Behind the Mic With Kirkus Reviews

Host Jo Reed and Kirkus young readers’ editor Laura Simeon
discuss three audiobooks for young listeners that use sports to explore
identity, family, culture, and social change. In Medicine Wheels by
Byron Graves, narrator Meegwun Fairbrother captures both the turmoil and the exhilaration of an Ojibwe teenager who discovers skateboarding—and a new connection to his late father. Eva Kaminsky brings clarity and urgency to Elizabeth Rusch’s A Greater Goal, a gripping account of the U.S. women’s soccer team’s fight for equal pay and the solidarity that sustained it. Finally, in Malia Maunakea’s The Shark Prince, narrator Noah Keawekane captures the humor and vulnerability of a Native Hawaiian teenager trying to understand both his changing body and his dangerous inheritance as a descendant of the shark king. Together, these audiobooks move beyond the action of skateboarding, soccer, and surfing to explore family ties, cultural identity, and the power of solidarity.



Audiobooks Discussed:

Medicine Wheels by Byron Graves, read by Meegwun Fairbrother (Harper Audio)

A Greater Goal: The Epic Battle for Equal Pay in Women’s Soccer—And Beyond by Elizabeth Rusch, read by Eva Kaminsky (Harper Audio)

The Shark Prince by Malia Maunakea, read by Noah Keawekane (Listening
Library)

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Three audiobooks explore people whose patience, curiosity, and determination changed how we understand—and protect—the natural world. Contributor Alan Minskoff joins host Jo Reed to discuss Homesick for a World Unknown: The Life of George B. Schaller by Miriam Horn, a biography of the pioneering wildlife biologist whose decades of patient fieldwork transformed our understanding of animals in the wild. Timothy Andrés Pabon's restrained narration mirrors Schaller's own quiet, methodical approach, allowing the extraordinary scope of his life and work to unfold naturally. Next comes Bernd Heinrich's The Common Uncommon: A Forest Journey, warmly yet authoritatively read by Steve Marvel, which blends memoir, science, and quiet delight in the natural world, inviting listeners to experience it with Heinrich’s infectious sense of wonder. Rounding out the episode is James H. McCommons’ The Feather Wars: And the Great Crusade to Save America’s Birds, narrated by Colin
White, whose calm, measured narration keeps the focus on the remarkable history of America’s birds, the people who nearly destroyed them, and the unlikely coalition that fought to save them. Together, these audiobooks make a fascinating trio about discovery, conservation, and the enduring rewards of paying close attention.



Audiobooks Discussed:

Homesick for a World Unknown: The Life of George B. Schaller by Miriam Horn, read by Timothy Andrés Pabon & Claudia Dunn (Penguin Audio)

The Common Uncommon: A Forest Journey by Bernd Heinrich, read by Steve Marvel (Tantor Media)

The Feather Wars: And the Great Crusade to Save America’s Birds by James H. McCommons, read by Colin White (Tantor Media)

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Host Jo Reed talks with contributor Alex Richey about three audiobooks whose outstanding narrators bring emotional depth to stories of ghosts, murder, and terrifying change. They begin with The Girl with a Thousand Faces by Sunyi Dean, in which Natalie Naudus’ emotionally precise narration guides listeners through a haunting tale set in wartime Hong Kong, balancing gothic fantasy and historical fiction. Next is Craig DiLouie’s The Summer Fun Massacre; here narrator Garrett Michael Brown anchors a grisly summer camp mystery with understated authority, while Elizabeth Cappuccino’s brief appearances as survivors add an intimate counterpoint. Jo and Alex conclude with Luke Dumas's Nothing Tastes as Good, where Graham Halstead’s deeply empathetic performance and an ensemble cast narrating news reports and social media posts transform a horror novel into a thoughtful examination of fatphobia, shame, and public judgment. Whether confronting ghosts, revisiting old crimes, or exploring the consequences of impossible choices, these audiobooks demonstrate how exceptional narration adds emotional depth to even the darkest stories.



Audiobooks Discussed:

The Girl With a Thousand Faces by Sunyi Dean, read by Natalie Naudus (Macmillan Audio)

The Summer Fun Massacre by Craig DiLouie, read by Garrett Michael
Brown and Elizabeth Cappuccino (Hachette Audio)

Nothing Tastes as Good by Luke Dumas, read by Graham Halstead with
Ali Andre Ali, Raquel Beattie, Cassandra Campbell, and James Anderson Foster (Simon & Schuster Audio)

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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)

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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)

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices