-
Never Home Alone
- From Microbes to Millipedes, Camel Crickets, and Honeybees, the Natural History of Where We Live
- Narrated by: Sean Patrick Hopkins
- Length: 9 hrs and 32 mins
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy for $29.65
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Drunken Botanist
- The Plants That Create the World's Great Drinks
- By: Amy Stewart
- Narrated by: Coleen Marlo
- Length: 10 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Every great drink starts with a plant. Sake began with a grain of rice. Scotch emerged from barley. Gin was born from a conifer shrub when medieval physicians boiled juniper berries with wine to treat stomach pain. The Drunken Botanist uncovers the surprising botanical history and fascinating science and chemistry of over 150 plants, flowers, trees, and fruits (and even a few fungi).
-
-
No more cheap tequila!
- By Cynthia on 03-23-13
By: Amy Stewart
-
Entangled Life
- How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures
- By: Merlin Sheldrake
- Narrated by: Merlin Sheldrake
- Length: 9 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When we think of fungi, we likely think of mushrooms. But mushrooms are only fruiting bodies, analogous to apples on a tree. Most fungi live out of sight, yet make up a massively diverse kingdom of organisms that supports and sustains nearly all living systems. Fungi provide a key to understanding the planet on which we live, and the ways we think, feel, and behave.
-
-
Mycology for Everyone
- By Cephalopods Revenge on 05-12-20
By: Merlin Sheldrake
-
Earth Moved
- On the Remarkable Achievements of Earthworms
- By: Amy Stewart
- Narrated by: Heather Henderson
- Length: 6 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
They destroy plant diseases. They break down toxins. They plough the earth. They transform forests. They’ve survived two mass extinctions, including the one that wiped out the dinosaur. Not bad for a creature that’s deaf, blind, and spineless. Who knew that earthworms were one of our planet’s most important caretakers? Or that Charles Darwin devoted his last years to studying their remarkable achievements?
-
-
I bow down to our benevolent worm overlords
- By Kirstin on 04-17-14
By: Amy Stewart
-
A Most Remarkable Creature
- The Hidden Life and Epic Journey of the World's Smartest Birds of Prey
- By: Jonathan Meiburg
- Narrated by: Jonathan Meiburg
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An enthralling account of a modern voyage of discovery as we meet the clever, social birds of prey called caracaras, which puzzled Darwin, fascinate modern-day falconers, and carry secrets of our planet's deep past in their family history.
-
-
I don't leave reviews often, but . . .
- By Steven L Peck on 06-24-21
By: Jonathan Meiburg
-
A Natural History of the Future
- What the Laws of Biology Tell Us about the Destiny of the Human Species
- By: Rob Dunn
- Narrated by: Donald Chang
- Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Our species has amassed unprecedented knowledge of nature, which we have tried to use to seize control of life and bend the planet to our will. In A Natural History of the Future, biologist Rob Dunn argues that such efforts are futile. We may see ourselves as life’s overlords, but we are instead at its mercy. In the evolution of antibiotic resistance, the power of natural selection to create biodiversity, and even the surprising life of the London Underground, Dunn finds laws of life that no human activity can annul.
-
-
Woke Author Worships at the Altar of ESG
- By Dan Collins on 03-22-22
By: Rob Dunn
-
Biography of Resistance
- The Epic Battle Between People and Pathogens
- By: Muhammad H. Zaman
- Narrated by: Kyle Tait
- Length: 8 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In September 2016, a woman in Nevada became the first known case in the US of a person who died of an infection resistant to every antibiotic available. Her death is the worst nightmare of infectious disease doctors and public health professionals. While bacteria live within us and are essential for our health, some strains can kill us. As bacteria continue to mutate, becoming increasingly resistant to known antibiotics, we are likely to face a public health crisis of unimaginable proportions.
-
-
Excellent read for a complicated issue
- By Anonymous User on 05-03-20
-
The Drunken Botanist
- The Plants That Create the World's Great Drinks
- By: Amy Stewart
- Narrated by: Coleen Marlo
- Length: 10 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Every great drink starts with a plant. Sake began with a grain of rice. Scotch emerged from barley. Gin was born from a conifer shrub when medieval physicians boiled juniper berries with wine to treat stomach pain. The Drunken Botanist uncovers the surprising botanical history and fascinating science and chemistry of over 150 plants, flowers, trees, and fruits (and even a few fungi).
-
-
No more cheap tequila!
- By Cynthia on 03-23-13
By: Amy Stewart
-
Entangled Life
- How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures
- By: Merlin Sheldrake
- Narrated by: Merlin Sheldrake
- Length: 9 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When we think of fungi, we likely think of mushrooms. But mushrooms are only fruiting bodies, analogous to apples on a tree. Most fungi live out of sight, yet make up a massively diverse kingdom of organisms that supports and sustains nearly all living systems. Fungi provide a key to understanding the planet on which we live, and the ways we think, feel, and behave.
-
-
Mycology for Everyone
- By Cephalopods Revenge on 05-12-20
By: Merlin Sheldrake
-
Earth Moved
- On the Remarkable Achievements of Earthworms
- By: Amy Stewart
- Narrated by: Heather Henderson
- Length: 6 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
They destroy plant diseases. They break down toxins. They plough the earth. They transform forests. They’ve survived two mass extinctions, including the one that wiped out the dinosaur. Not bad for a creature that’s deaf, blind, and spineless. Who knew that earthworms were one of our planet’s most important caretakers? Or that Charles Darwin devoted his last years to studying their remarkable achievements?
-
-
I bow down to our benevolent worm overlords
- By Kirstin on 04-17-14
By: Amy Stewart
-
A Most Remarkable Creature
- The Hidden Life and Epic Journey of the World's Smartest Birds of Prey
- By: Jonathan Meiburg
- Narrated by: Jonathan Meiburg
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An enthralling account of a modern voyage of discovery as we meet the clever, social birds of prey called caracaras, which puzzled Darwin, fascinate modern-day falconers, and carry secrets of our planet's deep past in their family history.
-
-
I don't leave reviews often, but . . .
- By Steven L Peck on 06-24-21
By: Jonathan Meiburg
-
A Natural History of the Future
- What the Laws of Biology Tell Us about the Destiny of the Human Species
- By: Rob Dunn
- Narrated by: Donald Chang
- Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Our species has amassed unprecedented knowledge of nature, which we have tried to use to seize control of life and bend the planet to our will. In A Natural History of the Future, biologist Rob Dunn argues that such efforts are futile. We may see ourselves as life’s overlords, but we are instead at its mercy. In the evolution of antibiotic resistance, the power of natural selection to create biodiversity, and even the surprising life of the London Underground, Dunn finds laws of life that no human activity can annul.
-
-
Woke Author Worships at the Altar of ESG
- By Dan Collins on 03-22-22
By: Rob Dunn
-
Biography of Resistance
- The Epic Battle Between People and Pathogens
- By: Muhammad H. Zaman
- Narrated by: Kyle Tait
- Length: 8 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In September 2016, a woman in Nevada became the first known case in the US of a person who died of an infection resistant to every antibiotic available. Her death is the worst nightmare of infectious disease doctors and public health professionals. While bacteria live within us and are essential for our health, some strains can kill us. As bacteria continue to mutate, becoming increasingly resistant to known antibiotics, we are likely to face a public health crisis of unimaginable proportions.
-
-
Excellent read for a complicated issue
- By Anonymous User on 05-03-20
-
The Math of Life and Death
- By: Kit Yates
- Narrated by: Kit Yates
- Length: 8 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From birthdays to birth rates to how we perceive the passing of time, mathematical patterns shape our lives. But for those of us who left math behind in high school, the numbers and figures hurled at us as we go about our days can sometimes leave us scratching our heads, feeling as if we're fumbling through a mathematical minefield.
-
-
Good but More Statistics than Biology
- By Anonymous User on 02-08-20
By: Kit Yates
-
Never out of Season
- How Having the Food We Want When We Want It Threatens Our Food Supply and Our Future
- By: Rob Dunn
- Narrated by: Dan Woren
- Length: 11 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Modern science has brought us produce in perpetual abundance - once-rare fruits are seemingly never out of season, and we breed and clone the hardiest, best-tasting varieties of the crops we rely on most. As a result, a smaller proportion of people on earth go hungry today than at any other moment in the last thousand years, and the streamlining of our food supply guarantees that the food we buy, from bananas to coffee to wheat, tastes the same every single time.
-
-
Fascinating + Roadmap to Destroy Things
- By Sarah Garland on 07-02-22
By: Rob Dunn
-
Zapped
- From Infrared to X-rays, the Curious History of Invisible Light
- By: Bob Berman
- Narrated by: Peter Ganim
- Length: 8 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
How much do you know about the radiation all around you? Your electronic devices swarm with it; the sun bathes you in it. It's zooming at you from cell towers, microwave ovens, CT scans, mammogram machines, nuclear power plants, deep space, even the walls of your basement. You cannot see, hear, smell, or feel it, but there is never a single second when it is not flying through your body. Too much of it will kill you, but without it you wouldn't live a year.
-
-
Wow, such a great book
- By johnathan on 11-16-21
By: Bob Berman
-
The World Until Yesterday
- What Can We Learn from Traditional Societies?
- By: Jared Diamond
- Narrated by: Jay Snyder
- Length: 18 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Most of us take for granted the features of our modern society, from air travel and telecommunications to literacy and obesity. Yet for nearly all of its six million years of existence, human society had none of these things. While the gulf that divides us from our primitive ancestors may seem unbridgeably wide, we can glimpse much of our former lifestyle in those largely traditional societies still or recently in existence.
-
-
A visit with our ancient ancestors
- By BRB on 01-30-13
By: Jared Diamond
-
The Story of the Human Body
- Evolution, Health, and Disease
- By: Daniel Lieberman
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 14 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this landmark book of popular science, Daniel E. Lieberman - chair of the department of human evolutionary biology at Harvard University and a leader in the field - gives us a lucid and engaging account of how the human body evolved over millions of years, even as it shows how the increasing disparity between the jumble of adaptations in our Stone Age bodies and advancements in the modern world is occasioning this paradox: greater longevity but increased chronic disease.
-
-
Could Have Been Good, but...
- By Trebla on 04-08-18
By: Daniel Lieberman
-
The Joy of x
- A Guided Tour of Math, from One to Infinity
- By: Steven Strogatz
- Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
- Length: 6 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Many people take math in high school and promptly forget much of it. But math plays a part in all of our lives all of the time, whether we know it or not. In The Joy of x, Steven Strogatz expands on his hit New York Times series to explain the big ideas of math gently and clearly, with wit, and insight.
-
-
Great listen
- By cameron on 08-16-19
By: Steven Strogatz
-
Fuzz
- When Nature Breaks the Law
- By: Mary Roach
- Narrated by: Mary Roach
- Length: 9 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What’s to be done about a jaywalking moose? A bear caught breaking and entering? A murderous tree? Three hundred years ago, animals that broke the law would be assigned legal representation and put on trial. These days, as New York Times best-selling author Mary Roach discovers, the answers are best found not in jurisprudence but in science: the curious science of human-wildlife conflict, a discipline at the crossroads of human behavior and wildlife biology.
-
-
Footnotes.
- By Jimmyjoejangles on 09-16-21
By: Mary Roach
-
I Contain Multitudes
- The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life
- By: Ed Yong
- Narrated by: Charlie Anson
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Joining the ranks of popular science classics like The Botany of Desire and The Selfish Gene, a groundbreaking, wondrously informative, and vastly entertaining examination of the most significant revolution in biology since Darwin - a "microbe's-eye view" of the world that reveals a marvelous, radically reconceived picture of life on Earth.
