Thank you, LeVar, for your influence on my entire life now. Thank you for the hope, the expansion, the love, and the care in which you deliver each story and pass on to those who listen.

But you don’t have to take my word for it

I’m sorry to see Lavar‘s podcast ending. I have really enjoyed it and I hope that you’ll change your mind and keep it going, please.

Thanks LeVar for doing this show and continuing to find new ways to help the world embrace the importance of reading and storytelling. I’m probably from about the last generation of kids who remembers watching Reading Rainbow. The memories are very distant, but I recall enjoying the show a lot. As for this podcast, lI was shocked and saddened to hear when turning on the last episode that it was that. I regret that I hadn’t frequented this show as much as I should have. I took it for granted and now it’s over. But everything has its end, and we can always go back and revisit the nearly two hundred wonderful stories LeVar brought to us. As the world keeps getting scarier and less certain, pilot lights of hope like LeVar and his shows are crucial. Here’s hoping that we can all take the gift LeVar gave us and do what we can to champion storytelling, equality and literacy for all kids. The Reading Rainbow is all of ours and we have the responsibility to carry on its mission. “But don’t take my word for it!”

Mr. Burton is a national treasure. This podcast is a joy. Impeccably read, wonderfully produced. Highly, highly recommended!

This show got me through the pandemic. I especially needed the deep breath at the start of each episode. Thank you for this wonderful gift of story time for adults! It introduced me to several new authors I wouldn’t have otherwise sought out.

I have always loved Levar Burton having grown up with Reading Rainbow. I’m saddened that I can’t find it anywhere so my children can enjoy it as well. Either way I was experiencing horrible insomnia when I stumbled across this podcast in 2019. I listened to the first episode and felt myself relax enough to sleep! Now I will listen to it all day to calm my anxiety or make it through road trips or even study for my Masters. I have purchased books by authors he has read on here and love how he brings so many different cultures to us with the stories. My daughter wants to write a story that Levar will one day read before he retires the show 😊. Thank you for all you do.

levar you have one of my top all time favorite voices & i have been listening to the podcast from the very first trailer - because it was like a dream come true. i grew up with reading rainbow & it at least in part i truly believe is why i love to read, & read to others, so much / the show left a huge impression; i can still recall almost every book & hear it in my head. so i was beyond excited when i stumbled on the announcement about this podcast starting because now as an adult i could read with you again. thank you for being who you are & doing this for all of us listening, please don’t ever stop. (of course, i know now that the podcast is ending & i am so sad but the stories you’ve read will always exist just like those from reading rainbow & that’s almost as good…or will have to be / thank you.) it took me so long time to write a review because i didn’t know how to in any way sum up how phenomenal it is to hear the stories you’re reading, & your thoughts about the story choices which are always so personal & poignant, etc. too, but then i figured just to share the love as it were & recommend this podcast to anyone & everyone who might read this review. i very much doubt they will regret it.

These are my bedtime stories. Absolutely love Levar and this show

Best memories of school are when rainy days sent us inside to reading rainbow, now your podcast sends me to that same amazing place of visualizing a story with deep meanings that your wonderful narration guides us through - I’ll miss this pause in my life you bring. Thank you

I just heard LeVar is ending this podcast. I will seriously miss this special part of my life.

🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹….Love everything about this show!

Always makes me stop and think. Which is much appreciated in a day today filled with chores, commutes, work, and chores. It stimulates stop and think and wonder and ponder and imagine and relate. So, thank you. Much appreciated.

Thank you ! Thank you for taking the the time out to read to us and I enjoy sitting back and relaxing to the sound of your voice. I have recommended you to all my friends!

I had tears in my eyes when I learned this week’s episode would be the last. I know I can go back and re-listen to the episodes, but I want more. 😭When I had trouble sleeping at night or felt anxious during my day, I knew I could come here to find a moment of escape, adventure, and peace. Your voice brought calm to my day. Thank you for sharing your love for short stories. ❤️

The stories are fantastic and I have used them to establish a new bedtime routine. No TV. Screen light on nothing and 20 minutes of a fantastic story before bed.

