Outrage Machine
How Tech Amplifies Discontent, Disrupts Democracy—And What We Can Do About It
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wish list failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Audible Standard 1-month free trial
Buy Now for $40.12
-
Narrated by:
-
Justin Price
-
Bolton Marsh
-
Tobias Rose-Stockwell
-
Written by:
-
Tobias Rose-Stockwell
About this listen
The original internet was not designed to make us upset, distracted, confused, and outraged. But something unexpected happened at the turn of the last decade, when a handful of small features were quietly launched at social media companies with little fanfare. Together, they triggered a cascading set of dramatic changes to how media, politics, and society itself operate—inadvertently creating an Outrage Machine we cannot ignore.
Author, designer, and media researcher Tobias Rose-Stockwell shares the defining shifts caused by these technologies, and how they have ignited a society-wide crisis of trust. Drawing from cutting-edge research and vivid personal anecdotes, Rose-Stockwell illustrates how social media has bound us to an unprecedented system of public performance, training us to react rather than reflect, and attack rather than debate.
Outrage Machine reveals the triggers and tactics used to exploit our anger, unpacking how these tools hack our deep tribal instincts and psychological vulnerabilities, and how they have become opportunistic platforms for authoritarians and a threat to democratic norms everywhere.
But this book is not just about the problem. In a story spanning continents and generations, Rose-Stockwell explores how every new media technology disrupts our ability to make sense of the world, from the printing press to the telegraph, from radio to television. Outrage Machine situates social media within a historical cycle of confusion, violence, and emerging tolerance. Using clear language and powerful illustrations, this book reveals the magnitude of the challenges we face, while offering realistic solutions and a promising pathway out.
You may also enjoy...
-
The Master Algorithm
- How the Quest for the Ultimate Learning Machine Will Remake Our World
- Written by: Pedro Domingos
- Narrated by: Mel Foster
- Length: 13 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall48
-
Performance42
-
Story42
Under the aegis of machine learning in our data-driven machine age, computers are programming themselves and learning about - and solving - an extraordinary range of problems, from the mundane to the most daunting. Today it is machine learning programs that enable Amazon and Netflix to predict what users will like, Apple to power Siri's ability to understand voices, and Google to pilot cars.
-
-
Worth the read for beginners
- By Bogdan on 2019-05-24
Written by: Pedro Domingos
-
Spellbound
- Modern Science, Ancient Magic, and the Hidden Potential of the Unconscious Mind
- Written by: Daniel Z. Lieberman MD
- Narrated by: Tom Parks
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall7
-
Performance6
-
Story6
The conscious mind, the part of your mental life you experience directly, is responsible for only a tiny sliver of what science says is going on inside your brain. Most of what you experience, your moods, and the things you like or dislike—most of who you are—comes from a much more mysterious part of your mind: the unconscious. And to really understand the influences of the unconscious, says psychiatrist Daniel Z. Liberman, coauthor of The Molecule of More, we need to look to something often considered science’s alter ego: magic.
-
-
Informative and Engaging
- By Shaulaine Choo on 2024-03-25
Written by: Daniel Z. Lieberman MD
-
An Anatomy of Pain
- How the Body and the Mind Experience and Endure Physical Suffering
- Written by: Abdul-Ghaaliq Lalkhen
- Narrated by: Russell Bentley
- Length: 9 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4
-
Performance4
-
Story4
An illuminating, authoritative, and in-depth examination of the fascinating science behind pain that “combines a career’s worth of expertise with a long history of pain treatment” (GQ)—from one of the internationally leading doctors in pain management. Pain is a universal human...
-
-
Excellent Tool for anyone dealing with pain
- By Sher on 2021-05-25
Written by: Abdul-Ghaaliq Lalkhen
-
The Dinosaur Artist
- Obsession, Betrayal, and the Quest for Earth's Ultimate Trophy
- Written by: Paige Williams
- Narrated by: Ellen Archer
- Length: 12 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4
-
Performance4
-
Story4
In this 2018 New York Times Notable Book,Paige Williams "does for fossils what Susan Orlean did for orchids" (Book Riot) in her account of one Florida man's attempt to sell a dinosaur skeleton from Mongolia--a story "steeped in natural history, human nature, commerce, crime, science, and...
Written by: Paige Williams
-
Power Failure
- The Rise and Fall of an American Icon
- Written by: William D. Cohan
- Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
- Length: 28 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4
-
Performance3
-
Story3
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER The New Yorker Best Books of 2022 Financial Times Best Books of 2022 The Economist Best Books of 2022 The dramatic rise—and unimaginable fall—of America's most iconic corporation by New York Times bestselling author and pre-eminent financial journalist...
-
-
Time to rewatch 30 Rock
- By Kendra on 2024-11-11
Written by: William D. Cohan
-
Overcoming Anticipatory Anxiety
- A CBT Guide for Moving Past Chronic Indecisiveness, Avoidance, and Catastrophic Thinking
- Written by: Sally M. Winston PsyD, Martin N. Seif PhD
- Narrated by: Linda Jones
- Length: 6 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall8
-
Performance6
-
Story6
From subtle avoidance behaviors to the most nightmarish terrors, anticipatory anxiety is the engine that drives it all. Understanding how this hidden enemy tricks you, and, most importantly, how to overcome it, will liberate you to live a more flexible and joyful life. In Overcoming Anticipatory Anxiety, two anxiety experts team up to teach you how to manage your overactive imagination, limit future-based thinking, face your fears, make decisions, and live with more freedom and joy.
-
-
Good background information on the cause of anxiety
- By Russell B. on 2024-06-06
Written by: Sally M. Winston PsyD, and others
-
The Master Algorithm
- How the Quest for the Ultimate Learning Machine Will Remake Our World
- Written by: Pedro Domingos
- Narrated by: Mel Foster
- Length: 13 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall48
-
Performance42
-
Story42
Under the aegis of machine learning in our data-driven machine age, computers are programming themselves and learning about - and solving - an extraordinary range of problems, from the mundane to the most daunting. Today it is machine learning programs that enable Amazon and Netflix to predict what users will like, Apple to power Siri's ability to understand voices, and Google to pilot cars.
-
-
Worth the read for beginners
- By Bogdan on 2019-05-24
Written by: Pedro Domingos
-
Spellbound
- Modern Science, Ancient Magic, and the Hidden Potential of the Unconscious Mind
- Written by: Daniel Z. Lieberman MD
- Narrated by: Tom Parks
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall7
-
Performance6
-
Story6
The conscious mind, the part of your mental life you experience directly, is responsible for only a tiny sliver of what science says is going on inside your brain. Most of what you experience, your moods, and the things you like or dislike—most of who you are—comes from a much more mysterious part of your mind: the unconscious. And to really understand the influences of the unconscious, says psychiatrist Daniel Z. Liberman, coauthor of The Molecule of More, we need to look to something often considered science’s alter ego: magic.
-
-
Informative and Engaging
- By Shaulaine Choo on 2024-03-25
Written by: Daniel Z. Lieberman MD
-
An Anatomy of Pain
- How the Body and the Mind Experience and Endure Physical Suffering
- Written by: Abdul-Ghaaliq Lalkhen
- Narrated by: Russell Bentley
- Length: 9 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4
-
Performance4
-
Story4
An illuminating, authoritative, and in-depth examination of the fascinating science behind pain that “combines a career’s worth of expertise with a long history of pain treatment” (GQ)—from one of the internationally leading doctors in pain management. Pain is a universal human...
-
-
Excellent Tool for anyone dealing with pain
- By Sher on 2021-05-25
Written by: Abdul-Ghaaliq Lalkhen
-
The Dinosaur Artist
- Obsession, Betrayal, and the Quest for Earth's Ultimate Trophy
- Written by: Paige Williams
- Narrated by: Ellen Archer
- Length: 12 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4
-
Performance4
-
Story4
In this 2018 New York Times Notable Book,Paige Williams "does for fossils what Susan Orlean did for orchids" (Book Riot) in her account of one Florida man's attempt to sell a dinosaur skeleton from Mongolia--a story "steeped in natural history, human nature, commerce, crime, science, and...
Written by: Paige Williams
-
Power Failure
- The Rise and Fall of an American Icon
- Written by: William D. Cohan
- Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
- Length: 28 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4
-
Performance3
-
Story3
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER The New Yorker Best Books of 2022 Financial Times Best Books of 2022 The Economist Best Books of 2022 The dramatic rise—and unimaginable fall—of America's most iconic corporation by New York Times bestselling author and pre-eminent financial journalist...
-
-
Time to rewatch 30 Rock
- By Kendra on 2024-11-11
Written by: William D. Cohan
-
Overcoming Anticipatory Anxiety
- A CBT Guide for Moving Past Chronic Indecisiveness, Avoidance, and Catastrophic Thinking
- Written by: Sally M. Winston PsyD, Martin N. Seif PhD
- Narrated by: Linda Jones
- Length: 6 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall8
-
Performance6
-
Story6
From subtle avoidance behaviors to the most nightmarish terrors, anticipatory anxiety is the engine that drives it all. Understanding how this hidden enemy tricks you, and, most importantly, how to overcome it, will liberate you to live a more flexible and joyful life. In Overcoming Anticipatory Anxiety, two anxiety experts team up to teach you how to manage your overactive imagination, limit future-based thinking, face your fears, make decisions, and live with more freedom and joy.
-
-
Good background information on the cause of anxiety
- By Russell B. on 2024-06-06
Written by: Sally M. Winston PsyD, and others
-
Something in the Woods Loves You
- Written by: Jarod K. Anderson
- Narrated by: Jarod K. Anderson
- Length: 11 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4
-
Performance2
-
Story2
An inspiring blend of nature writing and memoir that explores nature’s crucial role in our emotional and mental health Bats can hear shapes, plants can eat light, and bees can dance maps. When his life took him to a painfully dark place, the poet behind The CryptoNaturalist, Jarod K. Anderson...
-
-
Poetic
- By BR on 2025-10-23
Written by: Jarod K. Anderson
-
The Loop
- How Technology Is Creating a World Without Choices and How to Fight Back
- Written by: Jacob Ward
- Narrated by: Jacob Ward
- Length: 9 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4
-
Performance3
-
Story3
This eye-opening narrative journey into the rapidly changing world of artificial intelligence reveals the dangerous ways AI is exploiting the unconscious habits of our minds, and the real threat it poses to humanity: "The best book I have ever read about AI" (New York Times bestselling author...
Written by: Jacob Ward
-
Embracing the Unknown
- Life Lessons from the Tibetan Book of the Dead
- Written by: Pema Chödrön
- Narrated by: Pema Chödrön
- Length: 3 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall91
-
Performance70
-
Story70
Life, Death, and Rebirth—Pema Chödrön on The Tibetan Book of the Dead What happens when we die? One of the most treasured resources for understanding this essential question is The Tibetan Book of the Dead. With Embracing the Unknown, Pema Chödrön delves into the teachings of this...
-
-
Enjoyed Pema; Questions Less So
- By Friendly Mum on 2019-06-23
Written by: Pema Chödrön
-
The Urge
- Our History of Addiction
- Written by: Carl Erik Fisher
- Narrated by: Mark Deakins
- Length: 11 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall13
-
Performance12
-
Story12
Named a Best Book of the Year by The New Yorker and The Boston Globe An authoritative, illuminating, and deeply humane history of addiction—a phenomenon that remains baffling and deeply misunderstood despite having touched countless lives—by an addiction psychiatrist striving to understand...
-
-
very good
- By Pascal on 2022-05-13
Written by: Carl Erik Fisher
-
Not Stolen
- The Truth About European Colonialism in the New World
- Written by: Jeff Fynn-Paul
- Narrated by: Paul Maitrejean
- Length: 13 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall10
-
Performance8
-
Story8
A renowned historian debunks current distortion and myths about European colonialism in the New World and restores much needed balance to our understanding of the past.
-
-
Great critique of woke & leftist propaganda
- By A on 2025-06-13
Written by: Jeff Fynn-Paul
-
A Practical Guide to Breathwork
- A Remedy for the Modern Human Condition
- Written by: Jesse Coomer
- Narrated by: Chris Strong
- Length: 8 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall7
-
Performance5
-
Story5
You have been breathing your whole life; now, learn how to breathe better to positively influence your mental and physical well-being. This book is exactly what it says it is - a practical guide. Nothing esoteric. Nothing “woo woo”. What you will find in this book can be applied today in a real way to improve your life. Learn how to use your breath to communicate to your physiology and psychology in predictable and replicable ways using nothing more than focused conscious breathing.
