Host Jo Reed and contributor Stephen Cummings begin with Escape by Stephen Fischbach, an Earphones Award winner narrated by Julia Whelan, Imani Jade Powers, and Sean Patrick Hopkins; it’s a debut novel that digs into the machinations of reality TV and the costs of reinvention. Next they turn to Paper Cut by Rachel Taff, narrated by Helen Laser, a sharp exploration of true crime culture that follows a former cult member facing renewed scrutiny when a documentarian wants to revisit her past. Finally, they discuss the Earphones-winning Crown City by Naomi Hirahara, narrated by Brian Nishii, a richly observed social history threaded with a mystery as a newly arrived Japanese immigrant navigates 1903 Pasadena. Together, the three audiobooks—and their narrators—offer distinct portraits of pressure, survival, and the long reach of the past.

Audiobooks Discussed:

Escape! by Stephen Fishbach, read by Julia Whelan, Imani Jade Powers, Sean Patrick Hopkins, and Stephen Fishbach (Penguin Audio)

Paper Cut by Rachel Taff, read by Helen Laser (Harper Audio)

Crown City by Naomi Hirahara, read by Brian Nishii (Recorded Books)

Support for Behind the Mic comes from HarperCollins Focus and HarperCollins ChristianPublishing, publishers of some of your favorite audiobooks and authors, including Colleen Coble, Mark Harmon, Jennie Allen, Max Lucado, Lysa TerKeurst, and many more.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Three Narratives, No Easy Answers