True to life, nonfiction doesn’t promise us the thrill of escape or the assured relief of a happy ending. Sometimes, there’s barely an ending at all as history continues to unfold, leaving other storytellers to pick up the threads. The value of nonfiction is in telling the truth—in all its complications and difficulty to obtain and articulate—and in helping us understand the world with clearer eyes. Of course, the year’s best nonfiction came from skilled creators who ignited our imaginations via riveting storytelling and thrilling productions that set a new bar in the audio landscape. They made the truth something more than easy to swallow: listening experiences that will live on long after 2024 is a wrap.
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Once you start Annie Jacobsen’s terrifying Nuclear War: A Scenario, the countdown begins. Guided by the Pulitzer-nominated author’s steady narration (bump up the speed for maximum effect), you’ll race to the finish of this shocking listen, which posits a scarily plausible nuclear scenario that plays out like a blockbuster disaster movie, or the most nail-biting episode of 24 imaginable. With input from expert sources, Jacobsen lays out a timeline from initial attack to global annihilation in just 75 minutes, with indelible images that will live rent-free in your head forever after. Nuclear catastrophe is too total, too insanely possible to contemplate, she argues. With this undeniably entertaining work of deep reportage and a clear call for disarmament, she compels us to do just that. —Kat J.
Poet and essayist Hanif Abdurraqib is a creative in a league all his own, gifted with a command for language and depth of observation that’s buoyed by tremendous heart and vulnerability. Like much of his work, There’s Always This Year transcends genres to offer a volume that’s as much about basketball and his home town of Columbus, Ohio, as it is about community, grief, identity, and connection. The result is an emotionally attuned, beautifully constructed narrative that rings universally resonant. It’s only heightened by Abdurraqib’s lyrical reading, a performance that elevates this exquisite exploration of finding belonging on and off the court. —Alanna M.
With An Unfinished Love Story, Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Doris Kearns Goodwin delivers her most personal history yet. Informed by more than 300 boxes of her husband’s personal documents and memorabilia from the 1960s, it’s the perfect blend of history, biography, and memoir that not only reflects on Doris and Dick’s final years together, but also offers listeners an insider’s view of the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. And with an intimate performance led by Goodwin herself, An Unfinished Love Story is a self-narrated audio treasure—including rich, archival White House recordings and even a guest appearance from actor Bryan Cranston. It’s a must-listen experience in audio that offers a glimpse of America’s favorite presidential historian like we’ve never heard her before. Plus, you can check out our in-depth interview with Goodwin. —Michael C.
Prison lit made waves this year, from Alexei Navalny’s posthumous memoir to high-profile books on criminal justice. The award for most surprising goes to this soulful Audible Original from Mansoor Adayfi and Antonio Aiello. An epistolary memoir in three acts, Letters from Guantánamo is based on dispatches Adayfi wrote while incarcerated at the notorious prison for more than 14 years (he was eventually found innocent and released). Written under grueling conditions but often brimming with humor, his letters were addressed to notables from the pope to Martin Luther King Jr., but the true audience was his captors—and now, us. Read by Adayfi and a full cast, they paint a portrait of resistance, resilience, and the triumph of the creative spirit. —KJ
Whether we want to hear about it or not, AI continues to advance, so kudos to Yuval Noah Harari for marshaling his big brain and global audience to advance our understanding of what’s at stake. Like his blockbuster Sapiens, Nexus is set against the big sweep of human history, drawing on examples from the Qing dynasty to the witch hunts of medieval Europe to show how new technologies and increased access to information do not ensure the spread of truth, justice, or peace. Making a compelling case for containment and harm reduction on a globally cooperative, unbiased scale, Nexus is a long listen that goes down easier with the polished narration of Vidish Athavale. If you want to go deeper, listen in to our interview with Harari. —KJ
Titled after JFK’s famous inaugural address, Maureen Callahan’s scorching Ask Not investigates the ways in which women—from Jackie and Marilyn to Carolyn Bessette and Mary Richardson—were expected to service the powerful Kennedy men without question. Along the way, the American people were also encouraged to “ask not” about dark scandals that destroyed the lives of Mary Jo Kopechne, Martha Moxley, Rosemary Kennedy, and others. With an episodic structure and the exact narrator we’d have cast ourselves—Gabra Zackman, who reads with a deep and controlled intensity—this explosive listen burns hot and leaves you simmering. —KJ
Sitting at the intersection between memoir and reporting, Sarah McCammon’s Exvangelicals is both deeply personal and a journalistic feat, which is probably why it was one of the most captivating books I listened to all year. McCammon is a member of a growing movement of adults who came of age in evangelical families but for a variety of reasons have chosen to leave their church communities. As she unfolds the pivotal moments that led to her own “deconstruction” (questioning if a Muslim friend was actually going to hell, learning that her beloved grandfather was gay), she reports on the influences that helped shape the evangelical church into the powerful social and political force it is today. As narrator, she provides fascinating and alarming insights about the ongoing evolution of American Christianity while sharing intimate details about her own journey, one fraught with anxiety about nothing less important than losing her family, or her soul. —Emily C.
