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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 Holmes pastiche of his own, will likely think twice before doing so upon reading this story, which bids fair to be close to the pinnacle of Doyle’s work. While I recorded it some years ago during the early days of my acquaintance with the art of podcasting, I have refined that art to a degree.  Be however much that may be, this second version pushes the limits of that art, at least to farthest horizon of which I am today capable.  I hope that it will be found by everyone to be enjoyable. –Rick Reiman, September 26, 2025.

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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 THIS story, a BRAND NEW RE-READING of “The Adventure of the Abbey Grange.”  I first recorded this in the summer of 2022, in the early stages of my recovery from my first bout with COVID-19.  You can still listen to that version, if you go back through my episodes to that one recorded in mid-2022.  My raspy voice is unmistakable, but I soldiered on and did what I always do when I record these short stories: act the parts with all the fervor and ability that I can possibly muster. And why not make the effort even as I gasped for breath?  Conan Doyle was the master mystery structuralist, and a writer without peer in melding mystery with wit.  Never has the Holmes character seemed so keen or brilliantly drawn by the author.  The clues are parceled out just well enough that the reader feels he is on the path to a solution right alongside Holmes, although of course it is all a conceit that Doyle’s character Holmes (if he was just a character) shows is impossibly pretentious.



In this NEW READING AND RECORDING, I have tried to create as sonically and theatrically perfect a rendering of the story as possible, befitting its pride of place as first in the Sherlock Homes canon. It represents my learning as an audio narrator of the past six years. If you listen to no other of my recordings, LISTEN to this one.  And, if you do, I dare you to stop listening then.  Congratulations for chancing upon this rare opportunity to listen to the nearly-perfect recording of a nearly-perfect tale.

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Here is an audio narration by Dr. Richard Reiman of this famous FDR speech.

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“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 drama, it consists mainly of dialogue between two individuals at a time. Most of the time Holmes is one of the two persons, but not always.  The device was necessary to make the surprise of the story possible.  The story was published in the UK and in the US in 1921.  It is one of Doyle’s later compositions, but it is a crackerjack story all the same.  Narrated by Dr. Rick Reiman.

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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 Enlightenment. This series has been other-directed–directed to others–without charge or fee. The hope is to spread cheer and enjoyment of the mysteries of an extraordinary writer and his remarkable detective.  Please let me know, at rreiman33@gmail.com, if you have enjoyed this series.  And may I suggest that you listen to some of the best of these recordings, which I will identify soon, but which have long been available here at Audibly Speaking, my podcast.



–Your host, Rick Reiman, wishing you happy listening.

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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 links to all three chapters below should you wish to listen to them in order.  Perhaps you, too, admire the green light on the far horizon.  Watch out, because it may be the chimera of the “American Dream,” an apparition best left in quotation marks as airy as the cocktails on Gatsby’s West Egg veranda.



Chapter One of The Great Gatsby



Chapter Two of The Great Gatsby



Chapter Three of The Great Gatsby (Below!)





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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 be the final Holmes story narrated by yours truly, Rick Reiman, for I am moving on to other academic contributions that may better suit my talents and more greatly increase the sum of my contributions to academic learning in these, the two thousands and twenties.

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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 sought fit to conclude the story.  As a pastiche, a different ending concludes this audio narration of the tale. Will Sir Robert Norburton get his just deserts after all. Listen and learn to find out.

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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 advances in the art of audio narration thanks to the progress of time.   Something different: Sherlock Holmes, sick with Covid, this time on AudiblySpeaking!

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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 himself could solve it.  John Clay, the “fourth smartest man in London,” according to Holmes, and probably a man working for Moriarty, the second smartest man, is plotting to bankrupt a vital English bank. But the narrator should not reveal the plot.  He simply takes the part of the players, in this narration by your audio interpreter of all things Holmesian, Rick Reiman. He hopes, and knows that, thanks to the brilliant writing of Arthur Conan Doyle, that you will enjoy it.

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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 Feelings.  In this overview of Chapter 7 from The American Yawp, I summarize its major themes.  This will benefit my students, who must complete a Major Project in which they identify the major fractures in American life and politics from the 1780s through this major period in American history.

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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 reading the first time around. But I am quite certain that I am doing better in my reinterpretation of these stories as I go along, both sonically and artistically.  Therefore, I look back on those Sherlock Holmes stories that I think are Doyle’s very best and try to do them (and my audience) greater justice than I did the first time around.  I think that these stories, albeit on a digital platform, help us live out our digital lives more productively and in ways less likely to lead to digital addiction.  They are my contribution to the digital minimalism movement, for more information about which I heartily recommend the YouTube channel of Laura Malvoyante.  In what Holmes would call “my own small way,” this is a contribution of mine to that movement.

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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.

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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 and priceless commodity of time in our lives.  At the same time, sometimes the antidote to this invasion is technology itself, in the form of devices that can force upon ourselves, in their build capacity and form factors, a more limited and rational relationship to the digital plenitude.  Laura’s matchless intelligence on this topic,  and her own personal journey through digital addiction and the nexus between disability and device, make this one of the most important and timely episodes presented on Audibly Speaking.

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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 and commutation of a felony, all to save a soul in the season of forgiveness of this time of year. My narration of this tale is my Christmas present to all of my listeners.  And now, happy listening ion the frosty air of crackling fires, ice crystals, and Sherlock Holmes himself.

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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 this podcast episode to warn seniors to do their homework, and ask the question, why are insurance companies so anxious to sell their Medicare Advantage plans and not the Supplement plans that offer the insurance companies so little of a profit margin? Hmm…maybe the question answers itself.  TV commercials give only one side of the story, the private insurance companies’ side.  They don’t lie, but they leave out much that seniors need to know before making what could be a very bad choice.

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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 form of babbling malcontents whose ignorance of Medicare is only matched by their outrage at it.  Just go to Facebook or some other social media cesspool and you will see a lot of such heat, but precious little light.  Medicare complainers, please heal yourselves and do a little, or preferably a lot, of research. Please!

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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 days. Next, I talk about the events of Wednesday, November 13 through Friday, November 22, 1963, to be published here on Audibly Speaking before Friday, November 22, 2024.

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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 big changes, premium hikes and in some cases disappearing acts during this Annual Election Period between October 15 and December 7. If you are on Medicare Advantage OR a Part D prescription drug plan (you can’t be on both) you need to research Medicare.gov to see if you have a plan that will continue to have the same benefits and premiums as in 2024. In most cases, benefits are going down, premiums are going up and some plans are actually shutting down.  Watch the Youtube videos by Mathew Claassen on Medicare for expert and accurate advice to follow. This episode is only my opinion and personal experience. It may not be yours.

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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 choice for some people, I cringe when I watch the commercials during this Annual Election Period and see the slick pitch that insurance companies make to see the cash cow (for them) of MA.  Here are the realities that I see from behind just some of the myths about both Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part B.

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