Performance audiobooks

How ‘the incarceration capital of America’ embraced criminal justice reform

By: PBS NewsHour

Narrated by: PBS NewsHour

Length: 10 minutes

Abridged: No

For decades, the state of Louisiana has been known as the incarceration capital of America. But over the past year, the state has been trying to shed that reputation with new reforms that decrease the prison population and save money. William Brangham went to find how it’s playing out for former prisoners, in a story produced by Frank Carlson in... Read more

How tech is putting the needs of impoverished Kenyans on the map

By: PBS NewsHour

Narrated by: PBS NewsHour

Length: 6 minutes

Abridged: No

At least 50 percent of Nairobi's population lives in slums, yet until a few years ago, many busy neighborhoods were blank spaces on official maps. Special correspondent Fred de Sam Lazaro reports from Kenya on the ways mapping technology is bringing needed services to some of the poorest people on the continent. Read more

'Heart' Author Sandeep Jauhar Answers Your Questions

By: PBS NewsHour

Narrated by: PBS NewsHour

Length: 5 minutes

Abridged: No

Sandeep Jauhar, author of our January pick for the NewsHour-New York Times book club, Now Read This, joins Jeffrey Brown to answer reader questions on “Heart.” Plus, Jeff announces the February book selection. Read more

The Critical Role Of "Guarded" Chief Justice John Roberts

By: PBS NewsHour

Narrated by: PBS NewsHour

Length: 7 minutes

Abridged: No

With the country feeling deeply polarized and a Supreme Court that has moved to the right under President Trump, the role of Chief Justice John Roberts is attracting increased interest and scrutiny, including in The Chief, a new book by Joan Biskupic. Judy Woodruff talks to Biskupic about the pivotal justice's “guarded” personality, drive to... Read more

Microchipping Humans Wields Great Promise, But Does It Pose Greater Risk?

By: PBS NewsHour

Narrated by: PBS NewsHour

Length: 7 minutes

Abridged: No

An intense debate is underway over the benefits and drawbacks of using microchips, typically relied upon to identify ranch animals and pets, on humans. Advantages include fast communication of critical patient data to medical teams, seamless payment and automatically opened doors. But skeptics warn of dire implications for privacy and ethics.... Read more

Reparations And Why America'S Past Still Shapes The Present

By: PBS NewsHour

Narrated by: PBS NewsHour

Length: 2 minutes

Abridged: No

A House subcommittee held hearings Wednesday morning to discuss paying reparations to African Americans for slavery. The idea is shaping up to be an issue with some of the candidates running for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, too. Novelist Sarah Blake has considered why past attempts to secure reparations failed, and she shares her... Read more

Biographer Robert Caro On Why It's Taking Decades To Fully Capture LBJ

By: PBS NewsHour

Narrated by: PBS NewsHour

Length: 5 minutes

Abridged: No

Robert Caro is one of the nation’s preeminent biographers, known for meticulous research and taking his time with a subject. Indeed, he began his massive series The Years of Lyndon Johnson in 1977, but its final volume won't be published for at least another year. Meanwhile, Caro has written a memoir about how he does what he does, titled... Read more

A Poet Who Holds The Men Behind The Music Accountable

By: PBS NewsHour

Narrated by: PBS NewsHour

Length: 3 minutes

Abridged: No

Inspired by the people who have come forward as part of the #MeToo movement, Imani Davis shares her poem “Platinum” and gives her Brief but Spectacular take on how society can overlook wrongdoing by famous artists. Read more

A Culinary Tradition For The Persian New Year

By: PBS NewsHour

Narrated by: PBS NewsHour

Length: 5 minutes

Abridged: No

Nowruz, the Persian holiday celebrating the new year, is observed in Iran and parts of Western and Central Asia. It marks the first day of the vernal equinox. Najmieh Batmanglij, author of eight cookbooks on Iranian cuisine that are widely celebrated among the Iranian diaspora, reminisces about her Iranian childhood while cooking Persian new... Read more

Prolonged Brexit Impasse Causes Rising Angst In The Uk

By: PBS NewsHour

Narrated by: PBS NewsHour

Length: 6 minutes

Abridged: No

European leaders agreed to delay the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union for at least a few weeks, but there is still no deal for how the withdrawal will occur. As the impasse drags on, protesters take to the streets and it's clear that “Brexiters” and “Remainers” alike are growing increasingly impatient and uneasy about their... Read more

Why We Should Think Differently About Classical Music

By: PBS NewsHour

Narrated by: PBS NewsHour

Length: 2 minutes

Abridged: No

Musician and critic Jennifer Gersten wants us to transform the way we think about classical music. Perceived by many as “inaccessible, elitist, incomprehensible,” the genre is often marketed by producers and performers primarily as relaxing. Gersten shares her humble opinion on why that characterization is selling classical music short. Read more

Native American Imagery Is Everywhere But Understanding Lags Behind

By: PBS NewsHour

Narrated by: PBS NewsHour

Length: 5 minutes

Abridged: No

Native imagery is embedded in the national subconscious, whether we're paying attention or not. A new exhibit at the National Museum of the American Indian is titled simply Americans and shows how all aspects of life have been touched by the history and symbols of native culture. Jeffrey Brown reports. Read more

