Behind the Mic With Kirkus Reviews

Daniel Henning and Rachel Perry share the narrations in a collection of six timely articles from the Harvard Business Review. AudioFile’s Alan Minskoff tells host Jo Reed how both narrators deliver transparent and thoughtful performances. From “Mindfulness” to “Find Coaching in Criticism,” the authors deliver well-researched arguments that make listeners take notice and examine their assumptions....

Robert Petkoff is a clear and intelligent reader who suits the global scale and economic scope of Daniel Yergin’s audiobook. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Alan Minskoff discuss how Petkoff’s forthright narrative style balances the complexity of the subject. Yergin, a Pulitzer Prize-winner and an energy consultant, understands current geopolitical stresses surrounding energy production and use. Writ...

A surprisingly delightful audiobook takes what might be a dry subject--the migrations of forests and trees--and turns it into a compelling listening experience. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Alan Minskoff discuss Daniel Henning’s animated narration of Zach St. George’s collection of stories, adventures, and scientific studies. Henning gives a nuanced performance as the author tackles the effects gl...

Stefan Rudnicki splendidly reads this collection of fiction by the Russian author Pushkin. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Robin Whitten discuss Pushkin’s best fiction on luck, fate, honor, and grandeur, including stories from “Tales of Belkin,” his novella “The Queen of Spades,” and other stories that provide insights into humans and Russian society. Golden Voice narrator Rudnicki has a resonant voi...

Meet Mistress Badger, Mrs. Mole, Miss Ratty, and Lady Toad. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Robin Whitten discuss this new production of Kenneth Grahame’s classic featuring a superb all-female cast. Led by Cush Jumbo, the actresses are completely comfortable with the author’s plush prose and elegant descriptions. With original music and on-location sound effects, this friendly tale will leave childre...

Stephen Shanahan once again transports listeners down under—this time to Tasmania. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Robin Whitten discuss Jane Harper’s new Australian thriller, narrated with expertise by Shanahan. Kieran Elliot returns to his hometown to assist his parents’ move. When the body of a young woman is found on the beach, Kieran is drawn back into the memories of the terrible storm 12 years...

With a gentleman’s grace and a finely tuned ear for character voices, narrator Simon Jones does a wonderful job bringing to life this collection of children’s fairy tales by one of the English language’s greatest wits. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Robin Whitten discuss Jones’s skill with this collection and beyond, and how he makes the classics so listenable, fresh, and enjoyable—even if you think...

Journalist and author Peter Guralnick offers a personal look at some of the last century’s most influential music artists and writers. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Robin Whitten discuss the audiobook narrated by Jim Meskimen with a steely timbre and vocal confidence. His intelligent performance of these captivating stories, insights, and reflections is a delight to hear, and he helps us share in t...

Author and narrator Charlie Mackesy presents a heartwarming performance of an unlikely group of friends as they converse about life, hope, fear, and kindness while exploring the world around them. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb discuss this audio adaptation of a much loved illustrated work, which features a soundscape with music and wildlife sounds to transform the audiobook into a medi...

Narrators Taylor Meskimen and Ozzie Rodriguez portray two teenagers in what starts out as a sweet summer romance but becomes something much more sinister. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb discuss the story of a truly unforgettable first date. James and Amelia go canoeing and discover a fully furnished house underwater. They become obsessed with the house and form an intense bond over the...

Author and narrator Wilson Tang adds history and personality to New York’s Chinatown with his heartfelt dive into the neighborhood. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb discuss this cookbook that also offers a connection to the community. The audiobook is both a collection of lovely stories from the Chinese community in New York and Tang’s personal story of coming to own the Nom Wah restauran...

Two accomplished narrators, Elizabeth Wiley and Heather Henderson, recount the chronicle of the White Rose, a cluster of German students who opposed Hitler in 1942 and 1943. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb discuss this story that focuses on Hans and Sophie Scholl, siblings of the author. Both Wiley and Henderson are articulate and polished as they engage listeners in the hopeless but cou...

Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb discuss this lucid and accessible discussion of the connection between fascism and lying made by Argentine historian Federico Finchelstein. Edoardo Ballerini narrates with a clear and agile voice for a story that is international in scope. The audiobook examines the twentieth century’s infamous fascist leaders and their followers, along with populist and f...

