{"title":"Books by Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9781541703971","title":"The Ghost Lab","description":"\u003cb\u003eA surprising and compelling journey into the business of paranormal investigation, and the state of scientific literacy in America.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e In 2010, a sleepy small-town business plaza in rural New Hampshire rented space to an unusual tenant: a ghost laboratory. The Kitt Research Initiative’s mission was to use the scientific method to document the existence of spirits. Founder Andy Kitt was known as a straight-shooter; and was unafraid — perhaps eager — to offend other paranormal investigators by exposing the fraudulence of their less advanced techniques. Kitt’s efforts attracted flocks of psychics, alien abductees, witches, mediums, ghost hunters, UFOlogists, cryptozoologists and warlocks from all over New England, and the world. And there were plenty of them around.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Ghost Lab\u003c\/i\u003e tells the astonishing story of the wild ecosystem of paranormal profiteers and consumers. But it also reveals how the twin scourges of declining scientific literacy and eroding trust in institutions have created space for armies of pseudoscientists to step into the minds of an increasingly credulous public.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e With his distinct voice, eye for a story and ability to show how one community's experience reflects that of a society, Matt Hongoltz-Hetling crafts a powerful narrative about just how fragmented our understanding of what is real--and what is not--has become.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56303888466293,"sku":"9781541703971","price":25.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781541703971_8216447c-f713-43e4-ad84-e635bb4713fe.jpg?v=1786023495"},{"product_id":"9781541788497","title":"A Libertarian Walks Into a Bear","description":"\u003cb\u003e\"Simultaneously hilarious, poignant, and deeply unsettling.\" \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e―The New Republic\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA tiny American town's plans for radical self-government overlooked one hairy detail: no one told the bears.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003eOnce upon a time, a group of libertarians got together and hatched the Free Town Project, a plan to take over an American town and completely eliminate its government. In 2004, they set their sights on Grafton, NH, a barely populated settlement with one paved road. When they descended on Grafton, public funding for pretty much everything shrank: the fire department, the library, the schoolhouse. State and federal laws became meek suggestions, scarcely heard in the town's thick wilderness.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The anything-goes atmosphere soon caught the attention of Grafton's neighbors: the bears. Freedom-loving citizens ignored hunting laws and regulations on food disposal. They built a tent city in an effort to get off the grid. The bears smelled food and opportunity.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eA Libertarian Walks Into a Bear\u003c\/i\u003e is the sometimes funny, sometimes terrifying tale of what happens when a government disappears into the woods. Complete with gunplay, adventure, and backstabbing politicians, this is the ultimate story of a quintessential American experiment -- to live free or die, perhaps from a bear.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56304476586357,"sku":"9781541788497","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781541788497_8532ad83-cc2c-4ba7-8c40-b309c7f2c07d.jpg?v=1786023561"},{"product_id":"9781541788879","title":"If It Sounds Like a Quack...","description":"\u003cb\u003eA Pulitzer Prize finalist's bizarre journalistic journey through the world of fringe medicine, filled with leeches, baking soda IVs, and, according to at least one person, zombies.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e It's no secret that American health care has become too costly and politicized to help everyone. So where do you turn if you can't afford doctors, or don't trust them? In this book, Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling examines the growing universe of non-traditional treatments -- including some that are \u003ci\u003ereally\u003c\/i\u003e non-traditional.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e With costs skyrocketing and anti-science sentiment spreading, the so-called \"medical freedom\" movement has grown. Now it faces its greatest challenge: going mainstream. In these pages you'll meet medical freedom advocates including an international leech smuggler, a gold miner-turned health drink salesman who may or may not be from the Andromeda galaxy, and a man who says he can turn people into zombies with aerosol spray. One by one, these alternative healers find customers, then expand and influence, always seeking the one thing that would take their businesses to the next level--the support and approval of the government.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Should the government dictate what is medicine and what isn't? Can we have public health when disagreements over science are this profound? No, seriously, can you turn people into flesh-eating zombies? \u003ci\u003eIf It Sounds Like a Quack \u003c\/i\u003easks these critical questions while telling the story of how we got to this improbable moment, and wondering where we go from here. Buckle up for a bumpy ride...unless you're against seatbelts.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56304671129973,"sku":"9781541788879","price":25.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781541788879_76851286-40b9-44e7-99a0-9caaf2793a79.jpg?v=1786023563"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-matthew-hongoltz-hetling.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}