Glamour And Gentrification Go Hand-In-Hand In Artsy Ranch Town Marfa

By: PBS NewsHour

Narrated by: PBS NewsHour

Length: 7 minutes

Abridged: No

It's sometimes weird, often wonderful, definitely off the beaten path. Marfa, Texas, is a tiny rural town in the middle of dusty ranchlands, as well as an internationally renowned creative mecca. In the last few decades, as artists and nonprofits moved in, drawing tourists and upscale development, Marfa has become the model of the arts as... Read more

The Danger Of Coal Ash, The Toxic Dust The Fossil Fuel Leaves Behind

By: PBS NewsHour

Narrated by: PBS NewsHour

Length: 5 minutes

Abridged: No

Coal ash is a particularly dangerous byproduct of our dependence on fossil fuels. In communities that have dealt with coal ash spills, the incidents sparked concerns about toxins potentially seeping into water. Utilities have been pushed to adopt tougher safety standards -- but activists say the companies are resisting rules necessary for public... Read more

Families Of Colombia's Disappeared Endure ‘Never-Ending Grief’ And A Wrenching Search

By: PBS NewsHour

Narrated by: PBS NewsHour

Length: 8 minutes

Abridged: No

In Colombia, an estimated 83,000 people have been forcibly disappeared since 1958. But peace accords between the government and the FARC, the country’s largest guerrilla group, in 2016 mandated that finding the missing was a necessary step toward reconciliation. Special correspondent Nadja Drost reports from Colombia on how loved ones suffering... Read more

Toni Morrison On Capturing A Mother's "Compulsion" To Nurture In "Beloved"

By: PBS NewsHour

Narrated by: PBS NewsHour

Length: 13 minutes

Abridged: No

KQED presents a report on photographer Anthony Friedkin and his efforts to document gay life more than 40 years ago. Friedkin's photographs were ahead of their time and most galleries wouldn’t show them -- until now. The culmination of Friedkin’s vision took 45 years, but it’s now being realized at the de Young Museum in San Francisco. Read more

Why does one of the most needed jobs pay so poorly?

By: PBS NewsHour

Narrated by: PBS NewsHour

Length: 7 minutes

Abridged: No

With about 10,000 baby boomers retiring every single day, home care is one of the fastest growing, most needed occupations in America. But there's a problem: The current median pay is just $10.49 per hour. Economics correspondent Paul Solman reports on why these vital workers get paid so little. Read more

Water Crisis May Make Gaza Strip Uninhabitable By 2020

By: PBS NewsHour

Narrated by: PBS NewsHour

Length: 6 minutes

Abridged: No

In the Gaza Strip, 97 percent of freshwater is unsuitable for human consumption, and raw sewage pours into the Mediterranean Sea. Facilities for desalinating and treating water function on only a limited basis, as Israel controls the flow of fuel and supplies into the region. But Israelis, too, could face consequences from contaminated water.... Read more

Why Iraq's Biblical Paradise Is Becoming A Salty Wasteland

By: PBS NewsHour

Narrated by: PBS NewsHour

Length: 7 minutes

Abridged: No

In addition to recovering and rebuilding after a brutal war with ISIS, Iraq is facing a dire water shortage. Levels in the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers have plummeted, in part because neighboring Turkey built a dam upstream that restricts the flow into Iraq. The remaining water is too salty to sustain life. Special correspondent Jane Ferguson... Read more

In The Uk, Brexit Supporters Feel Their Will Is Being Thwarted

By: PBS NewsHour

Narrated by: PBS NewsHour

Length: 6 minutes

Abridged: No

Prime Minister Theresa May is seeking an extension for the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union, after failing three times to get Parliament to agree to her proposal. Now some Brexit supporters are afraid their country’s separation from the EU will never happen. Special correspondent Malcolm Brabant reports on the mood in... Read more

Author Elaine Pagels Explores Why Humans Rely On Religious Belief

By: PBS NewsHour

Narrated by: PBS NewsHour

Length: 7 minutes

Abridged: No

Why do people have faith in what they cannot see? Author Elaine Pagels explores the concept of religious belief, and shares her own experience with finding faith in the face of tragedy, in her new book, “Why Religion?” Jeffrey Brown caught up with Pagels at this year’s Miami Book Fair. Read more

With New Book On Political Divisiveness, Former Gop Official Rings An "Alarm Bell"

By: PBS NewsHour

Narrated by: PBS NewsHour

Length: 6 minutes

Abridged: No

Peter Wehner served in three Republican White Houses. Now, he's written a book about the current state of national political discourse. In “The Death of Politics,” Wehner analyzes the tone and rhetoric used by President Trump, and how it’s fraying the American republic. Wehner sits down with Judy Woodruff to discuss tribalism, evangelical... Read more

In Desperate Quest to Reach U.S., Central American Migrants Fear Gangs, Police

By: PBS NewsHour

Narrated by: PBS NewsHour

Length: 7 minutes

Abridged: No

Around 3,000 Hondurans are currently traveling through Guatemala on their way to the U.S. President Trump has threatened to close the U.S.-Mexico border if the caravan isn't stopped. But migrants say they fear not just deportation, but threats from violent gangs and police during the journey north. Special correspondent Danny Gold, embedded with... Read more

Many College Students Struggle To Pass Remedial Math. Do They Need To?

By: PBS NewsHour

Narrated by: PBS NewsHour

Length: 6 minutes

Abridged: No

Colleges created remedial education classes to ensure students were sufficiently prepared for more advanced material. But increasingly, there’s a sense that remedial courses are hurting the prospects of the students they are intended to help. As a result, some California colleges and high schools are rethinking their approach to teaching math --... Read more