Interview with Grover Gardner: Best Nonfiction & Culture Audiobooks 2025

Narrator Mia Hutchinson-Shaw joins AudioFile’s Michele Cobb to discuss narrating Annie Mare and Ruthie Knox’s cozy mystery HOMEMAKER. We follow along with protagonist Prairie Hawk Nightingale, a homemaker extraordinaire, on her quest to solve the disappearance of her former friend. Hutchinson-Shaw shares what it’s like to narrate this delightful cast of characters, why she likes cozy mysteries, and how she got into acting and narration. Read AudioFile’s review of the audiobook: Published by Brilliance Audio AudioFile’s 2025 Best Mystery & Suspense Audiobooks are: THE BUSINESS TRIP by Jessie Garcia, read by Andrew Eiden, Dylan Reilly Fitzpatrick, Fred Berman, Gail Shalan, Hillary Huber, Jennifer Pickens, John Pirhalla, Kimberly M. Wetherell, Kirby Heyborne, Tim Campbell HOMEMAKER by Annie Mare, Ruthie Knox, read by Mia Hutchinson-Shaw NEVER FLINCH by Stephen King, read by Jessie Mueller, Stephen King  SOUTH OF NOWHERE by Jeffery Deaver, read by Kaleo Griffith THE SUMMER GUESTS by Tess Gerritsen, read by Hillary Huber A TRUE VERDICT by Robert Rotstein, read by Sean Pratt, Phil Thron, Kelli Tager, Sophie Amoss, Natalie Naudus, Fajer Al-Kaisi, Hillary Huber, Mark Bramhall, Robin Miles, Alex Boyles, Roxanne Hernandez, Eunice Wong, Deanna Anthony, Graham Halstead Explore the full list of 2025 Best Audiobooks on our website. Support for our podcast comes from Dreamscape, an award-winning audiobook publisher with a catalog that includes authors L.J. Shen, Freida McFadden, and Katee Robert. Discover your next great listen at dreamscapepublishing.com.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this bonus edition of Behind the Mic, host Jo Reed speaks with Sara DiVello, true crime writer, founder and host of interview series Mystery and Thriller Mavens, and co-chair of the Nantucket Book Festival. DiVello’s latest book, narrated by Jordan Cobb, is BROADWAY BUTTERFLY, which is based on one of the most notorious unsolved murders of the roaring twenties. Together they talk about growing up on Nancy Drew, coming from a family of passionate readers, and the captivating pull of reading and writing true crime. Photo by Lisa Schaffer Photography Discover thousands of audiobook reviews and more at AudioFile’s website Support for our podcast comes from Dreamscape, an award-winning audiobook publisher with a catalog that includes authors L.J. Shen, Freida McFadden, and Katee Robert. Discover your next great listen at dreamscapepublishing.com.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Award-winning narrator Grover Gardner joins AudioFile’s Michele Cobb to tell listeners about narrating one of our picks for Best Nonfiction & Culture audiobooks of 2025: Rick Atkinson’s Revolutionary War epic, THE FATE OF THE DAY: The War for America, Fort Ticonderoga to Charleston, 1777-1780. Gardner shares how he kept the energy up in this sprawling account of the second installment of Atkinson’s Revolutionary War trilogy, which takes place just after the Battle of Trenton. Together they discuss various challenges, especially when narrating Atkinson's unique use of lists, and how impressive it was to understand the enormous, and still timely task, of winning our independence. Read AudioFile’s review of the audiobook: Published by Random House Audio AudioFile’s 2025 Best Nonfiction & Culture Audiobooks are: DARK RENAISSANCE by Stephen Greenblatt, read by Edoardo Ballerini THE FATE OF THE DAY by Rick Atkinson, read by Grover Gardner and the author  FOOD FOR THOUGHT written and read by Alton Brown MOTHER EMANUEL by Kevin Sack, read by William DeMeritt ORIGINAL SINS by Eve L. Ewing, read by Robin Miles, Eve L. Ewing WE THE PEOPLE written and read by Jill Lepore Explore the full list of 2025 Best Audiobooks on our website.   Support for our podcast comes from Dreamscape, an award-winning audiobook publisher with a catalog that includes authors L.J. Shen, Freida McFadden, and Katee Robert. Discover your next great listen at dreamscapepublishing.com.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Award-winning narrator Ron Butler joins AudioFile’s Michele Cobb to tell listeners about narrating Nicholas Boggs’ stunning audiobook, BALDWIN, one of our picks for Best Biography & Memoir audiobooks of 2025. This comprehensive biography of James Baldwin—the first in over 30 years—is told through the lens of the great loves of his life, something that has never been explored before. Butler dives into what kind of research went into preparing for the narration, and what kind of tone and “music” he invited into performing the text.  Read AudioFile’s review of the audiobook: Published by Macmillan Audio AudioFile’s 2025 Best Biography & Memoir Audiobooks are: AWAKE written and read by Jen Hatmaker BALDWIN by Nicholas Boggs, read by Ron Butler BOAT BABY written and read by Vicky Nguyen MARK TWAIN by Ron Chernow, read by Jason Culp MEMORIAL DAYS written and read by Geraldine Brooks THE SPINACH KING by John Seabrook, read by Dion Graham Explore the full list of 2025 Best Audiobooks on our website . Support for our podcast comes from Dreamscape, an award-winning audiobook publisher with a catalog that includes authors L.J. Shen, Freida McFadden, and Katee Robert. Discover your next great listen at dreamscapepublishing.com.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Award-winning narrator Shaun Taylor-Corbett joins host Jo Reed to tell listeners about narrating Jon Hickey’s debut audiobook, BIG CHIEF, one of our picks for Best Fiction of 2025. It’s a story about a political fixer, Mitch Caddo, who must navigate both political and personal dramas, while confronting his identity as a mixed-race Anishinaabe man. Taylor-Corbett shares how he found Caddo’s voice in this audiobook, which is a unique look into tribal politics, identity, and how power is both given and taken. Read AudioFile’s review of the audiobook: Published by Simon & Schuster Audio AudioFile’s 2025 Best Fiction Audiobooks are: AMITY by Nathan Harris, read by André Santana, Angel Pean THE ANTIDOTE by Karen Russell, read by Elena Rey, Sophie Amoss, Mark Bramhall, Shayna Small, Jon Orsini, Natasha Soudek, Karen Russell, James Riding BIG CHIEF by Jon Hickey, Shaun Taylor-Corbett BUCKEYE by Patrick Ryan, read by Michael Crouch JUNIE by Erin Crosby Eckstine, read by Angel Pean WHAT WE CAN KNOW by Ian McEwan, read by David Rintoul, Rachel Bavidge Explore the full list of 2025 Best Audiobooks on our website:   Support for our podcast comes from Dreamscape, an award-winning audiobook publisher with a catalog that includes authors L.J. Shen, Freida McFadden, and Katee Robert. Discover your next great listen at dreamscapepublishing.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

AudioFile’s Robin Whitten joins host Jo Reed to discuss AudioFile’s 2025 Best Audiobooks. Listen to their conversation to discover how AudioFile’s editors choose the year’s best audiobooks, which titles Robin is particularly excited about, and to hear all the details on our upcoming interviews with narrators of some of this year’s honored titles.  Explore the full list of 2025 Best Audiobooks on our website. Support for our podcast comes from Dreamscape, an award-winning audiobook publisher with a catalog that includes authors L.J. Shen, Freida McFadden, and Katee Robert. Discover your next great listen at dreamscapepublishing.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Laura Rossi highlight three recent Earphones Award-winning audiobooks. AudioFile awards Earphones to exceptional audio experiences—it’s our version of a starred review, specifically for the audiobook. Laura and Jo discuss: THE SLIP a story about a missing teenage boy, by Lucas Schaefer, read by Shaun Taylor-Corbett and Renata Friedman; WE THE PEOPLE: A History of the U.S. Constitution by Jill Lepore, read by the author; and LIVING IS DYING: How to Prepare for Death, Dying, and Beyond, by Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse, read by Michael Imperioli. They share why these audiobooks won Earphones, and why they are well worth your listening time.  Read our reviews of the audiobooks at our website:  THE SLIP: Published by Simon & Schuster Audio WE THE PEOPLE: Published by Recorded Books LIVING IS DYING: Published by Shambhala Publications Discover thousands of audiobook reviews and more at AudioFile’s website    Support for AudioFile’s Behind the Mic comes from HarperCollins Focus,, and HarperCollins Christian Publishing, publishers of some of your favorite audiobooks and authors, including Reba McEntire, Bob Goff, Kathie Lee Gifford, Max Lucado, Lysa TerKeurst, and so many more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Host Jo Reed welcomes AudioFile publisher Michele Cobb to discuss three powerful memoirs, narrated by their authors. Booker Prize–winning writer Arundhati Roy returns with a complex look at her relationship with her challenging and ‘visionary,’ mother in MOTHER MARY COMES TO ME; an unflinching, polarizing memoir about Elizabeth Gilbert’s sex and love addiction in ALL THE WAY TO THE RIVER; and VAGABOND, a restrained dive into the long, varied career of inimitable actor Tim Curry. Read our reviews of the audiobooks at our website:  MOTHER MARY COMES TO ME: Published by Simon & Schuster Audio ALL THE WAY TO THE RIVER: Published by Penguin Audio VAGABOND: Published by Hachette Audio Discover thousands of audiobook reviews and more at AudioFile’s website Support for AudioFile’s Behind the Mic comes from HarperCollins Focus and HarperCollins Christian Publishing, publishers of some of your favorite audiobooks and authors, including Reba McEntire, Bob Goff, Kathie Lee Gifford, Max Lucado, Lysa TerKeurst, and so many more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Golden Voice narrator January LaVoy speaks to AudioFile publisher Michele Cobb about the most recent entry in Patricia Cornwell’s Scarpetta Series, SHARP FORCE. January is a nine-time Audie Award winner, and she shares what it's like to revisit the voice of enduring character Kay Scarpetta, a forensic pathologist who now must deal with a new nightmare where tech, AI, and murder converge. January discusses how she keeps character voices consistent from book to book, and how she balances narrating technical passages with keeping the pace thrilling for listeners. This episode is brought to you by Hachette Audio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today host Jo Reed welcomes AudioFile’s founder and editor, Robin Whitten, to discuss Phillip Pullman’s world and THE ROSE FIELD, read by Michael Sheen, the much anticipated conclusion of the extraordinary epic fantasy. It began in 1999 with THE GOLDEN COMPASS and with the story of Lyra Silvertongue, in an all-time-favorite full-cast performance. Lyra’s story plays out over six audiobooks—a double trilogy, HIS DARK MATERIALS and THE BOOK OF DUST. We could revel in Pullman’s alternate universe for hours, but for this episode, Jo and Robin compare the different narrations and storytelling styles of the audiobooks that bring Pullman’s imagination to us.  Read our reviews of the audiobooks at our website:  THE ROSE FIELD:  Published by Listening Library THE GOLDEN COMPASS: Published by Listening Library THE BOOK OF DUST: Published by Listening Library Discover thousands of audiobook reviews and more at AudioFile’s website Support for AudioFile’s Behind the Mic comes from HarperCollins Focus,, and HarperCollins Christian Publishing, publishers of some of your favorite audiobooks and authors, including Reba McEntire, Bob Goff, Kathie Lee Gifford, Max Lucado, Lysa TerKeurst, and so many more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices