Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

  • Houston, We Have a Narrative

  • Why Science Needs Story
  • By: Randy Olson
  • Narrated by: David Stifel
  • Length: 8 hrs and 1 min
  • 3.7 out of 5 stars (3 ratings)
Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
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.
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.
Houston, We Have a Narrative cover art

Houston, We Have a Narrative

By: Randy Olson
Narrated by: David Stifel
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

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.

Listeners also enjoyed...

The Narrative Gym: Introducing the ABT Framework for Messaging and Communication cover art
Aha! cover art
Failure: Why Science Is so Successful cover art
The Straight-A Conspiracy cover art
Science Friction cover art
Breaking Out cover art
The Art of the Tale cover art
The Art of Explanation cover art
Ignorance cover art
Strategic Intuition cover art
Putting Stories to Work cover art
Letters to a Young Mathematician cover art
Story Structure: The Key to Successful Fiction cover art
TED Talks cover art
Made to Stick cover art
Questions Are the Answer cover art

Summary

Ask a scientist about Hollywood, and you'll probably get eye rolls. But ask someone in Hollywood about science, and they'll see dollar signs: Moviemakers know that science can be the source of great stories, with all the drama and action that blockbusters require.

That's a huge mistake, says Randy Olson: Hollywood has a lot to teach scientists about how to tell a story - and, ultimately, how to do science better. With Houston, We Have a Narrative, he lays out a stunningly simple method for turning the dull into the dramatic. 

Drawing on his unique background, which saw him leave his job as a working scientist to launch a career as a filmmaker, Olson first diagnoses the problem: When scientists tell us about their work, they pile one moment and one detail atop another moment and another detail - a stultifying procession of "and, and, and". What we need instead is an understanding of the basic elements of story, the narrative structures that our brains are all but hardwired to look for - which Olson boils down, brilliantly, to "And, But, Therefore", or ABT. At a stroke, the ABT approach introduces momentum ("And"), conflict ("But"), and resolution ("Therefore") - the fundamental building blocks of story.

As Olson has demonstrated by leading countless workshops worldwide, when scientists' eyes are opened to ABT, the effect is staggering: Suddenly, they're not just talking about their work - they're telling stories about it. And audiences are captivated.

Written with an uncommon verve and enthusiasm, and built on principles that are applicable to fields far beyond science, Houston, We Have a Narrative has the power to transform the way science is understood and appreciated, and ultimately how it's done.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2015 Randy Olson (P)2018 Tantor

What listeners say about Houston, We Have a Narrative

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0

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

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

Nothing in this book makes sense, except...

... through the lense of the author marketing himself as a professional for hire.

I'm an academic looking for a book that can improve my writing and I was very excited about this one. But then, the personal stories and veiled sales pitches started to take up so much space inbetween the nuggets of gold that they became increasingly irritating and distracting. Therefore, I quit the book almost at the end, right after the part where the author explains how it would be better if climate activists would have listened to the professionals and academics should rather hire professionals from hollywood than to learn to create great story arcs.

I have learned a few great things, but only a few. The endless marketing and "I told you so" attitude soured it for me.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful