Performance audiobooks

Why Climate Change Is An 'All-Encompassing Threat'

By: PBS NewsHour

Narrated by: PBS NewsHour

Length: 6 minutes

Abridged: No

Although a candidate just entered the 2020 presidential race with a platform centered on climate change, some experts say Americans aren’t fully aware of the scope and seriousness of global warming. Among them is David Wallace-Wells, who argues in a new book that the severity of the climate crisis has not yet been acknowledged, let alone... Read more

Georg Büchner: Woyzeck

By: Georg Büchner

Narrated by: Sven Görtz

Length: 1 hour 3 minutes

Abridged: No

Der einfache Soldat Woyzeck muss seine Freundin Marie und das gemeinsame Kind ernähren – wie auch immer. Er setzt sich gegen Bezahlung den Versuchen eines Arztes aus. Als aber Marie eine Affäre beginnt, kommt es zur Tragödie. Das Dramenfragment Büchners gehört zu den eindringlichsten Werken des jung gestorbenen Autors. Read more

Desert Magnolia

By: Dedra L. Stevenson

Narrated by: Nicole Blessing

Length: 6 hours 43 minutes

Abridged: No

In Dedra L. Stevenson’s first work of crime and courtroom drama, Desert Magnolia takes the reader along a turbulent journey with Daniella Pierce, a small town Southern gal who ended up living as a Muslim in Dubai, happy and fulfilled, or at least she thought. Daniella, upon hearing that her father has been murdered as a result of a hate crime,... Read more

Old Time Radio's Greatest Stars: John Dehner Collection 1

By: Black Eye Entertainment

Narrated by: Full Cast

Length: 5 hours 19 minutes

Abridged: No

Versatile actor John Dehner had a long career (1940-1989) playing countless roles in all media. He appeared in more than 250 films and in thousands of radio and television shows. He began his career as an animator for the Walt Disney Studios but his love for performing found him work at KFWB in Los Angeles as a news editor and disc jockey.... Read more

Wisconsin Nonprofit Seeks To Better Connect U.S. Farmers With Their Mexican Employees

By: PBS NewsHour

Narrated by: PBS NewsHour

Length: 6 minutes

Abridged: No

Mexicans who come to the U.S. seeking employment often leave their loved ones and culture behind. In Wisconsin, a nonprofit helps connect American farmers with their migrant employees through language and cultural education. Some of the farmers travel to Mexico to visit the families of their workers -- who can't risk the trip home themselves.... Read more

Political Columnist Michael Gerson On Coping With ‘Insidious’ Depression

By: PBS NewsHour

Narrated by: PBS NewsHour

Length: 7 minutes

Abridged: No

Michael Gerson is a political columnist for the Washington Post and a regular contributor to the NewsHour. But this past weekend, he delivered a sermon at the Washington National Cathedral that focused on a more personal topic: his battle with depression. Gerson joins Judy Woodruff to discuss his experience with the "chronic insidious disease"... Read more

Why We Should Think Differently About Classical Music

By: PBS NewsHour

Narrated by: PBS NewsHour

Length: 2 minutes

Abridged: No

Musician and critic Jennifer Gersten wants us to transform the way we think about classical music. Perceived by many as “inaccessible, elitist, incomprehensible,” the genre is often marketed by producers and performers primarily as relaxing. Gersten shares her humble opinion on why that characterization is selling classical music short. Read more

Sisters Matsumoto

By: Philip Kan Gotanda

Narrated by: Keiko Agena, June Angela, Ron Bottitta, Kurt Ka...

Length: 1 hour 52 minutes

Abridged: No

After the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, the US government sent thousands of Japanese American citizens to detention camps. In 1945, three Japanese-American sisters return to their farm in Stockton, California, after years in an internment camp, but the once prosperous family finds it’s not easy to pick up the pieces of their former lives. As... Read more

'Broadsword Calling Danny Boy'

By: Geoff Dyer

Narrated by: Roy MacMillan

Length: 2 hours 22 minutes

Abridged: No

Geoff Dyer's earlier book on film, Zona, was about Andrei Tarkovsky's Stalker, so it was perhaps inevitable that he should next devote his unique critical and stylistic energies to Brian G. Hutton's Where Eagles Dare. A thrilling Alpine adventure starring a magnificent, bleary-eyed Richard Burton and a dynamically lethargic Clint Eastwood, Where... Read more

Why This Poet Says There Is No Single Story Spun On A Single Tongue

By: PBS NewsHour

Narrated by: PBS NewsHour

Length: 1 minute

Abridged: No

Erica Dawson, a professor and writer, said she was surprised while on book tour recently to be faced with the same question over and over again, about speaking for “the black experience.” Black poets never went away. We don’t only deserve the stage in tumultuous times. We aren’t just rage, says Dawson, who shares her humble opinion on... Read more

Why This Poet Says There Is No ‘Single Story Spun On A Single Tongue’

By: PBS NewsHour

Narrated by: PBS NewsHour

Length: 1 minute

Abridged: No

Erica Dawson, a professor and writer, said she was surprised while on book tour recently to be faced with the same question over and over again, about speaking for “the black experience.” Black poets "never went away. We don’t only deserve the stage in tumultuous times. We aren’t just rage," says Dawson, who shares her humble opinion on... Read more

Orgasmic Sinister

By: Joseph Batte

Narrated by: Joseph

Length: 3 hours 1 minute

Abridged: No

Immerse your Spirit in a world of darkened narrative poetry, blended with insightful and twisted humor. An hourglass is tilted; but, but, death is nothing, compared to possessing of a hunted soul and spirit. Read more

How This Thai Educational Movement Empowers Rural Students

By: PBS NewsHour

Narrated by: PBS NewsHour

Length: 6 minutes

Abridged: No

More and more in Thailand, rural students learn in traditional classrooms, but with an emphasis on hands-on activities. The idea is to empower young villagers to bring economic development to their communities, as well as learn leadership, empathy and compassion. Special correspondent Fred de Sam Lazaro returns to Thailand to talk with the man... Read more

I am Lucille Ball

By: Brad Meltzer

Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld & Various

Length: 18 minutes

Abridged: No

"We can all be heroes" is the message of this biography series from #1 New York Times Bestselling author Brad Meltzer.

“Kids always search for heroes, so we might as well have a say in it,” Brad Meltzer realized, and so he envisioned this friendly, fun approach to biography—for his own kids, and for yours. Each entry tells the story of one of... Read more

Author Dani Shapiro On The Power And Danger Of Family Secrets

By: PBS NewsHour

Narrated by: PBS NewsHour

Length: 2 minutes

Abridged: No

After taking a DNA test on a whim, author Dani Shapiro discovered that her beloved late father had not been, in fact, her biological parent. She had been conceived using a sperm donor, and as was common at the time, the real story of her conception was kept secret. Shapiro shares her humble opinion on why not knowing the truth can cause more... Read more

Microchipping Humans Wields Great Promise, But Does It Pose Greater Risk?

By: PBS NewsHour

Narrated by: PBS NewsHour

Length: 7 minutes

Abridged: No

An intense debate is underway over the benefits and drawbacks of using microchips, typically relied upon to identify ranch animals and pets, on humans. Advantages include fast communication of critical patient data to medical teams, seamless payment and automatically opened doors. But skeptics warn of dire implications for privacy and ethics.... Read more

Author And Journalist Sarah Smarsh On Resisting ‘Bogus’ Labels That Divide Us

By: PBS NewsHour

Narrated by: PBS NewsHour

Length: 2 minutes

Abridged: No

Sarah Smarsh is an author and a journalist whose environment as an adult diverges greatly from her childhood on a Kansas wheat farm. With exposure to extremely different regions and cultures within the U.S., Smarsh shares her humble opinion on why we should resist the temptation to reduce individuals with oversimplified labels based on where... Read more

Why The Midwest's Deep Freeze May Be A Consequence Of Climate Change

By: PBS NewsHour

Narrated by: PBS NewsHour

Length: 5 minutes

Abridged: No

More than a quarter of the U.S. population is expected to deal with sub-zero temperatures this week. The extreme cold has sparked some public skepticism over global warming, but scientists actually believe it is a consequence of climate change. Amna Nawaz talks to Dr. Jennifer Francis of the Woods Hole Research Center for an explanation of this... Read more

Old Time Radio's Greatest Stars: William Conrad Collection 1

By: Black Eye Entertainment

Narrated by: Full Cast

Length: 5 hours 43 minutes

Abridged: No

Versatile actor William Conrad had a long career (1945-1993) and was an American World War II fighter pilot, actor, producer, and director whose career spanned five decades in radio, film and television. He appeared in nearly 8,000 radio shows during the golden age and when TV beckoned, he delivered, starring in Cannon (1971-76), Nero Wolfe... Read more

Classic Radio's Greatest Science Fiction Shows Collection 2

By: Black Eye Entertainment

Narrated by: Full Cast

Length: 5 hours 38 minutes

Abridged: No

This collection contains 12 of the greatest science fiction shows ever broadcast during the Golden Age of Radio – including episodes of X Minus One, Suspense, The Lux Radio Theatre, Escape, Murder At Midnight, Dimension X and many others. Radio’s finest actors perform before the microphones, including: Michael Rennie, Mandel Kramer, Santos... Read more

'Heart' Author Sandeep Jauhar Answers Your Questions

By: PBS NewsHour

Narrated by: PBS NewsHour

Length: 5 minutes

Abridged: No

Sandeep Jauhar, author of our January pick for the NewsHour-New York Times book club, Now Read This, joins Jeffrey Brown to answer reader questions on “Heart.” Plus, Jeff announces the February book selection. Read more

Old Time Radio's Greatest Stars: Jack Benny Collection 1

By: Black Eye Entertainment

Narrated by: Full Cast

Length: 5 hours 53 minutes

Abridged: No

Versatile actor/comedian Jack Benny had a long career (1911-1974) and was truly a star of stage, screen and radio. Recognized as a leading 20th-century American entertainer, Benny often portrayed his character as a miser, playing violin poorly, and claiming to be no older than 39, regardless of his actual age. Known for his comic timing, Benny... Read more

Suspense Collection 2

By: Black Eye Entertainment

Narrated by: Full Cast

Length: 5 hours 53 minutes

Abridged: No

Conceived as a potential radio vehicle for Alfred Hitchcock to direct, Suspense was a radio series of epic proportion. It aired on CBS from 1942 to 1962 and is considered by many to be the best mystery/drama series of the golden age. Known as “Radio's Outstanding Theater of Thrills”, it focused on suspenseful stories starring the biggest names... Read more

40 Years Later, The Era Is Still Not A Part Of The Constitution

By: PBS NewsHour

Narrated by: PBS NewsHour

Length: 6 minutes

Abridged: No

Forty years ago, Congress approved the Equal Rights Amendment, guaranteeing protection from discrimination on the basis of sex -- but it has never been ratified as a constitutional amendment. Now a campaign to ratify the ERA is gathering momentum, in part because of fallout from the #MeToo movement of the past two years. Amna Nawaz talks to Kate... Read more