Best AudioFile Magazine Podcasts (2025)

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UNDER THE SAME STARS by Libba Bray, read by January LaVoy, Jeremy Carlisle Parker, Major Curda 8:45

21h ago8:45

8:45

Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb discuss how a trio of narrators portray teens from different eras and settings: from Hanna and Sophie, two Polish teens, in 1939, to 1980 West Berlin, where Jenny adjusts to her family’s move from Dallas, to Brooklynite Miles, who solves the mysterious disappearances of two girls sixty years earlier. Narrat…

1
AudioFile Favorites: Talking with Author Maryrose Wood 28:08

4d ago28:08

28:08

We’re revisiting our conversation between host Jo Reed and children’s book author Maryrose Wood. Maryrose is the author of, most recently, BAD BADGER, a charming fable about friendship, as well as ALICE’S FARM, and The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place series that listeners can enjoy in six brilliant audiobooks. In this conversation, Maryrose s…

1
THE STRANGE CASE OF JANE O. by Karen Thompson Walker, read by Jay Myers, Alex Sarrigeorgiou 8:21

5d ago8:21

8:21

Jay Myers and Alex Sarrigeorgiou keep listeners hooked throughout this haunting, Earphones Award-winning audiobook. Psychiatrist Dr. Henry Byrd is faced with a perplexing case. His newest patient, Jane O., normally can recall every detail from the events of her life. However, she cannot remember what happened in the previous 25 hours, after having …

1
THREE DAYS IN JUNE by Anne Tyler, read by J. Smith-Cameron 6:36

6d ago6:36

6:36

Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb discuss how anyone who has been a member of a wedding party will be captivated by Anne Tyler's latest audiobook, appealingly narrated by J. Smith-Cameron of “Succession” fame. She captures the intonation and Mid-Atlantic accent of 61-year-old Gail, the bride's mother, and keeps listeners oriented as the sto…

1
PIPPI LONGSTOCKING by Astrid Lindgren, read by Sutton Foster 7:44

7d ago7:44

7:44

First-time listeners, as well as those who once treasured this story, will be thrilled by Sutton Foster’s character portrayals. AudioFile’s Michele Cobb and host Jo Reed discuss how Foster’s portrayal of Pippi is central to the audiobook’s success. Her narration crackles with dynamic vibrancy when it comes to Pippi’s dialogue. She depicts the wonde…

1
BROOKE SHIELDS IS NOT ALLOWED TO GET OLD by Brooke Shields, read by Brooke Shields 7:51

8d ago7:51

7:51

In her latest memoir, the now 59-year-old actor Brooke Shields candidly narrates her experiences entering middle age, illuminating both her personal experience and research into topics like healthcare, sex, and parenthood. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb discuss the way that Shields's stories—like the ones about her exercise-induced femur…

1
AudioFile Favorites: Narrator Julia Whelan on THE WOMEN 12:25

10d ago12:25

12:25

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesBy AudioFile Magazine

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HOW TO FEED THE WORLD by Vaclav Smil, read by Joe Jameson 8:44

12d ago8:44

8:44

Joe Jameson delivers an impressive performance of this comprehensive text. AudioFile’s Alan Minskoff and host Jo Reed discuss how his pace and cadence work well with this fact-filled audiobook. Smil, an energy expert, has long been a student of the planet’s food. He argues astonishingly that with some improvements in diet choices, technology, and w…

1
THE SIRENS' CALL by Chris Hayes, read by Chris Hayes 8:55

13d ago8:55

8:55

After MSNBC host Chris Hayes begins his audiobook with what behavioral science knows about voluntary and involuntary attention, he explains how this fundamental human faculty is being hijacked by corporate America and slick political operatives. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Alan Minskoff discuss how Hayes is an authentic narrator of his important m…

1
ORIGINAL SINS by Eve L. Ewing, read by Robin Miles, Eve L. Ewing 8:03

14d ago8:03

8:03

Author Ewing delivers her introduction, which sets up the arguments. She then turns the body of the text over to Golden Voice narrator Robin Miles. AudioFile’s Alan Minskoff and host Jo Reed discuss how Miles is a gifted performer whose tone, tempo, and cadence enhance the dark truths of this provocative work on the failure of our educational syste…

1
DREAM COUNT by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, read by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Sandra Okuboyejo, A'rese Emokpae, Janina Edwards 7:59

15d ago7:59

7:59

The tone, tempo, and lilting intonation of all four narrators make this Earphones Award-winning listening experience rewarding. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Alan Minskoff discuss how Adichie’s first novel in more than a decade—really four connected, finely crafted novellas—simply engages the listener from the start. Three of the major characters ar…

1
Earphones Award Roundup 16:03

18d ago16:03

16:03

Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Laura Rossi discuss three recent Earphones Award-winning audiobooks. AudioFile awards Earphones to exceptional audio experiences—it’s our version of a starred review, specifically for the audiobook. Laura and Jo highlight Mary Oliver’s poetry collection DEVOTIONS, read by Kimberly Farr; Karen Thompson Walker’s novel THE…

1
THE ECHOES by Evie Wyld, read by Sebastian Humphreys, Vivien Carter 8:09

19d ago8:09

8:09

Sebastian Humphreys and Vivien Carter perform this complex story about Hannah, her family, and Max, Hannah’s late boyfriend who’s now haunting their London apartment. After he dies, Max watches Hannah move on with her life and marvels at how much he still had to learn about her. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Kendra Winchester discuss how each perspe…

1
STONE YARD DEVOTIONAL by Charlotte Wood, read by Ailsa Piper 7:31

20d ago7:31

7:31

AudioFile’s Kendra Winchester and host Jo Reed discuss how narrator Ailsa Piper evokes the stark Australian Outback in her performance of this captivating novel, shortlisted for the Booker Prize. To escape her busy life in the city, a middle-aged woman visits a small religious community for peace and quiet. Years later, she returns to the community…

1
WAITING FOR THE LONG NIGHT MOON by Amanda Peters, read by Megan Tooley, Ussani Taylor 8:16

21d ago8:16

8:16

Megan Tooley and Ussani Taylor deliver moving performances of Amanda Peters’s short stories, which explore the Indigenous experience throughout American history. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Kendra Winchester discuss this new work from the author of THE BERRY PICKERS. Tooley performs most of the stories, using a sweet lilting voice, gentle delivery…

1
BLACK WOODS, BLUE SKY by Eowyn Ivey, read by Rebecca Lowman 7:14

22d ago7:14

7:14

Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Kendra Winchester discuss Rebecca Lowman’s evocative performance of this atmospheric novel—with a large dash of fabulism—set in the Alaskan wilderness. Birdie is a single mom who is waitressing at a lodge when a man walks in and changes her life. Arthur is an outdoorsman, a man of few words, but it’s love at first sight…

1
In Conversation with Ann Powers and Alison Fensterstock on HOW WOMEN MADE MUSIC 34:48

25d ago34:48

34:48

Host Jo Reed talks with Ann Powers, critic and correspondent for NPR Music, and editor Alison Fensterstock about collaborating on HOW WOMEN MADE MUSIC, AudioFile’s spring Audiobook Club Pick. A mosaic of essays with archival recordings of the artists, HOW WOMEN MADE MUSIC: A Revolutionary History from NPR Music is an Earphones Award winner and was …

1
SILENT SPRING by Rachel Carson, read by Susie Berneis 10:25

26d ago10:25

10:25

Carson’s SILENT SPRING has been the gold standard of the environmental movement for more than 50 years. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Robin Whitten discuss how narrator Susie Berneis is more than up to the task of making the complex workings of the natural world easy for the average person to follow. Berneis truly excels when her narration mirrors t…

1
HANG ON ST. CHRISTOPHER by Adrian McKinty, read by Gerard Doyle 8:14

27d ago8:14

8:14

Golden Voice narrator Gerard Doyle once again brings the quirkiness and erudition of D.I. Sean Duffy to life as he takes on a case that his boss, who is away on vacation, can’t handle. It’s 1992 in Belfast, and the murder of an IRA assassin means that Duffy must clock more time hunting for the killer despite his efforts to cut back as he nears reti…

1
KING: A LIFE (YOUNG ADULT EDITION) by Jonathan Eig, Yohuru Williams, Michael G. Long [Adapt.], read by Dion Graham 12:07

28d ago12:07

12:07

Teen listeners are given a well-rounded portrait of the leading figure in the Civil Rights movement, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King—fleshed out by fascinating and coherent accounts of the events of the day and the people around him. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Robin Whitten discuss how Golden Voice Dion Graham masterfully portrays the voices …

1
GEORGE ORWELL'S 1984 by George Orwell, Joe White [Adapt.], read by Andrew Garfield, Cynthia Erivo, and a Full Cast 8:55

29d ago8:55

8:55

AudioFile’s Robin Whitten and Host Jo Reed discuss this 2025 Audie Award winner for Audio Drama, which is also an Earphones Award winner and was one of AudioFile’s Best Audiobooks of 2024. Andrew Garfield and Cynthia Erivo lead a crew of inspired English actors in creating a full-cast, filmlike 21st-century reimagining of one of the twentieth centu…

1
JANUARIES by Olivie Blake, read by Alexandra Palting, Daniel Henning, David Monteith, Ferdelle Capistrano, Olivie Blake, Stephanie Németh-Parker, Steve West 7:14

1M ago7:14

7:14

A full cast of narrators, including the author, delivers this enchanting collection of short stories about love, magic, and betrayal. AudioFile’s Alex Richey and host Jo Reed discuss how each of the 14 stories is tenderly delivered by an emotionally committed narrator. Some standouts include Stephanie Németh-Parker as a woman who grants wishes at a…

1
DEATH OF THE AUTHOR by Nnedi Okorafor, read by Liz Femi, Anthony Oseyemi, Jason Culp, Chris Djuma 7:05

1M ago7:05

7:05

Liz Femi is the primary narrator of this meta-narrative about a paraplegic Nigerian American woman and her unexpected rise to fame. Suddenly unemployed, Zelu risks writing a novel unlike any she’s ever written before, a futuristic sci-fi epic about androids who exist after humanity becomes extinct. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Alex Richey discuss h…

1
LISTEN TO YOUR SISTER by Neena Viel, read by Kristolyn Lloyd, Eric Lockley, Zeno Robinson 7:15

1M ago7:15

7:15

AudioFile’s Alex Richey and host Jo Reed discuss how this fantastic ensemble of narrators excel equally at emotionally connecting to complicated emotional characters, elevating colloquial language, and enhancing mysterious, violent horrors. Kristolyn Lloyd portrays 25-year-old Calla as she struggles to hold her life together. Calla would do anythin…

1
HEAVENLY TYRANT by Xiran Jay Zhao, read by Rong Fu 7:43

1M ago7:43

7:43

Narrator Rong Fu returns in the next audiobook in the Iron Widow series. Zetian has awakened Qin Zheng, legendary emperor of Huaxia from centuries past. He desires a complete overhaul of Huaxia to eliminate corruption and misogyny, but despite a common goal, it is still one Zetian is forced into. AudioFile’s Alex Richey and host Jo Reed discuss how…

1
Behind the Mic with Marshall Karp and January LaVoy 31:03

1M ago31:03

31:03

Author Marshall Karp and narrator January LaVoy join AudioFile’s Michele Cobb for a conversation about Marshall’s latest novel, DON’T TELL ME HOW TO DIE - a mystery-turned-thriller where January LaVoy’s superb talent brings an array of dimension to Karp’s carefully crafted characters. Marshall is the author of over a dozen crime fiction novels - in…

1
Celebrating the 2025 Audies Winners 6:51

1M ago6:51

6:51

Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb discuss the 2025 winner for Best Fiction Narrator, awarded this week at the 30th annual Audie Awards. Listen to hear their conversation and a clip from the winner! You can catch up with the Audie Awards ceremony livestream: https://www.youtube.com/live/DZ6KZvPtgEA And see the full list of this year’s finali…

1
Celebrating the 2025 Audie Awards 10:34

1M ago10:34

10:34

Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb discuss the 2025 winners for Audiobook of the Year and the Best Nonfiction Narrator, awarded at last night’s Audie Awards gala. Listen to hear their conversation and a clip from the winner! And you can catch up with the Audie Awards ceremony livestream: https://www.youtube.com/live/DZ6KZvPtgEA And see the f…

1
Previewing the 2025 Audie Awards 8:23

1M ago8:23

8:23

Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb preview the 2025 Audie Awards! This year the Audies’ 30th anniversary will be celebrated with a gala event in New York City, and with a livestream that audiobook lovers can watch from the comfort of home. Listen in as Jo and Michele discuss some of the highlights to watch for in this year’s Audie Awards. Fo…

1
AudioFile Favorites: PLAYGROUND 7:35

1M ago7:35

7:35

Richard Powers’s PLAYGROUND is a 2025 Audie Award Finalist for Audiobook of the Year. We’re revisiting host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Alan Minskoff’s discussion of how the six narrators' words flow forth, immersing the listener in four central characters and the minute details that comprise their respective worlds. Sections lack titles or labels, so …

1
LAKE OF SOULS: AudioFile Favorites 7:39

2M ago7:39

7:39

Adjoa Andoh narrates a short story collection of speculative fiction by Ann Leckie. We’re revisiting host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly discussion of this 2025 Audie Award Finalist in Science Fiction. This collection includes works in the worlds of the Imperial Radch and the Raven Tower, as well as stand-alone pieces. Andoh’s stellar skill…

1
SYSTEM COLLAPSE: AudioFile Favorites 7:45

2M ago7:45

7:45

We’re revisiting this discussion from Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly about this 2025 Audie Award Finalist in Science Fiction. Kevin R. Free is the perfect voice for Murderbot, the rogue security unit who would rather just be watching serials, but is protecting its humans — and having a mental breakdown. In a story that takes place immediate…

1
THE REAL EDUCATION OF TJ CROWLEY: AudioFile Favorites 6:30

2M ago6:30

6:30

Grant Overstake’s audio drama details racial strife in Wichita, Kansas, in 1968. We’re revisiting Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Alan Minskoff’s discussion of this 2025 Audie Award Finalist in Young Adult. A seventh-grade boy’s life becomes upended when a Black family moves in next door. The narrators of this fraught coming-of-age story are excellent. The…

1
REDNECKS: AudioFile Favorites 6:37

2M ago6:37

6:37

Ramiz Monsef performs Taylor Brown’s historical novel set during the Battle of Blair Mountain in the early 1920s. We’re revisiting Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Kendra Winchester’s discussion about this 2025 Audie Award Finalist in Fiction that will keep listeners on edge until the very last second. Lebanese American “Doc Moo” Muhanna serves as a medical…

1
KNIFE: AudioFile Favorites 7:39

2M ago7:39

7:39

We’re revisiting our conversation about KNIFE, a finalist for Narration by the Author in the 2025 Audie Awards. Narrating his own work, Salman Rushdie offers an emotionally resonant account of the shocking knife attack that almost ended his life. Host Jo Reed and AudioFIle’s Michele Cobb discuss his memoir of the attack, its immediate aftermath, an…

1
SMALL THINGS LIKE THESE by Claire Keegan, read by Aidan Kelly 7:33

2M ago7:33

7:33

AudioFile’s Leslie Fine and host Jo Reed discuss how this brief novel set in a small Irish town in 1985 is no bucolic Irish tale. Aiden Kelly gives a masterful narration. Bill Furlong, the son of an unwed mother and now a coal merchant with a family, leads a comfortable life.During a coal delivery to the town’s convent, he finds a young woman locke…

1
THE HISTORY OF SOUND by Ben Shattuck, read by Ben Shattuck and an ensemble cast 7:00

2M ago7:00

7:00

The stories in this audiobook collection have subjects as wide as the list of narrators is long, and the result is excellent. AudioFile’s Leslie Fine and host Jo Reed discuss how there is not a weak performance, and each narrator is perfectly suited to his or her story. “Radiolab: Singularities,” with its multiple narrators, makes great use of the …

1
BLUE SISTERS by Coco Mellors, read by Kit Griffiths 8:53

2M ago8:53

8:53

Grief is a looming presence in this audiobook. The three Blue sisters try to move on after the death of Nikki, their vivacious and beloved fourth sibling. AudioFile’s Leslie Fine and host Jo Reed discuss how Kit Griffiths narrates the sisters' parallel stories with a measured cadence, conveying the survivors' internal and external struggles as they…

1
THE LIFE OF CHARLOTTE BRONTË by Elizabeth Gaskell, read by Lucy Scott, Penelope Rawlins, Georgina Sutton, Sarah Lambie, David Timson, Nigel Pilkingtonraft 7:37

2M ago7:37

7:37

Literary skill ensured Charlotte Brontë's place in the "classics" category, and this audiobook delves deeply into her life and times. AudioFile’s Leslie Fine and host Jo Reed discuss how Lucy Scott is the consummate British narrator, with a brisk pace and animated tone that remain consistent through an extensive audio performance. Supporting cast m…

1
IN THE DISTANCE by Hernan Diaz, read by Alexander Skarsgard 7:33

2M ago7:33

7:33

AudioFile’s Leslie Fine and host Jo Reed discuss how narrator Alexander Skarsgard provides the ideal voice for this audiobook. Just as one settles in with what seems like a typical Western, something occurs that reveals there’s nothing typical about it. Hakan, a reserved Swede of intimidating size, must navigate a strange country where dangers abou…

