New Reviews: Contemporary Culture

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

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

Rankings in sports always evoke debate--in a bar, between pals, or at work. This audiobook is a comprehensive compilation of the greatest basketball players of all time. Jaime Lincoln Smith narrates in a deep, steady voice, altering pitch ever so slightly when quoting someone but not trying to imitate anyone's voice. He gradually takes the listener through the audiobook, which... Read More

This outstanding audio collection begins with a thought-provoking introduction by editor Wesley Morris in which he discusses the struggle over what individuals and societies can think. The narrators take turns delivering the 22 works originally featured in publications such as HARPER'S MAGAZINE, THE ATLANTIC, and THE NEW YORKER. One standout is "Jenisha from Kentucky." Jeanette... 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

Colorful content, excellent narration, and fresh subject matter make this audiobook a standout. Author Glenn Adamson delivers an even, well-timed narration that includes some flourishes. The audiobook surveys future forecasters, such as Buckminster Fuller, Sun Ra, Shulamith Firestone, Arthur C. Clarke, H.G. Wells, Werner von Braun, the Rand Corporation, Marcus Garvey, and the... 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

Decades after its publication, this audiobook by John McPhee retains its relevance. The author's poetic writing style--rendered equally poetically by narrator Grover Gardner--is inviting. The book covers three regions and humanity's attempts to control them--the lower Mississippi River, mountains outside Los Angeles, and an Icelandic volcano. McPhee's straightforward sentence... Read More

Civilization has often had an uneasy relationship with one of its greatest inventions--fiction. Shifting between sounding like a favorite professor and the smartest kid in the class, narrator Amy O'Donnell asks why stories, which by their very nature aren't true, are so often considered evil, upsetting, and even pornographic to some parents, preachers, and politicians. And what... 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

Add "outstanding audiobook narrator" to Brown's impressive resumé. He is, after all, a Food Network personality, a cookbook author, and an avid food science researcher. Given his long-running gigs on "Iron Chef" and "Good Eats," along with his work as a pitchman for GE, it's no surprise that he performs his "essays and ruminations" smoothly and wittily. His range of interests... Read More

Jonas Oloffson's exploration of the sense of smell starts with herring: Narrator Adam Verner's light tone suggests Oloffson's awareness that his love of the fish dish is not widely shared. As a smell researcher, Oloffson undertakes such activities as smelling lampposts to understand what dogs smell and trying pungent durian ice cream in Singapore. Verner captures the author's... Read More

There's a presumed sense of fairness in our justice system. But Michael Beck's harrowing performances of 10 true stories of devastating injustices reveal the error of that presumption. A neighbor is falsely accused of murdering a woman on the same day that his wife has major surgery. Four Navy sailors are pushed into falsely confessing to a vicious crime in Norfolk. A man goes... 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

Crisp and to the point, Matt Godfrey delivers this timely audiobook in a tone of urgency and optimism. Heaphy led the legal team charged with investigating the Unite the Right riots in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017 and the January 6 riot in Washington, DC, in 2021. Listeners hear a concise overview of those events with well-organized details that illuminate how these... 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

Jon Waterman has written an ode to an Alaskan wilderness that is quickly disappearing due to climate change. His warm, almost poetic text, combined with photos in a pdf file, paints a clear portrait of what is and what was. Sadly, his narration doesn't match his words. The tone is reverent, and his delivery generally matches it. But many times he starts a sentence with a loud... Read More

Braden Wright provides a crisp, even narration of this thoroughly researched overview of land--specifically, who owns it and how that ownership fortifies power over time. Albertus's audiobook seeks to provide a comprehensive review of how "the great reshuffling"--a phenomenon through which land is acquired, repossessed, or stolen-- consistently results in various significant... 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

Don't assume a gardening book won't translate well to audio. Narrator Marni Penning's upbeat pacing and enthusiastic tone make this listening experience as relaxing as being surrounded by blooming flowers. The author, an expert gardener and prolific writer of instructional books on producing your own food, provides an intimate view of her relationship with growing plants.... Read More

Australian philosopher of science Peter Godfrey-Smith narrates this history of life on earth from its beginnings to the present, going on to explore possibilities for the directions life may take in the future. In a light Australian accent, Godfrey-Smith presents theories of evolution, mind, and connectedness and consciousness. His narration is down-to-earth and comfortable yet... 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

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

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

After MSNBC host Chris Hayes begins his audiobook with what behavioral science knows about voluntary and involuntary attention, he explains how this fundamental human faculty is being hijacked by corporate America and slick political operatives. Hayes is an authentic narrator of his important message. His easy-listening performance conveys a comfortable command of his emotional... 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

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

Planting a tree is an investment in the future. This charming audiobook introduces listeners to 50 very different people who are united by their love of trees and their visions of what they mean. The author's almost lyrical style and Jade Wheeler's gentle, even tone carry listeners along as they meet people such as Joe Hamilton, who grows pines on land once owned by his... Read More

Many listeners with a lifelong curiosity about the massive to miniscule dinosaur species who roamed Earth millions of years ago will find this audiobook immensely fascinating. British narrator Graham Mack's thoughtfully engaged performance helps listeners absorb Hone's concise yet thorough research review on dinosaur behavior. With clear diction, Mack presents the challenges... Read More

Sarah Lewis's careful scholarship probes racial hierarchy and its insidious hold on the American psyche; she carries out this examination through paintings, sculpture, and photography. Lewis narrates her work in a gentle tone and, sadly, a rather uneven cadence. She focuses initially on a painting called THE CIRCASSIAN BEAUTY, which contributed to the false belief that the... 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

Narrator Peter Noble's clear voice, rich timbre, and impeccable pacing bring to life the complex and often bizarre world of art authentication. It begins with art collector Joe Simon's call to longtime art critic Richard Dorment in 2003, requesting assistance in getting a detailed answer about why the Andy Warhol Art Authentication Board declared two works in his collection to... 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

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

It's already happening--fewer people own homes, we lease our cars, and we pay subscription fees for the software on our devices. These trends sound innocuous, but the author says they are part of an orchestrated plan by government, financial elites, and Big Tech to make ordinary citizens less able to challenge power centers. Chris Henry Coffey narrates this cautionary tale with... Read More