The Chris Voss Show

The Wires of War: Technology and the Global Struggle for Power by Jacob Helberg From the former news policy lead at Google, an urgent and groundbreaking account of the high-stakes global cyberwar brewing between Western democracies and the autocracies of China and Russia that could potentially crush democracy. From 2016 to 2020, Jacob Helberg led Google’s global internal product policy efforts to combat disinformation and foreign interference. During this time, he found himself in the midst of what can only be described as a quickly escalating two-front technology cold war between democracy and autocracy. On the front-end, we’re fighting to control the software—applications, news information, social media platforms, and more—of what we see on the screens of our computers, tablets, and phones, a clash which started out primarily with Russia but now increasingly includes China and Iran. Even more ominously, we’re also engaged in a hidden back-end battle—largely with China—to control the Internet’s hardware, which includes devices like cellular phones, satellites, fiber-optic cables, and 5G networks. This tech-fueled war will shape the world’s balance of power for the coming century as autocracies exploit twenty-first-century methods to re-divide the world into twentieth century-style spheres of influence. Helberg cautions that the spoils of this fight are power over every meaningful aspect of our lives, including our economy, our infrastructure, our national security, and ultimately, our national sovereignty. Without a firm partnership with the government, Silicon Valley is unable to protect democracy from the autocrats looking to sabotage it from Beijing to Moscow and Tehran. The stakes of the ongoing cyberwar are no less than our nation’s capacity to chart its own future, the freedom of our democratic allies, and even the ability of each of us to control our own fates, Helberg says. And time is quickly running out.

29 Okt 202130min

Think Unbroken: Understanding and Overcoming Childhood Trauma by Michael Anthony I wrote this book because it is the book that I needed when I started my journey to both understanding and overcoming my traumatic past. When I started I never expected what it would become.The short version is this: I come from a dark place, my ACE score is ten, and I attempted to take my own life twice, not to mention being morbidly obese and a drug addict at 12 years old. Today, I am happy, healthy, and driven towards being my best self every day. Why? Because I choose to Think Unbroken.I have taken the tools and science from countless hours and years of education, mentorship, therapy, trial and error, and plain and simple dedication to my health, and distilled them down into a palatable book that is less about my story, and more about how to change your mindset through real world exercises and understanding.The world likes to label people who come from nothing as "broken." I don't believe that about trauma survivors. I believe that we simply have not had the right heroes and teachers to follow. We are not broken. What started as a simple blog post has turned into a guide and dare I say a companion to be by your side as you walk into the depths of self-actualization and healing. I hope that you will find what I found in this book and that is hope, understanding, reflection, shift, honesty, and a spark.The impact of childhood trauma and abuse can forever alter the course of history. Throughout generations, countless children have been hurt by those that are meant to care for them. Yet, in society once those children turn to adults the impacts of child abuse are often discounted and spoken to with the frame of ‘that was years ago” or “it’s time to get over it.” The reality is that we are at the core a collection of all of our experiences leading up to this very moment. If the childhood trauma survivor’s foundation is built atop a volcano, then sooner or later it will be engulfed. Childhood trauma and abuse is the elephant in the room of societies mental health epidemic, and most people don’t know how to understand the role that trauma has played in their life.When I sat down to craft the baseline of The Think Unbroken book, I did so intending to create something that would be a testimony to the undeniable will of the human mindset. For generations, the world has been plagued by the ramifications of the effects of Child Trauma, and like millions of childhood trauma survivors, I was stuck in The Vortex. My life in a word was a disaster. I was an addict of undeniable proportions, I was morbidly obese and suffocating under the weight of my past. Think Unbroken is not only a guide to helping other Trauma Survivors find their way out of The Vortex, but it is also the cornerstone to how I changed my life. I am, in essence, a product of my product, and I believe that Think Unbroken is the key to taking the first steps in overcoming the effects of childhood trauma.This book will expose you to possibility through mindset, palatable understandings of self, and a step by step guide to discovering out how to place the first piece of the puzzle on the table. What you will find in Think Unbroken is not just my story, but a reflection of the possibilities that can become a reality when you understand that Mindset is Everything. Childhood trauma took everything from me, but I took everything back, and so can you.“THOUGH TRAUMA MAY BE OUR FOUNDATION IT IS NOT OUR FUTURE.”

29 Okt 202136min

The Nameless Ones: A Thriller (19) (Charlie Parker) by John Connolly From the international and instant New York Times bestselling author of The Dirty South, the white-knuckled Charlie Parker series returns with this heart-pounding race to hunt down the deadliest of war criminals. In Amsterdam, four bodies, violently butchered, are discovered in a canal house, the remains of friends and confidantes of the assassin known only as Louis. The men responsible for the murders are Serbian war criminals. They believe they can escape retribution by retreating to their homeland. They are wrong. For Louis has come to Europe to hunt them down: five killers to be found and punished before they can vanish into thin air. There is just one problem. The sixth. With John Connolly’s trademark “dark, haunting, and beautifully told” (Booklist) prose and breathless twists and turns, The Nameless Ones is an unputdownable thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

27 Okt 202133min

Mark Villareal, Business Coach & Consultant, Leadership Trainer, Speaker, 3x International Best-Selling Author Markvillareal.com

26 Okt 202139min

Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli: The Epic Story of the Making of The Godfather by Mark Seal The behind-the-scenes story of the making of The Godfather, fifty years after the classic film’s original release. The story of how The Godfather was made is as dramatic, operatic, and entertaining as the film itself. Over the years, many versions of various aspects of the movie’s fiery creation have been told—sometimes conflicting, but always compelling. Mark Seal sifts through the evidence, has extensive new conversations with director Francis Ford Coppola and several heretofore silent sources, and complements them with colorful interviews with key players including actors Al Pacino, James Caan, Talia Shire, and others for irresistible insights into how the movie whose success some initially doubted roared to glory. On top of the usual complications of filmmaking, the creators of The Godfather had to contend with the real-life members of its subject matter: the Mob. During production of the movie, location permits were inexplicably revoked, author Mario Puzo got into a public brawl with an irate Frank Sinatra, producer Al Ruddy’s car was found riddled with bullets, men with “connections” vied to be in the cast, and some were given film roles. As Seal notes, this is the tale of “a classic movie that revolutionized filmmaking, saved Paramount Pictures, minted a new generation of movie stars, made its struggling author Mario Puzo rich and famous, and sparked a war between two of the mightiest powers in America: the sharks of Hollywood and the highest echelons of the Mob.” ​ Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli is the lively and complete story of how a masterpiece was made, perfect for anyone who loves the movies.

24 Okt 202138min

Geckos & Guns: The Pakistan Years by Sharon Bazant Geckos & Guns: The Pakistan Years is the latest installment of Sharon Bazant's riveting travel memoirs. Following on the heels of her 2019, Nine Years in Bangkok: Lessons Learned, this new title Geckos & Guns tells of the time before Bangkok. It is a prequel that follows the first impulses of the Bazant family to break out of the mold, to leave their comfortable Canada home. With two teens in tow, they took a "hardship" posting for the United Nations in Islamabad. The book opens with Sharon and the kids joining Wayne in January 1991 and chronicles their five year stay there. Bazant brings her gift for detail to the story and paints a beautiful backdrop with her words. Where Nine Years in Bangkok is a tale of Bazant's personal soul journey, the focus of Geckos & Guns is the Bazant family's time in Pakistan-a time of adjusting to new and different surroundings, of embracing cultural differences, and of recognizing imminent danger. In the five years the Bazant family spent in Pakistan, they learned to love the temperate climate and the stark beauty of the countryside, the spicy curries and the exotic weddings, but they also learned to negotiate constant power cuts, flash floods, trips into opium country, bombings, a family emergency and more. Bazant says, "I see each one of us clearly-our 'selves' of the past. I think about our experiences, some awe-inspiring, some traumatic, and the decisions we made that forged our future paths. We were younger more optimistic versions of ourselves. Did we make mistakes? Yes. Did we take some wrong turns? Yes. Did some of this form our future selves? Yes. The big question is: Would I do things differently if given the chance? I don't know. We all did the best we could at the time."

24 Okt 202130min

Superpowers for Good: The Skills You Can Master to Leave Your Mark on the World by Devin Thorpe Over the past decade, author Devin Thorpe interviewed more than 1,200 people-including Bill Gates-for his podcast. Hundreds of times, he asked, "what is your superpower?" The answers have been so inspiring, he's written this book. He continues his podcast, seeking inspiration from changemakers. (Visit http: //superpowers4good.com.) The focus will be the lessons you can learn from them. Are they superheroes? They are no more superheroes than patience or optimism are literal superpowers. For the past decade, Devin worked to align his journalistic writing-much of it for Forbes-with the principles of solutions-oriented journalism, which focuses on repeatable efforts that provide measurable relief to social and environmental problems. This dogma holds that there are no heroes, examining the processes and tools rather than the people wielding them. Repeatedly, however, Devin found the people were essential to the processes. How do you remove Bill Gates from a story about the Gates Foundation? He isn't a savior. He isn't a Marvel superhero. But there are things you can learn from him. You can also learn powerful and vital lessons from the BIPOC women featured in the book who have been-and will be-guests on the podcast. With this book, the exploration of superpowers you can use to change the world is just beginning.

23 Okt 202123min

Those We Throw Away Are Diamonds: A Refugee's Search for Home by Mondiant Dogon A stunning and heartbreaking lens on the global refugee crisis, from a man who faced the very worst of humanity and survived to advocate for displaced people around the world One day when Mondiant Dogon, a Bagogwe Tutsi born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, was only three years old, his father’s lifelong friend, a Hutu man, came to their home with a machete in his hand and warned the family they were to be killed within hours. Dogon’s family fled into the forest, initiating a long and dangerous journey into Rwanda. They made their way to the first of several UN tent cities in which they would spend decades. But their search for a safe haven had just begun. Hideous violence stalked them in the camps. Even though Rwanda famously has a former refugee for a president in Paul Kagame, refugees in that country face enormous prejudice and acute want. For much of his life, Dogon and his family ate barely enough to keep themselves from starving. He fled back to Congo in search of the better life that had been lost, but there he was imprisoned and left without any option but to become a child soldier. For most refugees, the camp starts as an oasis but soon becomes quicksand, impossible to leave. Yet Dogon managed to be one of the few refugees he knew to go to college. Though he hid his status from his fellow students out of shame, eventually he would emerge as an advocate for his people. Rarely do refugees get to tell their own stories. We see them only for a moment, if at all, in flight: Syrians winding through the desert; children searching a Greek shore for their parents; families gathered at the southern border of the United States. But through his writing, Dogon took control of his own narrative and spoke up for forever refugees everywhere. As Dogon once wrote in a poem, “Those we throw away are diamonds.”

23 Okt 202126min