Audibly Speaking: Listening to History
History
About
The nexus between history and the news is the focus of this podcast by Dr. Rick Reiman
Episodes
- NEW! FDR v. Trump, the Right Way Versus the Wrong: Why Trump’s Speech of April 1, 2026 was a Disaster
Twitter Facebook Presidential Leadership 101 holds that no President should enter a war without first cultivating the support of the American people. Efforts to do so without securing public support–the Mexican War, Vietnam–have been disas…
- NEW! “The Reigate Squires, An Audio Narration in Respectful Imitation of Jeremy Brett”
Twitter Facebook No one, going back to the interpretation of William Gillette in the early years of the silent screen cinema, interpreted the Sherlock Holmes character with the authenticity that Jeremy Brett brought to the role in the ITV…
- NEW! Something Completely Different, An Abridged Version of “The Adventure of the Second Stain”
Twitter Facebook I have never recorded an abridged version of a Sherlock Holmes mystery short story, not wishing to truncate the words of the great Conan Doyle. However, it occurred to me that the time of three half-hour sitcoms may be too…
- A Tribute to Ruth Paine, 1932-2025
Twitter Facebook We lost Ruth Paine this year on August 31. Ruth was a great lady, one of the few heroes and persons of kindness in the run-up and the aftermath of the JFK assassination. As Thomas Mallon has noted, we know so m…
- New! A New Recording of “The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton,” A Sherlock Holmes Classic
Twitter Facebook In my series of brand new readings of earlier recordings I had released in my more inexperienced narrative career, I introduce the latest of these: The Conan Doyle story. “The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton.” Here…
- NEW! A Christmas Present: My Encore Presentation of the Enhanced “Adventure of the Bruce Partington Plans,” A Sherlock Holmes Short Story
Twitter Facebook For Christmas this year, I roll out an encore presentation of my narration of Arthur Conan Doyle’s greatest short story, “The Adventure of the Bruce Partington Plans.” The English government is paralyzed by fear as i…
- NEw A.C. Bradley’s Classic Reflections on Tragedy in William Skakespeare, Part Two
Twitter Facebook I continue the narration of A. C. Bradley’s famous lectures on the Tragedies of William Shakespeare, one of the finest in all of the critiques of these legendary plays. Twitter Facebook
- NEW! Encore Recording of “The Adventure of Black Peter,” a Sherlock Holmes Mystery Short Story by Arthur Conan Doyle
Twitter Facebook In keeping with the other two encore recordings of major entries in the Sherlock Holmes canon of short stories, the “Abbey Grange” and the “Second Stain.” I narrate once again, in what I hope will be a new and improv…
- A.C. Bradley on Shakespearean Tragedy in Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth and King Lear
Twitter Facebook And now for something completely different… Here is an audio introduction to the English literary critic, A.C. Bradley, and his legendary lectures on the high tragedies of William Shakespeare: the plays of Othello, Hamlet,…
- NEW! New Version of “The Adventure of the Norwood Builder,” the Newest Narration of Rick Reiman
Twitter Facebook Close on the heels of the brilliant “Adventure of the Abbey Grange” was one of Conan Doyle’s masterworks, his short story, “The Adventure of the Norwood Builder.” Any writer who wishes to toss into the ring a Sherlock Holm…
- NEW! 2025 Edition of the Greatest Sherlock Holmes Story of All, “The Adventure of the Abbey Grange”
Twitter Facebook I have had the pleasure of recording nearly all of the Sherlock Holmes short stories for this podcast, but one stands out among all the others, both as a recording effort and as a story by the great Conan Doyle. That is TH…
- NEW! Franklin D. Roosevelt’s State of the Union Address to the Congress on The Four Freedoms, January 6, 1941
Twitter Facebook Here is an audio narration by Dr. Richard Reiman of this famous FDR speech. Twitter Facebook
- NEW! “The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone,” A Sherlock Holmes Theatrical Drama
Twitter Facebook “The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone,” by Dr. Arthur Conan Doyle, was one of two stories in the canon which was told not in the voice of Dr. John Watson but in third-person. Intended as the basis of a play, a one-act…
- “NEW! “THE ADVENTURE OF THE PRIORY SCHOOL,” The Final Episode of My Narrations of the Classic Sherlock Holmes Stories
Twitter Facebook Well, it has been quite an odyssey. Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic episodes have been narrated by readers like Stephen Fry, for a cost; and by readers like your host, for free, in the spirit of the 18th century Enlight…
- NEW! Chapter Three of “The Great Gatsby,” Narrated by Rick Reiman!
Twitter Facebook In this year of 2025, we celebrate the centennial of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby . I have recorded the first three chapters of the heartbreaking novel, and the latest chapter is out today! I have lin…
- NEW! “The Problem of Thor Bridge,” by Arthur Conan Doyle: Doyle’s Last Great Sherlock Holmes Tale
Twitter Facebook In 1922, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle capped his marvelous series of Sherlock Holmes story with an entry in the series to rival any of his best: “The Problem of Thor Bridge.” How fitting that Doyle’s last great Holmes story may…
- NEW! A New Sherlock Holmes Part-Pastiche: Doyle’s “The Adventure of Shoscomb Old Place,” with a New Conclusion
Twitter Facebook Some readers, who are avid fans of the atmosphere of the story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes tale, “The Adventure of Shoscomb Old Place,” may be disappointed with the hastily wrapped conclusion that Doyle sough…
- NEW: News Ahead on the Audio Narration Front and the Production Process of the Sherlock Holmes’ Clips
Twitter Facebook A hoped-for interview ahead with Gabra Zackman of audio narration fame is the news in today’s show on the channel. We also look back on the perils of narrating Sherlock Holmes while “falling out” with Covid, as well as the…
- NEW! Perhaps the Most Popular of all Sherlock Holmes Stories, “The Adventure of the Red-Headed League!”
Twitter Facebook What a whimsical tale Dr. Watson has to tell of Jabez Wilson and “The Red-Headed League!” Between the laughter and the mirth that Holmes teases out of the tale, there emerges a dastardly crime so cunning that only Holmes h…
- NEW! An Abridged Overview of Chapter 7 from “The American Yawp” Textbook: “The Early Republic”
Twitter Facebook This is your narrator for this series, Dr. Rick Reiman. Americans know too little about the Early American Republic, the Republic of President Thomas Jefferson, leading to the War of 1812 and its aftermath, the Era of Good…
- NEW! A New Recording of “The Adventure of the Speckled Band,” a Sherlock Holmes Classic
Twitter Facebook Hello, everybody! Rick Reiman here, audio narrator for Audibly Speaking . On rare occasions, I re-record a short story in the Sherlock Holmes series written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Not that I think I did a bad job in my…
- NEW: Audio Narration of Chapter One from “The American Yawp,” INDIGENOUS AMERICA, Narrated by Dr. Rick Reiman
Twitter Facebook The story of American history, the “American Yawp,” begins with this chapter, Indigenous America , spanning 10,000 years of history. There is nothing quite like it in history, as you will hear when you listen to it. Twitte…
- NEW! My Interview with Laura Malvoyante, a YouTube Leader in the Digital Minimalism Movement
Twitter Facebook What a pleasure it was for me to interview Laura Malvoyante about her insights into society’s growing need for digital minimalism in the face of the addictiveness of tech. Technology is a voracious feeder on the limited an…
- NEW! A Sherlock Holmes Christmas Story: “The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle”
Twitter Facebook Move over Charles Dickens! Stand aside, Scrooge! For a nineteenth century English Christmas tale without parallel, you cannot do better than Sherlock Holmes’s conveying of the Christmas message in his discover…
- NEW! Oh, Those Medicare Advantage TV Commercials (from One Not a Fan of Medicare Advantage)!
Twitter Facebook This opinion piece on Medicare Advantage concerns the “hard-sell” that private insurance companies make this time of year on behalf of “Medicare Advantage,” the private insurance alternative to Original Medicare. I record…
- NEW! Stupid, Idiotic Ideas about Medicare: Facebook Complaints About Medicare and their Ignorance
Twitter Facebook In our post-truth world, ignorance about Medicare has reached avalanche proportions. The greatest and most secure health care system in the world is now suffering the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune in the fo…
- NEW! 2024 Repeats the 1963 Calendar: JFK, Oswald and Veterans Day Weekend, From Sunday, November 10 to Tuesday, November 12
Twitter Facebook Today, Sunday, November 10, 2023, I reflect on the events of Veterans Day Weekend 1963, when JFK and Oswald lived out their last Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, November 10-12, 1963. We review what we know of those fateful day…
- NEW! About the Part D Madness in Medicare this Annual Election Period for 2025
Twitter Facebook In this final episode about my opinions and experience with learning Medicare for retirement, I spread the word that many people are talking about: Medicare Advantage plans and Part D Prescription Drug plans are undergoing…
- Medicare Musings, Part Three: Myths about Medicare Advantage and Part B
Twitter Facebook In this third part of my series on what I have learned, or thought I have learned, about Medicare I talk about some myths I have discovered about Medicare Advantage and Part B. While Medicare Advantage may be the right cho…
- NEW! My Experience Learning about Medicare’s Part D Prescription Drug Coverage
Twitter Facebook What in the world is Part D? My personal experience learning what I appreciated to find out about Medicare Part D coverage is the subject of this this brief podcast episode. Disclaimer: These are my opinions and what my im…
- NEW! My Experience Learning About Medicare
Twitter Facebook Medicare is confusing– what an understatement. Two years out from retirement I decided to try to understand it, suspecting that it might take me that long. I was not wrong! Now that I am retired and am now on M…
- NEW! The JFK “Single Bullet Theory” Explained in Under Three Minutes
Twitter Facebook Listen to this audio version of my Youtube video explaining the “Single Bullet Theory” of the JFK assassination, and WHY IT IS TRUE. Many conspiracy theories about the JFK assassination discredit themselves by disput…
- NEW! Rick Reiman Narrates Chapter 6, “The New Nation,” from “The American Yawp,” a Free OER American History Textbook
Twitter Facebook In many ways, I regard this as my best recording of a chapter from “The American Yawp” yet. I have deleted nothing from the text edited by its editors, Joseph Locke and Ben Wright. I have added passages of my own where I t…
- NEW! Rick Reiman Narrates the Sherlock Holmes Short Story, “The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire”
Twitter Facebook Late in his authorial career, in the 1920s to be precise, Arthur Conan Doyle, who was then deeply immersed in beliefs of mysticism and seances, had occasion to pair his rational detective, Sherlock Holmes, with a case abou…
- NEW! Rick Reiman Narrates Chapter 13, “The Sectional Crisis,” from the Open Source History Textbook, “The American Yawp”
Twitter Facebook In the course that covers the first half of American History, the chapter on the Sectional Crisis of the Union, also sometimes called “The Impending Crisis,” leading to the American Civil War, is the penultimate such chapt…
- The Ultimate Chapter in “The American Yawp:” “The Civil War,” Narrated by Rick Reiman
Twitter Facebook No ordeal in American history changed America so much or so enduringly as the American Civil War. Listen as well as read of the odyssey and what it was all about, or just listen with this audio offering. Twitter Face…
- One of the Great Essays in American History: Crevecoeur’s “What, Then, is this New Man, the American?
