Ever careful in his pacing, BD Wong narrates this cybersecurity tale as if he's pitching the story for a movie. The plot: International criminals using weaponized software kidnap data from Fortune 500 companies, educational institutions, hospitals, and the city of Baltimore, and demand exorbitant ransoms. All that stands between the cyber-thugs and their payoff is a ragtag DIY international code-breaking crew, the Ransomware Hunting Team. With empathy for the white-hat code breakers, Wong follows the timeline of ransomware from its bizarre origins on floppy disks to today's seven-figure ransom payments. Especially engaging are the personal touches in the story--for example, a cybercriminal names his supposedly uncrackable malware code after a code breaker.
Pub Date: Oct. 25, 2022
Duration: 11 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9781250859358
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
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
Once again, Pollan makes the unknown make sense.
Pollan is a favorite with listeners, and rightly so. He may not possess a silken or practiced voice, and he’d be nobody’s first choice to narrate Proust, but few author-narrators are as engaging or as effectively bonded to their narrative. Pollan here explores one of the most fundamental of questions: What is consciousness? This leads him to other questions. Where exactly is consciousness located? What other species possess it? Pollan takes his listener on a journey through theories and research sites, each rendered with his signature economy and precision. Some sections may require relistening, but the difficulties lie in the subject matter, not the prose. That couldn’t be clearer or more illuminating.
Once again, Pollan makes the unknown make sense.Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2026
Duration: 8 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217282159
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Review Posted Online: Feb. 9, 2026
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