Wether it is the soothing sound of LaVar Burton’s voice, or the engaging stories he reads, this is my new favorite podcast!

Enjoy the stories. Have always felt comforted by your voice. I used to watch reading rainbow with my son when he was young. This is an incredible find! Thank You!

I always set aside time to enjoy this podcast; the stories are always interesting and inclusive and I love Levar's insights and observations. I'd love to see Levar read something from Transmogrify, it's a collection of fantasy short stories by and about trans people.

This podcast is like an oasis in a world of many sands of podcasts. love it ☺️

this is the best best best podcast ever. i love being challenged and brought to tears and just listening. i am sorry i never reviewed this before.

I love this story. What a brilliant way to make a symbol loose it’s power! A lesson so needed today.

This podcast is Levar Burton being Levar Burton. The stories he reads are all great, but my favorite part is his commentary at the end. Thoughtful, insightful, kind and funny. Please never change!

Those of us born in the early 80’s - on the cusp of being called “Millennials” but not at all feeling like one - this pod cast feels like a warm hug. Levar Burton with his classic delivery and calming presence will bring books to life, like no one else can. So many of us grew into loving books all thanks to his direction. Between Levar and Mr. Rogers, our generation clearly has the upper hand in positive role models.

If you grew up watching reading rainbow, then you had the great pleasure of hearing and watching the infinite & playful wisdom of Levar Burton. Now we have LeVar Burton reads. The stories are moving, surprising, riveting, funny, devastating…they stay with you, and some I’ve returned to several times. The wonderfully satisfying conclusion where LeVar shares his take on the stories he’s chosen send it into the stratosphere. Can’t recommend it highly enough. I’m a LeVar Burton Reads evangelist. A million stars.

Highly recommended! Perfect for daily commutes and workouts. It’s so easy to become completely engulfed in these stories. Mr. Burton is a masterful storyteller!

This podcast heals. It is more than the way he reads. It’s his philosophy, his gentleness, his rituals like taking a deep breath. All of it. Everything about this podcast. In each episode Levar Burton lets us all in just a little bit. He puts so much of himself into this podcast from which stories he chooses to read to the real emotions he gives to characters. Wonderful. Probably my favorite podcast.

Spouse and I love him! One of us grew up with him on reading rainbow the other did not. HIS VOICE AND PERSONALITY ARE MADE FOR THIS! He makes us very happy and calms us both down after long days.

It’s like Reading Rainbow for Grown-Ups. I Love,Love, Love this. I have a 1 hour commute and Mr. Burton makes it 🤌🏾✨

So lucky to have him read to us

I love this podcast! So many of us grew up with a love for reading because of Reading Rainbow and its a dream come true feeling like Levar is reading you a bedtime story. The stories he chooses are interesting that I sometimes listen during the day to hear what I missed. I hope he continues making new episodes 💛

I can’t just listen to it once! These stories are amazing. I absolutely love how I feel. Like I’m standing in the story. I’m seeing his words in picture. Thank You LaVar for finding the perfect books that take me to another world. 100% talent! Please come to Cleveland!

I love listening to LaVar. He is other one of the men that shaped my life growing up. He help me develop my love for reading. ( I missed his voice.) His movies taught me about cultures of the past and present. Then he shaped my wishes for the future. With this, I get to hear him again, his private thoughts, tidbits bits of his life. I am just so glad to have found this. Now I can take him with me for walks with my dog.

He’s a national treasure and this podcast is one of the many reasons why.

Always enjoy the story selections, performance and sound design. I read Gubeikou Spirit from Land of Big Numbers by Te-Ping Chen last year and immediately thought of what y’all would make of it. Keep up the good work.

I just recently started listening to this podcast and I am so sad that I didn’t know about this sooner because LeVars voice, his enthusiasm, and passion for these short stories is so cozy and comforting. I love that I am able to listen to a whole story in one podcast and I am able to learn about new authors as well. His analysis on how what the story meant to him is always so interesting to hear because he introduces ideas that even I didn’t think about. Lovely podcast and I hope that there are more seasons to come. XOXO Sincerely, a 24 year old Gen Z🥰

Love this as both a bibliophile and an educator this show has been amazing. Would love to hear any of the short stories in “Burning Chrome” by William Gibson. Some of my favorite OG cyberpunk literature 🙏🏼💕

1. Review: Started listening as part of my new morning routine with my newborn (since I can’t easily hold a book to read while holding her!). It is so wonderful to have LeVar “back in my life” again, after growing up with Reading Rainbow (and yes, I will be checking out Sound Detectives and Skybrary for my progeny). LeVar picks fantastic stories, and I appreciate his brief commentary at the end of each one. Obviously, he does a fantastic job of reading/performing. I really appreciate the range of story type and cultures represented. 2. Story requests! I would to love hear “Story of Your Life” by Ted Chiang. Please also consider reading a short story from Lucia Berlin’s “A Manuel for Cleaning Women”; a story from Kali Fajardo-Anstine’s “Sabrina & Corina” (perhaps “Ghost Sickness”); or a story from from the collection “All Out: The No-Longer-Secret Stories of Queer Teens Throughout the Ages” (I recommend “Roja”).

I love the short stories! I love the sounds in the background, music and his voice is just so perfect. Makes me feel like I’m listening to reading rainbow for adults. ❤️❤️❤️

I’ve been listening for a while now and I’m almost done with season 2. I have been truly captivated by Every. Single. Story! I’m an avid reader but due to losses in my life have drifted from it and have had a hard time getting back into it. As a child, I grow up with both Reading Rainbow and Star Trek NG, as well as Roots later on so there is such a deep nostalgic love for Mr. Burton already. Listening to this podcast has not only helped bring back my love and passion for reading, and a new appreciation for podcasts. It’s even sparked my love and interest in writing again. I no longer dread my long drive to and from work. I’ve also sent so many episodes to family and friends! I would very much love to see a live performance come to central Mississippi! Honestly anywhere in a reasonable driving distance would do!! I can not recommend this podcast enough, nor can I accurately put into words the joy it brings me. And I say this with the highest amount of love and respect that exists, my mom would have LOVED this podcast!!! She is who I got my love of reading from. And as a parent myself, with a daughter who also loves to read, I can hardly wait until she is old enough to enjoy these herself.

There aren’t enough words to describe how wonderful this podcast is. There are so many stories but I feel like each one is permanently written into my memory banks because of the care and thoughtfulness that the team puts into choosing and sound designing them. The discussion by LeVar Burton at the end of each story goes way beyond literary analysis and elevates these episodes into a balm for the spirit. Thank you for making these!

I will pass the on pumpkin with love

This podcast warms my heart in ways I never knew were possible. I was a huge reading rainbow fan as a child and I absolutely adore Levar. Please keep this going!

Thanks LeVar for striving to stay YOU after all these years! So comforting to hear you voice as it always seems to teleport me back to when I was a child watching you fondly on tv. Thank you for this podcast and you love of life and reading! All the best!

Waking up and seeing a new drop from “LeVar Burton Reads" is an instant pick me up. It means at least something good is going to happen today.

This is a great podcast! I look forward to hearing a new story every week ,and often go back and listen to old episodes. Wonderful story selection.

I would gladly stand with you and throw hands at these imbeciles who insist on making Americas children illiterate elitists. Read on good man!!

Look out mothers, he wants to throw hands with you. Recently he said so while speaking in front of a crowd in regard to moms who don’t want books depicting pornography to be freely accessible to their children in elementary school libraries. So not only does he want to abuse women, he wants to show children pornography. Seems like a bad move but that’s the world we live in now. Weird.

Amazing

I know everyone is entitled to their opinion but after listening to the episode that aired 11/23/23 Where Levar discusses Donald Trump ruined this podcast for me. I’ll no longer be listening. If you like the way things have been run politically for the last 3+ years then I can no longer listen to anything you read/recommend. Keeping your political thoughts to yourself might be best for your show or maybe you just don’t want/like Donald Trump supports listening. ✌🏽