August 2026 – July was consumed with two major projects–one an audiobook, and one a movie–plus a few relatively smaller jobs.

To start July, I finished production of the audiobook for The Least of These: Finding Forgiveness, Healing, and God’s Redeeming Love by the late Shari Pacanowski, with my wife Rachel Sloane lending her voice to some narration in it.  During July, I also squeezed in a second audiobook in a series: NeuroKnights: The Addiction Invasion by Benjamin Irvine.

But aside from those, my focus in July was on producing the audiobook for Echoes of Fortune: Knights of the Golden Circle by David R. Leng–the third book in a series of audiobooks I have narrated for the author. I expect to finish work on the large project on time in early August. Rachel helped with the QC for the audiobook, because another largescale project came along this month, meaning I first had to record everything in Knights of the Golden Circle before moving into QC, unlike my usual process. In fact, without Rachel’s help, producing this third audiobook for David Leng would have been impossible to deliver in a timely fashion!

Coming up in September, I have a couple audiobooks already queued up: Fatherhood by Design: A Father’s Guide to Intentional Leadership and Lasting Influence by Erik Westrum and The Triangle by Rayne A. Daniels.

In addition to these, I have also produced the following audiobooks so far this year (but have not yet completed the audiobook for my 2012 book Long-Form Improv, a side project with no specific deadline):

• Driven Through Tragedy by Jeffery P. Minock
• Why Aren’t Your Prayers Working Yet: The Revelation of God’s Court by Padresito Ricky
• Selected material from Still Here: Surviving Him, Saving Us, and Telling the Truth by Clair Rowan
• Mega-Fire: America’s Next Fourth Turning Crisis by Rick Wiles
• The Weight of Marble by Robin Heester
• Live Within Your Means: The Investment Income Life by Jacob Smith
• Evict the Doubts Squatting Rent-Free in Your Mind (and send your excuses on an extended vacation) by Stan Lewis
• What About Her Heart?: Women’s Heart Disease, Symptoms, Hidden Risks, and How to Protect Your Heart by Dr. Arash Bereliani, MD, FACC
• NeuroKnights: The Awakening by Benjamin Irvine
• Betting on Red: Winning Real Peace, Hope and Happiness with One Simple Bet on Red by Shawn Ward (co-narrated with Rachel Sloane)
• So… Eighth Grade Happened: A Year That Shaped Me by Cole K. Larksen
• Strategic Communication for Nerds: ABCD123: A Simple Framework that Integrates Strategy, Execution, and Learning by Ajit Nott, PhD
• The Rock Cries by Mabel Wedlaw (co-narrated with Rachel Sloane)
• Dennis and School: The Alphabet Escapes – A Fun Alphabet Learning Story Audiobook for Kids by Gregory Pol (co-narrated with Rachel Sloane)
• The Inventory by Flo Vasquez
• Awakening from the Sexually Addicted Mind: A Compassionate Guide to Recovery by Darrin Ford
• The Architect’s Ghost by Robin Heester (Book 2 in a series)
• Echoes of Fortune: The Search for Braddock’s Lost Gold by David R. Leng (Book 1 in a series)
• Terminal Anxiety by Justin Spencer
• Elevated: My Journey Co-Laboring with God by Kenneth Hill with Lanny Richardson

The audiobooks I have edited this year include:

• Ferris Bueller…You’re My Hero: The Story of the World’s Most Famous Day Off by Jason Klamm
• A Lad from Liverpool: Life Stories by Derek Hughes
• Fortress Father: How Good Men Become the Backbone Their Children Need in Divorce and Family Court by Brad Tengler

The list of all my audiobooks narrated to date is compiled here on my voiceover website, Voiceoverpro.co.  That business is related to my other voiceover businesses with my wife: Voiced By Us and PoliticalVoiceovers.com.

The largescale project that came along in July was stand-in work for male lead Chris Pine in the feature film The Catch. I landed the job in early July and production began in the second half of the month.

I will be balancing work on The Catch with stand-in work for John Oliver on Last Week Tonight–meaning I’ll be working oftentimes six days a week, and sometimes on very little sleep by the time I go in to Last Week Tonight! This season is my 12th season on Last Week Tonight, and I’m very much enjoying my time working on the show.

I also got new headshots in April!  I hired photographer Lloyd Bishop, who also works on Last Week Tonight and Late Night with Seth Meyers. The photos turned out fantastic. As of this writing, I haven’t updated my website with them, but I hope to find time to do that hopefully soon. I’ve shot with Lloyd in a work context for many years. I know his work pretty well, which taught me I knew I could trust him to create some outstanding shots.

As for workouts, they have been almost nil as my schedule has been absolutely pushed to the limit. So, I have been detraining, and my VO2 Max, which was above 49, probably has dipped below that by now. Come mid August, my schedule probably will still be intense but I should have some small pockets of relief, which should mean good things for getting in workouts and running.

With that said, I had a major victory in July, when I found out my proposal to re-open my building’s gym to 24-hour access was accepted. I sobbed when I heard such good news! I usually work out in mornings, and sometimes very early given stand-in and audiobook work. For several years the gym reverted from 24-hour access to access starting at 5am, which locked me out many days from the gym. I have been fighting for change for a long time, and I really didn’t think I could make a difference. But I did!

-Ben