Twitter Facebook Hector St. John de Crevecouer, a French immigrant to American wrote this classic essay, “What, Then, is this New Man, the American?” in 1782, as American Independence from Britain loomed. Was he correct in his descriptions…
- NEW! My Narration of Chapter 3, “British North America,” from the Open Source Textbook, “The American Yawp”
Twitter Facebook Join me, Dr. Rick Reiman, for my reading of the chapter on British North America, Chapter 3 to be precise, from The American Yawp, the celebrated Open Source textbook on the history of the United States and the lands that…
- Audio Narration of Chapter Two, “Colliding Cultures,” From “The American Yawp,” Narrated by Dr. Rick Reiman
Twitter Facebook Here is my audio narration of “Colliding Cultures,” a history of European and English colonization of early colonial America, a clash of cultures indeed. This is from the Open Source textbook, “The American Yawp,” fr…
- NEW! “Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of The Naval Treaty:” An Audio Narration by Rick Reiman
Twitter Facebook In this epic short story, Arthur Conan Doyle exceeds himself. “The Naval Treaty” is the longest of all of Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes short stories. It contains allusions to his other stories and many humorous asid…
- NEW! An Audio Narration of “World War II,” Chapter 24 from the Free Cultural Resource, “The American Yawp” Textbook
Twitter Facebook World War II was a change agent in history like no other. It can best be understood in pieces, barely grasped as a whole. In this audio narration of Chapter 24 of The American Yawp , a U.S. History Textbook available as a…
- NEW! Audio Narration of “The Great Depression” from the Free Open Educational Resource, “The American Yawp”
Twitter Facebook History Speaks again! My audio narration of “The Great Depression,” chapter twenty-three from the blockbuster Open Resource textbook, The American Yawp , is now out. As an historian myself, I have enhance…
- NEW! Chapter Seven of “The Warren Report:” Oswald’s Early Life and the Question of Motive
Twitter Facebook Motive. It is the thing that all juries want but do not need, in our system of justice, to determine guilt or innocence, The Warren Commission did not hazard a hypothesis on the question of Oswald’s motive, seen sing…
- NEW! Summary of Chapter Six of “The Warren Report:” “Investigation Into Possible Conspiracy”
Twitter Facebook This chapter may be seen as the Big Enchilada of the Report . Did the Warren Commission provide a credible investigation of the possibility of conspiracy in the crime? The staff wracked its collective brains to see where a…
- NEW! CHAPTER FIVE of “The Warren Report:” Detention and Death of Oswald
Twitter Facebook Continuing our summary of The Warren Report investigation into the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, we come to Chapter Five. The whole tenor of the investigation changed with the subject of this chapter.&n…
- NEW! CHAPTER FOUR of The Warren Report: “The Assassin”
Twitter Facebook In Chapter Four we have an overview of the evidence against Oswald. Here I summarize the chapter. Twitter Facebook
- A Question for Gerald Posner and Fred Litwin: Can Informed Speculation Equal Evidence?
Twitter Facebook A recent podcast episode by the excellent historians of the JFK assassination, Gerald Posner and Fred Litwin, prompted this podcast episode of mine. Given the need to speculate about so much that is important about the beh…
- NEW! Summary of “The Warren Report’s” CHAPTER THREE: “The Shots from the Texas School Book Depository”
Twitter Facebook It’s core findings remain untouched. Its conclusions have stood the test of time. In this episode we see the tour de force that lies at the foundation of this seminal chapter in The Warren Report : Chapter Three.&nbs…
- NEW! Warren Report Summary, CHAPTER TWO, “The Assassination”
Twitter Facebook Today I summarize the Warren Report’s Chapter Two, “The Assassination.” It is a chapter that promises much but really delivers less than meets the eye. Focusing on the details that form the background of the assassination,…
- NEW Series: Chapter Summaries of “The Warren Report:” Chapter 1, “Summary and Conclusions”
Twitter Facebook The Warren Commission’s Warren Report , at 888 pages, is a long slog. For those for whom it is too long, I begin here a series of summaries of each of the chapters in the Report . Each chapter exhibits the stre…