JULY 26, 2019

Oh, hi! We’re feeling even more exclamatory than usual: It’s a summer Friday, the grill is about to be fired up—and we’re fired up to share our gentle grilling of Audible BFF Marcus Samuelsson on the brand-new episode of Audicted. But first: here’s what had us abuzz this week.

Did you know he’s also a published author?

Since it's our duty to always let you know when a notable figure moonlights as a writer, we needed to point out that Boris Johnson, the newest Prime Minister in the United Kingdom (fun fact: he's the 14th to sit under Queen Elizabeth II) also has writer on his resume. Interestingly—and unlike many politicians—Johnson decided not to go the route of covering his own personal journey, though you could argue that his choice of Churchill as a subject and hero is certainly a personal choice that perhaps says something about his own aspirations. We'll be picking this one up to see if we can get a better sense of Johnson, who somehow manages to be both bold and elusive all at once. And we'll also be trying to track down his obscure out-of-print novel Seventy-Two Virgins. Stay tuned!

This truth is stranger than fiction.

One twisty and jaw-dropping story full of allegations of false paternity claims, house stealing, and career-jeopardizing accusations had many of us riveted this week: the tale of the long-con artists who snowed a Harvard law professor into believing he’d fathered their kin, and booted his whole family out of their home (among many other absolutely 🍌🍌 schemes they perpetrated at his expense). The intricacy of the alleged elaborate years-long swindle called to mind a current in-house favorite listen, My Friend Anna. Rachel DeLoache Williams’s account of how Anna Delvey, a young con artist posing as a German heiress in New York City, scammed her out of more than $62,000 is another well-reported story that seems so unbelievably insane.

But strangely, fictional laughter works.

Have you ever caught yourself laughing at a joke on a sitcom you normally wouldn’t find funny in real life but still for some reason you can’t hold back once you hear that laugh track? Well, there’s some science behind that! It turns out our brains just want us to be in on the joke with everyone else. So in a way, comedy really does bring people together. We wouldn’t be surprised if Editor Aaron started attaching an MP3 of canned laughter with every one of his newsletters.

A long time ago, we used to be friends…

Calling all marshmallows! Veronica Mars fans received the ultimate surprise when Kristen Bell announced at San Diego Comic-Con that the new season of her hit show was dropping a week early. The multi-format series that spans television, Audible books, and even a fan-funded film, continues 15 years after we first got introduced to seedy, sunny Neptune, CA. It’s a miracle that Audible Editor Katie didn’t mysteriously call in sick this week, but she has been spotted crying at her desk and humming The Dandy Warhols an awful lot…so we’re guessing it’s good? Or at least delivers the feels that fans were craving.

A tale of two Kates.

The New York Post reports Faye Dunaway has been fired from the upcoming Broadway production of Tea at Five. It’s a crying shame we won’t be able to see the actress—who burned up our screens as Bonnie Parker and Joan Crawford—play Katharine Hepburn, but in fact, the role was originally written for the divine Kate Mulgrew, who performs the part to the absolute hilt in audio. Trust Editor Kat, who wishes she had one more letter in her name right now, when she says you haven’t lived until you’ve heard Kate M. channel Kate H. in all her full-throated, Mid-Atlantic-accented, devastatingly glamorous glory. We stan forever.

Speaking of disgraced boldfaced names…

The story that probably cropped up most in conversations—online and off—this week was that of Jane Mayer’s sprawling, bombshell New Yorker piece, The Case of Al Franken. As with many of the venerable publication’s expansively reported pieces, the article (which details the regret of many of Franken’s congressional colleagues, who rushed to push him out after #MeToo allegations surfaced) was destined to languish on our TBR list indefinitely until, voila! The Audible edition of TNY came to the rescue. While the hot takes and responses to the piece are as numerous as the words in it, at least if it comes up at the town pool, we’ll be able to weigh in with an informed opinion.

In memoriam.

We were devastated to lose two outsize talents whose work touched many of us at Audible personally. Dutch actor Rutger Hauer passed away at age 75; immortalized in the original Blade Runner film, he was equally unforgettable as an android in one of the scariest Audible Originals ever, Alien: Out of the Shadows. (Is it possible to be simultaneously heartbroken and terrified? We’ll report back.) And the publishing world is mourning the loss of legendary editor George Hodgman, whose award-winning memoir Bettyville, about returning to his native Missouri to care for his aging mother, is a timeless story about the complicated rewards of going home. Our condolences to their loved ones ❤️
Till Next Week!
—the audible editors

Audiobooks in This Edition

Ep. 22: Marcus Samuelsson on Food, Culture, and Everything in Between Audiobook By The Audible Editors cover art
My Friend Anna Audiobook By Rachel DeLoache Williams cover art
Veronica Mars: The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line Audiobook By Rob Thomas, Jennifer Graham cover art
Go Down Together Audiobook By Jeff Guinn cover art
Bette & Joan Audiobook By Shaun Considine cover art
The Churchill Factor Audiobook By Boris Johnson cover art