Politics & Economy audiobooks

Never Will I Die

By: Toby Gutteridge & Michael Calvin

Narrated by: Toby Gutteridge & Matt Chambers

Length: 8 hours 17 minutes

Abridged: No

Brought to you by Penguin.

There's no pain, no theatrical agony. No screaming, no shouting. The kill shot is catastrophic, yet surgically precise. I slumped silently on to my knees and toppled forward, head first, into the dirt. The lads had seen enough death to assume mine was instantaneous. The lights were out. That's him gone.

Toby Gutteridge... Read more

In Our Time: 25 Thinkers Who Shaped Modern Philosophy

By: Melvyn Bragg

Narrated by: Melvyn Bragg & Various

Length: 22 hours 17 minutes

Abridged: No

Melvyn Bragg and guests chart 500 years of Western philosophy through its most influential ideas and theorists

'Listen to this and you'll never regret it' The Independent

First aired in 1998, In Our Time has become one of Radio 4's most beloved and enduring shows, regularly attracting an audience of over 2 million. Each week, Melvyn Bragg... Read more

The Grand Tour: A Journey Through British Politics

By: Anne McElvoy

Narrated by: Anne McElvoy

Length: 6 hours 52 minutes

Abridged: No

Anne McElvoy presents this epic history of Britain's three biggest political movements, from their beginnings to the present day

In these absorbing series, veteran journalist and current affairs commentator Anne McElvoy examines the origins and evolution of the three pre-eminent political movements in British history. Using interviews, readings... Read more

The People’s Manifesto

By: Mark Thomas

Narrated by: Mark Thomas & Various

Length: 9 hours 15 minutes

Abridged: No

Free-thinking funnyman Mark Thomas creates a People's Manifesto, aided by his live studio audience

'Funny, knowing and tongue-in-cheek... sardonic, furious-paced wit' The Guardian

Comedian, activist and 'libertarian anarchist' Mark Thomas believes that, as a nation, we are drifting - economically, politically and socially. Where, he... Read more

The News Quiz 2015: Sandi Toksvig's Final Shows

By: BBC Radio Comedy

Narrated by: Sandi Toksvig, Various, Jeremy Hardy, Susan Cal...

Length: 6 hours 28 minutes

Abridged: No

Sandi Toksvig is at the helm for two final series of the satirical radio panel game

After nine years, 28 series and over 220 episodes in the hot seat, Sandi Toksvig stepped down from The News Quiz at the end of Series 87. These two superlative series are her last hurrah - and our last chance to enjoy her unique blend of wit, warmth and... Read more

Feeding Britain

By: Tim Lang

Narrated by: Roy McMillan

Length: 12 hours 53 minutes

Abridged: No

Brought to you by Penguin.

How does Britain get its food?
Why is our current system at breaking point?
How can we fix it before it is too late?

British food has changed remarkably in the last half century. As we have become wealthier and more discerning, our food has Europeanized (pizza is children's favourite food) and internationalized (we eat... Read more

Beauty is in the Street

By: Joachim C. Häberlen

Narrated by: Nadia Albina

Length: 14 hours 54 minutes

Abridged: No

Brought to you by Penguin.

In post-war Europe, protest was everywhere. On both sides of the Iron Curtain, from Paris to Prague, Milan to Wroclaw, ordinary people took to the streets, fighting for a better world. Their efforts came to a head most dramatically in 1968 and 1989, when mass movements swept Europe and rewrote its history.

In the decades... Read more

The Conquest of Bread

By: Peter Kropotkin

Narrated by: Sam Swann

Length: 8 hours 44 minutes

Abridged: No

Brought to you by Penguin.

'Well-being for all is not a dream.'

In this brilliantly enjoyable, challenging rallying-cry of a book, Kropotkin lays out the heart of his anarchist beliefs - beliefs which surged around the world in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and which have a renewed relevance and poignancy today. Humane, thoughtful - but... Read more

The Politics of Time

By: Guy Standing

Narrated by: Kerry Hutchinson

Length: 11 hours 23 minutes

Abridged: No

Brought to you by Penguin.

How does a person organize a good life? The ancient Greeks divided time into five types: labour, work, leisure, play and aergia (contemplation). But labour was separated from work, as painful, onerous work undertaken for survival, whereas work could include caring for family members, study, or political activities. But... Read more

The End of Enlightenment

By: Richard Whatmore

Narrated by: Ben Onwukwe

Length: 16 hours 11 minutes

Abridged: No

Brought to you by Penguin.

A landmark study of the Enlightenment from an eminent historian

The End of Enlightenment offers a radical re-evaluation of one of the most important moments in human history. Tracing around the world the changing perspectives of economists, philosophers, politicians and polemicists, historian Richard Whatmore argues... Read more

Damaged Goods

By: Oliver Shah

Narrated by: Oliver Shah

Length: 12 hours 11 minutes

Abridged: No

Penguin Audio presents Damaged Goods written and read by Oliver Shah.

DISCOVER THE SHOCKING TRUTH BEHIND THE BUSINESS AND LIFESTYLE OF SIR PHILIP GREEN

In this jaw-dropping expose, Oliver Shah uncovers the truth behind one of Britain's biggest business scandals, following Sir Philip Green's journey to the big time, the wild excesses of his heyday... Read more

How to Survive a Crisis

By: David Omand

Narrated by: David Omand

Length: 13 hours 12 minutes

Abridged: No

Brought to you by Penguin.

From the former Director of GCHQ comes a guide to surviving crises using the latest intelligence strategies

War, terrorism, cyberattack, climate change, the threat of AI: it has never been more important to be prepared for the crises that await us.

In How to Survive a Crisis, Professor Sir David Omand draws on his... Read more

Bringing Down Goliath

By: Jolyon Maugham

Narrated by: Jolyon Maugham

Length: 8 hours 7 minutes

Abridged: No

Brought to you by Penguin.

*Picked as a 2023 highlight by the Guardian*

A revealing, empowering vision of how the law can work better for all of us, from Jolyon Maugham KC, founder of Good Law Project.

Our legal system often feels like it only works for the rich and powerful - for those who have the means to use the courts to enforce their will and... Read more

Churchill Remembered

By: Mark Jones

Narrated by: Winston Churchill

Length: 2 hours 32 minutes

Abridged: No

‘We Churchills die at forty,’ said Winston in 1908, ‘and I want to put something more on the slate before then.’ By the time he died in 1965, the slate was full. From his earliest days Churchill was an ambitious character, eager for action. He achieved fame and popularity through his dispatches from the Boer War, and in 1900 was elected MP for... Read more

Six Weeks of Blenheim Summer

By: Alastair Panton

Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble

Length: 3 hours 40 minutes

Abridged: No

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Six Weeks of Blenheim Summer by Alastair Panton, read by Jonathan Keeble.

As I write, I can clearly recall the stinging heat of aburning Blenheim, smells, tastes, expressions, sounds of voices and, most ofall, fear gripping deep in me.

Flying Officer Alastair Panton was just twenty-three when his squadron... Read more

The Hurricane Girls

By: Jo Wheeler

Narrated by: Claire Rushbrook

Length: 8 hours 48 minutes

Abridged: No

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of The Hurricane Girls by Jo Wheeler, read by Claire Rushbrook.

While their husbands, brothers and sweethearts fought in Europe and their mothers, sisters and friends kept the home fires burning, for the first time, a group of remarkable women took to the skies. They weren't allowed into combat but risked... Read more

Tomorrow Will Be A Good Day

By: Captain Tom Moore

Narrated by: Derek Jacobi

Length: 12 hours 6 minutes

Abridged: No

Brought to you by Penguin.

From his humble Yorkshire childhood, via the battlefields of Burma and the peaks of the Himalayas, to becoming the NHS and the nation's hero during Lockdown, Captain Tom Moore's story is a journey for all of us - brought to you by Penguin.

Who is Captain Sir Tom Moore?

You've seen him on the television walking the length... Read more

Harrier: How To Be a Fighter Pilot

By: Paul Tremelling

Narrated by: Finlay Robertson

Length: 9 hours 29 minutes

Abridged: No

Brought to you by Penguin.

Paul Tremelling was just seven years old when he watched the Royal Navy's Sea Harriers leave their home base in Somerset to do battle against the Argentine Air Force in the Falklands War. Two decades later he would join this exclusive club, one of an elite band of Fleet Air Arm fighter pilots, charged with standing in... Read more

Remembering Willie Rushton

By: Willie Rushton

Narrated by: Willie Rushton & Barry Cryer

Length: 1 hour 52 minutes

Abridged: No

Career highlights from one of this country’s funniest satirists and comedy men. Willie Rushton’s career spanned decades, from the cutting edge satire of television’s 'That Was The Week That Was' to the razor-sharp punnery and verbal wizardry of Radio’s 'I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue'. Actor, writer, lyricist and veteran satirist, this is Rushton at... Read more

The Brown Years

By: Steve Richards

Narrated by: Steve Richards

Length: 1 hour 22 minutes

Abridged: No

Steve Richards tells the inside story of Gordon Brown's time as prime minister, based on revealing interviews with his close colleagues. Interviewees include former ministers Peter Mandelson, Ed Balls, Harriet Harman, Jack Straw, Douglas Alexander, Alan Johnson, Hazel Blears, Peter Hain and Shriti Vadera; and several former Downing St insiders... Read more

Shirley Williams

By: Shirley Williams

Narrated by: Shirley Williams

Length: 2 hours 7 minutes

Abridged: No

With recollections from childhood to the present, written and recorded for BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour, Shirley Williams describes her life as one of Britain's foremost political women this century. She describes her early life with her pioneering pacifist mother, Vera Brittain; her father, George Caitlin and her mother's friend, the writer... Read more

A Year At The Circus

By: Jon Sopel

Narrated by: Jon Sopel

Length: 9 hours 27 minutes

Abridged: No

Brought to you by Penguin.

Welcome to the White House.

At the heart of Washington, there is a circus. It's raucous, noisy and full of clowns. Reporting on it is a daily cacophony. Four major stories can blow up and blow out before breakfast, and political weather systems are moving at warp speed. The one thing absent from the weather forecast is... Read more

Non-Bullshit Innovation

By: David Rowan

Narrated by: David Rowan

Length: 14 hours 25 minutes

Abridged: No

Brought to you by Penguin.


David Rowan travels the globe in search of the most exciting and pioneering startups building the future. He's got to know the founders of WhatsApp, LinkedIn, Google, Spotify, Xiaomi, Didi, Nest, Twitter and countless other ambitious entrepreneurs disrupting businesses in almost every sector. And yet too often the... Read more

The Nanny State Made Me

By: Stuart Maconie

Narrated by: Stuart Maconie

Length: 11 hours 24 minutes

Abridged: No

Brought to you by Penguin.

'He is as funny as Bryson and as wise as Orwell' Observer

It was the spirit of our finest hour, the backbone of our post-war greatness, and it promoted some of the boldest and most brilliant schemes this isle has ever produced: it was the Welfare State, and it made you and I. But now it's under threat, and we need to... Read more