-
-
Been a fan of his work for sometime
- By Allen on 2021-02-01
Written by: Jesse Coomer
-
Merchants of Doubt
- How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming
- Written by: Naomi Oreskes, Erik M. Conway, Al Gore - foreword
- Narrated by: Liza Seneca
- Length: 14 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall6
-
Performance5
-
Story5
Merchants of Doubt has been praised—and attacked—around the world, for reasons easy to understand. This book tells, with “brutal clarity” (Huffington Post), the disquieting story of how a loose-knit group of high-level scientists and scientific advisers, with deep connections in politics and industry, ran effective campaigns to mislead the public and deny well-established scientific knowledge over four decades.
-
-
Simply an amazing book.
- By Hardy on 2024-04-24
Written by: Naomi Oreskes, and others
-
How Children Learn (50th anniversary edition)
- Written by: John Holt
- Narrated by: Matt Kugler
- Length: 9 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall44
-
Performance34
-
Story34
This enduring classic of educational thought offers teachers and parents deep, original insight into the nature of early learning. John Holt was the first to make clear that, for small children, "learning is as natural as breathing." In this delightful yet profound book, he looks at how we learn...
-
-
Life changing
- By jessica on 2018-10-21
Written by: John Holt
-
The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind
- Written by: Julian Jaynes
- Narrated by: James Patrick Cronin
- Length: 16 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall42
-
Performance35
-
Story34
At the heart of this classic, seminal book is Julian Jaynes' still-controversial thesis that human consciousness did not begin far back in animal evolution but instead is a learned process that came about only 3,000 years ago and is still developing. The implications of this revolutionary scientific paradigm extend into virtually every aspect of our psychology, our history and culture, our religion - and indeed our future.
-
-
An beautifully crafted theory from a genius
- By Anonymous on 2018-09-18
Written by: Julian Jaynes
-
The Greatest Comeback
- How Team Canada Fought Back, Took the Summit Series, and Reinvented Hockey
- Written by: John U. Bacon
- Narrated by: Braden Wright
- Length: 12 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall14
-
Performance11
-
Story11
The series you thought you knew: the first book written with the complete co-operation of the whole team “They’d stolen our beer and our steaks, and then to make it worse . . . they give us this Russian beer—the warm, skunky sh*t, and not the good, cold Labatts our sponsor sent. I remember...
-
-
Best Narrator yet , amazing book !!!
- By J Merner on 2023-10-31
Written by: John U. Bacon
-
Proto
- How One Ancient Language Went Global
- Written by: Laura Spinney
- Narrated by: Emma Spurgin-Hussey
- Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall8
-
Performance6
-
Story6
Daughter. Duhitár-. Dustr. Dukte. Listen to these English, Sanskrit, Armenian and Lithuanian words, all meaning the same thing, and you hear echoes of one of history’s most unlikely journeys. All four languages—along with hundreds of others, from French and Gaelic, to Persian and Polish—trace their origins to an ancient tongue spoken as the last ice age receded. This language, which we call Proto-Indo-European, was born between Europe and Asia and exploded out of its cradle, fragmenting as it spread east and west.
-
-
Well-read, interesting and respectful
- By Jj on 2025-05-27
Written by: Laura Spinney
-
The Skeptics' Guide to the Future
- What Yesterday's Science and Science Fiction Tell Us About the World of Tomorrow
- Written by: Steven Novella, Bob Novella, Jay Novella
- Narrated by: Steven Novella
- Length: 13 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall17
-
Performance14
-
Story14
From the bestselling authors and hosts of "The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe," a high-tech roadmap of the future in their beloved voice, cracking open the follies of futurists past and how technology will profoundly change our world, redefining what it means to be human. Our predictions of the...
-
-
amazing high quality content
- By Yara on 2025-04-03
Written by: Steven Novella, and others
What the critics say
—Publishers Weekly (Starred)
A must read
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Tobias is a succinct, thought provoking human
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Now I understand how our world has become so divided in such a short period of time. When you see how the machine works, it becomes easy to end your addiction to the outrage. It was in the first few chapters that I forgave all the terrible people on the other side of the internet, because I realize social media brings us the things that outrage us the most and turns us all into monsters.
I truly believe this book alone can turn down the hate.
I’m buying 2 print versions to pass on to the people I love to try and save our relationships.
Thank you for this book Tobias! You just might be saving our world.
This is the most important book you’ll read this decade
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.