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LeVar Burton Reads

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LeVar Burton Reads
Presentation
Hosted byLeVar Burton
Genre
Created byLeVar Burton
Written byVarious
LanguageEnglish
Production
No. of episodes207 Edit this on Wikidata
Publication
Original releaseJune 13, 2017 –
May 6, 2024
Ratings4.76 Edit this on Wikidata
ProviderStitcher
Related
Websitewww.levarburtonpodcast.com

LeVar Burton Reads was a podcast hosted by LeVar Burton, where he read a piece of short fiction and shared his thoughts on it.[1] Following its launch in 2017, it won numerous awards and received favorable reviews.[2][3][4][5][6]

Description

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Burton is well-known for his acting career, which included Roots and Star Trek: The Next Generation, and also for hosting Reading Rainbow, a long-running children’s television show on PBS.[3][7] In reviews, LeVar Burton Reads has been described as “Reading Rainbow for adults.” [4][2]

In each 30-45-minute episode, Burton reads a short work of fiction.[3] Music and sound design are added to create a full sensory experience.[5] “What audio storytelling does is it engages the listener in a way that visual storytelling does not. You are creating the visuals for yourself, and because of that additional level of personal investment, it’s enjoyable on a different level,” Burton told The Verge.[6]

Burton and his producer choose all the stories based on personal taste. “The primary consideration for a story to be selected is that I love it,” he told Los Angeles.[3] The show has included works by Stephen King, Toni Morrison, Kurt Vonnegut, Octavia Butler, Neil Gaiman, Joan Aiken, Haruki Murakami, Nnedi Okorafor, John Chu, and Oscar Casares, among others.[8][3][1]

The podcast concluded on May 6, 2024, with Burton reading "The Toynbee Convector" by Ray Bradbury as his final selection. After sharing his thoughts on the story, Burton delivered a farewell message encouraging listeners to "keep reading, keep expanding, keep living in your imaginations; that is the fuel that is going to power the commitment necessary to dream big and change the world."

Reception

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LeVar Burton Reads has been well received by USA Today, The New Yorker, The Washington Post, The Verge, NPR, Los Angeles and many other publications.[9][10]

The show has won multiple industry awards, including the 2023 and 2024 Webby Award for Best Art and Culture Podcast,[11][12] the 2023 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Podcast[13] and the 2020 Ignyte Award for Best Fiction Podcast.[14] His 5-word Webby acceptance speech for his 2023 Webby Award was, “Be a better person. Read.”[11]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Official Website: LeVar Burton Reads". LeVar Burton Podcast. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  2. ^ a b Puchko, Kristy (July 3, 2017). "Review: 'LeVar Burton Reads' Is 'Reading Rainbow' For Grown-Ups". Pajiba. Retrieved Jan 8, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e Martin, Brittany (April 6, 2018). "LeVar Burton Would Like to Read You a Story". Los Angeles Magazine. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  4. ^ a b Ratcliffe, Amy (June 28, 2017). "LEVAR BURTON'S NEW PODCAST IS LIKE READING RAINBOW FOR ADULTS". Nerdist. Retrieved Jan 8, 2024.
  5. ^ a b Greene, Steve (July 26, 2017). "LeVar Burton Reading a Neil Gaiman Short Story is Even Better Than 'American Gods' — Listen". IndieWire. Retrieved Jan 8, 2024.
  6. ^ a b Liptak, Andrew (March 18, 2018). "LeVar Burton wants to read you his favorite short stories". The Verge. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  7. ^ "LeVar Burton Is Still Reading To Us During The Pandemic". NPR. August 1, 2020. Retrieved Jan 8, 2024.
  8. ^ Allen, Elizabeth (Sep 6, 2018). "7 of the Best Episodes of Levar Burton Reads". BookRiot. Retrieved Jan 8, 2024.
  9. ^ Mallenbaum, Carly (June 19, 2017). "'Reading Rainbow's LeVar Burton reads to adults in awesome new podcast". USA Today.
  10. ^ Larson, Sarah (August 31, 2017). "LeVar Burton Reads—to Adults". The New Yorker. Condé Nast.
  11. ^ a b "NEW Webby Gallery + Index". NEW Webby Gallery + Index. Retrieved 2024-01-08.
  12. ^ "2024 Webby Winner: Levar Burton Reads". The Webby Awards. April 23, 2024. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
  13. ^ "2023 NAACP Image Awards: 'LeVar Burton Reads' and 'Therapy for Black Girls' Among Winners". BET. Retrieved 2024-01-08.
  14. ^ Lewis, L. D. (October 17, 2020). "RESULTS: The 2020 Ignyte Awards". FIYAH Literary Magazine.
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