Dahlia Lithwick, senior editor at the online news magazine "Slate" and host of the podcast "Amicus," opens in her usual understated, approachable narrative style, quoting from the first stanza of Paulie Murray's poem, "Dark Testament": "Where men forever crush the dreamers/Never the dream." She proceeds with stories of women attorneys confronting male-dominated legal and legislative systems that often keeps women and minorities from achieving their full measure of civil rights. Some names are familiar--Sally Yates, Anita Hill, Vanita Gupta, and Stacey Abrams--while others are perhaps less so--Robbie Kaplan, Brigitte Amiri, and Nina Perales. Lithwick closes by somberly observing, "We are in a truly frightening moment," but she also notes that ". . . women plus law equals magic." A tough but important listening experience.
Pub Date: Sept. 20, 2022
Duration: 10 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9780593629642
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Narrator Amber Dekkers guides listeners through the trials and tribulations of the relatively unknown writer Sanora Babb. Her life began with an abusive and impoverished childhood in eastern Colorado. As an adult in California, she associated with creatives such as Ray Bradbury, James Wong Howe, and Ralph Ellison. Her own writing, however, was often pushed aside and ignored. Dekkers' thoughtful narration takes listeners through Babb's complicated life, which included being blacklisted during the McCarthy era and her illegal (at the time) interracial relationships. Dekkers' emotionally balanced performance allows listeners to take in the life of a writer who sought joy even in tragedy.
Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2025
Duration: 11 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9798331958947
Publisher: Tantor Media
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Sophie Gilbert provides an informed yet approachable delivery of her research on pop culture and how misogyny framed the narrative of commercial feminine empowerment. Listeners who came of age during the late 1990s through the 2000s, or were plugged into the popular cultural moments then, may have vivid memories of Britney Spears at the Video Music Awards, Kim Kardashian on reality TV, and/or the ever-present pressure to "lean in," originating with Sheryl Sandberg. In an even delivery and a reflective tone, Gilbert conveys her research on how misogynistic cultural messages, some bolstered by the rise of violent Internet pornography, had a direct impact on the development of the Millennial generation. Her audiobook is a critical reflection on popular consumer culture.
Pub Date: April 29, 2025
Duration: 9 hrs
DD ISBN: 9798217021376
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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