Greg Lukianoff’s The Coddling of the American Mind is available on Audible as a 10 hrs 6 mins unabridged audiobook, narrated by Jonathan Haidt.
Publisher’s Summary
Something has been going wrong on many college campuses in the last few years. Speakers are shouted down. Students and professors say they are walking on eggshells and are afraid to speak honestly. Rates of anxiety, depression, and suicide are rising—on campus as well as nationally. How did this happen?
First Amendment expert Greg Lukianoff and social psychologist Jonathan Haidt show how the new problems on campus have their origins in three terrible ideas that have become increasingly woven into American childhood and education: What doesn’t kill you makes you weaker; always trust your feelings; and life is a battle between good people and evil people. These three Great Untruths contradict basic psychological principles about well-being and ancient wisdom from many cultures. Embracing these untruths—and the resulting culture of safetyism—interferes with young people’s social, emotional, and intellectual development. It makes it harder for them to become autonomous adults who are able to navigate the bumpy road of life.
Lukianoff and Haidt investigate the many social trends that have intersected to promote the spread of these untruths. They explore changes in childhood such as the rise of fearful parenting, the decline of unsupervised, child-directed play, and the new world of social media that has engulfed teenagers in the last decade. They examine changes on campus, including the corporatization of universities and the emergence of new ideas about identity and justice. They situate the conflicts on campus within the context of America’s rapidly rising political polarization and dysfunction.
This is an audiobook for anyone who is confused by what is happening on college campuses today, or has children, or is concerned about the growing inability of Americans to live, work, and cooperate across party lines.
Audiobook Details
- Narrated by: Jonathan Haidt
- Length: 10 hrs 6 mins
- Publisher: Penguin Audio
- Release year: 2018
- Audible category: Education & Learning / Education / Health & Wellness
Listener Ratings
The Coddling of the American Mind holds an average listener rating of 4.7/5 from 13100 Audible ratings.
On Audible, ratings for this title break down into narration performance and story separately:
- Performance (narration): 4.8/5
- Story: 4.7/5
- 5-star ratings: 81% of all ratings
What Audible Listeners Are Saying
5/5 stars — “The consequences of overprotection”
“Prepare the child for the road, not the road for the child” this book is a gem, and should be required reading for all parents, specially those that have the means to provide everything for their children.Sometimes we think we are protecting our children when in actual fact we are hindering them by not preparing them for the world. Children are by nature resilient “anti-fragile”. This book is about letting strengthening their capabilities by providing a challenging environment where they learn to accept to fend for themselves intellectually when they are right, and understand that they can also be wrong.
There are different point of views that have merit and require a voices and most of all listening ears. The views of the author are the antithesis of the us verses them toxic mentality that has plagued our society through the filtering bubbles of social media, where opposing views are not only not tolerated but heckled creating an environment of hate and dividing people.
Our children are our future. We should expose them to the other side, so that maybe they don’t make the mistakes that we too commonly do, the intolerance of an objector, the unchallenged righteousness of our beliefs. We are right they are wrong, we are good they are evil.
A great book, supported by facts and good evidence. Highly recommended.
— Philomath, Audible listener
5/5 stars — “Helped me have compassion “
This book helped me understand and have more compassion for young people who I previously dismissed as unhinged snowflakes. It helped me understand why they’re engaging in illiberal behaviors. Perhaps I can now engage them productively, instead of using mockery and derision.— Frank, Audible listener
5/5 stars — “Prophetic in some ways “
Reading this end of 2020 and first week of 2021. We can see how when left unchecked generations can grow up with distorted views of others. Prophetic . There is hope as I work with several Gen Z people and for the most part their approach to life and work are often not as severe as a broad brush generalization would suggest. Author did a wonderful subjective job in research and presentation.— John D., Audible listener
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