SO YOU'VE BEEN PUBLICLY SHAMED

Jon Ronson's conversational narration makes this audiobook about public humiliation seem, at times, like an extended podcast. That's not a bad thing; it gives the constantly changing subject matter--from THE SCARLET LETTER to the Stanford Prison Experiment--a Public Radio feeling. You'll likely remember most of the victims of public shaming discussed--the PR executive who sent a racist AIDS tweet, the woman making an obscene gesture at Arlington cemetery, the upper-class Brit caught at a military-themed orgy. The mea culpas of the victims (and those who did the shaming) are as fascinating as the mechanics of shaming--Google earns hundreds of thousands from the practice. Alas, audio listeners miss out on an opportunity to see the author's potential shaming of himself--the print edition includes pictures of a cross-dressing Ronson. R.W.S. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine [Published: MAY 2015]