Scrolling through social media or watching the news, it seems like everyone is always arguing. While this may be true at any particular time, the U.S. presidential election being one month away certainly doesn’t help.
So if you want to engage with today’s polarizing issues, but without subjecting yourself to half-baked hot takes from anger-baiting trolls and talking heads, where do you turn? The ten eye-opening books below offer bold yet nuanced perspectives on society’s most pressing challenges.
Pixel Flesh: How Toxic Beauty Culture Harms Women
By Ellen Atlanta
A generation-defining exposé of toxic beauty culture―from Botox and Instagram filters to lip flips and editing apps―and the realities of coming of age online. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Ellen Atlanta, in the Next Big Idea App
Die Hot with a Vengeance: Essays on Vanity
By Sable Yong
A former Allure editor shares a hilarious essay collection about beauty and vanity, examining their stigmatization in the cultural zeitgeist and how to use both as tools for self-exploration, interpersonal connection, and cultural change. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Sable Yong, in the Next Big Idea App
The Money Trap: Lost Illusions Inside the Tech Bubble
By Alok Sama
This fascinating and humorous saga provides a unique insider perspective on the insanity of high finance and venture investing. Written with self-deprecating wit, unflinching honesty, and searing introspection, The Money Trap is ultimately a morality tale: In life, as in technology investing, more money isn’t always the answer. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Alok Sama, in the Next Big Idea App
Complicit: How Our Culture Enables Misbehaving Men
By Reah Bravo
A thoroughly researched and deeply personal examination of how women unintentionally condone workplace abuse in a post-#MeToo world—and what we can do to change things for the better. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Reah Bravo, in the Next Big Idea App
Should We Go Extinct?: A Philosophical Dilemma for Our Unbearable Times
By Todd May
Should we bring new humans into the world? Or would it be better off without us? A renowned philosopher and advisor to NBC’s The Good Place offers a thoughtful exploration of humanity’s future—or lack thereof. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Todd May, in the Next Big Idea App
Holding It Together: How Women Became America’s Safety Net
By Jessica Calarco
America runs on women—women who are tasked with holding society together at the seams and fixing it when things fall apart. In this tour de force, an acclaimed sociologist lays bare the devastating consequences of our status quo. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Jessica Calarco, in the Next Big Idea App
The Klansman’s Son: My Journey from White Nationalism to Antiracism
By R. Derek Black
From the former heir-apparent to white nationalism, The Klansman’s Son is an astonishing memoir of a childhood built on fear—and of breaking away from a community of hate. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author R. Derek Black, in the Next Big Idea App
The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage
By Jonathan Turley
The Indispensable Right reminds us that the U.S. remains a nation grappling with the implications of free expression and with the limits of our tolerance for the speech of others. Rather than a political crisis, this is a crisis of faith. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Jonathan Turley, in the Next Big Idea App
Magic Pill: The Extraordinary Benefits and Disturbing Risks of the New Weight-Loss Drugs
By Johann Hari
The bestselling author of Lost Connections and Stolen Focus offers a revelatory look at the new drugs transforming weight loss as we know it—from his personal experience on Ozempic to our society’s dysfunctional relationship with food, weight, and our bodies. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Johann Hari, in the Next Big Idea App
Take Back Your Brain: How a Sexist Society Gets in Your Head—and How to Get It Out
By Kara Loewentheil
A manual for every woman who wants to stop endless negative self-talk, create unshakable confidence, and jump-start a life of joy and power. It all begins with your thoughts. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Kara Loewentheil, in the Next Big Idea App
The Key Ideas in 15 Minutes
“If you are going to get anywhere in life, you have to read a lot of books,” Roald Dahl once famously said. The only trouble is, reading even one book from cover to cover takes hours—and you may not have many hours to spare.
But imagine for a moment: What if you could read a groundbreaking new book every day? Or even better, what if you could invite a world-renowned thinker into your earbuds, where they personally describe the 5 key takeaways from their work in just 15 minutes?
With the Next Big Idea App, we’ve turned this fantasy into a reality. We partnered with hundreds of acclaimed authors to create “Book Bites,” short audio summaries of the latest nonfiction that are prepared and read aloud by the authors themselves. Discover cutting-edge leadership skills, productivity hacks, the science of happiness and well-being, and much more—all in the time it takes to drive to work or walk the dog.
Go Deeper with a Next Big Idea Club Membership
The Next Big Idea App is free for anyone to try—and if you love it, we invite you to become an official member of the Next Big Idea Club. Membership grants you unlimited access to Book Bites and unlocks early-release, ad-free episodes of our LinkedIn-partnered podcast. You also gain entry to our private online discussion group, where you can talk big ideas with fellow club members and join exclusive live Q&A sessions with featured authors.
For a more focused learning experience, we recommend a Hardcover or eBook Membership. Every few months, legendary authors and club curators Malcolm Gladwell, Susan Cain, Adam Grant, and Daniel Pink select two new nonfiction books as the must-reads of the season. We then send hardcover copies straight to your doorstep, or eBook versions to your favorite digital device. We also collaborate with the authors of selected books to produce original reading guides and premium video e-courses, 50-minute master classes that take you step by step through their most life-changing ideas. And yes, it’s all available through the Next Big Idea App.
Learn Faster, from the World’s Leading Thinkers
Whether you prefer to read, listen, or watch, the Next Big Idea is here to help you work smarter and live better. Wake up with an always-fresh Idea of the Day, the perfect shot of inspiration to go with your morning coffee. Then dive into one of our Challenges, hand-picked collections of Book Bites that form crash courses in subjects like communication, motivation, and career acceleration. Later, watch the playback of an interview with U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, Stanford psychologist Jennifer Eberhardt, or philosopher John Kaag. And be sure to check the “Events” tab in the app, so that you can join an upcoming live Q&A and personally chat with the next featured thought leader.
If you’re hoping to grow as a person or as a professional, we hope you’ll join us and tens of thousands of others who enjoy the Next Big Idea. Get started by downloading the app today!
