Social Studies Study Guide

Welcome to an audio review of Free Will and Determinism. We will introduce and define the problem and issues surrounding Free Will and the relation to Determinism. Then we will discuss general developments in the sciences and the philosophical response, and look at wider views and perspectives, including some big questions for today and tomorrow.

The idea that journalism should be independent is foundational to its contemporary understandings and its role in democracy. But from what, exactly, should journalism be independent? This book traces the genealogy of the idea of journalistic autonomy, from the press freedom debates of the 17th century up to the digital, networked world of the 21st. Using an eclectic and thought-provoking theoretical framework, the authors analyze the deeper meanings and uses of the terms independence and autonomy in journalism.

Long before the current preoccupation with "fake news", American newspapers routinely ran stories that were not quite, strictly speaking, true. Today, a firm boundary between fact and fakery is a hallmark of journalistic practice, yet for many readers and publishers across more than three centuries, this distinction has seemed slippery or even irrelevant.

In this holistic history, Will Mari traces American journalism from the 1920s through the 1960s, a time of great change and controversy in the field; one in which journalism was produced in “news factories”, by workers with dozens of different roles, using the latest technology, and setting the stage for the emergence of the information economy. Told from an empathetic, omnivorous, ground-up point of view, The American Newsroom uses memoirs, trade journals, textbooks, and archival material to show how the newsroom expanded our ideas of what journalism could and should be.

Adam Grant is the youngest tenured professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania as well as the most highly rated professor at that university. Gant sets out to write a book about how to awaken the originality within yourself as well as inspiring originality in others. He sets out to give the listener tools to not only change the way the world is seen, but the tools to change the way in which we live our lives.

William I. Thomas was an innovative sociologist who wrote during the first half of the 20th century. Sex and Society is a collection of essays that explore the biological difference between the sexes, as well as the psychology and sociological aspects of sexuality. Thomas offered a progressive perspective on gender and sexuality, pushing the boundaries of scientific exploration with regard to human affairs. The AudioLearn version is preceded by a summary which includes a biography of the author and an exploration of the background of the work itself.

In the book, Gawande is able to build a narrative through the collection of experiences that leads to the conclusion that as we perceive ourselves as closer to death, our thoughts on mortality transform our goals and values to that of simpler things. Through a collection of insights, statistics and stories, Gawande argues on how we should focus less on prolonging life and more on how we can make it more meaningful. (Disclaimer: This is NOT the original book. If you’re looking for the original book, it is available from Amazon and Audible.)

Journalists today are inundated with data about which stories attract the most clicks, likes, comments, and shares. These metrics influence what stories are written, how news is promoted, and even which journalists get hired and fired. Do metrics make journalists more accountable to the public? Or are these data tools the contemporary equivalent of a stopwatch wielded by a factory boss, worsening newsroom working conditions and journalism quality?

Recounts the story of America’s last great newspaper war between the New York Daily News and the New York Post, as both papers’ long rivalry turned existential amid the rise of digital news. The story is told through the eyes of the reporters, or “runners”, and photographers who fought the war on the ground in cities across America.

Recounts the story of America’s last great newspaper war between the New York Daily News and the New York Post, as both papers’ long rivalry turned existential amid the rise of digital news. The story is told through the eyes of the reporters, or “runners,” and photographers who fought the war on the ground in cities across America.

In March of 1827 the nation's first black newspaper appeared in New York City - to counter attacks on blacks by the city's other papers. From this signal event, The African American Newspaper traces the evolution of the black newspaper - and its ultimate decline - for more than 160 years until the end of the 20th century.

Beginning with America’s first newspaper, investigative reporting has provided journalism with its most significant achievements and challenging controversies. In The Evolution of American Investigative Journalism, James L. Aucoin provides listeners with the first comprehensive history of investigative journalism.

Published in time for the fiftieth anniversary of the Stonewall uprising on June 28, 1969, Indecent Advances investigates how queer men navigated a society that criminalized them and displayed little compassion for the violence they endured. Polchin shows, with masterful insight, how this discrimination was ultimately transformed by activists to help shape the burgeoning gay rights movement in the years leading up to Stonewall.

One in six women is the victim of sexual assault. Using her own hard-won wisdom, author Jen Cross shows how to heal through journaling and personal writing. Writing Ourselves Whole is a collection of essays and creative writing encouragements for sexual trauma survivors who want to risk writing a different story. Each short chapter offers encouragement, experience, and exercises.

The Neville Goddard Lecture Series will be presented in a 12-volume set, 25 lectures per volume. This is Volume X.

This first volume of Best Sex Writing of the Year features a number of significant bloggers and some of the most important stories of the past two years. Alexandria Goddard is the blogger who made the important connections in the historic Steubenville Rape Case; Epiphora is the most renowned and saucy sex toy reviewer who has legions of dedicated followers; Lux Alptraum has recently sold the wildly successful Fleshbot and taken an editorial position at Nerve.

The romance novel has the strange distinction of being the most popular but least respected of literary genres. While it remains consistently dominant in bookstores and on best-seller lists, it is also widely dismissed by the critical community. Scholars have alleged that romance novels help create subservient readers, who are largely women, by confining heroines to stories that ignore issues other than love and marriage.

Thomas Henry Huxley was a prominent member of the scientific community and an early advocate of evolutionism. His work and public debates served to explore this idea and to usher in widespread acceptance, forming the foundation of our current understanding of biology and the place of man in the cosmos. Evolution and Ethics is a work which highlights the ethical and theological implications of the theory of evolution.

From the explosion of fake news to the challenges of the 24-hour news cycle, legendary journalist Bob Schieffer examines political journalism today and those who practice it. Based on interviews with over 40 media leaders, Schieffer provides an inside look at the changing role of media and asks whether today's citizens are more informed or just overwhelmed.

This year has seen unprecedented scrutiny of Rupert Murdoch’s empire in Britain. But what about in Australia, where he owns 70 per cent of the press? In Bad News, Robert Manne investigates Murdoch’s lead political voice here, the Australian newspaper, and how it shapes debate. Since 2002, under the editorship of Chris Mitchell, the Australian has come to see itself as judge, jury and would-be executioner of leaders and policies. Is this a dangerous case of power without responsibility?