Behind the Mic With Kirkus Reviews

In a calm, steady voice, Derek Perkins narrates this history of Italian resistance during WWII, with a focus on 1944 and 1945. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Robin Whitten discuss Caroline Moorehead’s concluding history in her Resistance Quartet, examining women’s role in the French and Italian Resistance. Perkins slips smoothly into the role of narrator of this lesser-known chapter of WWII, with fo...

This is an audiobook that grabs the listener’s interest at the start--and keeps getting better from there. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Robin Whitten discuss Euan Morton’s brilliant performance of a dark and violent standalone thriller from Jo Nesbø. The mystery focuses on brothers Carl and Roy, who share lifelong secrets and whose lives continue to intertwine in dark, depraved, and unnerving ways...

Journalist Michael Specter’s throaty voice and emotional yet precise delivery perfectly suit his examination of the coronavirus pandemic and the man who is trying to save us from it. AudioFile’s Robin Whitten and host Jo Reed discuss this biography of Dr. Fauci, based on Specter’s profile for THE NEW YORKER. The gripping audio production blends interviews with Fauci (and Fauci’s wife, herself a bi...

What would happen if Jesus’s second coming occurred in America and he believed the best way to initiate a religious rebirth was with a run for President? AudioFile’s Michele Cobb and host Jo Reed discuss Dion Graham’s narration of a satirical story of the Messiah’s run for the White House, written by Roland Merullo. The story centers on Russ Thomas, a TV reporter who, along with a girlfriend, meet...

Author and narrator Becky Cooper’s true-crime audiobook chronicles her meticulous and deeply personal investigation of a fifty-year-old murder case. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb discuss this audiobook where the real-life mystery is solved. In 1969, Harvard graduate student Jane Britton was found violently murdered in her apartment, and her unsolved murder was a Harvard myth, passed al...

Narrator Amir Abdullah depicts Chicago’s wealthy enclaves, struggling neighborhoods, and mouthwatering foods while introducing the former-cop-turned-PI Ashe Cayne. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb discuss Abdullah’s engaging narration of this missing person mystery from author Ian K. Smith. Ashe Cayne is called on to find Tinsley Gerrigan, a billionaire’s adult daughter. When Ashe finds h...

Actress and comedian Rachel Bloom narrates her own memoir showcasing her life story and her hilarious personality. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb talk about Bloom’s story of growing up as someone who didn’t quite fit in, but discovered her own unique voice through theater. She goes on to become famous as the creator and lead actor in “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” a musical TV show that broke b...

Narrator Edoardo Ballerini anchors a full-cast performance of a story that takes place in Spokane, WA in the early 1900s. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb discuss this Earphones Award-winning story centered on a difficult time in America’s history, and Jess Walters’s memorable characters. Young brothers Rye and Gig take dangerous jobs in the hopes of improving their station in life, but n...

Zenia Starr narrates a lively start to an exciting mystery series starring Zaiba, a determined 11-year-old on the lookout for a case. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly discuss Annabelle Sami’s new mystery that is perfect for family listening. The Royal Star Hotel is bustling with guests for Zaiba’s cousin’s Mehndi party, and when clever Zaiba, her younger brother Ali, and her best friend...

Mary Jane Wells narrates a sweetly humorous romance between an incognito duke and a woman determined to lead her father’s sauce business to success. AudioFile’s Emily Connelly tells host Jo Reed all that she loved about Milan’s latest historical romance, one that listeners will find discovers both real-world truths and a promise of hope. Jeremy Wentworth loves Chloe Fong, but the awkward fact that...

Kwame Alexander delivers three of his poems about the struggles of Black Americans to make a potent combination of elegy, protest, and celebration of Black triumph. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly talk about the impressive impact of this brief audiobook, and Alexander’s powerful performance. He begins the audiobook with a stirring foreword recounting a time as a child when he joined hi...

Narrator Michael Bow expresses the cynical wit of Korean American “super mega nerd” Sunny Dae. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly talk about all there is to love about David Yoon’s newest teen romance. When Sunny gets a new neighbor, the ultracool Cirrus Soh, he invents a fairly impressive fake rockstar persona that results in stealing his older brother’s clothes, music, and swagger. Sunn...

Ijeoma Oluo, the bestselling author of SO YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT RACE, is back, this time taking a closer look at the legacy of white male supremacy in America. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly talk about Oluo’s well-researched examination of how America’s systems have been built to prioritize white and male culture above all else--and that these systems can and must be rebuilt. Her nar...

Narrator Adam Lazarre-White finds the distinct voice of each character in this seminal collection, written in 1938 by Richard Wright. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Alan Minskoff discuss Wright’s collection that exposed the strange and coded universe of Jim Crow racism to the entire world with a hard-hitting essay and five remarkable and devastating short stories. Realistic, visceral, violent, and h...

Narrator Feodor Chin reads this satirical novel with drama and wit. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Alan Minskoff discuss Pete Beatty’s audiobook set in 19th-century Ohio and how the outsized characters make this tall tale an heir to the Western lore of Pecos Bill and Paul Bunyan. The listener is treated to all the hijinks--from a boat race to a bridge burning and a prodigious brawl. Published by Sim...

Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Alan Minskoff revisit Willa Cather’s classic, narrated by Robert G. Slade. He delivers the voices of Bohemians, Norwegians, and Russian immigrants with subtlety and captures the cadences of young and old--and most of all, inhabits the coming of age of the storyteller Jim Burden. Ántonia is one of American literature’s most striking heroines--strong, independent, spirit...

Narrator Charlie Thurston embraces the fast pace of this entertaining cheese-focused romp. AudioFile’s Alan Minskoff tells host Jo Reed about how Thurston’s cadence, rhythm, and ability to mimic make Joe Berkowitz’s informative audiobook special. It’s at once a cheese-centered travelogue, an appreciation of all things cheese, and a celebration of those who make cheese. And it’s also a journey into...

Author Lauren Redniss and a full cast of narrators transport the listener to the high, dry country of southeast Arizona’s Apache San Carlos Reservation. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Alan Minskoff discuss this story of sacred lands threatened by development of their vast copper deposits. Lauren Redniss delivers the narrative that introduces listeners to the people and the issues, and this work of a...

In today’s bonus edition of Behind the Mic, narrator Frankie Corzo joins host Jo Reed to talk about her audiobooks, including MEXICAN GOTHIC. Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s eerie horror novel is one of AudioFile’s Best Audiobooks of the year. This audiobook will not only creep you out, but it also captures the lush Mexican countryside. Frankie shares her story of how she got her start in acting and in aud...

Narrator Robin Miles joins AudioFile’s Michele Cobb to talk about THE CITY WE BECAME, N.K. Jemisin’s remarkable and fantastical celebration of New York City’s spirit. THE CITY WE BECAME is one of AudioFile’s Best Sci-fi, Fantasy & Horror audiobooks of the year, and it’s an entirely engaging listening experience. Robin tells Michele about what has stayed with her from narrating this audiobook and t...

Adam Lazarre-White joins AudioFile’s Robin Whitten to discuss narrating one of the year’s best audiobook memoirs, A MOST BEAUTIFUL THING by Arshay Cooper. Adam talks about preparing for narrating this memoir, and the biggest challenges in recording the audiobook, and more. Discover the remarkable story of America’s first all-Black high school rowing team, and experience Adam’s engaging narration....

Narrator Billie Fulford-Brown joins AudioFile’s Michele Cobb in this special episode to discuss HEADLINERS, Lucy Parker’s delightful enemies-to-lovers audiobook. The title earned a spot on AudioFile’s Best Romance Audiobooks thanks to Billie’s exquisite performance. She shares her thoughts on narrating Lucy Parker’s much-loved London Celebrities series and what she enjoys about romance audiobooks....

Narrator Shayna Small joins AudioFile’s Robin Whitten to discuss her co-narration of Lesa Cline-Ransome’s historical picture book OVERGROUND RAILROAD. Shayna shares why she finds narrating audiobooks for children to be so important and about working on productions full of rich sound effects. Listen and discover a new family favorite. Published by Live Oak Media. 2020 Best Children’s & Family Liste...

Narrator Sean Pratt joins AudioFile’s Michele Cobb to talk about HIDDEN VALLEY ROAD by Robert Kolker, one of AudioFile’s 2020 Best History & Biography Audiobooks. Sean Pratt talks about narrating enthralling nonfiction audiobooks and establishing emotional connections with all of the family members in the story. It’s an empathetic audiobook that explores the toll that mental disease takes on a fam...

Narrator and actor Robert Bathurst joins host Jo Reed for a conversation about his journey to audiobook narration and his performances of the much-loved mystery audiobook series by Canadian author Louise Penny. ALL THE DEVILS ARE HERE is Penny’s 16th outing starring Chief Inspector Gamache, and it’s one of AudioFile’s picks for the 2020 Best Mystery Audiobooks. Fans adore spending time with the re...