New Reviews: Contemporary Culture

Early on, the story of Otzi, whose 3,000-thousand-year-old body was uncovered in the Italian Alps in 1991, is retold. Stacy Gonzalez brings a touch of suspense to the story, and she strikes a sympathetic chord as she narrates Otzi's pain while dying. Science writer Lisa Baril explores ice patch archaeology, the field that uncovers the history behind artifacts--and bodies--found... Read More

Narrator Vico Ortiz imbues humanity and compassion into this candid, moving portrait of eight trans and nonbinary teenagers living in the U.S. Journalist Nico Lang seamlessly weaves together personal interviews from across the country, ranging from California to Texas to Florida and more. Each profile is a compelling listening experience, with vivid details of the teens' unique... Read More

This comprehensive examination of the eight Ivy League colleges' football teams will fascinate fans of college football. John Feinstein, author and narrator, demolishes the stereotype of the typical college football player. Players at Harvard, Yale, or any of the Ancient Eight are not allowed to play football unless they have excellent grade-point averages--no exceptions.... Read More

Tiffany Yu invites listeners to join her in advocating for a more accessible society for disabled people. When she was just 9 years old, Yu was in a car accident that permanently paralyzed her arm and gave her PTSD. Later, she founded the disability advocacy organization Diversability and gave a TedX Talk about how to create more disability- inclusive work environments. Using a... Read More

Author/narrator Alex Sarian is the CEO and president of Calgary's Arts Commons, which houses six resident companies and hosts 2,000 events per year. Well delivered and thoughtfully paced, this provocative audiobook is a manifesto on rethinking the role of the performing arts. He discusses means and methods for reforming the civic, educational, and social roles of arts venues.... Read More

Food and travel writing mingle in this fine collection. Padma Lakshmi's introduction, narrated by Soneela Nankani, is much more than a standard intro. Nankani shines in her sensitive and captivating performance of Lakshmi's very personal story of meeting with her estranged father in India. The excellent Eunice Wong reads Marion Bull's "Orange Is the New Yolk" with wit and a... Read More

Narrators Eileen Stevens, Stephen Graybill, Lee Osorio, and Gina Daniels use their considerable talents for this broad array of essays and articles on science, nature, and the relationship between the two. In his introduction, narrated by Graybill, editor Bill McKibben lays out his theme for this volume: climate change and its growing impact on the natural world and humanity.... Read More

Bill Schutt's look at everything toothy starts with some teeth listeners don't want to know firsthand: those of the vampire bat and a bloodsucking fish that is drawn by urine. Charles Constant narrates with a light touch and makes animal classifications clear. Schutt seems fascinated with nasty biters such as crocodiles and shrews. Eventually, he turns his attention to human... Read More

Thomas Fuller is clearly inspired by the efforts of a deaf football team from a small public school for the deaf in Southern California as the team chases the state championship in 2021 and 2022. Fuller's performance is authentic and enthusiastic, and his respect for these young men is unmistakable. One player lives in his car in a Target parking lot. Another breaks his leg... Read More

Jeremy Arthur's intonation turns dramatically staccato as he narrates Porter Fox's recollections of a storm he sailed through alone off the coast of Maine. It's the first of several storms Fox recounts. Fox reminds listeners that scientists expect to see a growing number of severe storms due to climate change. Arthur's voice rises with the wind and falls with the thoughts of... Read More

The former special assistant and speechwriter to President Reagan, Peggy Noonan, has been contributing a column to THE WALL STREET JOURNAL for 25 years. Noonan and her editor chose 80 of her best for this publication of relatively recent writings, all expertly narrated by Hillary Huber. The subjects, wide in scope, range from the artistry of Paul Simon and Bob Dylan to the... Read More

Legendary investment manager Tom Steyer performs his well-documented audiobook with the sincerity and commitment it deserves. With his assured yet easy-listening narration, he delivers a hard-hitting picture of the climate catastrophe headed our way and outlines the global effort it will take to keep it from making the earth uninhabitable. He details the powerful corporate... Read More

The speeches and essays contained in this audiobook continue to be relevant decades after they were first given. A seasoned actor, narrator Michael Puttonen captures the hard-earned wisdom the author achieved. He performs at a fine tempo, with conviction and good timing. An award-winning teacher, the late John Taylor Gatto taught in the New York City school system for 30 years.... Read More

This audiobook challenges the notion that artificial intelligence has emerged without human involvement, thoroughly examining the toll AI has taken on the countless unseen workers who were so crucial to its development. Narrator Orlando Wells is superb. Reflecting grit and candor, he recounts the development of AI from the vantage point of its often unheard workers. These... Read More

As she performs this galvanizing piece of cultural history, Adenrele Ojo's pacing and vocal character balance the formality needed for the material and the inviting tone that makes the story engaging. A financial media journalist and economics scholar recounts the trailblazing efforts of entrepreneur Carol Green and other prominent women to start a bank that would treat women... Read More

Karen Murray narrates this detailed exploration of how women in the United States are holding together families as systems of governmental aid become less available because of greed. During WWII the nation offered childcare to women working in factories to help the war effort, as well as other assistance to help growing families in times of crisis. This new audiobook explores... Read More

This audiobook is at once a hymn to and prayer for forests. Evan Sibley performs eloquently, expressing the author's empathy for his Vermont woodlands. He gets the tone and cadence of this first-person memoir, which celebrates the meaning and significance of forests. He also captures author Tapper's voice, which is spirited and spiritual. Tapper is a fine guide to the woods. A... Read More

Disability rights advocate Johanna Hedva performs their essay collection, 10 years in the making. Hedva's observations about society are sharp and insightful. Disability sits at the core of their writing, and they challenge listeners to see it as a social experience, in addition to a biological one. Their essays also tackle other topics, such as Asian American identity,... Read More

Entomologist Barrett Klein describes the importance of insects to life on Earth, as well their influence on our culture and civilization. Narrator Sean Patrick Hopkins has a tone of curiosity and wonder as he takes the listener on a comprehensive tour of the insect world, covering topics such as insects' influence on developments in science and engineering, mind-altering... Read More

A supremely talented cast narrates 12 short works that could only have originated from master storyteller/director Pedro Almodóvar. This first collection ranges from personal essays--there's one about the death of his mother--to a fascinating retelling of "Sleeping Beauty" that revolves around the Spanish Queen Juana la Loca. Fans of Almodóvar's work will recognize the story... Read More

Lori Felipe-Barkin's narration brings listeners into the everyday life of a Salvadoran migrant worker, but there's something about him that isn't everyday: his repetition of chicken-killing motions while asleep. Alice Driver talked to Tyson Foods workers in Arkansas to report on the company's working conditions, including its reluctance to maintain Covid safety. Felipe-Barkin... Read More

Comedian, actor, and writer Jenny Slate is observant, sharp, and vulnerable in her latest audiobook about the nature of life. Her focus is wide--ranging from pregnancy and birthing to her place in the universe. The totality of the listening experience is deeply moving and delivered with a kind of openness that simply compels listeners to pay attention. Slate is not above the... Read More

Aaron Goodson presents moving personal essays that vividly depict the joys, sorrows, and frustrations of an American Black man. Listeners meet Jerald Walker, a former cult member who is now a successful academic. Goodson energetically shares Walker's years as a member of the Worldwide Church of God, whose founder he hilariously compares to Donald Trump. Listeners will be... Read More

Neil deGrasse Tyson hosts this newly revised edition of his McDonald Observatory StarDate column as the immortal space traveling wizard, Merlin. This audio production radiates with the astronomer's humor and passion for demystifying the universe for listeners of all ages. Tyson, as Merlin, answers readers' queries about our solar system and the cosmos beyond. A talented group... Read More

Narrated with both passion and compassion, this audiobook is an incredible collection of powerful essays, poems, and more, celebrating the contemporary Native American experience and inviting the listener to learn, grow, and collaborate through it. With a list of contributing authors that is impressive in its own right, the four narrators--Carolina Hoyos, Kamali Minter, Tanis... Read More

To most people, geography means listing the continents and naming the 50 states. But what defines a continent? And why are borders drawn the way they are? These are among the questions explored in this thought-provoking audiobook. Orlando Wells ably narrates this work. His English accent and even delivery add a professorial tone without sounding pedantic. His pacing makes it... Read More

Whether he's spotting a fox or watching big ants, Christopher Brown is easygoing as he talks about the nature he encounters on his street in Austin's edgeland. Exploring nature has been a constant part of his life since he built a home on an empty lot. Brown has taken apart a birds' nest to find plastic used as a construction material. He tells of his dream of incorporating... Read More

Ray Porter's solid performance complements this engaging foray into the development of the visionary James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)--which almost wasn't. This absorbing and well-researched production sets the stage for the JWST's emergence on the scientific stage in 2021. There's essential background on its monumental predecessor, the Hubble Space Telescope, and the dogged... Read More

In barely seven hours, this fascinating and well-researched audiobook opens a window into a science many listeners may not know exists: thanatology, the study of death and its effects. Do animals understand death, and if so, how? The examples--which include elephants, primates, and possums--provide criteria for answering these questions, often with unexpected results. Lisa Ware... Read More

This audiobook examines our national discourse, particularly during the Trump era. Although written prior to his reelection, its relevance has only increased as it presents contrasting arguments about democracy and potential threats to it. Justin Price narrates effectively, in a style that complements the intensity of the arguments, particularly those warning of a shift toward... Read More

Novelist Isabella Hammad delivered the Edward W. Said Memorial Lecture at Columbia University in September 2023. In this powerful audiobook, she reads that lecture with poise and urgency. Her voice is assured and firm, inviting listeners to truly sit with the impact of her words. She examines the fight for Palestinian liberation through the lens of fictional and historical... Read More

