Social Science

Over billions of years of evolution, animals have become increasingly sophisticated and increasingly sentient. In the process, they evolved emotions, which helped improve their odds of survival in complex situations.

These emotions were, at first, purely internal. But at some point, social animals began expressing their emotions, in increasingly dramatic ways. These emotional expressions could accurately reflect internal emotions (smiling to express happiness)—or they could be quite different (smiling to cover up that you’re actually furious, but can’t tell your boss that).

Why did once-stone-faced animals evolve to be so emotionally expressive—to be us?

The answer, as evolutionary neurobiologist Mark Changizi and mathematician Tim Barber reveal, is that emotional expressions are our first and most important language—one that allows us, as social animals, to engage in highly sophisticated communications and negotiations.

Expressly Human introduces an original theory that explains, from first principles, how the broad range of emotional expressions evolved, and provides a Rosetta Stone for human communication. It will revolutionize the way you see every social interaction, from deciding who gets the last slice of pizza to multimillion-dollar business negotiations, and change your definition of what makes us human.

Patriarchy does not respect national boundaries. It is unabashedly promiscuous in its influences and tethers. Yet, it does use nationalism very productively.

An empty street at night. A crowded bus. A lecture hall. All sites of female fear, instilled in women and those who have been constructed female, from an early age.

Drawing on examples from around the world – from Uganda, Nigeria, South Africa to Saudi Arabia, the Americas and Europe, Gqola traces the construction and machinations of the female fear factory by exposing its lies, myths, and seductions. She shows how seemingly disparate effects, like driving bans, street harassment, and coercive professors, are the product of the ever-turning machinery of the female fear factory, and its use of fear as a tool of patriarchal subjugation and punishment.

Female Fear Factory: Unravelling Patriarchy’s Cultures of Violence is a sobering account of patriarchal violence in the world, and a hopeful vision for the work of unapologetic feminist imaginative strategies across the globe.

Finding Normal explores how people are using the internet to find community, forge connections, and create identity in ways that challenge a variety of sexual norms. Based on a highly candid interview series conducted for New York magazine’s human science column―”What It’s Like”―each story in Finding Normal intimately immerses the reader in the world of a person who is grappling with a unique set of circumstances relating to sexuality.

Finding Normal at once celebrates the power of our evolving media landscape for helping people rewrite the script for their lives and offers a warning about the danger of that seemingly limitless freedom. Tsoulis-Reay shows the enduring power of the search for belonging―for humans and society. Like happiness of life purpose, finding normal is perhaps the definitive human struggle.

Here’s the go-to book for content creators to navigate what it truly means to have a platform: putting yourself out there, letting go of what others think, and claiming the power your authentic self has to offer the world.

Since the boom of social media in the mid-2000s, tens of millions of people have started their own platforms in hopes of creating success on their own terms. But with great visibility comes great vulnerability. We become riddled with self-doubt and trapped performing a version of what they believe will be acceptable to others—optimized for more external approval and algorithmic success.

What if the mere act of being followed—including the criticism, judgment, and expectation social media creates—could actually become a tool for your personal growth?

Enter Followed: The Content Creator’s Guide to Being Seen, Facing Judgment, and Building an Authentic Personal Brand. By embracing self-discovery through self-expression, you can learn to see exposure as an opportunity for personal development—and break free from the imaginary boxes that were always too small for you, anyway.

As a content creator and well-known business and life coach, Amanda Bucci has dealt with imposter syndrome, oceans of criticism, and multiple identity crises trying to fit into a box. Today, she’s successfully pivoted her brand to stay aligned with her purpose, having coached hundreds of clients, dozens of companies, and thousands of community members in their journeys of creating success while staying authentic.