Staying at home to hand out candy and want the peace of a candle-lit, tech free night? Want something fascinating to say about classic Halloween symbols and decor? Or maybe, when the night grows dark and the wind howls across moonlit streets…maybe you’ll snuggle up, cozy and safe, with a spellbinding, hair-raising piece of nonfiction.
Our Moon: How Earth’s Celestial Companion Transformed the Planet, Guided Evolution, and Made Us Who We Are
By Rebecca Boyle
As governments and billionaires aim to turn a profit from its resources, Rebecca Boyle shows us that the Moon belongs to everybody and nobody at all. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Rebecca Boyle, in the Next Big Idea App.
Devil’s Contract: A History of the Faustian Bargain
By Ed Simon
A historical tour of the Faustian bargain, from biblical themes to the Charlie Daniels Band, illustrating how the instinct for sacrificing our principles in exchange for power models all kinds of social ills, from colonialism to nuclear warfare, and even social media, climate change, and AI. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Ed Simon, in the Next Big Idea App.
The Ghost Forest: Racists, Radicals, and Real Estate in the California Redwoods
By Greg King
The definitive story of the California redwoods, their discovery and their exploitation, as told by an activist who fought to protect their existence against those determined to cut them down. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Greg King, in the Next Big Idea App.
The Devil’s Best Trick: How the Face of Evil Disappeared
By Randall Sullivan
This book is both a biography of the Devil and a look at how evil manifests in the world. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Randall Sullivan, in the Next Big Idea App.
The Infernal Machine: A True Story of Dynamite, Terror, and the Rise of the Modern Detective
By Steven Johnson
A sweeping account of the anarchists who terrorized the streets of New York and the detective duo who transformed policing to meet the threat—a tale of fanaticism, forensic science, and dynamite. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Steven Johnson, in the Next Big Idea App.
Ghost Particle: In Search of the Elusive and Mysterious Neutrino
By Alan Chodos & James Riordan
The fascinating story of science in pursuit of the ghostly, ubiquitous subatomic particle—the neutrino. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author James Riordan, 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, of breaking from a community of hate. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author R. Derek Black, in the Next Big Idea App.
Bite: An Incisive History of Teeth, from Hagfish to Humans
By Bill Schutt
A fascinating and sometimes creepy journey through the natural, scientific, and cultural history of teeth, arguing that tooth evolution has been the most important factor to vertebrate species’ success. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Bill Schutt, in the Next Big Idea App.
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.
Rat City: Overcrowding and Urban Derangement in the Rodent Universes of John B. Calhoun
By Jon Adams & Edmund Ramsden
How one experiment in rat behavior effected the re-making of society in the post-WWII boom years. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Jon Adams, 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!