Length4h 2m
About this audiobook
We've never been more capable, or less sure what it's all for. From Chennai to San Francisco, a reflection on the question we stopped asking: we call it progress—but ambition for what? Capable as never before, sure of nothing.
Audiobook details
GenreTechnology, Philosophy
Length4 hrs 2 mins
Narrated byRecorded Track
FormatAudiobook
Publish dateNov 6, 2026
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1A Note to the Reader
2Contents
3Introduction: Making Sense of Human Progress
4Part I: The Great Deception
5Chapter 1: The Emperor’s New Innovations
Mostrar todos os capítulosVer menos
6Chapter 2: The View from 30,000 Feet
7Chapter 3: The Healthcare Paradox
8Chapter 4: The Innovation Treadmill
9Part II: The Sectoral Evidence
10Chapter 5: Abundance and Scarcity — A Global View
11Chapter 6: Shelter — From Slums to McMansions
12Chapter 7: Food — Feast and Famine Side by Side
13Chapter 8: Health — High Tech vs. Basic Care
14Part III: The Human Cost
15Chapter 9: The Digital Divide
16Chapter 10: Connection and Isolation — A Global Paradox
17Chapter 11: Work — Dignity vs. Efficiency
18Chapter 12: What Are Humans For?
19Chapter 13: The Happiness Paradox
20Part IV: Where We Went Wrong
21Chapter 14: The Schumacher Moment — Roads Not Taken
22Chapter 15: The Global Systems That Trap Us
23Part V: The Way Forward
24Chapter 16: Measuring What Matters
25Chapter 17: Models That Work — Lessons from the Road
26Chapter 18: The Strongest Objections
27Conclusion: Coming Home — The Choice
28Notes & Sources
29About the Author
More from Abishek Nair
When the Heavens Went on SaleAshlee Vance18h 20m4.4 (3K)$40 · $0.00
Everybody Has a Podcast (Except You)Justin McElroy, Travis McElroy, Griffin McElroy5h 9m4.3 (2.3K)$24 · $0.00
Hands of TimeRebecca Struthers8h 8m4.4 (1.3K)$26 · $0.00
Never Lost AgainBill Kilday10h 1m4.4 (805)$29 · $0.00
How the Internet HappenedBrian McCullough13h 28m4.3 (2.7K)$23 · $0.00
Collected Writings of Nikola TeslaNikola Tesla, Thomas Commerford Martin21h 50m4.3 (1.7K)$1 · $0.00
Just AspireAjai Chowdhry9h 13m4.4 (260)$29 · $0.00
The Little Book of AliensAdam Frank8h 20m4.3 (1.3K)$26 · $0.00
The inventions, researches and writings of Nikola Tesla (Annotated)Thomas Commerford Martin16h 59m4.3 (1.3K)$2 · $0.00
KargilV.P. Malik15h 18m4.3 (2K)$24 · $0.00
Experiments with Alternating CurrentsNikola Tesla9h 16m4.3 (874)$0.99 · $0.00
Fire on the HorizonTom Shroder, John Konrad8h 23m4.3 (858)$26 · $0.00
The Smell of Kerosene (Annotated)National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Donald L. Mallick, Peter W. Merlin11h 32m4.3 (523)$2 · $0.00
The Boy Who Harnessed the WindWilliam Kamkwamba, Bryan Mealer10h 5m4.2 (78.9K)$29 · $0.00
Across the Airless WildsEarl Swift10h 8m4.3 (1.3K)$29 · $0.00
Console WarsBlake J. Harris20h 41m4.2 (13.7K)$46 · $0.00
Improvised Munitions HandbookU.S. Department of Defense4h 49m4.3 (1.6K)$1.99 · $0.00
Escaping GravityLori Garver10h 54m4.2 (2.2K)$20 · $0.00
