The Rules of Contagion cover art

The Rules of Contagion

Why Things Spread - and Why They Stop

 Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 months free
Try for £0.00
£8.99/mo thereafter. Renews automatically. Terms apply. Offer ends 31 July 2025 at 23:59 GMT.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.

The Rules of Contagion

By: Adam Kucharski
Narrated by: Joe Jameson
Try for £0.00

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Offer ends 31 July 2025 23:59 GMT. Cancel monthly.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
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.
Cancel

About this listen

Why do some ideas take off - and others fail to spread? Why are some diseases predictable and others swamped in uncertainty? And what about the outbreaks that never happen at all?

We live in a world that's more connected than ever before. But even as we see our lives being shaped by the spread of ideas, trends - and even diseases - we sometimes struggle to grasp how it actually works. Outbreaks seem to be driven by randomness and hidden laws, and in order to understand them, we need to start thinking like mathematicians.

Here, epidemiologist Adam Kucharski reveals how new mathematical approaches are transforming what we know about contagion - from the revolutionary initiatives that helped tackle gun violence in Chicago to the truth behind the spread of fake news. And along the way, he'll explain how innovations and emotions can spread through our friendship networks, what STDs can tell us about banking and why some outbreak predictions go badly wrong.

©2020 Adam Kucharski (P)2020 Hachette Audio UK Biological Sciences Physics Science

Listeners also enjoyed...

 Preventable cover art
The Year the World Went Mad cover art
Epidemiology cover art
Reality Check cover art
The Origins of Political Order: From Prehuman Times to the French Revolution cover art
Our Final Invention cover art
The Price of Panic cover art
The Number Bias cover art
Expired cover art
Dark Data cover art
What Should We Be Worried About? cover art
The Misinformation Age cover art
Big Data cover art
Spike cover art
Apollo's Arrow cover art
Linked cover art
All stars
Most relevant  
I read this book in April 2020, 3 weeks into the UK’s lockdown. While fellow professionals of Kucharski might find fault (that’s what they do), I found this book not just revealing but almost prophetic. For epidemiologist there’s little to learn I would imagine but for a regular Joe Bloggs, this book was accessible, explaining in an accessible way without being patronising. It’s also me me angry that such knowledge exists but that governments all over the world, have fallen short in their preparations.

I’m so glad

I’ll definitely listen to it again.

The only thing missing is the word COVID19

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This book gives a fascinating insight into many different forms of contagion, not just obvious.
It’s well structured and presented.
And most topical....

How topical

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Listened at a time when Corona Virus has become a global pandemic, the lessons are vital mostly at this time and the knowledge in dealing with every other form of Contagion including the Social media.
Awesome work and yes I will listen again to fully grasp and internalise the most vital information from the book.
Second listen done! I will be back.

ABSOLUTELY TIMELY AND WORTHY

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Well researched and excellently connecting the various subject areas where 'contagion' occurs, that parallel infectious disease outbreaks and the value of statistical data modelling.

A book where a hard copy would also be beneficial to refer back to.

Timely reading/listening

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Very well written and read book charting a history of how we got here with study of contagion and it’s applications outside of disease. A great way to understand better some of the science now in every day use with COVID-19.

Very accessible

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Its brilliantly not what you think, but given recent times it offers a better understanding of the maths/science behind the model 'R' and its relevance in other world crisis's

Its brilliantly not what you think,

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Incredibly thorough and would definitely recommend. From not just disease but to crime and social media use, contagion modelling has never been more important

A timely book

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
well researched and portrayed stories of contagion and viruses across many domains. easy listen and educational. will buy future Kucharski books.

a great listen in the topic that is well informed

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Talk about perfect timing this book from Feb 2020 is one of the best books out there to understand covid and other viral phenomena like gang violence, social media post and political interference. must read to understand the viral effects all around us.

Brilliant book explaining the maths of contagion

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
If only the people that govern countries around the world had read this in January 2020, the scale of harm and destruction brought by and through COVID-19, may have been much less. It is essential reading for everyone, and especially government ministers and civil servants.

Written just before and published just as COVID-19, scarily accurate

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews