Behind the Mic With Kirkus Reviews

Contributor Stephen Cummings joins host Jo Reed to talk about David Pogue’s Apple: The First 50 Years, which Pogue narrates with the confidence and curiosity of a longtime tech journalist, weaving in archival
clips and company lore. They turn to Noam Scheiber’s Mutiny: The Rise and
Revolt of the College-Educated Working Class, where André Santana’s restrained and intelligent narration underscores the frustrations of workers organizing at companies like Starbucks, Amazon, and Apple. Finally, Woody Brown’s Upward Bound employs a strong cast led by T. R. Knight to explore life inside an underfunded adult day program, giving its central character a vivid and deeply affecting inner voice. All three audiobooks look closely at ambition, labor, and the gap between how work is imagined and how it’s lived.

Audiobooks Discussed:

Apple: The First 50 Years written and read by David Pogue (Simon & Schuster Audio)

 

Mutiny: The Rise and Revolt of the College-Educated Working Class by Noam Scheiber,  read by André Santana (Macmillan Audio)

 

Upward Bound  by Woody Brown, read by T.R. Knight, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Alex Edelman, Pete Holmes, Midori Francis, Carlos Miranda, Brandon Flynn, and Nikki M. James (Random House Audio)

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On this special sponsored episode of Behind the Mic, Kirkus’
Michele Cobb is joined by Amy Metsch, associate publisher and director of audio programming at Spiegel & Grau, to talk about Kathryn Stockett’s highly anticipated new novel, The Calamity Club, narrated by the powerhouse team of January LaVoy and Jenna Lamia. Stockett’s new novel, her first since The Help in 2009, is about female friendship, rising to the occasion in the face of constant adversity, and some of the darker parts of our collective history. Michele and Amy discuss the creation of the audiobook and how Lamia and LaVoy bring to life two distinct narrative voices, 11-year-old Meg and 24-year-old Bertie.

 

Audiobook Discussed:

The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett, read by January LaVoy & Jenna Lamia (Spiegel & Grau by Spotify Audiobooks)

 

This episode of Behind the Mic is brought to you by Spiegel &
Grau

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Host Jo Reed is joined by contributor Alex Richey to explore three horror audiobooks that favor atmosphere and interiority over jump scares. We begin with The Beheading Game by Rebecca Lehmann, where Florence Howard’s finely tuned vocal shifts capture Anne Boleyn’s intellect and fury in an intimate, reflective alternate history. We then turn to The Body by Bethany C. Morrow, with Nesta Cooper delivering a grounded, emotionally precise performance that deepens the novel’s psychological unease. The episode closes with Mother Is Watching by Karma Brown, as Karissa Vacker navigates a tightly controlled world of surveillance and a deeply unsettling mystery, moving seamlessly among characters as the tension gradually tightens.

 

Audiobooks Discussed:

 

The Beheading Game by Rebecca Lehmann, read by Florence
Howard (Random House Audio)

 

The Body by Bethany C. Morrow, read by Nesta Cooper
(Macmillan Audio)

 

Mother Is Watching by Karma Brown, read by Karissa Vacker
(Penguin Audio)

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Laura Rossi joins host Jo Reed to talk through three recent Earphones
Award winners, each offering a distinct listening experience. They begin with Judge Stone by James Patterson and Viola Davis, on which Davis also delivers exceptional narration, bringing authority and emotional precision to a fast-moving legal thriller. Then it’s Cleopatra by Saara El-Arifi, where Adjoa Andoh delivers a commanding performance that makes the iconic queen feel regal, immediate, and fully human. They close with Trust No One by James Rollins and read by Simon Vance, who guides listeners across countries and centuries on a suspenseful hunt for a mysterious text said to hold the secret to immortality.

Audiobooks Discussed:

Judge Stone by James Patterson and Viola Davis, read by Viola Davis (Hachette Audio)

Cleopatra by Saara El-Arifi, read by Adjoa Andoh (Random House Audio)

Trust No One by James Rollins, read by Simon Vance (Harper Audio)

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Contributor Kendra Winchester joins host Jo Reed to discuss
three audiobooks that each spotlight a different side of Toni Morrison. In Language as Liberation, narrator Bahni Turpin guides listeners through Morrison’s own lectures, bringing an immediacy to her literary analysis of the American canon. Toni at Random, read with clarity and momentum by Deanna Anthony, highlights Morrison’s role in championing major Black writers as an editor at Random House. And January LaVoy’s reading of On Morrison carries Namwali Serpell’s close readings of the novels, making Morrison’s work feel newly alive. Three books, three authors, three narrations—each one sharpening a different view of Morrison’s lasting impact.

Audiobooks Discussed:

Language as Liberation: Reflections on the American Canon by Toni Morrison, read by Bahni Turpin (Random House Audio)

 

Toni at Random: An Iconic Writer’s Legendary Editorship by Dana A. Williams, read by Deanna Anthony (Harper Audio)

 

On Morrison by Namwali Serpell, read by January LaVoy (Random House Audio)

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