Narrator Stephen Graybill uses a measured tone and deliberate pace to tell the raucous story of the founding and vicissitudes of National Public Radio. Longtime listeners will recognize well-known names like Bob Edwards and Susan Stamberg, but Oney also dives deep into how managers and producers covered controversial issues, warts and all. Oney documents the network from its beginning in 1971 as a counterculture home with the likes of Allen Ginsberg, who illuminated "flower power" on the network's inaugural broadcast of "All Things Considered," to its present status as a trusted member of mainstream media. Most entertaining is the focus on the signature program and finest example of what NPR does best: the Pulitzer Prize-winning "This American Life," hosted by Ira Glass.
Pub Date: March 11, 2025
Duration: 21 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9781797192642
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
The readers can't compensate for the unbearably pompous prose style of this extended parable about corporate politics and strategy.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 3 hrs
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
An engaging experience.
This audiobook deals with everything from the historic investments that led to world-dominating companies, such as the Chinese technology company Tencent, to predicting the products and services of the future. An audiobook of such complexity requires a narrator who can handle the task, and David Thorpe manages it admirably. Thorpe uses his masterly voice, which sits somewhere between that of a BBC World Service presenter and an easy, relaxed Home Counties accent, to guide listeners through a sea of numbers, acronyms, and terms such as YP, RPS, and market cap. Rather than simply reading, Thorpe presents the work with excitement and enthusiasm, and this enjoyment transfers to the listener.
An engaging experience.Pub Date: Feb. 20, 2026
Duration: 13 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781668103425
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: March 17, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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