After graduating from college with a liberal arts degree and $32,000 of student debt, Ken Ilgunas worked for several years at low-wage jobs. Adamant that he would never go into debt again, even if it meant forgoing the comforts many Americans take for granted, he made the decision to live in his van while pursuing a master's degree at Duke University, using Henry David Thoreau as his model for eschewing societal conventions. Narrator Nick Podehl reflects the earnestness of Ilgunas, who is critical of society's focus on acquisition and living beyond one's means. While capturing Ilgunas's idealism and belief in his endeavor, Podehl sounds perhaps a bit less contemplative than one would expect of someone like Ilgunas, who spent a great deal of time on his own. Nonetheless, Podehl is effective as a narrator as he communicates Ilgunas's message of the freedom of living without debt.
Pub Date: May 14, 2013
Duration: 9 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9781469283678
Publisher: Brilliance 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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