Essays audiobooks

When Children Are Wanted

By: Margaret Sanger

Narrated by: Margaret Sanger

Length: 5 minutes

Abridged: No

In this essay originally aired in the 1950s, Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger explains how wanting children before conception can lead to greater good in the world, in "When Children Are Wanted," her contribution to NPR’s This I Believe series.

This I Believe is a National Public Radio program that features Americans, from the famous... Read more

The Artistry in Hidden Talents

By: Mel Rusnov

Narrated by: Mel Rusnov

Length: 5 minutes

Abridged: No

Mel Rusnov describes the delight of discovering "The Artistry of Hidden Talents", especially music, in people otherwise defined by their careers, for NPR's This I Believe series.

This I Believe is a National Public Radio program that features Americans, from the famous to the unknown, completing the thought that begins with the series title. The... Read more

A Daily Walk Just to Listen

By: Susan Cosio

Narrated by: Susan Cosio

Length: 4 minutes

Abridged: No

Susan Cosio talks about finding God during "A Daily Walk Just to Listen" to Him in her contribution to NPR’s This I Believe series. This short audio essay is an excerpt from the audiobook edition of NPR's This I Believe anthology.

This I Believe is a National Public Radio program that features Americans, from the famous to the unknown,... Read more

The Power of Mysteries

By: Alan Lightman

Narrated by: Alan Lightman

Length: 4 minutes

Abridged: No

Astrophysicist and novelist Alan Lightman explains how the unknown fuels human creativity in "The Power of Mysteries," his contribution to NPR's This I Believe series.

This I Believe is a National Public Radio program that features Americans, from the famous to the unknown, completing the thought that begins with the series title. The pieces... Read more

Tomorrow Will be a Better Day

By: Josh Rittenberg

Narrated by: Josh Rittenberg

Length: 4 minutes

Abridged: No

Teenager Josh Rittenberg contemplates the past his ancestors overcome and the future his generation faces in "Tomorrow Will Be a Better Day," his contribution to NPR’s This I Believe series.

This I Believe is a National Public Radio program that features Americans, from the famous to the unknown, completing the thought that begins with the... Read more

There is More to Life than Life

By: Jamaica Ritcher

Narrated by: Jamaica Ritcher

Length: 4 minutes

Abridged: No

A daughter's question about their dead cat leads Jamaica Ritcher to realize her beliefs, in "There Is More to Life Than My Life," her contribution to NPR’s This I Believe series.

This I Believe is a National Public Radio program that features Americans, from the famous to the unknown, completing the thought that begins with the series title. The... Read more

In Praise of the "Wobblies"

By: Ted Gup

Narrated by: Ted Gup

Length: 4 minutes

Abridged: No

Ted Gup reflects on the value of confusion in "In Praise of the 'Wobblies'", his contribution to NPR’s This I Believe series.

This I Believe is a National Public Radio program that features Americans, from the famous to the unknown, completing the thought that begins with the series title. The pieces that make up the program compel listeners to... Read more

A Grown-Up Barbie

By: Jane Hamill

Narrated by: Jane Hamill

Length: 3 minutes

Abridged: No

Fashion designer Jane Hamill describes the endless possibilities of clothes and imagination in "A Grown-Up Barbie", her contribution to NPR’s This I Believe series. This short audio essay is an excerpt from the audiobook edition of NPR's This I Believe anthology.

This I Believe is a National Public Radio program that features Americans, from the... Read more

My Father's Evening Star

By: William O. Douglas

Narrated by: William O. Douglas

Length: 5 minutes

Abridged: No

In this essay originally aired in the 1950s, Former Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas encourages a return to the faith of his father's generation in "My Father’s Evening Star"*, his contribution to NPR’s This I Believe series.

This I Believe is a National Public Radio program that features Americans, from the famous to the unknown,... Read more

Happy Talk

By: Oscar Hammerstein II

Narrated by: Oscar Hammerstein II

Length: 5 minutes

Abridged: No

In this essay originally aired in the 1950s, musical librettist and producer Oscar Hammerstein explains the importance of declaring your happiness, even in the face of global conflicts and personal disappointments, in "Happy Talk", his contribution to NPR’s This I Believe series.

This I Believe is a National Public Radio program that features... Read more

In Giving I Connect With Others

By: Isabel Allende

Narrated by: Isabel Allende

Length: 4 minutes

Abridged: No

In her contribution to NPR's This I Believe series, novelist Isabelle Allende reflects on how her daughter's life--and death--taught her that "In Giving I Connect With Others".

This I Believe is a National Public Radio program that features Americans, from the famous to the unknown, completing the thought that begins with the series title. The... Read more

Leaving Identity Issues to Other Folks

By: Phyllis Allen

Narrated by: Phyllis Allen

Length: 5 minutes

Abridged: No

Phyllis Allen reflects on tumultuous decades and the changing vocabulary of race in "Leaving Identity Issues to Other Folks", her contribution to NPR’s This I Believe series.

This I Believe is a National Public Radio program that features Americans, from the famous to the unknown, completing the thought that begins with the series title. The... Read more

A Duty to Heal

By: Pius Kamau

Narrated by: Pius Kamau

Length: 4 minutes

Abridged: No

Surgeon Pius Kamau describes caring for patients regardless of their racial views in "A Duty to Heal", his contribution to NPR’s This I Believe series.

