An Interview with Audiobook Author, Producer, and Narrator Annaka Harris
What is an audio documentary, and what makes this format a reader-friendly way to introduce complex subjects? Bestselling author Annaka Harris discusses her new Audiobook Original, Lights On: How Understanding Consciousness Helps Us Understand the Universe, and why the audio format is a very effective vehicle for discussing deep questions about science, philosophy, the universe, and ourselves.
Audiobook $26.99
Lights On: How Understanding Consciousness Helps Us Understand the Universe
Lights On: How Understanding Consciousness Helps Us Understand the Universe
By
Annaka Harris
Narrated by
Annaka Harris
In Stock Online
Audiobook $26.99
As accessible as it is awe-inspiring, this exclusive audio documentary by New York Times bestselling author Annaka Harris explores the unknown corners of consciousness and the cosmos.
As accessible as it is awe-inspiring, this exclusive audio documentary by New York Times bestselling author Annaka Harris explores the unknown corners of consciousness and the cosmos.
B&N Audiobooks: What is an audio documentary?
Harris: An audio documentary is very similar to a documentary for film. It has the same structure, including a narrator who walks the audience through a real-world story or topic, supported by a series of interviews, facts, and anecdotes. An audio documentary magically comes to life through the immersive experience created with sound effects and music. In many ways, it pulls you into the story more effectively than a film. By having the narrator in your ear, or filling your home or your car, it creates an intimacy unlike any other medium. It reminds me of the old days of radio shows!
B&N Audiobooks: How do all audio media formats help scientists (and philosophers) explain scientific principles to a wider audience?
Harris: The beauty of audio is the way in which the audience can “listen in” on conversations amongst scientists, philosophers, and laypeople. The format enables the listener to have the vicarious experience of what it would be like to have a personal conversation with an expert, and it gives breathing room for scientific concepts to unfold in a digestible way. Audiences can take their time, listening at their own pace over the course of days or longer, allowing the material to sink in and resonate on an individual level.
And unlike a print book, audio allows for sound effects and music to help make the topic entertaining and fun, as well as to help further illustrate and reinforce scientific concepts. I think there is also something valuable gained from hearing a scientist’s or philosopher’s ideas in their own voice, adding a level of richness and understanding to what can often be perceived as dry or lifeless material. It connects the sciences to our humanity, natural curiosity, and sense of wonder.
B&N Audiobooks: What can you share about your “journey” to this production?
Harris: When I first began down this road, I actually did not yet know what I was creating. All I knew was that after my book Conscious was published, I had the persistent feeling that I wasn’t finished with the topic of consciousness. Around that time, a producer friend reached out to me with an idea for a project, based on a scientist who tries to find out if consciousness is a fundamental property of the universe. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to explore the topic further, and it suddenly became clear to me what I wanted to do next. I picked up the phone and started recording conversations with scientists and philosophers about the questions I was continuing to grapple with in my own mind.
Once I began the process, the conversations took on a life of their own. I realized I had a story to tell about the evolution of my own thinking over the course of the years I spent talking to friends and colleagues about consciousness and its role in the universe. I wrote my story as narration, and the book came together as part research, part conversations with others, and part personal journey.
B&N Audiobooks: What other audiobooks that touch on the mysteries of the scientific world do you recommend?
Two books that have inspired my work and are similar to Lights On are Why Does the World Exist? An Existential Detective Story by Jim Holt and The Universe Within: Discovering the Common History of Rocks, Planets, and People by Neil Shubin. Jim Holt, in particular, takes a similar journey to mine, traveling the world, talking to scientists and philosophers about a question he can’t stop thinking about: Why is there something, rather than nothing? And, similar to Lights On, Neil Shubin’s book focuses on the interconnected nature of everything, spanning the domains of physics, biology, and neuroscience. I highly recommend both of these audiobooks!