Kimberly Woods’s soft voice draws out all of the roiling emotions in Christine Day’s middle-grade novel about recovery, loss, and hope. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly discuss this audiobook that provides young listeners with comfort and catharsis. Maisie is a 12-year-old Makah and Piscataway girl whose identity has revolved around ballet—but after tearing her ACL, she’s facing an unce...

In this gently told audiobook, author and podcaster Katherine May investigates the effectiveness of rest and refuge in challenging times. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly discuss narrator Rebecca Lee’s pleasing British accent and sympathetic tone, which wonderfully capture May’s absorbing curiosity about the efficacy of slowing down to recover a sense of wellness and balance. May descri...

Narrator Adjoa Andoh captivates listeners with Nnedi Okorafor’s stunning new sci-fi novella set in a near future Ghana. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly discuss Andoh’s skills with pacing and tone that keep her perfectly in tune with Okorafor’s compelling story, and she smoothly switches between the accents required to bring the vibrant characters to life. Sankofa is known as the adopte...

Listeners will delight in being back with friends from NEW KID, last year’s Newbery Award-winning graphic novel by Jerry Craft. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly discuss the full-cast rendition of this sequel to NEW KID, which continues the story of the kids of Riverdale Academy Day School. Jordan Banks is excited but nervous to be heading back to school as an 8th grader, and Jesus Del O...

Miebaka Yohannes narrates with a conversational tone that mirrors Frederick Joseph’s engaging writing. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly discuss this YA audiobook that weaves together stories from Joseph’s own life and interviews with others to create an audiobook full of sincere and frank commentary. The audiobook touches on issues such as systemic racism, cultural appropriation, and be...

Narrators Robin Miles and Dennis Boutsikaris lead a group of first-rate voice talents in delivering a collection of short stories centered on the COVID-19 pandemic. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Alan Minskoff discuss the NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE’s collection of contemporary North American authors including Margaret Atwood, Victor LaValle, and Dina Nayeri. They have published an astonishing array of...

Joe Jameson narrates Roman Krznaric’s impressive work of humanistic philosophy with the seriousness, clarity, and style that it merits. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Alan Minskoff discuss this edifying excursion into how one can be a “good ancestor.” Packed with thoughtful suggestions and inspiring stories of people like environmental activist Greta Thunberg and case histories in countries from Ice...

Jim Meskimen narrates John Luther Adams’s exceptional memoir with conviction and recognition that these words are from a composer of music. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Alan Minskoff discuss the way Meskimen narrates with great care and understanding, capturing an immersive text with a deliberate voice and well-paced cadence. Adams’s life and work in the solitude of Alaska bring the listener an ap...

Anyone who appreciates impassioned environmental writing and enjoys the lilting sounds of a fine Irish accent will want to listen to this audiobook. AudioFile’s Alan Minskoff tells host Jo Reed his thoughts on both the naturalist Richard Nairn’s writing on the Irish woodlands and Ruairi Conaghan’s storyteller’s delivery. At once a personal story of the author’s own woodland care taking, it is also...

Suzanne Toren narrates this fable with such subtlety and grace that the listener is effortlessly lulled into the fantastic world of talking and thinking animals. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Alan Minkoff discuss the magic of taking a trip to Paris, via Jane Smiley’s new audiobook. Toren’s portrayals of the animas--Perestroika, a thoroughbred racehorse; shorthaired German pointer; raven; and mallar...

The product of a self-imposed desert exile with his exhaustive collection of personal journals, Matthew McConaughey’s nontraditional memoir offers a series of philosophical reflections of his first 50 years and of life itself. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Robin Whitten discuss this tour-de-force one-man show that is much like an experimental film. Dark at moments, the eccentric McConaughey charms...

When you blend a master of lyrical language with an outstanding narrator, the result is an unforgettable listening experience. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Robin Whitten discuss this semi-autobiographical novel published in 1909, getting renewed attention with an award-winning feature film and Ballerini’s new narration of the audiobook. Martin, a working-class sailor, falls in love with a member o...