Preview
  • The Freaks Came Out to Write

  • The Definitive History of the Village Voice, the Radical Paper That Changed American Culture
  • By: Tricia Romano
  • Narrated by: Johnny Heller, Jo Anna Perrin
  • Length: 16 hrs and 44 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (14 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Freaks Came Out to Write

By: Tricia Romano
Narrated by: Johnny Heller, Jo Anna Perrin
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $27.29

Buy for $27.29

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

You either were there or you wanted to be. A defining New York City institution co-founded by Norman Mailer, The Village Voice was the first newspaper to cover hip-hop, the avant-garde art scene, and Off-Broadway with gravitas. It reported on the AIDS crisis with urgency and seriousness when other papers dismissed it as a gay disease. In 1979, the Voice’s Wayne Barrett uncovered Donald Trump as a corrupt con artist before anyone else was paying attention. It invented new forms of criticism and storytelling and revolutionized journalism, spawning hundreds of copycats.

With more than 200 interviews, including with two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Colson Whitehead, cultural critic Greg Tate, gossip columnist Michael Musto, feminist writers Vivian Gornick and Susan Brownmiller, post-punk band Blondie, sportscaster Bob Costas, and drummer Max Weinberg of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, former Voice writer Tricia Romano pays homage to the paper that saved NYC landmarks from destruction and exposed corrupt landlords and judges. This definitive oral history tells the story of journalism, New York City, and American culture—and the most famous alt-weekly of all time.

©2024 Tricia Romano (P)2024 Dreamscape Media
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about The Freaks Came Out to Write

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    9
  • 4 Stars
    5
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    9
  • 4 Stars
    5
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    11
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

From newsprint glory to digital demise, An American tragedy!

A story I never knew, but one that I'm so very happy has been documented the way this book has been written. It chronicles the life and times of a New York publication that had a profound affect on journalists and American art critics for decades.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Excellent content and structure, but …

Ms. Perrin’s slow pace and her failure of appropriate intra sentence timing and emphasis, among other issues with her reading, betrayed an obvious lack of preparation.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful