May 2026 -April was an interesting, textured month.  Audiobooks were having a little bit of a lull for me, and some opportunities to edit audiobooks basically dropped in my lap, so a good amount of April was spent editing others audiobooks. These audiobooks turned out great!

First, there was A Lad from Liverpool: Life Stories by Derek Hughes, the father-in-law of a co-worker on Last Week Tonight who recorded the sessions. Derek’s memoir of his life dates to the first half of the 20th Century in England, so it was highly insightful hearing him tell stories from his youth and throughout his life — eras I never lived in. It is an engaging, emotional listen by a 91-year-old narrator!

Next was another emotional listen: the audiobook for Brad Tengler titled Fortress Father: How Good Men Become the Backbone Their Children Need in Divorce and Family Court. Brad’s raw advice is powerful and his personal stories rich. In addition to editing the audiobook, I also edited his new, related podcast, The Stay Present Podcast. Editing work on future episodes is due up for later this month.

Lastly, I edited the pleasantly nerdy, hilarious dive into the making of the film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off titled Ferris Bueller…You’re My Hero: The Story of the World’s Most Famous Day Off by Jason Klamm. It turns out there was a nice overlap in Jason’s and my world, and his storytelling is fast-paced, funny, and so detail-oriented it will astound you. Plus, if you like this movie as much as he does, you will prize this audiobook for its heavy research!

But I wasn’t without any audiobook narration in April.  I produced So… Eighth Grade Happened: A Year That Shaped Me by very young author Cole K. Larksen, as well as NeuroKnights: The Awakening by Benjamin Irvine. In between those, I narrated alongside my wife Rachel Sloane the audiobook for Shawn Ward’s Betting on Red: Winning Real Peace, Hope and Happiness with One Simple Bet on Red.

Going into May, I started production on the audiobook for What About Her Heart?: Women’s Heart Disease, Symptoms, Hidden Risks, and How to Protect Your Heart by Dr. Arash Bereliani, MD, FACC. Following that, I will produce the audiobook for Evict the Doubts Squatting Rent-Free in Your Mind (and send your excuses on an extended vacation) by Stan Lewis. Also due up this month is the audiobook for Book 3 in a series by Robin Heester, and maybe this month the start of production on Book 3 in a series by David R. Leng.

In addition to these, I have also produced the following audiobooks so far this year:

• Strategic Communication for Nerds: ABCD123: A Simple Framework that Integrates Strategy, Execution, and Learning by Ajit Nott, PhD
• The Rock Cries by Mabel Wedlaw (co-narrated with Rachel Sloane)
• Dennis and School: The Alphabet Escapes – A Fun Alphabet Learning Story Audiobook for Kids by Gregory Pol (co-narrated with Rachel Sloane)
• The Inventory by Flo Vasquez
• Awakening from the Sexually Addicted Mind: A Compassionate Guide to Recovery by Darrin Ford
• The Architect’s Ghost by Robin Heester (Book 2 in a series)
• Echoes of Fortune: The Search for Braddock’s Lost Gold by David R. Leng (Book 1 in a series)
• Terminal Anxiety by Justin Spencer
• Elevated: My Journey Co-Laboring with God by Kenneth Hill with Lanny Richardson

I still have not completed work on the audiobook for my 2012 book Long-Form Improv. The audiobook has been a side project on which I have put no time pressure to complete. (I suppose I can start calling its audiobook “long-awaited”!)

The list of all my audiobooks narrated to date is compiled here on my voiceover website, Voiceoverpro.co.  That business is related to my other voiceover businesses with my wife: Voiced By Us and PoliticalVoiceovers.com.

As far as my work as John Oliver’s stand-in on the Emmy Award-winning variety series Last Week Tonight, I’m back to work there. This season is my 12th season on the series, and I’m very much enjoying my time working there.

I also got new headshots in April!  I hired photographer Lloyd Bishop, who also works on Last Week Tonight and Late Night with Seth Meyers. The photos turned out fantastic. As of this writing, I haven’t updated my website with them, but I hope to find time to do that hopefully soon. I’ve shot with Lloyd in a work context for many years. I know his work pretty well, which taught me I knew I could trust him to create some outstanding shots.

I also had a hand modeling job in April, so it was good to see that line of work pick back up.

As for workouts, I kept at it, and I started increasing my mileage and weightlifting. As a result of my work, I got my VO2 Max up to the highest level since 2022, when I was trying to train for a marathon I never got to run. Now that production of audiobooks is starting back up, my control over my workout schedule is challenged, so we’ll see how I navigate that terrain this month. I’m much happier when I have running in my life, but I’m also much happier when I can stay on top of my heavy workload. O, the balancing act!

-Ben