APRIL 12, 2019

Happy Friday, friends. This week we FINALLY got a peek at darkness visible—and no, we aren’t talking about William Styron’s classic memoir. But the real question is…

How do you take a picture of a black hole?

Earthlings have just seen what was once thought to be unseeable: the first-ever photo of a black hole. The picture, which gives us goosebumps and a sense of cosmic awe, depicts a dark circle with light swirling around its edges, as hot gases are sucked into orbit by the black hole’s gravitational pull. And as if this weren’t already cool enough (yes, we swear, it gets even COOLER), it turns out that Katie Bouman, a 29-year-old computer scientist, is the woman responsible for developing the algorithm that unscrambled five petabytes of data to render the image. This week, Dr. Bouman goes down in history with other Women in Science and their world-changing discoveries.

Speaking of world-changing discoveries…

What exactly happened to the dinosaurs—did they have a slow decline into extinction or were they eradicated due to the devastating impact of an asteroid? A layer of sediment known as the KT Boundary includes evidence of the asteroid, but dinosaur fossils had never been found there. That is, until paleontologist Robert DePalma unearthed a scientific treasure trove in the North Dakota outcrop of the Hell Creek geological formation. Among those privy to his discovery was the best-selling author Douglas Preston, whose Wyman Ford series predicted this type of revelation. DePalma, who invited Preston to the site, has discovered more than a dozen new types of animals and plants, the fossils of every dinosaur known to have been in the area, and even an intact dinosaur egg. It’s possible the discovery will tell us not only what happened the day the asteroid hit, but what happened in the first hour, over 65 million years ago.

The path to enlightenment? Or the path out of Dodge?

Over the last three months, Chinese social media has been captivated by a homeless man whose erudition surprised and delighted an audience that clamored for pearls of wisdom from him, treating him as their own modern-day Siddhartha. Dubbed the Vagrant Master, Shen Wei is a well-educated former government worker who only wants to live like an ascetic like his hero Ghandi, but who has now fled from the unrelenting crush of people seeking to use him for enlightenment and fame. And this is why we can’t have nice things, people.

A vested interest.

As social media loves inspirational quotes, so fintech bros love fleece vests. But though Patagonia promised it won’t leave bros out in the cold, that didn’t stop people from freaking the fleece out when the company announced a change to the policy behind its cobranded power vest. The garment is the de facto uniform for tech and Wall Street types (basically, Patrick Bateman would be getting bloodstains on one in 2019), but since Patagonia announced it’s now prioritizing swag for mission-driven companies, panic has set in. If you’ve heard founder Yves Chouinard’s memoir, Patagonia’s commitment to the environment is no surprise. But how will the Davos set keep their torsos warm now? Paging Adam Grant!

Getting schooled.

The shocking arrests of several celebrities in connection with a college admissions cheating scandal shined a light on the cutthroat world of elite higher education. Audible’s seemingly prescient executive editor Christopher John Farley hits on these themes, along with those of class and race, in Around Harvard Square, his new novel about a struggling freshman trying to make it onto the college’s legendary humor mag. Writer Marlon James calls it not just the satire Ivy League college life deserves, but the one it's been waiting for. We love it when fiction and reality collide.

Speak clearly and directly into the microphone, please.

In journalism school, they teach you there’s nothing more important than getting the subject’s name right. That decree is compounded when the name is said aloud—and in the world of audio, authority and accuracy go hand in hand. Which is probably why narrator Amy Rubinate sent an impassioned plea to TED Talks, asking that they have speakers state their names first (as videos are often the only source of pronunciation for a speaker’s name). To this we say 👏👏👏. It will also help us avoid interruptions from editor Courtney (also executive producer of our show, Audicted) who’s charged with correcting us when we butcher our beloved narrators’ names (we admit, Vikas Adam, we once called you VIE-kus.) #WeaCulpa

A quick and timely PSA from the editors.

This year we threw a to be listened to challenge (#AudibleTBLT) at our members, and for April we're asking to you pick up a listen that was originally published in the year you were born. To help you unpack this—and so you can figure out what was best-selling the year your mom was born (it explains so much)—check out this handy guide. Meanwhile on the romance side of our team, our editors have been busy obsessing over newer additions to the romance package (we spill all here), and the other big news is that Reese's Book Club x Hello Sunshine announced this gorgeous author-narrated novel as its April pick. Enjoy!
Till Next Week!
—the audible editors

Audiobooks in This Edition

Darkness Visible Audiobook By William Styron cover art
Tyrannosaur Canyon Audiobook By Douglas Preston cover art
Siddhartha Audiobook By Hermann Hesse, Gunther Olesch - translator, Anke Dreher - translator, Amy Coulter - translator, Stefa
An Autobiography Audiobook By Mohandas - Mahatma K. Gandhi cover art
American Psycho Audiobook By Bret Easton Ellis cover art
Women in Science Audiobook By Rachel Ignotofsky cover art