This I Believe is a National Public Radio program that features Americans, from the famous to the unknown, completing the thought that begins with the series title. The pieces that make up the... Read more

An Athlete of God

By: Martha Graham

Narrated by: Martha Graham

Length: 5 minutes

Abridged: No

In this essay originally aired in the 1950s, legendary modern dance and ballet choreographer Martha Graham describes for NPR’s This I Believe series what it means to be a dancer, "An Athlete of God".

This I Believe is a National Public Radio program that features Americans, from the famous to the unknown, completing the thought that begins with... Read more

The Making of Poems

By: Gregory Orr

Narrated by: Gregory Orr

Length: 4 minutes

Abridged: No

Poet Gregory Orr reflects on the power of poetry to help people endure traumatic events and isolation in "The Making of Poems", his contribution to NPR’s This I Believe series.

This I Believe is a National Public Radio program that features Americans, from the famous to the unknown, completing the thought that begins with the series title. The... Read more

Testing the Limits of What I Know and Feel

By: John Updike

Narrated by: John Updike

Length: 4 minutes

Abridged: No

Pulitzer Prize-winning author John Updike comments on how writing fiction can push the writer's boundaries, in "Testing the Limits of What I Know and Feel," his contribution to NPR's This I Believe series.

This I Believe is a National Public Radio program that features Americans, from the famous to the unknown, completing the thought that begins... Read more

The Mountain Disappears

By: Leonard Bernstein

Narrated by: Leonard Bernstein

Length: 5 minutes

Abridged: No

In this essay originally aired in the 1950s, composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein expresses his belief in the potential of people to create change, in "The Mountain Disappears," his contribution to NPR's This I Believe series.

This I Believe is a National Public Radio program that features Americans, from the famous to the unknown, completing... Read more

An Honest Doubter

By: Elizabeth Deutsch (Earle)

Narrated by: Elizabeth Deutsch (Earle)

Length: 5 minutes

Abridged: No

In this essay originally aired in the 1950s, Elizabeth Deutsch (then 16 years old) became the youngest contributor to the first This I Believe series with "An Honest Doubter", in which she reflects on her active search for a personal philosophy and a personal faith.

This I Believe is a National Public Radio program that features Americans, from... Read more

Have I Learned Anything Important Since I was Sixteen?

By: Elizabeth Deutsch (Earle)

Narrated by: Elizabeth Deutsch (Earle)

Length: 4 minutes

Abridged: No

Elizabeth Deutsch Earle reflects on her original This I Believe Essay, first aired in the 1950s when she was then the youngest contributor to the program, in "Have I Learned Anything Important Since I was Sixteen?"

This I Believe is a National Public Radio program that features Americans, from the famous to the unknown, completing the thought... Read more

Spoiled Rotten America - Abridged

By: Larry Miller

Narrated by: Larry Miller

Length: 3 hours 3 minutes

Abridged: Yes

Like Kofi Annan, Larry Miller is one of the most irresistible comic personalities working today. Known for years as an actor, writer, comedian, and sexual pioneer, he's gained a new following as a cultural commentator and frequent guest on political shows. Now, in Spoiled Rotten America, he fixes his gaze on what's funny about our daily... Read more

Creationists

By: E.L. Doctorow

Narrated by: E.L. Doctorow

Length: 4 hours 32 minutes

Abridged: No

E. L. Doctorow is acclaimed internationally for such novels as Ragtime, Billy Bathgate, and The March. Here now are his rich, revelatory essays on the nature of imaginative thought. In Creationists, Doctorow considers creativity in its many forms, from the literary to the comic to the cosmic. As he wrestles with the subjects that have teased and... Read more

The Areas of My Expertise - Abridged

By: John Hodgman

Narrated by: John Hodgman

Length: 6 hours 58 minutes

Abridged: Yes

Hot on the heels of the #1 bestsellers The Onion's Our Dumb Century and Jon Stewart's America comes The Areas of My Expertise, the brilliant and uproarious #15 bestseller (i.e., a runaway phenomenon in its own right-no, seriously) - a lavish compendium of handy reference tables, fascinating trivia, and sage wisdom - all of it completely... Read more

The Rant Zone - Abridged

By: Dennis Miller

Narrated by: Dennis Miller

Length: TBA

Abridged: Yes

In this fourth installment of his acclaimed Rants series, the bestselling author, Emmy® Award-winning talk show host and wise-cracking analyst for ABC's Monday Night Football makes hamburger out of society's most sacred cows as only he can, with the kind of allusions that require high SAT scores—or at least a smart crib sheet. In ranting against... Read more

Microthrills

By: Wendy Spero

Narrated by: Wendy Spero

Length: 6 hours 21 minutes

Abridged: No

Raised in Manhattan by her overprotective sex-therapist mother (who wore “nine inches of shoulder pads”), Wendy Spero has always sought excitement in microthrills, the small, strange highs that give her life meaning—from finding a strip tease video of her grandmother to selling knives door-to-door. As a little girl, Spero passed the time... Read more