Podcast Review: Reading For the Podcast World with LeVar Burton

LeVar Burton Reads, produced by Stitcher, and hosted by (obviously) LeVar Burton. Released weekly in a season format, with an approximate running time of 60 minutes. Started June 2017.

I was a little on the upper age range in the target market for Reading Rainbow when it came out in the mid-80s. But I loved to read, and I had connected to Geordi LaForge’s character on Star Trek: The Next Generation, and so I watched anyway. And loved it.

In fact, in 2014, when I heard he was bringing the show to the web and to an app through a Kickstarter campaign, I gladly donated $50 (and still proudly wear the t-shirt I got, which almost inevitably gets someone excited at seeing Reading Rainbow when I wear it). Additionally, I loved that he seemed to be embracing this side of his personality, such as reading “Go the F*ck to Sleep” as part of a fundraiser Rooster Teeth put on back in 2014.

So, when I heard that he was doing a podcast that was basically him reading short stories, I gladly subscribed on iTunes. My off-line reading has dropped off tremendously in the past few years, and I’m trying to make up for it when I can. I listen to the occasional audiobook when I have the time, and this sounded exactly what I needed to expand my reading.

I’ve been listening since almost the beginning (my records have me starting the podcast in September 2017). The stories range on genre, but it being LeVar Burton, there’s an obvious slant toward science fiction and fantasy. Neil Gaiman, Octavia Butler, and N.K. Jemisin are just a few of the authors who’s had their stories read by the man. Additionally, he makes sure the authors are a diverse lot, which means the stories are diverse as well. And each episode ends with him talking a bit about the story, cluing us as to why that story was chosen. (He readily explains in the intro that the only thing that is common to these stories is that he loves them.) In fact, I eagerly hope that one day, he does a short story by Tanith Lee: I’d love to hear him walk around her glorious use of language. But a head’s up: these are (mostly) stories for adults, not children, and he only recently started putting content warnings — and only in the notes of the episode, not in the audio.

These are more than ‘just’ audiobooks. Yes, he is reading the stories: and doing a damn fine job narrating it, bringing his full acting skills to the job. But it’s more than that. The producers do a great job of creating glorious soundscapes that accompany the story, making it more like audio fiction along the lines of such greats as Welcome to Night Vale. And in December 2018 and January of 2019, he also released the audio from live versions he did from a tour the show did, which included either an interview with the author or a talk with someone who knew the author’s work. Additionally, if you subscribe to Stitcher Premium, there are apparently extra episodes which include Q&As with the authors.

Whether you love to read or are a little unsure, LeVar Burton Reads is a great way to introduce the love of the written word into today’s world. You can listen in any order, and I have yet to have an episode be one I disliked. So, take a deep breath … and listen wherever you get your podcasts. You can find out more about the show over on the (massively bare bones) official website.