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We once idolized tech entrepreneurs for creating innovations that seemed like modern miracles. Yet our faith has been shattered. We now blame them for spreading lies, breaking laws, and causing chaos. Yesterday's Silicon Valley darlings have become today's Big Tech villains. Which is it? Are they superheroes or scoundrels? Or is it more complicated, some blend of both?In The Venture Alchemists, Rob Lalka demystifies how tech entrepreneurs built empires that made trillions. Meta started as a cruel Halloween prank, Alphabet began as a master's thesis that warned against corporate deception, and Palantir came from a campus controversy over hateful speech. These largely forgotten origin stories show how ordinary fears and youthful ambitions shaped their ventures—making each tech tale relatable, both wonderfully and tragically human. Readers learn about the adversities tech entrepreneurs overcame, the troubling tradeoffs they made, and the tremendous power they now wield. Using leaked documents and previously unpublished archival material, Lalka takes readers inside Big Tech's worst exploitations and abuses, alongside many good intentions and moral compromises.But this story remains unfinished, and The Venture Alchemists ultimately offers hope from the people who, decades ago, warned about the risks of the emerging Internet. Their insights illuminate a path toward more responsible innovations, so that technologies aren't dangerous weapons but valuable tools that ensure progress, improve society, and enhance our daily lives.

For Christians, it might seem like a confusing time to approach the political world. Polarization and partisanship threaten to divide communities, including the church. At the same time, American politics and government requires participation from its citizens, and Christians are called to be in the world for the sake of God's kingdom. How, exactly, are Christians to respond faithfully to an increasingly toxic political environment? In Uneasy Citizenship, political scientist Daniel Bennett proposes a way forward for the politically engaged and weary alike. Identifying both challenges and opportunities stemming from the contemporary political environment, Bennett argues for a distinctly Christian political engagement that confounds society's notions of what effective politics is. He advises Christians to combat the temptation to idolize political outcomes and focus instead on cultivating faithful political practices at the individual, local, and national levels. Faithful political engagement is not easy, especially during times of crisis and upheaval. Uneasy Citizenship shows how Christians can approach politics confidently and hopefully, taking our earthly citizenship seriously with an eye toward our inevitable citizenship in heaven.

We are living in a social, political, economic and environmental emergency. The status quo is profoundly unstable; change is inevitable. Now is the time to get together to build a far healthier and more balanced world, it is time to Change Everything. Natalie Bennett is on a mission to transform the way we think about our world. She explains how universal basic income will decommodify time and free people up to choose how best to use their energy and talents; she emphasises the importance of free education for everyone, for life; she encourages the pooling of assets, from sharing tools with your neighbour to fairly enjoying the planet's natural resources. From organising a litter pick or petitioning for a pedestrian crossing, from rethinking the financial markets and tax havens to re-evaluating the criminal justice system, Natalie has formulated a holistic, hopeful and practical vision for the future where people can really ‘do politics'. If we can bring together the imagination, talents and energy of everyone invested in change to rebuild and repair our societies, then a positive future is within our reach.

The book'Microencapsulation of Probiotics: Challenges and Future Prospects'addresses a current and extensively researched topic by discussing the potential of incorporating encapsulated probiotics into food to achieve numerous health benefits. When consumed, probiotics adhere to and colonize the intestinal tract, stimulating the immune system and maintaining mucosal integrity. They also produce various compounds that act to reduce or prevent pathogens and diseases. However, to ensure their delivery to the intestinal tract, encapsulation systems have been developed using various processes and materials to protect probiotics from adverse environmental conditions such as acidity, temperature, and oxygen, among others, which can lead to the loss of viability of these microorganisms. This book covers the most commonly employed encapsulation techniques and materials, presenting the potential of encapsulation systems based on recent studies. These include spray drying, coacervation, ionic gelation, and emulsion, as well as combinations of encapsulation techniques and the use of coating layers to enhance probiotic protection and promote controlled delivery. The significant advancements in probiotic encapsulation offered by science are notable, providing not only probiotic protection but also opportunities to use renewable, biocompatible, ecological, and safe-for-consumption materials, in addition to scalable and cost-effective techniques. This scenario allows for diverse applications, increasing the availability of encapsulated probiotic products in the market.

How second homeowners strategically leverage their privilege across multiple spacesIn recent decades, Americans have purchased second homes at unprecedented rates. In Privileging Place, Meaghan Stiman examines the experiences of predominantly upper-middle-class suburbanites who bought second homes in the city or the country. Drawing on interviews with more than sixty owners of second homes and ethnographic data collected over the course of two years in Rangeley, Maine, and Boston, Massachusetts, Stiman uncovers the motivations of these homeowners and analyzes the local consequences of their actions. By doing so, she traces the contours of privilege across communities in the twenty-first century.Stiman argues that, for the upper-middle-class residents of suburbia who bought urban or rural second homes, the purchase functioned as a way to balance a desire for access to material resources in suburban communities with a longing for a more meaningful connection to place in the city or the country. The tension between these two contradictory aims explains why homeowners bought second homes, how they engaged with the communities around them, and why they ultimately remained in their suburban hometowns. The second home is a place-identity project—a way to gain a sense of place identity they don't find in their hometowns while still holding on to hometown resources. Stiman's account offers a cautionary tale of the layers of privilege within and across geographies in the twenty-first century.

Don't Sweat the Technique equips aspiring performers, musical artists, singers, and hobbyists with the tools and knowledge needed to become a better rapper. Written in simple language and filled with many exercises, this book helps build techniques and unlocks solutions to common stumbling blocks that make people afraid to rap. It includes exclusive advice from dozens of MCs who share their approaches and give further insight into mastering the craft. Part one provides an introduction to hip-hop history—the birth of the genre, how it reflects African American experience and culture, major influencers in the industry, different subgenres and styles, and check points towards finding your authentic self in rap. Part two provides a tapestry of exercises, methods of practice, and practical tips that help with breath support, posture, diction, rhythm and flow, storytelling and delivery techniques, mic techniques, vocal health, and much more. After reading this book, you'll not only improve your rapping, but you'll also have something to say that will make people want to listen.