Gabrielle Baker's posh London accent adds a classy touch to this intriguing study of financial devolution. As defined by the author, tokens are "things that are almost but not quite money." For example, ancient Mesopotamia's clay tokens signified a share in the grain harvest. In modern times, tokens include phone cards, discount coupons, frequent-flier miles, pre-loaded EBT cards, and NFTs. Baker's brisk narration connects historical and contemporary tokens; for example, two-ton Micronesian Rai stones served as ceremonial gifts and were maintained in an invisible oral ledger, not unlike the blockchain system used for cryptocurrency. Other modern examples, such as Amazon workers being paid in Amazon gift cards and online gamers using tokens ("skins") as collateral for online gambling, hint at a dark financial future.
Pub Date: Oct. 17, 2023
Duration: 13 hrs
DD ISBN: 9798350870183
Publisher: Tantor Media
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Dr. Plotkin is an ethnobotanist who recounts his experiences searching for new medications in the Amazon rain forest. He makes an impassioned plea for the world to stop destroying this irreplaceable resource. Since the author reads his own work, we can rely on the pronunciation of some unusual botanical terms; however, his voice (presumably not trained for performance) lacks the enthusiasm and fascination the words suggest. Furthermore, with no chapter references and few pauses between sections, transitions, such as the change of location from Ecuador to Massachusetts, are awkward.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 3 hrs
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Cooper proves a sure guide for Levenson’s argument for the critical importance of vaccines.
Levenson argues that present-day anti-vaxxers like Robert Kennedy Jr. use historical arguments that may have had some validity when vaccines were first developed but have since been debunked and are now being recycled cynically. Mike Cooper’s energy and British accent ensure clear communication of the history and science behind the safe and effective vaccine system we have today. He occasionally employs a snarky tone that strikes just the right note as Levenson discusses Andrew Wakefield’s discredited beliefs about the link between vaccines and autism and Kennedy’s comparison of vaccines to genocide. Levenson takes on the philosophical question of individual rights and vaccine mandates but notes that state power is being used to prevent mandates that would ensure the health of all.
Cooper proves a sure guide for Levenson’s argument for the critical importance of vaccines.Pub Date: June 9, 2026
Duration: 3 hrs, 42 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217286645
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: July 28, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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