Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Preview
  • Conspiracy

  • Peter Thiel, Hulk Hogan, Gawker, and the Anatomy of Intrigue
  • By: Ryan Holiday
  • Narrated by: Ryan Holiday
  • Length: 11 hrs and 39 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (263 ratings)

£0.00 for first 30 days

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Conspiracy

By: Ryan Holiday
Narrated by: Ryan Holiday
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Summary

In 2016, one of the giants of modern journalism fell: Gawker Media, infamous for saying what other outlets wouldn't say, was sued for publishing Hulk Hogan's sex tape, lost the case and went bust. After countless other lawsuits it seemed that Gawker had finally run out of luck. But luck had nothing to do with it.

Peter Thiel, PayPal founder and billionaire investor, had masterminded the whole thing. Still furious at an article that had outed him 10 years previously, and increasingly disgusted at Gawker's unscrupulous reporting methods, Thiel had spent nearly a decade meticulously plotting a conspiracy that would lead to the demise of Gawker and its founder, Nick Denton. After a multiyear proxy war through the Florida legal system, the settlement of $140 million in favour of Hogan ended it. The verdict would stun the world, and so would Peter's ultimate unmasking as the man who had set it all in motion. Why had he done this? How had no one discovered it? What would this mean - for free speech? For privacy? For culture?

In Holiday's masterful telling of this nearly unbelievable conspiracy, informed by exclusive interviews with all the key players, this case transcends the narrative of how one billionaire took down a media empire or the current state of the free press. It's a study in power, strategy, and one of the most wildly ambitious - and successful - secret plots in recent memory.

©2018 Ryan Holiday (P)2018 Penguin Audio
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

Truth in Our Times cover art
Trust Me, I'm Lying cover art
Ego Is the Enemy cover art
Rather Outspoken cover art
Glass Jaw cover art
Truth cover art
Damage Control cover art
The Alignment Problem cover art
Murders of Crows cover art
48 Laws of Power cover art
American Pravda cover art
Five Families cover art
Unfamiliar Fishes cover art
Atlas Shrugged cover art
Righteous Indignation cover art
Not Alone: First Encounter cover art

What listeners say about Conspiracy

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    137
  • 4 Stars
    85
  • 3 Stars
    26
  • 2 Stars
    11
  • 1 Stars
    4
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    107
  • 4 Stars
    50
  • 3 Stars
    35
  • 2 Stars
    17
  • 1 Stars
    16
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    144
  • 4 Stars
    58
  • 3 Stars
    15
  • 2 Stars
    5
  • 1 Stars
    5

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Good

Narrators voice is quite annoying. Speaks slow but very nasal. Not my style but the content of the book was very enjoyable. Last few chapters lost some momentum. Highly recommended.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent enthralling recommended

This is definitely the best book I have read for many years. The story is terrific while including lots valuable comments on life

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great Goliath vs hidden Goliath story, but....

Really enjoyed this well researched story about Thiel vs Gawker with enough detail and certain amount of philosophizing to make it into one of my favourite books this year from a content perspective. A good amount of detail, yet also a good amount of reflection on various interpretations of facts presented.


However, the narrator's strength of slow reading when conveying details becomes soporific when using the same slow methodical intonation to relate the exciting, surprising and weird that also regularly occurs in the book

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

An incredible story poorly told.

I’m going to start by saying that this book is a very well researched, thoughtful and nuanced retelling of a fascinating true story.

The problems for me are twofold; Ryan Holiday (the author) narrates this book. As skilled as Holiday is as a writer his speech on this title is monotone, pauses in odd places and sounds robotic, so much so that I would have sent this back unfinished if it weren’t for the fact that the story itself is relevant and engaging.

My second frustration with this listen is that Holiday makes dozens and dozens of references to other situations, politicians, writers and historical events. Among many others the references are as diverse as the writing of Sun Tzu, many former presidents, military strategy of WW2 and so many more. Whilst I do understand the importance of ensuring that a true story is both relevant and placed within a historical context there are so many references here that they become an unwelcome distraction, as a reader it felt that I was being patronised too - that Holiday assumes the reader/listener wouldn’t be able to form connections, inferences and conclusions independently. Much of it was unnecessary padding.

This is a shame, after listening to this I have every admiration for Holiday as a writer. This is not a project that I could have researched and written about, Holiday has my full admiration for his attention to detail. I do think that Holiday should have written with the confidence to write the story, which he does very well without the need to continually qualify his assertions.

These criticisms notwithstanding this is a parable for our times. Undoubtedly it raises many questions about free speech in the internet age, personal privacy and the power of wealthy individuals to manipulate the law and wider society. To some extent this story is still unfolding, it would be useful to revisit the effects of the events in this book a decade from now.

It is worth sticking with this.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Delivery lets it down

This is a competently written insight into the fascinating decade long conspiracy to take down a media empire. However the audiobook is severely let down by the decision too allow the author Ryan Holiday to perform the reading. Typically I enjoy authors reading their work as the tend to provide additional insight, but this is certainly not the case here. Holiday reads like a child struggling through an unfamiliar text. The paused and emphasis are bizarre and disjointed. I tried playing at 1.5 speed which did improve delivery somewhat but this performance should have never been allowed to make it past a publisher.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Great story; enjoyed it.

really interesting and thought provoking. Thought Ryan's narration was a bit off cadence at times.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Highly recommended

Such a well written and researched book. I knew the story before but it flows like a thriller mixed with amazing insight. This is one of those books I will talk about a lot and will recommend to others.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Interesting story undermined by author’s strange staccato delivery

This is an interesting tale...it covers many contemporary themes...however...the tale is not...well read...by its author.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Ryan Holiday is a wonderful author

Ryan Holiday is a wonderful author and has a great tone for reading audio books. This book brought a new topic to my attention and it kept me interested throughout.

Very insightful

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Thrilling!! Amazing story masterly told!

If this was Ryan’s debut book of this genre! I cannot wait for the ones that will follow!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful