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The Big Fail by Bethany McLean & Joe Nocera
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The Big Fail

How Our Supply Chains Collapsed When We Needed Them Most
Due to publisher restrictions, this audiobook is unavailable for purchase in your selected country.
Length 12 hours 55 minutes
Language English
Narrators Bethany McLean & Joe Nocera

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Brought to you by Penguin.

From the author of the modern business classic The Smartest Guys in the Room comes a damning indictment of late-stage capitalism-and the leaders that were brutally unprepared for a global pandemic.


In 2020, the coronavirus pandemic made it painfully clear that governments across the world could not adequately protect their citizens. Millions of people suffered and died in just two years, while administrations around the globe blundered; prize-winning economists overlooked devastating trade-offs from the collapse of trade; and elites escaped to isolated retreats, unaffected by - and worse, even profiting from - the worst healthcare crisis to hit humanity in decades.

In this page-turning economic, political and financial history, veteran journalists Bethany McClean and Joseph Nocera analyse the American response to the pandemic as a case study, to offer fresh and provocative answers. With laser-sharp reporting and deep sourcing, they investigate what really happened when governments ran out of PPE due to snarled supply chains; and the shock to the financial system when the world's biggest economies stumbled. They zero in on the effectiveness of wildly polarised approaches across states, and they trace why thousands died in hollowed-out hospital systems and nursing homes run by private equity firms, all in the name of "maximising shareholder value".

The Big Fail is an expansive, gripping narrative account on what the pandemic did to one economy, and how it forced us to question the fundamental principles of our society

ยฉ2023 Bethany McLean & Joe Nocera (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Bethany McLean is a journalist and contributing editor for Vanity Fair. She has co-authored multiple bestselling books, including The Smartest Guys in the Room and All the Devils Are Here. Joe Nocera is a journalist and column writer for Dealbook. From 2019-2021, he wrote and hosted the podcast The Shrink Next Door, and he is co-author of All the Devils Are Here, as well as the author of A Piece of the Action and Indentured.

Bethany McLean is a journalist and contributing editor for Vanity Fair. She has co-authored multiple bestselling books, including The Smartest Guys in the Room and All the Devils Are Here. Joe Nocera is a journalist and column writer for Dealbook. From 2019-2021, he wrote and hosted the podcast The Shrink Next Door, and he is co-author of All the Devils Are Here, as well as the author of A Piece of the Action and Indentured.

Bethany McLean is a journalist and contributing editor for Vanity Fair. She has co-authored multiple bestselling books, including The Smartest Guys in the Room and All the Devils Are Here. Joe Nocera is a journalist and column writer for Dealbook. From 2019-2021, he wrote and hosted the podcast The Shrink Next Door, and he is co-author of All the Devils Are Here, as well as the author of A Piece of the Action and Indentured.

Bethany McLean is a journalist and contributing editor for Vanity Fair. She has co-authored multiple bestselling books, including The Smartest Guys in the Room and All the Devils Are Here. Joe Nocera is a journalist and column writer for Dealbook. From 2019-2021, he wrote and hosted the podcast The Shrink Next Door, and he is co-author of All the Devils Are Here, as well as the author of A Piece of the Action and Indentured.

Collage of audiobooks

Shop Small Sale

Shop our limited-time sale on bestselling audiobooks. Donโ€™t miss outโ€”purchases support local bookstores.

Shop the sale
Phone showing make the switch message

Limited-time offer

Get two free audiobooks!

Nowโ€™s a great time to shop indie. When you start a new one credit per month membership supporting local bookstores with promo code SWITCH, weโ€™ll give you two bonus audiobook credits at sign-up.

Sign up today
Stock up with our Shop Small Sale! Shop the sale