Favorite Audiobooks and Podcast Serials of 2019, So Far
- Paul Thurrott
- Jul 10, 2019
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9
We’re only halfway through 2019, but I’ve already listened to some great new audiobooks plus a growing collection of serial podcasts.
That last bit is pretty much new to me, though I was aware of some early podcast serial phenomenons, like, well, Serial. But where earlier efforts didn’t really grab me, per se, some podcast serials that are new to 2019 have really grabbed me. And I suspect there are many more to come, both new and new to me.
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So let’s start there.
Serial podcasts
The Dropout
By: ABC Radio
Narrated by: Rebecca Jarvis
Length: 7 episodes
There are some decent TV documentaries about Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos, but this podcast serial is better than anything else I’ve read or seen. It’s a fascinated, open-ended story, and I’m hoping that there will be new episodes in the future when Holmes and co-conspirator Sunny Balwani are tried in court.
Confronting: O.J. Simpson
By: Wondery
Narrated by: Kim Goldman
Length: 10 episodes (planned)
25 years after O.J. Simpson murdered Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman and got away with it, Goldman’s sister Kim methodically revisits the case, digging up a surprising amount of new information. She also engages in incredible discussions with virtually everyone important from the case, including some of the jurors who somehow found Simpson innocent. This one is still ongoing.
Audiobook (non-fiction)
I Will Teach You to Be Rich
By: Ramit Sethi
Narrated by: Ramit Sethi
Length: 12 hrs and 8 mins
Don’t be put off by the clickbait title: This one is the real deal and will tell you everything you need to know about personal finances, from banks and bank accounts to credit cards, mortgages and loans of all kinds, retirement savings, and much more. A must-read.
Creative Selection: Inside Apple’s Design Process During the Golden Age of Steve Jobs
By: Ken Kocienda
Narrated by: Ken Kocienda
Length: 7 hrs and 28 mins
This one is only OK, assuming you’ve read any of the other many insider accounts of Apple during the Steve Jobs and iPhone years. There are literally no new stories here—we’ve heard it all before—but Kocienda did play a role in the design of the iPhone, and it’s still a relevant era of study in the personal computing industry. Want more/better? Try the official Steve Jobs biography instead.
Audiobooks (fiction)
Mr. Mercedes
By: Stephen King
Narrated by: Will Patton
Length: 14 hrs and 22 mins
The first book in a great trilogy, I had read this one on Kindle originally (and then listened to the next two on Audible). Since Patton is one of my favorite narrators, I decided to revisit it in audiobook form.