It's been less than 10 years since the launch of Juul, which turned a befuddling product called e-cigarettes into a viral hit—or to put it another way, got millions of teenagers hooked on a new kind of smoking. Now some of those users are receiving payouts from massive lawsuits over the addictiveness and safety of vaping. How did we get here? It’s a fascinating story, especially in the capable hands of journalists Leon Neyfakh and Arielle Pardes, and the perfect way to kick off their Backfired investigative series. With a personal angle into the material courtesy of recovering smoker Neyfakh, and a penchant for asking their robust lineup of guests all the right questions, the hosts are careful to let listeners draw their own conclusions. It all adds up to a listen that’s as easy to inhale as its topic, though its insights will stick around a lot longer. —KJ
It’s difficult to overstate Stevie Wonder’s impact on music. The 25-time Grammy Award winner forever changed the landscape of sound with his gift for songwriting, wield of multiple instruments, and trailblazing prowess with audio technology. In this Audible Original from Pulitzer Prize-winning critic Wesley Morris, Wonder’s legacy is analyzed by illustrious guests like Barack and Michelle Obama, Questlove, and Janelle Monáe. Shimmering with the enthusiasm of fandom, underpinned by history and cultural commentary, and set against the sonic backdrop of more than 40 of Wonder’s hits, this celebration of an auditory icon is one you won’t want to miss. —AM
For anyone who's ever sung to their houseplants, The Light Eaters will captivate. Atlantic staff writer Zoë Schlanger delves into the astonishing world of botanical intelligence and adaptation, offering a revolutionary perspective on the plant kingdom. Schlanger's engaging narrative explores plants' remarkable abilities—from communication and kin recognition to memory storage and environmental manipulation. Through global scientific expeditions and personal reflections, she challenges our understanding of consciousness and intelligence in nature, enlightening listeners about the complexity of plant life while prompting a reevaluation of our place in the ecosystem. The Light Eaters is an essential listen for anyone seeking to deepen their connection with the natural world and gain a fresh perspective on life itself. —Rachael X.
A lot has happened in the quarter-century since Malcolm Gladwell made his hit nonfiction debut, including the author’s exciting innovations in the audio space, which is part of what makes Revenge of the Tipping Point so fascinating to listen to. The new audiobook, which revisits and reframes Gladwell’s concepts from 25 years ago, uses original audio clips and top-of-the-line sound design to make for a gripping yet seamless production. Presenting unique insights on “contagious” phenomena (a boom in bank robbery, forgotten TV shows), Gladwell extends his perspective to contemporary issues including the COVID-19 pandemic and the opioid crisis. With all the technological, political, and social upheavals of the past two and a half decades, Gladwell’s latest listen comes at a critical moment. —RX
Russian opposition leader and activist Alexei Navalny needs no introduction, particularly after his untimely death earlier this year in a Russian prison. And his posthumous memoir, Patriot, is just as monumental, sharp, and inspirational as we had all imagined it’d be. Already powerful in print, actor Matthew Goode’s reading of the text makes it all the more touching and impactful in audio—at times, almost feeling as though Navalny is reading it himself. Patriot isn’t just one of the most important memoirs of the year, but it’s also a timely call to action for the next generation of activists, and a touching memorial to all that Navalny fought for so fearlessly. —MC
In Legacy, Dr. Uché Blackstock gives voice to her pioneering physician mother and the pervasive health woes of Black Americans. Part family history, part call to action, Dr. Blackstock’s searing diagnosis of racial disparities in the US health care system, and the concrete action steps she provides to fix them, are rooted in her lifetime of firsthand experience. From her childhood in Brooklyn as the daughter of a Black female doctor to medical school at Harvard and fellowships at two New York City emergency centers, Dr. Blackstock passionately traces how medical racism manifests while providing deeply personal accounts of her mother’s untimely death and her own health challenges. This urgent manifesto is a must-listen for all Americans and will forever change the way you view health care. —Margaret H.
Reporter Dan Slepian (Dateline) has spent more than two decades of his career bearing witness to the victims of wrongful conviction and mass incarceration. He compiles the lessons learned and connections made from that pursuit of justice in The Sing Sing Files, an urgent examination of the human toll of the criminal legal system’s flaws and failures that expands the focus of his Pulitzer-nominated podcast. Slepian recounts the stories of the incarcerated men he has chronicled, examining the miscarriages of justice that robbed them of their freedom. Haunting and mobilizing, this is an empathetic call to confront a system that has claimed the lives of so many. To hear more from Slepian, listen in to our interview. —AM
Journalist Garrett M. Graff crafts a comprehensive, compassionate portrait of Operation Overlord—the Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied France, and the beginning of the milestone campaign that would propel the Allies to victory in World War II. In When the Sea Came Alive, Graff curates and brings to life the accounts of hundreds of folks intimately involved in D-Day, from those who planned the assault, to those whose boots tread through the sand, to the French civilians who watched it all unfold. This remarkable oral history truly shines in audio, helmed by a gifted full cast including Graff and award-winning narrator Edoardo Ballerini. —AM
