This thought-provoking audiobook presents listeners with a curious neuroscientific argument: Free will doesn't exist. The bestselling author, a Stanford neuroendocrinologist, argues that all life is predetermined; it's a product of conditioning and hormones, expressed as unconscious and reflexive neurological responses. With a measured pace and a tone of excitement, Kaleo Griffith keeps the audiobook's information upbeat and engaging. Griffith's joyful performance makes the author's descriptions of animal behavior, from bees to baboons, informative and fun. But the audiobook also veers solidly into academic territory and is too long and detailed to be well absorbed in audio format. Regular references to the included pdfs' visual materials and instructions to see a certain page number, don't create a smooth transition from print to audio.
Pub Date: Oct. 17, 2023
Duration: 16 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9780593153253
Publisher: Penguin 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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