LeVar Burton Reads
LeVar Burton Reads was a podcast hosted by actor LeVar Burton. In each 30- to 45-minute episode, he read a short story and shared his thoughts about it. Music and sound design made the listening experience feel rich. The show ran from June 13, 2017, to May 6, 2024, with 207 episodes and was available on Stitcher.
Burton is well known for roles in Roots and Star Trek and for hosting Reading Rainbow on PBS. Many reviews called LeVar Burton Reads “Reading Rainbow for adults,” because it invites listeners to imagine the story in their own minds.
The stories were chosen by Burton and his producer based on what they loved. They featured works by famous authors such as Stephen King, Toni Morrison, Kurt Vonnegut, Octavia Butler, Neil Gaiman, Haruki Murakami, and others.
The final episode featured “The Toynbee Convector” by Ray Bradbury. After talking about the story, Burton urged listeners to keep reading and use their imaginations to dream big.
In 2025, Wil Wheaton started a similar podcast, It’s Storytime with Wil Wheaton, with Burton’s blessing.
The show received praise from many outlets like USA Today, The New Yorker, The Washington Post, The Verge, NPR, and Los Angeles. It won several awards, including the Webby Awards for Best Art and Culture Podcast in 2023 and 2024, the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Podcast in 2023, and the Ignyte Award for Best Fiction Podcast in 2020. Burton’s memorable Webby line in 2023 was, “Be a better person. Read.”
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 09:20 (CET).