Malcolm Gladwell once again shows that audio is the ideal medium for someone who excels at both long-form journalism and podcasting. In this follow-up to his iconic debut, THE TIPPING POINT, Gladwell explores the bleaker side of how things go viral. His unmistakable delivery has become more animated after years at the mic, and as he's done in previous audiobooks, he uses... Read More

Narrator Cassandra Campbell guides listeners through the universe's biological past, present, and potential future in this accessible production by the director of the Carl Sagan Center at the SETI Institute. The ever-present existential and practical questions about how life began and whether we're alone in the cosmos lie at the heart of this audiobook. Campbell excels at... Read More

Author and narrator Robin Wall Kimmerer, who is Potawatomi, gently guides listeners through this thoughtful exploration of gift economies and cultures of reciprocity. Using the framing device of an outing to gather serviceberries, which are also popular with the local birds, Kimmerer traces the pathways of mutual obligation and abundance seen in nature and in many traditional... Read More

When NBC "Dateline" reporter and producer Dan Slepian stumbled upon evidence that a number of men serving lengthy terms in the New York State prison system may have been innocent, he couldn't let it go. In a voice bristling with urgency, empathy, and determination, Slepian recounts how false identification, racial profiling, prosecutorial misconduct, incentivized witnesses, and... Read More

This natural history of the eel gets a jovial performance from narrator Coleen Marlo. As author Shell details, eels have fascinated, mystified, and confounded people for centuries, and today, they are a valuable global commodity: Baby eels (elvers) are caught in Maine, shipped to Chinese aquafarms to be raised to maturity, then imported back into the U.S., where they show up as... Read More

Anyone who likes to cook will be inspired to get into the kitchen after listening to this audio program. One of the original food bloggers and creator of the beloved Smitten Kitchen website, Deb Perelman narrates this companion to her newest cookbook, SMITTEN KITCHEN KEEPERS. She reads the head notes for selected recipes, then extemporizes with further tips, notes, and... Read More

Roxane Gay, a feminist Black woman, narrates her essay on coming to terms with America's gun culture and growing ownership of guns, especially by Black women. In a thought-provoking consideration of this divisive topic, Gay is deliberate in her approach. She talks about how she came to buy a gun for protection in the face of increasingly specific and detailed death threats. She... Read More

As narrated by Alex Boyles, this provocative audiobook will startle listeners who are fascinated with how AI will affect society. Humanist minister Greg Epstein sees parallels in the fervor people feel toward traditional religions and the exuberant devotion the business world feels toward tech innovations like Bitcoin and the godlike thinking machines that will likely dominate... Read More

The story of workers who are fighting for a settlement to pay their medical bills after exposure to coal ash begins with a phone call. Lee Osorio captures the urgency that sent a worker out to clean up a "black wave" of toxic slurry after a partial dike collapse. Osorio increases the tension as revelations spring from a lawyer's study of coal ash's effects. He slows down to... Read More

Katherine Rundell's wonderful essays about some of our planet's most interesting animals will have listeners thinking about the natural world in new ways. Writing about swifts, she says they "fly like a stroke of luck incarnate." British actor Lenny Henry narrates with a raspy voice and at a brisk clip, and listeners may find his pace too fast to absorb all of the fascinating... Read More

Medical buffs will be fascinated by Will Watt's delivery of this audiobook about six mysterious outbreaks of disease. In a clinical manner, he details the hantavirus outbreak of 1993, John Snow's work on cholera transmission, the research methodology of the 1918 flu pandemic by two doctors, the eradication of smallpox, Dr. Anthony Fauci's novel approach to finding a cure for... Read More

Having narrated the three previous presidential histories by Bob Woodward, Robert Petkoff is familiar with the author's cadence and tone. His reading of WAR is crisp, confident, and streamlined. He reports on the Biden presidency, focusing on three conflicts that will change the world: the Ukraine conflict and how the superpowers stumbled into it; the Israeli-Hamas dispute and... Read More

In 1976, the football (soccer) club of Watford, England, was once again at the bottom of its league standings. Then something extraordinary happened: Rock-and-roll superstar Elton John bought his hometown team. Narrating with relaxed British aplomb, London stage veteran Alex Jennings delivers the feel-good story of how John's partnership and eventual friendship with... Read More

Sy Montgomery is so joyful and enthusiastic while describing her adventures with her flock of chickens that listeners will want to stroke a hen and pick up a rooster just to participate in her positive view of the world. Montgomery is keenly observant and curious. She calls her chickens "the ladies," and she recognizes each hen's individual call and personality. She also cites... Read More

Alex Cuadros spent six years investigating the controversy at the heart of this audiobook, and his passion for the story comes through in both his text and his narration. In a voice that is youthful and warm, Cuadros takes the listener into the Amazon rainforest, where the Indigenous Cinta Larga people have endured a decades-long struggle against illegal diamond mining that led... Read More