-
-
Fantastic Mix of Information & Description
- By Versh on 09-02-16
By: Ed Yong
-
Islands of Abandonment
- Nature Rebounding in the Post-Human Landscape
- By: Cal Flyn
- Narrated by: Cal Flyn
- Length: 9 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Some of the only truly feral cattle in the world wander a long-abandoned island off the northernmost tip of Scotland. A variety of wildlife not seen in many lifetimes has rebounded on the irradiated grounds of Chernobyl. A lush forest supports thousands of species that are extinct or endangered everywhere else on earth in the Korean peninsula's narrow DMZ.
-
-
Stunningly necessary
- By Mattia on 09-02-21
By: Cal Flyn
-
The Story of Earth
- The First 4.5 Billion Years, from Stardust to Living Planet
- By: Robert M. Hazen
- Narrated by: Walter Dixon
- Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Earth evolves. From first atom to molecule, mineral to magma, granite crust to single cell to verdant living landscape, ours is a planet constantly in flux. In this radical new approach to Earth’s biography, senior Carnegie Institution researcher and national best-selling author Robert M. Hazen reveals how the co-evolution of the geosphere and biosphere - of rocks and living matter - has shaped our planet into the only one of its kind in the Solar System, if not the entire cosmos.
-
-
Makes minerals interesting
- By Gary on 07-31-12
By: Robert M. Hazen
-
First Steps
- How Upright Walking Made Us Human
- By: Jeremy DeSilva
- Narrated by: Kaleo Griffith
- Length: 9 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Blending history, science, and culture, a stunning and highly engaging evolutionary story exploring how walking on two legs allowed humans to become the planet’s dominant species.
-
-
Excellent journey through human evolution
- By Paige on 05-14-21
By: Jeremy DeSilva
-
The Icepick Surgeon
- Murder, Fraud, Sabotage, Piracy, and Other Dastardly Deeds Perpetrated in the Name of Science
- By: Sam Kean
- Narrated by: Ben Sullivan
- Length: 11 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Science is a force for good in the world—at least usually. But sometimes, when obsession gets the better of scientists, they twist a noble pursuit into something sinister. Under this spell, knowledge isn’t everything, it’s the only thing—no matter the cost. Bestselling author Sam Kean tells the true story of what happens when unfettered ambition pushes otherwise rational men and women to cross the line in the name of science, trampling ethical boundaries and often committing crimes in the process.
-
-
FANTASTIC! & What’s up with all these naysayers (negative reviewers)?!
- By H. Zophie Leslea on 08-19-21
By: Sam Kean
Publisher's Summary
A natural history of the wilderness in our homes, from the microbes in our showers to the crickets in our basements Even when the floors are sparkling clean and the house seems silent, our domestic domain is wild beyond imagination.
In Never Home Alone, biologist Rob Dunn introduces us to the nearly 200,000 species living with us in our own homes, from the Egyptian meal moths in our cupboards and camel crickets in our basements to the lactobacillus lounging on our kitchen counters. You are not alone. Yet, as we obsess over sterilizing our homes and separating our spaces from nature, we are unwittingly cultivating an entirely new playground for evolution.
These changes are reshaping the organisms that live with us - prompting some to become more dangerous, while undermining those species that benefit our bodies or help us keep more threatening organisms at bay. No one who reads this engrossing, revelatory book will look at their homes in the same way again.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
Critic Reviews
"[An] intriguing and captivating scientific detective story...Dunn eloquently observes that many species we find in our homes have value to us." (BookPage)
"Delightfully entertaining and scientifically enlightening... [Dunn] makes a compelling case for the value of biodiversity, while also conveying the excitement of scientific investigation, demonstrating that important discoveries can be made very close to home." (Publishers Weekly)
"Scintillating...In a time of clear-eyed assessment of the environment, Dunn is a voice of reason who should be heartily welcomed." (Booklist, starred review)
More from the same
What listeners say about Never Home Alone
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Paula
- 04-17-19
The most astonishing book I've read this decade!
