During their first teaching assignment in Houston, two freshly minted educators, unhappy with the way underperforming students were served, invented an alternative model, which they’ve exported to school systems across the country. This account of the KIPP teaching system they developed is less a discussion of their educational methods than the heartwarming story of their commitment, hard work, and respect for students and families. Along with a fascinating palette of tone and phrasing variations, Paul Boehmer’s performance adds a fitting amount of admiration for the authors’ achievements. His warmth and vocal skills keep the narrative from losing momentum when its focus blurs or the writing needs to be condensed.
Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2009
Duration: 11 hrs
Publisher: HighBridge Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Kozol’s shocking exposé of inequities in the funding of our public schools contrasts white suburban schools with those serving black and Hispanic populations. Interviews with students, teachers, and school administrators add eloquent testimony to Kozol’s disturbing presentation of facts. Narration by Jack Winston is clear and brisk, but the pace is unrelenting, with little pause for transition between scenes or chapters. Winston’s cool, detached voice contrasts with Kozol’s impasssioned and outraged message. The sheer repetition and magnitude of Kozol’s damning evidence is numbing; the narration gives no relief. Powerful medicine, most easily taken in small doses. Music signalling tape changes is jarringly inappropriate.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 8 hrs
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Eric Jason Martin narrates this timely treatise on writing and AI by longtime English professor and writer John Warner. The author emphasizes that Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT cannot think or write; they merely use algebraic algorithms to deliver tokens (AI-speak for words) that follow a plausible pattern. The author warns that by outsourcing human thought processes, we risk losing those abilities. He makes his case with considerable wit. However, Martin misses almost every chance to showcase the author's message. Ironically, he narrates in an almost robotic fashion. Despite this, his slow pacing and crisp enunciation give the listener every opportunity to mull this well-reasoned argument. Final chapters offer suggestions for when, why, and how to push back against the AI onslaught.
Pub Date: July 1, 2025
Duration: 7 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9798228499201
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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