Wireless WarsJonathan Pelson8h 2m4.3 (419)$20 · $0.00
Let There Be WaterSeth M. Siegel8h 36m4.2 (2.3K)$20 · $0.00
The Magic PresenceGodfré Ray King10h 21m4.6 (307)$1.20 · $0.00
The Art of LivingThich Nhat Hanh5h 1m4.5 (14.2K)$24 · $0.00
Moral Letters to LuciliusLucius Annaeus Seneca24h 26m4.5 (71.7K)$1.99 · $0.00
Lessons in TruthH. Emilie Cady3h 50m4.5 (2.4K)$20 · $0.00
Letters from a StoicSeneca6h 5m4.4 (80.4K)$6 · $0.00
The Discourses of EpictetusP. E. MATHESOM12h 47m4.4 (17.7K)$1.20 · $0.00
IlluminationsWalter Benjamin10h 12m4.4 (16.2K)$20 · $0.00
That Bird Has My WingsJarvis Jay Masters9h 49m4.4 (13.7K)$29 · $0.00
Tâo Teh KingLaozi2h 34m4.4 (230.9K)$2 · $0.00
SymposiumPlato3h 26m4.4 (97.9K)$1.20 · $0.00
Buddhist Boot CampTimber Hawkeye2h 39m4.4 (8.4K)$18 · $0.00
Enchiridion & The Discourses of Epictetus (Annotated)Arrian Epictetus18h 9m4.4 (3.5K)$2 · $0.00
The Meditations of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius AntoninusEmperor of Rome Marcus Aurelius5h 41m4.4 (1.8M)$1 · $0.00
Crime and PunishmentFyodor Dostoevsky23h 11m4.4 (1.3M)$12 · $0.00
MeditationsMarcus Aurelius5h 52m4.4 (433.7K)$1 · $0.00
Everyday DharmaSuneel Gupta5h 2m4.5 (761)$20 · $0.00
The Joyful Wisdom ("La Gaya Scienza")Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche11h 37m4.4 (26.6K)$1 · $0.00
The Art of LivingEpictetus, Sharon Lebell3h 16m4.4 (50.1K)$18 · $0.00
MeditationsEmperor Of Rome Marcus Aurelius7h 23m4.3 (477.5K)$1.20 · $0.00
The Imitation of ChristThomas à Kempis6h 27m4.3 (84.6K)$21 · $0.00
You may also like
Change by Design, Revised and UpdatedTim Brown7h 37m4.0 (12K)$26 · $0.00
AutobiographyNikola Tesla4h 11m4.1 (26K)$2 · $0.00
Democracy and Education & Experience and EducationJohn Dewey19h 1m4.2 (302)$0.99 · $0.00
Tesla: The Problem of Increasing Human EnergyNikola Tesla5h 38m4.2 (1.9K)$0.99 · $0.00
Set My Heart to FiveSimon Stephenson11h 4m3.9 (3.3K)$29 · $0.00
WTF?Tim O'Reilly16h 15m4.2 (2.6K)$33 · $0.00
The Antiracist Business BookTrudi Lebrón6h 10m4.6 (275)$17 · $0.00
Once Upon a Time We Ate AnimalsRoanne van Voorst7h 6m3.8 (1.6K)$24 · $0.00
Cast AwayNaomi Shihab Nye2h 10m3.9 (1.1K)$16 · $0.00
SiliconFederico Faggin9h 46m4.2 (376)$20
The Child and Sky Cities (Translated)David De Angelis18m$1.20 · $0.00
Your Life SignatureBenjamin Windle6h 41m$17 · $0.00
Future YouFrances Valintine8h 27m3.9 (45)$26 · $0.00
The PortalTom Cronin, Jacqui Fifer7h 1m3.7 (54)$17 · $0.00
Trust Your MindJenara Nerenberg6h 58m3.7 (38)$24 · $0.00
I Wrote It Myself, but the Software Says I'm a Robot - How to Document Your Creative Process, Respond Calmly to Accusations of AI Use, and Present Evidence of Authorship Without Treating a Detector's Score as the Final VerdictMax Paradox6h 41m$5.10
Immanuel Kant: The Master of ReasonSaraban K. K. 52m5.0 (8) Only with Ultra
Austin and His FriendsFrederic Henry Balfour6h 52m$2.30
The Scapegoat's RedemptionDan Desmarques3h 31m5.0 (5) Only with Ultra
Reprogramming The American DreamKevin Scott, Greg Shaw8h 31m3.9 (687)$26 · $0.00