The Playbook, Jennifer Jacquet
The Playbook, Jennifer Jacquet
List: $15.00 | Sale: $10.50
Club: $7.50

The Playbook
How to Deny Science, Sell Lies, and Make a Killing in the Corporate World

Author: Jennifer Jacquet

Narrator: Jennifer Jacquet, Mirron Willis

Unabridged: 4 hr 36 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 07/12/2022

Synopsis

From an astute observer of business behavior and expert in climate denial comes a thought-provoking explanation of how corporations delay, distract, and deflect blame and spread disinformation surrounding health issues, pollution, and climate change.

“Brilliantly subversive and witty. If you want to be a vile, greedy capitalist, this how-to book will be a great help. And if you want to identify vile, greedy capitalists, it will show you how to recognize them. A landmark book.” —Brian Eno

Are you a corporation out to make your fortune at any cost? Are you worried about “facts” and “experts” getting in the way of your profits? Do you wish you could make scientists, journalists, and anyone who asks questions about your suspect business practices disappear? Now you can.
 
Whether you are selling tobacco, dealing in oil, or pushing pharmaceuticals, denying climate change or exploiting workers, The Playbook is here to help you obfuscate your way to what you want.

Including how to:   Massage the statistics to suit your needs. Or, even better, fund studies to make up some new onesAttract and cultivate university professors who have an axe to grind and are short of cashMake your problem somebody else’s problem—ideally the government’sRemember: Tame journalists, PR firms, think tanks, lawyers, and threats of physical violence are your friends! 
Follow these rules and you are guaranteed to make a killing. It’s economic sense, after all.

About Jennifer Jacquet

Jennifer Jacquet is an assistant professor in the Department of Environmental Studies at New York University. She works at the intersection of conservation and cooperation, focusing on the human dimensions of large-scale social dilemmas, such as overfishing and climate change. She formerly wrote for the Guilty Planet blog at Scientific American.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Siobhan on July 30, 2022

The Playbook is a nonfiction book about how corporations deny science in order to make money, told in the format of a playbook aimed at these corporations telling them about all the techniques that can be used. The book explores concepts like engaging with academics and PR companies, dealing with st......more

Goodreads review by Madison Weisend on December 05, 2022

So good. A must-read for anyone concerned about disinformation and/or general politics today.......more

Goodreads review by Chris on July 15, 2022

I absolutely loved Jennifer’s previous book Is Shame Necessary?, so I was super excited when I saw she had a new book that just came out. This book is phenomenal, and I binged it in about a day. This book is short and direct, and it’s a great introduction to people who are unaware about how much big......more

Goodreads review by Brenden on February 26, 2025

Solid primer on corporate strategies to combat bad press presented in a fun and digestible form. Well done!......more

Goodreads review by Katie on August 23, 2022

I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher after winning a giveaway on Instagram. The Playbook is a facetious guide for "The Corporation" on how to successfully deny, dismiss, and downplay scientific knowledge. Within these pages, Jacquet provides a framework offering creative tacti......more

Quotes

“Brilliantly effective . . . gleefully amoral . . . a machiavellian secret guide for executives worried about what the latest science might mean for their business.”
—The Guardian

“If you feel exhausted from constantly taking the high road, The Playbook offers an enticing alternative . . . [with] Jacquet’s dry humor suffusing each chapter, . . . the book's tongue-in-cheek format is a chilling realization that the villains in The Playbook are extraordinarily banal. The tactics that enable their misconduct have been recycled across decades.”
—Scientific American

“This brilliantly subversive and witty book lays bare the techniques of manipulation and disinformation that keep the rich and powerful rich and powerful. It’s a handbook to show you all their tricks—with working examples. If you want to be a vile, greedy capitalist, this how-to book will be a great help. And if you want to identify vile greedy capitalists it will show you how to recognise them. It’s a landmark book.”
—Brian Eno

“This whip-smart and delightfully snarky exposé gives readers the tools to recognize and refute corporate deception . . . Fashioned as a strategy manual, Jacquet’s satirical advice explains . . . how to challenge the existence of a problem, the integrity of those who raise it, and the need for policies to address it.”
—Publishers Weekly
 
“A savage satirical stab at corporate malfeasance draws blood…[Jacquet] takes an original approach to indicting the ethical vacuum that besets much of big business. [The Playbook is] a sharp warning to corporations that deep pockets and armies of accomplices won’t stall a reckoning forever.”
—Kirkus Reviews

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