Behind the Mic With Kirkus Reviews

Narrator Helen Laser joins AudioFile’s Michele Cobb to discuss her narration of YELLOWFACE, R.F. Kuang’s novel with a sharp look at the publishing world and one of AudioFile’s 2023 Best Fiction Audiobooks. Laser gives a mesmerizing performance as June Hayward, a struggling author who steals her dead friend’s manuscript, passing it off as her own, and publishing it while pretending she is Asian. It...

Author, illustrator, and narrator Jarrett J. Krosoczka joins AudioFile’s Michele Cobb to tell listeners about transforming his graphic memoir SUNSHINE into a moving full-cast audiobook. SUNSHINE is Krosoczka’s second graphic memoir, sharing his experience working at a camp for terminally ill children and the joy of the friendships he made there. It’s a powerful listen, and in this interview, Kroso...

AudioFile’s Robin Whitten joins host Jo Reed to discuss AudioFile’s 2023 Best Audiobooks. Listen to learn how the winning audiobooks were chosen out of the thousands reviewed this year. Robin and Jo share their favorites from the list and discuss upcoming interviews with the narrators of some of this year’s honored titles. For the full list of 2023 Best Audiobooks visit our website. Support for Au...

Stephanie Land, author of MAID, had a laser-focused goal to succeed as a writer, and this memoir proves that in spades. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb discuss this story that details Land’s life on the edge of poverty while raising her daughter. Land’s presentation of her life, which included an abusive husband, an unpredictable father to her daughter, and financial challenges, would se...

Actor Michelle Williams delivers a tell-all memoir from singer Britney Spears. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb discuss this audiobook full of pain detailing how a vibrant performing talent was ultimately used by her family and circle of handlers to make money off of her life. Williams uses a direct approach to voice Spears’s feelings, and her narration gives added perspective on the trau...

TV host and political commentator Rachel Maddow shines at framing the backstory of current American politics in her latest audiobook, narrated in her signature forthright style. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Alan Minskoff discuss the audiobook that builds off the success of her award-winning podcast Ultra. Here, Maddow lays out the historical seditionist plot to not only keep the U.S. out of WWII,...

Michael Lomonaco narrates Andrew Friedman’s high-energy audiobook with the right tempo, cadence, and tone. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Alan Minskoff discuss this tale of all the work that goes into creating a perfect dish. Lomonaco is a famed chef, restaurateur, and TV personality, so he understands the intensity and focus of a creative kitchen. The author is especially adept at profiles, includi...

Carlson reads John Vaillant’s intense recreation of a massive fire with controlled urgency. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Alan Minskoff discuss the audiobook that unspools the remarkable trajectory of a wildfire that ultimately engulfed one million and a half acres, burned for 15 months, and caused the evacuation of 90,000 residents of the Alberta city of Ft McMurray. The colossal conflagration dub...

Robert Petkoff delivers a masterful performance of Adam Nagourney’s detailed history of the NEW YORK TIMES from 1976 to 2016. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Alan Minskoff discuss his smooth and nuanced narration, and how his tempo and cadence move these inside stories forward. It’s a gripping media story of how the Times survived scandals, the turnover of top editors, and the transition from print t...

It’s no surprise that Steve Inskeep of NPR narrates well. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Alan Minskoff discuss how he narrates with a practiced cadence and the authoritative tone of a polished broadcaster. The subject is Abraham Lincoln, the most studied and written about president in American history. Inskeep examines how Lincoln dealt with those he disagreed with (Stephen Douglas), those who were...

Jenna Clause and Cheri Maracle perform this heart-rending novel by Mohawk author Alicia Elliot. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Kendra Winchester discuss how from the outside, Alice appears to have it all. She lives with her successful white husband and beautiful baby girl in the “nice” part of town. But when Alice begins to have horrible visions and the trees begin sharing their memories with her, s...

Anne Enright, Aoife Duffin, Owen Roe, and Liza Ross perform Enright’s latest novel. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Kendra Winchester discuss a story of family and the complexities of young love. Duffin narrates as Nell, a 20-something woman who, when she meets her boyfriend’s parents, finds they care to discuss only her famous grandfather, Irish poet Phil McDaragh. Enright performs the perspective o...

Tovah Ott performs a debut short story collection from East Tennessee author Halle Hill. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Kendra Winchester discuss the collection of twelve stories that all feature Black women confronting societal expectations of how a “good woman” should behave. Ott’s narration makes each character’s viewpoint sound unique, capturing their narrative voice and perspective. Ott uses ju...

Author Roxane Gay performs a collection of her nonfiction pieces from the last decade. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Kendra Winchester discuss the essays that range from cultural criticism to celebrity profiles. Gay also writes about big cultural moments, carefully crafting her thoughts with fresh insights. Whatever her subject, Gay’s performance highlights her clear, direct prose and sense of humo...

Tony Award-winning actress Audra McDonald performs Emily Wilson’s new translation of one of the world’s oldest stories. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Kendra Winchester discuss revisiting Homer’s classic work. McDonald gives a performance for the ages as she narrates this epic with a masterful sense of rhythm, drawing out the suspense of the war between the Greeks and the Trojans. Her voice captures...

Robb Moreira portrays police detective Al Sullivan, who tells listeners about a prominent industrialist who is murdered in San Francisco’s posh Claremont Hotel in 1944. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Robin Whitten discuss how the Claremont Hotel is essentially a character in this story that features layers of San Francisco history with the intersection of its diverse communities. Moreira’s Sullivan...

With his mesmerizing and versatile voice, Dion Graham masterfully narrates Colson Whitehead’s second audiobook featuring reformed criminal Ray Carney. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Robin Whitten discuss this trio of stories about Harlem and how Graham brings them to life. He perfectly complements Whitehead’s intricate and beautifully written portrayal of 1970s Harlem. Carney, a landlord, proud furn...

In this smart, sensitive, and faithful adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s masterwork, the ill-fated relationships between a mysterious big spender; a young, married socialite; and their bevy of privileged friends are given center stage. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Robin Whitten discuss this audio theater adaptation of the classic, with the action driven by the characters talking to one another....

Jill Lepore, NEW YORKER staff writer and two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, is a captivating essayist and performer of her own writing. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Robin Whitten discuss hearing Lepore narrate her work, collecting essays from THE NEW YORKER. She narrates with an upbeat pace, and her voice blooms with enthusiasm. That enthusiasm, combined with humor and smarts, makes for enticing li...

Yorkshireman Sir Patrick Stewart presents a revealing, clear, and beautifully written memoir. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Robin Whitten discuss how Stewart is an icon to multiple generations, and the warmth and joy with which he shares his own story. Listeners follow his career from humble beginnings that include domestic violence to the heights of international film, stage, and television stardo...

Actor and talk-show host Jada Pinkett Smith foreshadows the range of emotions she projects into her memoir by beginning with quiet despair and transitioning to a fierce tone. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb discuss Smith’s willingness to explain her perspective with her strong, unique, and compelling narration. Smith shares intimate details of growing up in Baltimore; shouts as she recou...

Rebecca Lowman’s narration is captivating in this novel by Kiersten White. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb discuss this novel centered around a canceled TV series for kids, “Mister Magic,” and the five members of its final cast who are brought together to record a podcast. No recordings of the original show exist, and there’s no record of who filmed it, but fans still have its haunting k...

Thérèse Plummer leads a full cast with her captivating performance as true-crime podcast host Ryanna Raines. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb discuss this audiobook that is meant to be heard. It’s the story of a podcaster, Ryanna, who is contacted by a pair of UC Santa Barbara theater students who are suspected of murder and want to tell their story. What follows is a twisty psychological...

Nina Simon’s funny, touching, character-driven mystery is superbly narrated by Jane Oppenheimer. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb discuss a story of three generations of women coming together to solve a murder and prove their innocence. Los Angeles real estate mogul Lana Rubicon is diagnosed with cancer and moves into a small-town home with her adult daughter, Beth, and Beth’s teenage dau...

Narrator Hewot Tedla captures the tone of brassy independence, fiery romance, and chilling terror in this teen thriller by Kalynn Bayron. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb discuss Charity’s unusual job — being the “final girl” in a live action horror film experience at Camp Mirror Lake. When employees go missing and strange happenings pile up, Tedla’s tone devolves into gut-wrenching emoti...