited adult debut by the beloved author of Shadow and Bone and Six of Crows. Leigh Bardugo will take her place alongside Lev Grossman and Deborah Harkness as one of the finest practitioners of literary fantasy writing today. A Macmillan Audio production from Flatiron Books "Ninth House is the best fantasy novel I’ve read in years, because it’s about real people. Bardugo’s imaginative reach is brilliant, and this story - full of shocks and twists - is impossible to put down." (Stephen King) "Ninth House is one of the best fantasy novels I’ve read in years. This book is brilliant, funny, raw and utterly magnificent - it's a portal to a world you’ll never want to leave." (Lev Grossman, New York Times best-selling author of The Magicians) "In this mesmerizing novel, Leigh Bardugo introduces us to Alex, a high-school dropout who gets a free ride to Yale because of a unique talent. Bardugo's New Haven is plausible and frightening, and I was one rapt reader." (Charlaine Harris, best-selling author of the True Blood series)
©2019 Leigh Bardugo (P)2019 Macmillan Audio

When the Colonial Marines set out after their deadliest prey, the Xenomorphs, it's what Corporal Hicks calls a bug hunt - kill or be killed. Here are eighteen all-new stories of such "close encounters", written by many of today's most extraordinary authors. Set during the events of all four Alien films, sending the Marines to alien worlds, to derelict space settlements, and into the nests of the universe's most dangerous monsters, these adventures are guaranteed to send the blood racing - one way or another. Full list of authors include Paul Kupperberg, Dan Abnett, Rachel Caine, Yvonne Navarro, Christopher Golden, Matt Forbeck, Ray Garton, Weston Ochse, David Farland, Larry Correia, Keith R.A. DeCandido, Briane Keene, Heather Graham, Mike Resnick, Marina J. Lostetter, Jonathan Mayberry, James A. Moore, Scott Sigler, and Tim Lebbon. Full cast of narrators include James Anderson Foster, Eric G. Dove, R. C. Bray, Chris Andrew Ciulla, Nicol Zanzarella, James Patrick Cronin, Suzanne Elise Freeman, Andrew Eiden, Michael David Axtell, Grover Gardner, Priya Ayyar, Peter Berkrot, Emily Sutton-Smith, Hillary Huber, Keith Szarabajka, Greg Tremblay, Kevin Kenerly, and Amy Landon.
©2017 Jonathan Mayberry (P)2018 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

In the compelling popular science tradition of Sapiens and Guns, Germs, and Steel, a groundbreaking and eye-opening exploration that applies evolutionary science to provide a new perspective on human psychology, revealing how major challenges from our past have shaped some of the most fundamental aspects of our being. The most fundamental aspects of our lives - from leadership and innovation to aggression and happiness - were permanently altered by the "social leap" our ancestors made from the rain forest to the Savannah. Their struggle to survive on the open grasslands required a shift from individualism to a new form of collectivism, which forever altered the way our mind works. It changed the way we fight and our proclivity to make peace, it changed the way we lead and the way we follow, it made us innovative but not inventive, it created a new kind of social intelligence, and it led to new sources of life satisfaction. In The Social Leap, William von Hippel lays out this revolutionary hypothesis, tracing human development through three critical evolutionary inflection points to explain how events in our distant past shape our lives today. From the mundane, such as why we exaggerate, to the surprising, such as why we believe our own lies and why fame and fortune are as likely to bring misery as happiness, the implications are far-reaching and extraordinary. Blending anthropology, biology, history, and psychology with evolutionary science, The Social Leap is a fresh and provocative look at our species that provides new clues about who we are, what makes us happy, and how to use this knowledge to improve our lives.
©2018 William von Hippel (P)2018 HarperCollins Publishers

Two renowned investment advisors and authors of the best seller The Great Reckoning bring to light both currents of disaster and the potential for prosperity and renewal in the face of radical changes in human history as we move into the next century. The Sovereign Individual details strategies necessary for adapting financially to the next phase of Western civilization.
Few observers of the late-20th century have their fingers so presciently on the pulse of the global political and economic realignment ushering in the new millennium as do James Dale Davidson and Lord William Rees-Mogg. Their bold prediction of disaster on Wall Street in Blood in the Streets was borne out by Black Tuesday. In their ensuing best sellar, The Great Reckoning, published just weeks before the coup attempt against Gorbachev, they analyzed the pending collapse of the Soviet Union and foretold the civil war in Yugoslavia and other events that have proved to be among the most searing developments of the past few years.
In The Sovereign Individual, Davidson and Rees-Mogg explore the greatest economic and political transition in centuries - the shift from an industrial to an information-based society. This transition, which they have termed "the fourth stage of human society", will liberate individuals as never before, irrevocably altering the power of government. This outstanding book will replace false hopes and fictions with new understanding and clarified values.
©1999 James Dale Davidson and Lord William Rees-Mogg (P)2019 Simon & Schuster

A photographer captured in Syria and imprisoned for seven months recounts his story and how he became the first American ever to escape al-Qaeda. "What is your name?" asked General Mohammad. "Matthew," I said. I had stopped saying Matt a while ago because it means "dead" in Arabic. On New Year's Eve in 2012, Matthew Schrier was headed home from Syria, where he'd been photographing the intense combat of the country's civil war. Just 45 minutes from the safety of the Turkish border, he was taken prisoner by the al-Nusra Front, an organization the world would come to know as the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda. Over the next seven months he would endure torture and near starvation in six brutal terrorist prisons. He would face a daily struggle just to survive. And, eventually, he would escape. In this gripping, raw, and surprisingly funny memoir, Schrier details the horrifying and frequently surreal experience of being a slight, wisecracking Jewish guy held captive by the world's most violent Islamic extremists. Managing to keep his heritage a secret, Schrier used humor to develop relationships with his captors - and to keep himself sane during the long months of captivity. The Dawn Prayer (or How to Survive in a Secret Syrian Terrorist Prison) is a tale of patriotism and unimaginable bleakness shot through with light, of despair and friendship, sacrifice and betrayal, in a setting of bombed-out buildings and shifting alliances. It's the story of the first Westerner to escape al-Qaeda - not a battle-hardened soldier, but an ordinary New Yorker who figured out how to set his escape plan in motion from a scene in Jurassic Park. From the prisoners' fiercely competitive hacky-sack games and volleyball tournaments (played using a ball made of shredded orange peels and a shoelace) to his own truly nail-biting breakout, Matthew Schrier's story is unforgettable - and one you won't want to miss.
©2018 Matthew Schrier (P)2018 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

How can you lose dramatic weight, ease chronic conditions, and stay healthier longer? Flip the switch on your metabolism with intermittent fasting, protein cycling, and keto! Within each of us is an ancient mechanism that eliminates toxic materials, initiates fat burning, and protects cells from becoming dysfunctional - or turning cancerous. It’s called autophagy, and when it’s turned on, the complex operation not only can slow down the aging process, it can optimize biological function as a whole, helping to stave off all manner of diseases and affording us the healthy life spans we never thought possible. It’s the body’s ultimate switch to life. So how can we positively activate this switch? How frequently should we fast and for how long? Which foods dial up autophagy or, conversely, turn it down? How much exercise and what types are recommended? What’s the sweet spot between intermittent fasting, protein cycling, and ketogenic eating? Backed by a wealth of scientific data and featuring a gallery of guidelines to follow for lasting results, The Switch decodes the science of autophagy and teaches you how to control it and maximize its profound impact.
©2019 James Clement (P)2019 Simon & Schuster Audio

Julie and James settle into a house in a small town outside the city where they met. The move - prompted by James' penchant for gambling, his inability to keep his impulses in check - is quick and seamless; both Julie and James are happy to leave behind their usual haunts and start afresh. But this house, which sits between lake and forest, has plans for the unsuspecting couple. As Julie and James try to settle into their home and their relationship, the house and its surrounding terrain become the locus of increasingly strange happenings. The architecture - claustrophobic, riddled with hidden rooms within rooms - becomes unrecognizable, decaying before their eyes. Stains are animated on the wall - contracting, expanding - and map themselves onto Julie's body in the form of bruises; mold spores taint the water that James pours from the sink. Together the couple embark on a panicked search for the source of their mutual torment, a journey that mires them in the history of their peculiar neighbors and the mysterious residents who lived in the house before Julie and James. Written in creepy, potent prose, The Grip of It is an enthralling, psychologically intense novel that deals in questions of home: how we make it and how it in turn makes us, inhabiting the bodies and the relationships we cherish.
©2017 Jac Jemc (P)2017 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Following on her wonderfully received first novel, Another Place You've Never Been, called "mesmerizing", "powerful", and "gorgeous" by critics all over the country, Rebecca Kauffman returns with Mikey Callahan, a 30-year-old who is suffering from the clouded vision of macular degeneration. He struggles to establish human connections - even his emotional life is a blur. As the novel begins, he is reconnecting with "The Gunners", his group of childhood friends, after one of their members has committed suicide. Sally had distanced herself from all of them before ending her life, and she died harboring secrets about the group and its individuals. Mikey especially needs to confront dark secrets about his own past and his father. How much of this darkness accounts for the emotional stupor Mikey is suffering from as he reaches his maturity? And can The Gunners, prompted by Sally's death, find their way to a new day? The core of this adventure, made by Mikey, Alice, Lynn, Jimmy, and Sam, becomes a search for the core of truth, friendship, and forgiveness. A quietly startling, beautiful book, The Gunners engages us with vividly unforgettable characters, and advances Rebecca Kauffman's place as one of the most important young writers of her generation.
©2018 Rebecca Kauffman (P)2018 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

How can you maximize success - and limit failure? Wall Street Journal reporter Ben Cohen brilliantly investigates the mystery and science of streaks. "A feast for anyone interested in the secrets of excellence." (Andre Agassi) For decades, statisticians, social scientists, psychologists, and economists (among them Nobel Prize winners) have spent massive amounts of precious time thinking about whether streaks actually exist. After all, a substantial number of decisions that we make in our everyday lives are quietly rooted in this one question: If something happened before, will it happen again? Is there such a thing as being in the zone? Can someone have a "hot hand"? Or is it simply a case of seeing patterns in randomness? Or, if streaks are possible, where can they be found? In The Hot Hand, Wall Street Journal reporter Ben Cohen offers an unfailingly entertaining and provocative investigation into these questions. He begins with how a $35,000 fine and a wild night in New York revived a debate about the existence of streaks that was several generations in the making. We learn how the ability to recognize and then bet against streaks turned a business school dropout named David Booth into a billionaire, and how the subconscious nature of streak-related bias can make the difference between life and death for asylum seekers. We see how previously unrecognized streaks hidden amidst archival data helped solve one of the most haunting mysteries of the 20th century, the disappearance of Raoul Wallenberg. Cohen also exposes how streak-related incentives can be manipulated, from the five-syllable word that helped break arcade profit records to an arc of black paint that allowed Stephen Curry to transform from future junior high coach into the greatest three-point shooter in NBA history. Crucially, Cohen also explores why false recognition of nonexistent streaks can have cataclysmic results, particularly if you are a sugar beet farmer or the sort of gambler who likes to switch to black on the ninth spin of the roulette wheel. Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2020 Benjamin Cohen (P)2020 HarperAudio

Eleven essential classics in one volume This volume is the definitive collection of the best science fiction novellas published between 1929 and 1964, containing 11 great classics. No anthology better captures the birth of science fiction as a literary field. Published in 1973 to honor stories that had appeared before the institution of the Nebula Awards, The Science Fiction Hall of Fame introduced tens of thousands of young readers to the wonders of science fiction and was a favorite of libraries across the country. This volume contains the following: Introduction by Ben Bova Call Me Joe by Poul Anderson Who Goes There? by John W. Campbell Jr. (as Don A. Stuart) Nerves by Lester del Rey Universe by Robert A. Heinlein The Marching Morons by C. M. Kornbluth Vintage Season by Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore (as Lawrence O'Donnell) And Then There Were None by Eric Frank Russell The Ballad of Lost C'Mell by Cordwainer Smith Baby Is Three by Theodore Sturgeon The Time Machine by H. G. Wells With Folded Hands by Jack Williamson
©2018 Blackstone Audio, Inc. (P)2018 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

A wilderness so bare, the sight of a cactus is cause for rejoicing. A place where each step is a challenge to stay alive, a growing summons to howl in pain or perish from thirst. On his shoulders, he carries a heavy rifle that digs into his burned flesh. Worse still is his load of loot. In mass, it amounts to dozens of pounds. But in worth, it is weightier than a palace. Only the luckiest of geniuses could manage to escape a dangerous wilderness, where he is hunted with every step, with such riches on his back. Luck, of course, is something Cheater has plenty of. Genius, though, is less clear. He watches his haul grow with each new place he visits, adding to the physical and emotional strain of his pilgrimage. He begins believing his fate is ruled by a devil who pours wealth upon him that he cannot hope to keep, aiming that Cheater’s greed should weigh him down to death, and to the loss of all. Of course, in a land this hellish, it is best not to speak of the devil.
©2020 Arthur Stone (P)2020 Podium Audio

Targets come in all kinds. Some fall prey to those holding a gun for the first time. Others cannot be defeated even by the most experienced shooters in the world, unless their luck comes to save the day. Cheater’s accuracy is unparalleled, and Lady Luck is on his side. He has all the marks of a champion, and champions never miss. The true aim of his heart, though, is not one that can be hit with a single fortunate shot. No, she is far to the west, beyond several of the Continent’s most dangerous locations: the bleak boundaries dividing regions from one another. Solo veteran immunes are little more than clumsy chunks of meat in such places, never mind brash newcomers like Cheater. But Cheater’s not going solo. He has an experienced friend. But loyalty is hard to verify, and you never know when a friend might disown you simply for failing to complete his task by its deadline.
©2019 Arthur Stone (P)2020 Podium Audio