1
FOOD FOR THOUGHT by Alton Brown, read by Alton Brown 7:07

2M ago7:07

7:07

Add outstanding audiobook narrator to Brown’s deep resumé. He is aftercall a Food Network personality, cookbook author, and avid food science researcher. Given his long running gigs on Iron Chef, Good Eats and his work as a pitchman for GE, among others, no surprise that he performs his “essays and ruminations” smoothly, smartly and wittily. His ra…

1
FOUR POINTS OF THE COMPASS by Jerry Brotton, read by Liam Garrigan 5:46

2M ago5:46

5:46

Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Alan Minskoff discuss Jerry Brotton’s brief but delightful and highly informed audiobook exploring geographic direction. Narrator Liam Garrigan has a natural storytelling style, and his British accent and professional delivery work well for the material. The central idea is how the cardinal directions gave life meaning …

1
THE RIVETER by Jack Wang, read by Feodor Chin 7:24

2M ago7:24

7:24

Set in Canada and the European theater during World War Two, this moving debut from Jack Wang tells the story of Josiah Chang, a Canadian logger and riveter of Chinese ancestry. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Alan Minskoff discuss Feodor Chin’s precise and clear narration. The novel details Chang’s challenges and unveils a love story with Poppy, whom…

1
PLAYGROUND by Richard Powers, read by Edoardo Ballerini, Robin Siegerman, Eunice Wong, Pun Bandhu, Krys Janae, Kevin R. Free 7:28

2M ago7:28

7:28

"The fate of continents is written in water," this audiobook professes, and the vital role of the ocean is at the heart of this expansive listening experience. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Alan Minskoff discuss Richard Powers’s new audiobook, narrated by a full cast. At the start, the narrators' words flow forth, immersing the listener in four cent…

1
GRANDDAUGHTER by Bernhard Schlink, Charlotte Collins [Trans.], read by Richard Burnip, Sarah Moule 7:26

2M ago7:26

7:26

Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Alan Minskoff discuss an exceptional audiobook from Bernhard Schlink. Both Richard Burnip and Sarah Moule are fine narrators who perform with an impeccable tempo, pace, and cadence. The mysterious plot concerns a Berlin bookseller, Kaspar, who engineered his wife Birgit’s escape from East Germany 40 years earlier. After…

1
MY GOOD BRIGHT WOLF by Sarah Moss, read by Morven Christie 7:19

2M ago7:19

7:19

Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Kendra Winchester discuss a captivating memoir by English writer and academic Sarah Moss, performed by Morven Christie. From an early age, society taught Moss that girls are to be restrained, smart but not too smart, and at home, she learned a girl must stay thin above all else. Moss’s memoir follows her life as she pus…

1
BLACK IN BLUES by Imani Perry, read by Imani Perry 7:14

2M ago7:14

7:14

National Book Award winner Imani Perry contemplates the connection between the color blue and African and African American history and culture. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Kendra Winchester discuss Perry’s narration of her audiobook. From the traditional practice of dying indigo cloth in West Africa to the blues musical tradition in America, Perry…

1
A SEA OF UNSPOKEN THINGS by Adrienne Young, read by Christine Lakin 6:58

2M ago6:58

6:58

Christine Lakin performs Adrienne Young’s atmospheric mystery novel set in a small town in Northern California. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Kendra Winchester discuss a story full of twists and turns. When James receives a call that her twin brother Johnny has unexpectedly died, she travels back to her tiny hometown to take care of his affairs. But…

1
PRIVATE RITES by Julia Armfield, read by Hannah van der Westhuysen 6:43

2M ago6:43

6:43

Hannah van der Westhuysen gives a quiet, melancholic performance of this contemplative, grief-filled reimagining of KING LEAR. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Kendra Winchester discuss Julia Armfield’s story set in a vague future of drowned cities and constant rain. The story revolves around three queer sisters after the death of their famous father, …

1
WE DO NOT PART by Han Kang, E. Yaewon, Paige Aniyah Morris [Trans.], read by Greta Jung 6:37

2M ago6:37

6:37

Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Kendra Winchester discuss Nobel Prize winner Han Kang’s latest novel, a haunting story focused on the friendship of two women. Greta Jung performs the story of Kyungha, who receives an urgent request from her friend, Inseon, to come see her at a hospital in Seoul. Inseon asks Kyungha to care for her bird, Ama, at her ho…

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