
Things That Can and Cannot Be Said
Essays and Conversations
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $11.01
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Sneha Mathan
-
Jim Meskimen
About this listen
In this rich dialogue on surveillance, empire, and power, Roy and Cusack describe meeting with National Security Agency whistleblower Ed Snowden.
In late 2014, Arundhati Roy, John Cusack, and Daniel Ellsberg traveled to Moscow to meet with Edward Snowden. The result is a series of essays and dialogues in which Roy and Cusack reflect on their conversations with Snowden.
In these provocative and penetrating discussions, Roy and Cusack discuss the nature of the state, empire, and surveillance in an era of perpetual war, the meaning of flags and patriotism, the role of foundations and NGOs in limiting dissent, and the ways in which capital but not people can freely cross borders.
©2016 Arundhati Roy and John Cusack (P)2017 Blackstone Audio, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
-
My Seditious Heart
- Collected Nonfiction
- By: Arundhati Roy
- Narrated by: Tania Rodrigues
- Length: 36 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
My Seditious Heart collects the work of a two-decade period when Arundhati Roy devoted herself to the political essay as a way of opening up space for justice, rights, and freedoms in an increasingly hostile environment. Radical and superbly listenable, the essays speak in a voice of unique spirit, marked by compassion, clarity, and courage. Roy offers a powerful defense of the collective, of the individual, and of the land, in the face of the destructive logic of financial, social, religious, military, and governmental elites.
-
-
real face of secular india
- By bilal on 11-26-19
By: Arundhati Roy
-
Azadi
- Freedom. Fascism. Fiction.
- By: Arundhati Roy
- Narrated by: Shaheen Khan
- Length: 6 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The chant of Azadi! - Urdu for "freedom!" - is the slogan of the freedom struggle in Kashmir against what Kashmiris see as the Indian Occupation. Ironically it has also become the chant of millions on the streets of India against the project of Hindu Nationalism. What lies between these two calls for freedom? A chasm or a bridge? In this series of penetrating essays on politics and literature, Arundhati Roy examines this question and challenges us to reflect on the meaning of freedom in a world of growing authoritarianism.
-
-
Eye opener to all the fascist practices in India
- By Samanvitha on 02-02-21
By: Arundhati Roy
-
Rogue States
- The Rule of Force in World Affairs
- By: Noam Chomsky
- Narrated by: Brian Jones
- Length: 9 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Noam Chomsky argues that, contrary to popular perception, the real "rogue" states in the world today are not the dictator-led developing countries we hear about in the news but the United States and its allies. He challenges the legal and humanitarian reasons given to justify intervention in global conflicts in order to reveal the West's reliance on the rule of force. He examines NATO's intervention in Kosovo, the crisis in East Timor, and US involvement in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Latin America.
-
-
GADFLY
- By chetyarbrough.blog on 02-25-16
By: Noam Chomsky
-
The Life of the Mind
- By: Hannah Arendt
- Narrated by: Laural Merlington
- Length: 20 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Considered by many to be Hannah Arendt's greatest work, published as she neared the end of her life, The Life of the Mind investigates thought itself, as it exists in contemplative life. In a shift from her previous writings, most of which focus on the world outside the mind, this work was planned as three volumes that would explore the activities of the mind considered by Arendt to be fundamental. What emerged is a rich, challenging analysis of human mental activity, considered in terms of thinking, willing, and judging.
-
-
English only please
- By angela cozea on 11-20-19
By: Hannah Arendt
-
Permanent Record
- By: Edward Snowden
- Narrated by: Holter Graham
- Length: 11 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Edward Snowden, the man who risked everything to expose the US government’s system of mass surveillance, reveals for the first time the story of his life, including how he helped to build that system and what motivated him to try to bring it down.
-
-
Great (if incomplete) account
- By Ryan L on 09-22-19
By: Edward Snowden
-
A Bend in the River
- By: V. S. Naipaul
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 10 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this incandescent novel, V.S. Naipaul takes us deeply into the life of one man, an Indian who, uprooted by the bloody tides of Third World history, has come to live in an isolated town at the bend of a great river in a newly independent African nation. Naipaul gives us the most convincing and disturbing vision yet of what happens in a place caught between the dangerously alluring modern world and its own tenacious past and traditions.
-
-
Beautiful, insightful, troubling
- By Lawrence on 01-15-05
By: V. S. Naipaul
-
My Seditious Heart
- Collected Nonfiction
- By: Arundhati Roy
- Narrated by: Tania Rodrigues
- Length: 36 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
My Seditious Heart collects the work of a two-decade period when Arundhati Roy devoted herself to the political essay as a way of opening up space for justice, rights, and freedoms in an increasingly hostile environment. Radical and superbly listenable, the essays speak in a voice of unique spirit, marked by compassion, clarity, and courage. Roy offers a powerful defense of the collective, of the individual, and of the land, in the face of the destructive logic of financial, social, religious, military, and governmental elites.
-
-
real face of secular india
- By bilal on 11-26-19
By: Arundhati Roy
-
Azadi
- Freedom. Fascism. Fiction.
- By: Arundhati Roy
- Narrated by: Shaheen Khan
- Length: 6 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The chant of Azadi! - Urdu for "freedom!" - is the slogan of the freedom struggle in Kashmir against what Kashmiris see as the Indian Occupation. Ironically it has also become the chant of millions on the streets of India against the project of Hindu Nationalism. What lies between these two calls for freedom? A chasm or a bridge? In this series of penetrating essays on politics and literature, Arundhati Roy examines this question and challenges us to reflect on the meaning of freedom in a world of growing authoritarianism.
-
-
Eye opener to all the fascist practices in India
- By Samanvitha on 02-02-21
By: Arundhati Roy
-
Rogue States
- The Rule of Force in World Affairs
- By: Noam Chomsky
- Narrated by: Brian Jones
- Length: 9 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Noam Chomsky argues that, contrary to popular perception, the real "rogue" states in the world today are not the dictator-led developing countries we hear about in the news but the United States and its allies. He challenges the legal and humanitarian reasons given to justify intervention in global conflicts in order to reveal the West's reliance on the rule of force. He examines NATO's intervention in Kosovo, the crisis in East Timor, and US involvement in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Latin America.
-
-
GADFLY
- By chetyarbrough.blog on 02-25-16
By: Noam Chomsky
-
The Life of the Mind
- By: Hannah Arendt
- Narrated by: Laural Merlington
- Length: 20 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Considered by many to be Hannah Arendt's greatest work, published as she neared the end of her life, The Life of the Mind investigates thought itself, as it exists in contemplative life. In a shift from her previous writings, most of which focus on the world outside the mind, this work was planned as three volumes that would explore the activities of the mind considered by Arendt to be fundamental. What emerged is a rich, challenging analysis of human mental activity, considered in terms of thinking, willing, and judging.
-
-
English only please
- By angela cozea on 11-20-19
By: Hannah Arendt
-
Permanent Record
- By: Edward Snowden
- Narrated by: Holter Graham
- Length: 11 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Edward Snowden, the man who risked everything to expose the US government’s system of mass surveillance, reveals for the first time the story of his life, including how he helped to build that system and what motivated him to try to bring it down.
-
-
Great (if incomplete) account
- By Ryan L on 09-22-19
By: Edward Snowden
-
A Bend in the River
- By: V. S. Naipaul
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 10 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this incandescent novel, V.S. Naipaul takes us deeply into the life of one man, an Indian who, uprooted by the bloody tides of Third World history, has come to live in an isolated town at the bend of a great river in a newly independent African nation. Naipaul gives us the most convincing and disturbing vision yet of what happens in a place caught between the dangerously alluring modern world and its own tenacious past and traditions.
-
-
Beautiful, insightful, troubling
- By Lawrence on 01-15-05
By: V. S. Naipaul
-
As Long as Grass Grows
- The Indigenous Fight for Environmental Justice, from Colonization to Standing Rock
- By: Dina Gilio-Whitaker
- Narrated by: Kyla Garcia
- Length: 7 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The story of Native peoples’ resistance to environmental injustice and land incursions and a call for environmentalists to learn from the indigenous community’s rich history of activism.
-
-
Unbalanced Information
- By J. Scott on 08-30-22
-
A Peace to End All Peace
- The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East
- By: David Fromkin
- Narrated by: David de Vries
- Length: 23 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Middle East has long been a region of rival religions, ideologies, nationalisms, and ambitions. All of these conflicts are rooted in the region's political inheritance: the arrangements, unities, and divisions imposed by the Allies after the First World War. Author David Fromkin reveals how and why the Allies drew lines on an empty map that remade the geography and politics of the Middle East. Focusing on the formative years of 1914 to 1922, when all seemed possible, he delivers in this sweeping and magisterial book the definitive account of this defining time.
-
-
Still A Great Book On The Topic
- By Nostromo on 02-03-19
By: David Fromkin
-
God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater
- By: Kurt Vonnegut
- Narrated by: Eric Michael Summerer
- Length: 5 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Eliot Rosewater, a drunk volunteer fireman and president of the fabulously rich Rosewater Foundation, is about to attempt a noble experiment with human nature, with a little help from writer Kilgore Trout. The result is Kurt Vonnegut's funniest satire, an etched-in-acid portrayal of the greed, hypocrisy, and follies of the flesh we are all heir to.
-
-
Hello, babies. Welcome to Earth.
- By Darwin8u on 03-27-14
By: Kurt Vonnegut
-
Beyond Weird
- By: Philip Ball
- Narrated by: Jonathan Cowley
- Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An exhilarating tour of the contemporary quantum landscape, Beyond Weird is a book about what quantum physics really means - and what it doesn't. Science writer Philip Ball offers an up-to-date, accessible account of the quest to come to grips with the most fundamental theory of physical reality, and to explain how its counterintuitive principles underpin the world we experience.
-
-
A difficult listen
- By Ray on 03-17-19
By: Philip Ball
-
The Dirty Tricks Department
- Stanley Lovell, the OSS, and the Masterminds of World War II Secret Warfare
- By: John Lisle
- Narrated by: Pete Cross
- Length: 8 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the summer of 1942, Stanley Lovell, a renowned industrial chemist, received a mysterious order to report to an unfamiliar building in Washington, D.C. When he arrived, he was led to a barren room where he waited to meet the man who had summoned him. After a disconcerting amount of time, William “Wild Bill” Donovan, the head of the OSS, walked in the door. Following this life-changing encounter, Lovell became the head of a secret group of scientists who developed dirty tricks for the OSS, the precursor to the CIA.
-
-
amazing book finished in less than a week
- By xander on 03-17-23
By: John Lisle
-
50 Economics Classics
- Your Shortcut to the Most Important Ideas on Capitalism, Finance, and the Global Economy
- By: Tom Butler-Bowdon
- Narrated by: John Chancer
- Length: 15 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Economics drives the modern world and shapes our lives, but few of us feel we have time to engage with the breadth of ideas in the subject. 50 Economics Classics is the smart person's guide to two centuries of discussion of finance, capitalism, and the global economy. From Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations to Thomas Piketty's best-seller Capital in the Twenty-First Century, here are the great books and seminal ideas, clarified and illuminated for all.
-
Blood and Money
- War, Slavery, Finance, and Empire
- By: David McNally
- Narrated by: Tim Getman
- Length: 11 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In most accounts of the origins of money, we are offered pleasant tales in which it arises to the mutual benefit of all parties as a result of barter. In this groundbreaking study David McNally reveals the true story of money's origins and development as one of violence and human bondage. Money's emergence and its transformation are shown to be intimately connected to the buying and selling of slaves and the waging of war.
-
-
Blood Money
- By Tyrone on 03-19-22
By: David McNally
-
Rethinking Camelot
- JFK, the Vietnam War, and U.S. Political Culture
- By: Noam Chomsky
- Narrated by: Brian Jones
- Length: 7 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Noam Chomsky dismisses efforts to resurrect Camelot - an attractive American myth portraying JFK as a shining knight promising peace, foiled only by assassins bent on stopping this lone hero from withdrawing from Vietnam. Chomsky argues that US institutions an political culture, not individual presidents, are the key to understanding US behavior during the Vietnam War.
-
-
Great work.
- By Will Shogren on 10-25-21
By: Noam Chomsky
-
Scorched Earth
- Restoring the Country After Obama
- By: Michael Savage
- Narrated by: James Edward Thomas
- Length: 8 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Listeners to Dr. Savage's top-rated radio talk show, The Savage Nation, know him to be an articulate and engaged spokesman for traditional American values of borders, language, and culture. Now, after eight divisive years of Barack Obama, Dr. Savage lays out an irrefutable case for how our nation has been undermined by terrorists from without, by anarchists from within, by a president and politicians with contempt for the Constitution and the law, and by a complicit liberal media.
-
-
No sugarcoating
- By Vanessa D. on 09-18-16
By: Michael Savage
-
Climate
- A New Story
- By: Charles Eisenstein
- Narrated by: Steve Wojtas
- Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With research and insight, Charles Eisenstein details how the quantification of the natural world leads to a lack of integration and our “fight” mentality. With an entire chapter unpacking the climate change denier’s point of view, he advocates for expanding our exclusive focus on carbon emissions to see the broader picture beyond our short-sighted and incomplete approach. This refocusing away from impending catastrophe and our inevitable doom cultivates meaningful emotional and psychological connections and provides real, actionable steps to caring for the Earth.
-
-
Not just a book, but a way of life
- By Love Fry on 01-15-19
-
Year 501
- The Conquest Continues
- By: Noam Chomsky
- Narrated by: Brian Jones
- Length: 15 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Analyzing Haiti, Latin America, Cuba, Indonesia, and even packets of the Third World developing in the United States, Noam Chomsky draws parallels between the genocide of colonial times and the murder and exploitation associated with modern-day imperialism.
-
-
It's very good
- By Paola V. Hidalgo on 08-11-17
By: Noam Chomsky
-
Hopes and Prospects
- By: Noam Chomsky
- Narrated by: Brian Jones
- Length: 11 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this urgent new book, Noam Chomsky examines the dangers and prospects of our early 21st century. Exploring challenges such as the growing gap between North and South, American exceptionalism (including under President Obama), the fiascos of Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S.-Israeli assault on Gaza, and the recent recent financial bailouts, he also sees hope for the future. Chomsky surveys the democratic wave in Latin America and the growing global solidarity movements.
-
-
An Intellectual Wind Tunnel
- By Cellar_Door_Books on 04-23-11
By: Noam Chomsky
What listeners say about Things That Can and Cannot Be Said
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jason S. Wilson
- 11-02-22
Material and logic behind it was exceptional
I really was confused by the disconnect of those tackling these serious subjects professionally paired with the presumption of John Cusack (it’s my understanding that he’s never been a runway model) pejoratively critiquing men’s facial aesthetics as that of a frog. Should he really have stuck his neck out like that?
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- The Bookie
- 01-21-21
DNF: Disjointed and hard to follow
I admit, I didn't make it far into this. Its like being thrown into the middle of a dialogue without a lot of context, only that dialogue is in transcript form, being read by a single narrator. The narrator uses abbreviations for the speakers, moving quickly from one response to another person's rebuttal, then back again, and so much is lost from not being able to hear the original speakers' voices, nuance, and intonations.
Just really hard to follow the flow that presumably existed in the original conversations. It would have been much better to just replay those original recordings.
I suspect the content of these dialogues are worth reading as they are discussing important world events from unique perspectuves. But... unfortunately there are too many excellent books to spend 2 hours of my life on to waste in trudging through this format. If its re-released, I will gladly revisit it.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Tinkerbellstwin
- 10-16-20
Very Misleading
This is NOT narrated by Arundhati Roy and John Cusack. That is the first disappointment. And because it’s not narrated by them, this becomes very disjointed and confusing. And there is very little with Snowden. And it seemingly abruptly cuts off and you are left going “W T HECK?”
I was expecting so much more and am very disappointed.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Roma
- 07-27-22
Cusack does not narrate :(
I was very disappointed to find that John Cusack does not narrate this book.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful