Journalist Stephen Kurczy took himself to Green Bank, West Virginia--"the quietest town in America " and home to the Green Bank Observatory. Narrator Roger Wayne ably explains that the Observatory requires locals to limit their use of electronic equipment, including wi-fi, microwaves, and cell phones, to avoid interference with their radio telescopes' ability to pick up signals from space. As he seeks insights into those who have eschewed personal technology, Kurczy discovers most people have work-arounds. But along with those reasonable folks, he also encounters a motley cast of characters--those who claim to be afflicted by "electromagnetic hypersensitivity," followers of the racist National Alliance, medical quacks, and recluses--all of whom have come to town for their own purposes. The listener learns that "quiet" doesn't always translate into "peaceful."
Pub Date: Aug. 3, 2021
Duration: 9 hrs
DD ISBN: 9780062945525
Publisher: Harper 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
While author Zengerle provides a workmanlike reading of the lengthy prologue, Beth Hicks successfully presents an engaging, straightforward, and unadorned narration of the balance. Zengerle, a New York Times Magazine writer, presents a well-researched, if highly-opinionated, examination of the life and evolution of conservative pundit Tucker Carlson. Zengerle also examines the polarization of media covering American politics online and on cable networks, such as CNN and Fox News. Despite the author's sharply critical and, at times, angry rhetoric, Hicks manages to offer a calm and nuanced narration. Hicks delivers on this treatise profiling the American body politics' radicalization and extreme polarity in both the process itself and its coverage reporting.
Pub Date: Jan. 27, 2026
Duration: 9 hrs
DD ISBN: 9798217296149
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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