Behind the Mic With Kirkus Reviews

Golden Voices: Hollywood, Romance, and Revenge

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 [https://www.kirkusreviews.com/audiobook-reviews/priya-parmar/the-original-2/] written by Priya Parmar, read by Cassandra Campbell (Random House Audio) Ghalen: A Romance in Black [https://www.kirkusreviews.com/audiobook-reviews/walter-mosley/ghalen/] written by Walter Mosley, read by Dion Graham (HarperAudio) The Divorce [https://www.kirkusreviews.com/audiobook-reviews/freida-mcfadden/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 [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Writing a Life, Reading It Aloud

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 [https://www.kirkusreviews.com/audiobook-reviews/arsenio-hall/arsenio/] by Arsenio Hall with Alan Eisenstock, read by the Arsenio Hall (Simon & Schuster Audio) Famesick [https://www.kirkusreviews.com/audiobook-reviews/lena-dunham/famesick/], written and read by Lena Dunham (Random House Audio) True Crime [https://www.kirkusreviews.com/audiobook-reviews/lena-dunham/famesick/], written and read by Patricia Cornwell (Hachette Audio) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Listening to Short Stories That Linger

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 [https://www.kirkusreviews.com/audiobook-reviews/emma-copley-eisenberg/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 [https://www.kirkusreviews.com/audiobook-reviews/rachel-khong/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 [https://www.kirkusreviews.com/audiobook-reviews/amal-el-mohtar/seasons-of-glass-and-iron/] by Amal El-Mohtar, read by Rachel Elizabeth Smith (Macmillan Audio) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Kids Confront a Changing World

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 [https://www.kirkusreviews.com/audiobook-reviews/kimberly-brubaker-bradley/phoenix-2/] by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, read by Emma Ladji (Listening Library)   The Lovely Dark [https://www.kirkusreviews.com/audiobook-reviews/matthew-fox/the-lovely-dark/] by Matthew Fox, read by Karise Yansen (Hachette Audio)   When Tomorrow Burns [https://www.kirkusreviews.com/audiobook-reviews/tae-keller/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 [http://www.harpercollinsfocus.com], and HarperCollins Christian Publishing [http://www.harpercollinschristian.com], publishers of some of your favorite audiobooks and authors, including Reba McEntire, Bob Goff, Savannah Guthrie, Max Lucado, Lysa TerKeurst, and many more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Finding the Voice

Host Jo Reed talks with contributor Leslie Fine about three audiobooks that range from memoir to thriller to literary biography. They begin with Unread: A Memoir of Learning (and Loving) To Read on TikTok by Oliver James, where narrator James Shippy brings warmth and enthusiasm to the author’s account of achieving literacy as an adult and discovering the enduring pleasures of books. Then, they turn to Tiffany Crum’s This Story Might Save Your Life. Driven by the energetic, emotionally layered narration of Julia Whelan and Sean Patrick Hopkins, its use of podcast clips, voicemail messages, and layered audio production heightens a suspenseful missing-person mystery. And they end with Judy Blume: A Life by Mark Oppenheimer; Molly Ringwald’s warm, quietly authoritative narration guides listeners through the career of an author whose books have shaped generations of readers. Together, these audiobooks prove that the right narrator can turn a good story into an irresistible listen. Audiobooks Discussed: Unread: A Memoir of Learning (and Loving) To Read on TikTok [https://www.kirkusreviews.com/audiobook-reviews/oliver-james/unread/] by Oliver James, read by James Shippy (Hachette Audio) This Story Might Save Your Life [https://www.kirkusreviews.com/audiobook-reviews/tiffany-crum/this-story-might-save-your-life-2/] by Tiffany Crum, read by Julia Whelan and Sean Patrick Hopkins (Macmillan Audio) Judy Blume: A Life [https://www.kirkusreviews.com/audiobook-reviews/mark-oppenheimer/judy-blume/] by Mark Oppenheimer, read by Molly Ringwald and Mark Oppenheimer (Penguin Random House Audio)   Support for Behind the Mic comes from HarperCollins Focus [http://www.harpercollinsfocus.com], and HarperCollins Christian Publishing [http://www.harpercollinschristian.com], publishers of some of your favorite audiobooks and authors, including Reba McEntire, Bob Goff, Savannah Guthrie, Max Lucado, Lysa TerKeurst, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]