Behind the Mic With Kirkus Reviews

Host Jo Reed talks with contributor Laura Rossi about three
Earphones Award–winning audiobooks whose narrators transport listeners in strikingly different ways. Recorded live before audiences across the country, The Land and Its People captures David Sedaris at his best: His impeccable timing and disarming honesty create an immersive listening experience that can be as moving as it is funny. Andrew Sean Greer's Villa Coco, read by Edoardo Ballerini, carries listeners to Tuscany, where Ballerini's exceptional performance turns a wonderful book into an unforgettable listen. Jo and Laura close by previewing Hallie Cantor’s novel, Like This, but Funnier, with Helen Laser’s deft narration capturing both the wit and vulnerability of a flawed screenwriter at a professional crossroads. From David Sedaris’s unmistakable voice to Edoardo Ballerini’s immersive storytelling and Helen Laser’s razor-sharp comic timing, this episode celebrates narrators whose performances don't simply accompany a book—they shape the entire listening experience.



Audiobooks Discussed:

The Land and Its People, written and read by David Sedaris (Hachette Audio)

Villa Coco by Andrew Sean Greer, read by Edoardo Ballerini (Random HouseAudio)

Like This, But Funnier by Hallie Cantor, read by Helen Laser (Simon &
Schuster Audio)

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Host Jo Reed talks with contributor Michele Cobb about three
audiobooks full of unexpected turns, each narrated by Golden Voice performers at the top of their craft. Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, and Howard Hughes feel uncannily real in The Original by Priya Parmar, as Cassandra Campbell's nuanced narration blurs the line between historical fact and imaginative fiction. Walter Mosley's Ghalen: A Romance in Black begins as a love story before shifting into a coming-of-age story of family, grief, and community, a transition made seamless by Dion Graham's emotionally intuitive narration. They wrap up with The Divorce by Frieda McFadden, where Marin Ireland, January LaVoy, and Edoardo Ballerini deliver performances that keep a fast-moving psychological thriller compelling through every twist, turn, and implausible revelation. Whether it's historical fiction that feels like memoir, a romance novel that defies expectations, or a thriller powered by an exceptional ensemble cast, these audiobooks show how masterful narration can make every surprise land.

 

Audiobooks Discussed:

The Original: A Novel written by Priya Parmar, read by Cassandra
Campbell (Random House Audio)

Ghalen: A Romance in Black written by Walter Mosley, read by Dion Graham (HarperAudio)

The Divorce written by Frieda McFadden, read by January LaVoy, Marin Ireland and Edoardo Ballerini (Dreamscape)

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Host Jo Reed talks with contributor Stephen Cummings about
three celebrity memoirs that reveal the many ways that authors tell their own stories in audio. They begin with Arsenio by Arsenio Hall and Alan
Eisenstock, narrated by Hall, whose lively, charismatic performance revisits the groundbreaking years of The Arsenio Hall Show and its cultural impact. Then they discuss Famesick, written and read by Lena Dunham, a candid and often unsettling memoir that examines fame, illness, ambition, and the costs of living in public. Finally, they turn to True Crime, narrated by Patricia Cornwell, whose measured delivery guides listeners through a difficult Southern childhood and the winding path that led her to create Kay Scarpetta. Together, these audiobooks show how memoir narration can become a second act of storytelling, with each author using voice, pacing, and perspective to reshape the stories they tell about themselves.

 

Audiobooks discussed:

Arsenio
by Arsenio Hall with Alan Eisenstock, read by the Arsenio Hall (Simon &
Schuster Audio)

Famesick, written and read by Lena Dunham (Random House Audio)

True Crime, written and read by Patricia Cornwell (Hachette Audio)

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Host Jo Reed talks with contributor Kendra Winchester about three inventive story collections that reveal just how expansive audiobook
storytelling can be. They begin with Fat Swim by Emma Copley Eisenberg,
performed by a seven-person cast including Marin Ireland and Samantha Desz, where stories centered on fatness, vulnerability, and community take on added intimacy through distinct narrative voices. Then they discuss My Dear You by Rachel Khong, narrated by Xiaoling Pan, Rachel Khong, Zhen Zhao, and Annie Q. Riegel, a wildly imaginative collection that moves effortlessly between speculative fiction, satire, emotional realism, and the uncanny. Finally, they turn to Seasons of Glass and Iron by Amal El-Mohtar, with narrator Rachel Elizabeth Smith bringing warmth, precision, and quiet intensity to stories filled with fairy tales, scholarship, women’s lives, and acts of self-rescue. Together, these audiobooks demonstrate how short fiction thrives in audio—each narrator shaping tone, atmosphere, and emotional texture in ways that make every story feel immediate and distinct.

 

Audio Books Discussed:

Fat Swim by Emma Copley Eisenberg, read by Kristen DiMercurio, MW
Cartozian Wilson, Marin Ireland, Lindsey Dorcus, Chrysanthy Balis, Samantha Desz, and Kristen Sieh (Random House Audio)

My Dear You by Rachel Khong, read by Jialing Pan, Rachel Khong, Jen Zhao, and Annie Q. Riegel (Random House Audio)

Seasons of Glass and Iron by Amal El-Mohtar, read by Rachel Elizabeth Smith (Macmillan Audio)

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Host Jo Reed talks with Kirkus young readers’ editor Laura Simeon about three middle-grade audiobooks that explore difficult subjects with
honesty, empathy, and respect for young listeners. In Phoenix by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, narrator Emma Ladji brings warmth and steadiness to
young Harper’s story as she navigates her parents’ divorce, shifting
friendships, and the rescued horse who becomes central to her new life. Karise Yansen’s calm, measured narration of Matthew Fox’s The Lovely Dark grounds a lyrical story of grief, loss, and the afterlife in vivid emotional reality. And in Tae Keller’s When Tomorrow Burns, a seamless ensemble cast—Eddy Lee, Annie Q. Riegel, Sara Matsui-Colby, Emily Woo Zeller, and Tae Keller—captures the uncertainty and intensity of middle school friendships unfolding against the backdrop of climate anxiety and change. Together, these audiobooks recognize that middle-grade kids confront complicated situations and deserve stories that speak to those uncertainties with honesty and care.

 

Audiobooks Discussed:

Phoenix by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, read by Emma Ladji (Listening Library)

 

The Lovely Dark by Matthew Fox, read by Karise Yansen (Hachette Audio)

 

When Tomorrow Burns by Tae Keller, read by Eddy Lee, Annie Q. Riegel,
Sara Matsui-Colby, and Emily Woo Zeller (Listening Library)

 

 

Support for Behind the Mic comes from HarperCollins Focus, and HarperCollins Christian Publishing, publishers of some of your favorite
audiobooks and authors, including Reba McEntire, Bob Goff, Savannah Guthrie, Max Lucado, Lysa TerKeurst, and many more.

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