The System is generous. Not with presents, but with predicaments. Cheater now has a straightforward goal, or so it seems to him. To everyone else, his endeavor sounds suicidal for a high-level veteran, never mind a newcomer whose intellect is still shackled by the System. Cheater sees only one way forward: develop his skills, conquer monsters, and become stronger, faster, wiser, and more fearsome with each passing day. Until he makes progress on his own capabilities, he cannot hope to achieve anything else. But the System has intentions of its own. Namely, to hit Cheater every step of the way with unforeseen, unpleasant refutations of his noble plans.
©2018 Arthur Stone (P)2020 Podium Audio

Named a Best Book of the Year by The New York Times Nominated for the 2021 Edgar Allan Poe Award From a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter from the smallest newspaper ever to win the prize for investigative reporting, an urgent, riveting, and heartbreaking investigation into the corporate and governmental greed that pumped millions of pain pills into small Appalachian towns, decimating communities. Death in Mud Lick is the story of a pharmacy in Kermit, West Virginia, that distributed 12 million opioid pain pills in three years to a town with a population of 382 people - and of one woman, desperate for justice, after losing her brother to overdose. Debbie Preece’s fight for accountability for her brother’s death took her well beyond the Sav-Rite Pharmacy in coal country, ultimately leading to three of the biggest drug wholesalers in the country. She was joined by a crusading lawyer and by local journalist, Eric Eyre, who uncovered a massive opioid pill-dumping scandal that shook the foundation of America’s largest drug companies - and won him a Pulitzer Prize. Part Erin Brockovich, part Spotlight, Death in Mud Lick details the clandestine meetings with whistleblowers; a court fight to unseal filings that the drug distributors tried to keep hidden, a push to secure the DEA pill-shipment data, and the fallout after Eyre’s local paper, the Gazette-Mail, the smallest newspaper ever to win a Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting, broke the story. Eyre follows the opioid shipments into individual counties, pharmacies, and homes in West Virginia and explains how they hooked thousands on prescription drugs - resulting in the highest overdose rates in the country. But despite the tragedy, there is also hope as citizens banded together to create positive change - and won. A work of deep reporting and personal conviction, Eric Eyre’s intimate portrayal of a national public health crisis illuminates the shocking pattern of corporate greed and its repercussions for the citizens of West Virginia - and the nation - to this day.
©2020 Eric Eyre (P)2020 Simon & Schuster Audio

Best-selling historian Andrew Nagorski “brings keen psychological insights into the world leaders involved” (Booklist) during 1941, the critical year in World War II when Hitler’s miscalculations and policy of terror propelled Churchill, FDR, and Stalin into a powerful new alliance that defeated Nazi Germany. In early 1941, Hitler’s armies ruled most of Europe. Churchill’s Britain was an isolated holdout against the Nazi tide, but German bombers were attacking its cities, and German U-boats were attacking its ships. Stalin was observing the terms of the Nazi-Soviet Pact, and Roosevelt was vowing to keep the US out of the war. Hitler was confident his aim of total victory was within reach. But by the end of 1941, all that changed. Hitler had repeatedly gambled on escalation and lost: by invading the Soviet Union and committing a series of disastrous military blunders; by making mass murder and terror his weapons of choice; and by rushing to declare war on the US after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor. Britain emerged with two powerful new allies - Russia and the US. By then, Germany was doomed to defeat. Nagorski illuminates the actions of the major characters of this pivotal year as never before. The Year Germany Lost the War is a stunning and "entertaining" (The Wall Street Journal) examination of unbridled megalomania versus determined leadership. It also reveals how 1941 set the Holocaust in motion and presaged the postwar division of Europe, triggering the Cold War. The year 1941 was “the year that shaped not only the conflict of the hour but the course of our lives - even now” (New York Times best-selling author Jon Meacham). PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2019 Andrew Nagorski (P)2019 Simon & Schuster

From FOX & Friends Weekend cohost Pete Hegseth comes a collection of inspiring stories from 15 of America’s greatest heroes - highly decorated Navy SEALs, Army Rangers, marines, Purple Heart recipients, combat pilots, a Medal of Honor recipient, and more - based on FOX Nation’s hit show of the same name. After three Army deployments - earning two Bronze Stars and a Combat Infantryman’s Badge - Pete Hegseth knows what it takes to be a modern warrior. In Modern Warriors, he presents candid, unfiltered conversations with fellow modern warriors and digs for real answers to key questions like: What inspired them to serve? What is their legacy? What does sacrifice really mean to them? How do they handle loss? And what can civilians learn from this latest generation of veterans? From the skies over Afghanistan to the seas of the Mediterranean to the treacherous streets of Iraq, these brave men and women take you inside the firefight, sharing the harrowing realities of war. Hegseth uses their experiences to facilitate conversations about the raw truths of combat, including the difficulties of transitioning back home, while also celebrating these soldiers’ contributions to preserving our nation’s most precious gift - freedom. These stories provide an unvarnished representation of battlefield leadership, military morale, and the strain of war. This book is the perfect for anyone who wants to know what it means, and what it truly takes, to be a patriot. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2020 Pete Hegseth (P)2020 HarperCollins Publishers

After a desperate escape from the Blue Stone Island, Skree and his faithful companion Zuka must find a new home for Priestess and the last of the Kobold race. Joining the fiery Captain Fenna Lis and her no-nonsense first mate Hawkins, Skree finds plenty of opportunities to grow in skill and strength. With few options available to him, Skree must provide a haven for his friends and the last survivors of the Kobold race. Luckily, Captain Fenna knows just the right guy to solve their problem, but it won't be easy. Or cheap. Will Skree and Priestess be able to find a home of their own, and if they do, will they be able to protect it from harm in the harsh world of Raiya? Who are the mysterious servants of Abrenacht and why do they want him dead? Can Skree overcome these challenges, level up and beat the game so he can return to his own world? But a bigger question lurks at the back of his mind: Does he even want to go home?
©2019 Russell Wilbinski (P)2020 Podium Audio

He hid the old pencil-drawn map for 40 years. The guards never found it. After 40 years in San Quentin, Luke Palmer leaves with a state-issued suit, $100 dollars to buy a bus ticket, and a map that will lead to a promise and into the heart of a dark forest. College graduate student Molly Monroe is about to release rare butterflies not far from where the FBI used 4,000 bullets in a shootout to kill Ma Barker and one of her gangster sons in 1935. Molly snaps a picture that will frame something she never sees coming. Sean O'Brien does see something -- a predator. Between the sea of cars in a Walmart parking lot. Walking quickly. Stalking two women. As O'Brien tries to prevent the abduction, he opens the door to a new relationship. And he opens a dark door to a horror that is secluded within the forest. He follows veiled tracks that lead him farther into the woods where an evil from the past intersects with a frightening presence to form a volatile trap with only one way out.
©2011 Tom Lowe (P)2014 TomLowe

From respected journalist, professor, and founder of the Writer's Symposium by the Sea, an audiobook that demystifies the art and science of interviewing, in the vein of On Writing Well or How to Read Literature like a Professor. “Dean Nelson is one of the best interviewers around.” (Anne Lamott) Interviewing is the single most important way journalists (and doctors, lawyers, social workers, teachers, human resources staff, and really, all of us) get information. Yet to many, the perfect interview feels more like luck than skill - a rare confluence of rapport, topic, and timing. But the thing is, great interviews aren’t the result of serendipity and intuition, but rather the result of careful planning and good journalistic habits. And Dean Nelson is here to show you how to nail the perfect interview every time. Drawing on 40 years of award-winning journalism and his experience as the founder and host of the Writer’s Symposium by the Sea, Nelson walks listeners through each step of the journey from deciding whom to interview and structuring questions, to the nitty-gritty of how to use a recording device and effective note-taking strategies, to the ethical dilemmas of interviewing people you love (and loathe). He also includes case studies of famous interviews to show listeners how these principles play out in real time. Chock-full of comprehensive, time-tested, gold-standard advice, Talk to Me is an indispensable guide to the subtle art of the interview guaranteed to afford listeners with the skills and confidence they need the next time they say, “talk to me.”
©2019 Dean Nelson (P)2019 HarperCollins Publishers

A crash landing leads to a crash course in survival...and passion. En route to a tropical paradise, overworked and dedicated Aimee Myller is ready to begin her new life. But when the plane defects, the pilot, sexy Tristan Bress, needs to make an emergency landing in the heart of the Amazon rainforest. Aimee Myller's dreams of a fairytale getaway in Brazil come crashing right down with the plane. Forced to fend for themselves with no civilization in sight, together Tristan and Aimee begin to forage for food and shelter. As they fight for survival, one thing becomes clear: Passion and desire grow faster than vegetation in the rainforest. As they get closer and begin to rely on one another, secrets are revealed. Secrets that neither of them can ignore. Secrets that could destroy them both.
©2015 Layla Hagen (P)2015 Audible, Inc.