...and I purchase over 100 books a year. This is truly an AHa! book, that startles, amazes and inspires like none I have read since the Forgotten Pollinators, a couple of decades ago. Each chapter, each story, each new concept provides new insights into our natural world that I had never imagined. I have not written a review for a couple of years, but I just had to chime in about this treasure! I can't imagine anyone reading (listening) to it without coming away with a new understanding of life on our planet. I will buy it in hard cover and pass it on to all my friends that don't listen to audio books.
24 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Dana Hartley
- 09-20-19
The Most Riveting Story on a Micro Scale
I was hooked as soon as the book got into the history of microbiology. The reader of the audio book was excellent, giving a voice to the author as if he was speaking to me at a dinner party full of colleagues. As a wildlife biologist, my studies only included one microbiology class and no entomology (insects). I learned a lot from this book and the part that was most riveting was the studies done on the micro-organisms found within homes. The icing on the cake was that the author lives in Raleigh (I lived there for a good chunk of time), and is a prof. at NC State, my alma mater. This book made me want to simultaneously deep-clean my shower head, make my backyard more wilderness-friendly, make a sour dough bread starter, and get my hands into the earth.
13 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Ron
- 03-13-19
Wonders of this planet right under our noses
I loved it! This is well researched and fascinating. It is also well written, keeping the science fun.
7 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Ningu
- 07-21-20
Fascinating and fun
Rob Dunn makes science personal and offers hope for more effective ways to stay healthy. This book would appeal to kids, say ten and up, as well as every adult l know.
6 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Beth Swope
- 01-24-19
Very informative and icky
A great book for seeing the universe in our own home. A bit icky and scary knowing we are never alone. Good book. Slowed down near the end.
6 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- thomas johnson
- 11-18-19
Interesting but somewhat dull
It was a good story but some of the stories were old news if you know about the last decades progress in microbiology and immunology.
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Eugenia
- 12-27-20
How I Learned To Stop Fearing And Love Microbes
What perfect timing to listen to this book during a global pandemic!
At first, there was so much information about camel crickets that I almost tuned out. But I'm glad I stuck with it even through too much informational detail about microbiology.
But one of my favorite parts was about the shag carpeting of microbes on our bodies!
Can't say I liked the part about dogs and cats, but I don't think that's something that people like to hear. I just won't let a dog or cat lick my face.
But from now on I'm going to get my bread from the local bakery where they make it with their hands.
Oh and I'm going to open the windows and get all that biodiversity into our home.
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- H. Diaz
- 11-11-20
Fascinating book to listen to while cleaning!
I love to listen to audio books while I clean the house, and this book made me feel like... maybe I should consider HOW vigorously I clean in the future! There is so much to be gained by letting a little dirt into the house and going outside. This book was a little hard for me to get into when it started with microbes, but it quickly picked up (when talking about the history of cholera is when I really got hooked). There was a lot of attention given to camel crickets (interesting!) but there wasn't very much about millipedes or honeybees, but that's okay. The author also mentioned an interest in silverfish, something I want to know so much more about since I find them rather cute but they also eat my books. I hope there's a book about them soon! In the meantime, maybe I'll record what I find about the small creatures that I try to keep from eating my houseplants, or the little spider I have a casual agreement with to ignore so long as it stays in the corner. If you want to both cherish the "biodiversity" your pets bring into your home, while also growing suspicious of just how much our cats and dogs might affect our behavior, I absolutely recommend this book!
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jplang43
- 03-07-20
An endless diversity surrounds us!
I am a curious scientist at heart, and also lazy. This book made enjoying discoveries and revelations easy. I am also scouting microscopes and bread machines. If you are fascinated by your world then this book will feed your need to know.
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Klaus Earl Loft
- 01-12-19
ecology microenvironment put in context
well presented and interesting and this so in a field with a huge lack of information.....bravo
9 people found this helpful