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Aliens of Extraordinary Ability

By: Maeve Higgins, Shaina Feinberg
Narrated by: Maeve Higgins, Cristela Alonzo, Alysia Reiner, Cole Escola, Karim Nematt, Carlos Ibarra, Paul Beaubrun
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Publisher's summary

"A funny and moving story of immigrants, beautifully written, at a time when it's needed the most." -Jon Ronson

Funny, sad and brilliantly human, this timely original series follows five friends – lovable but sometimes infuriating - as they make a life for themselves in New York City. The tie that binds them? They are all immigrants, struggling to find their place in an increasingly hostile America.

Sadie, fresh from her small hometown in Ireland tries out for the elusive O1 visa – meaning she has three months to prove she is an ‘alien of extraordinary ability.’ She joins a collective called ‘Nature Fans’, whose members are also on a clock, all trying to figure out how to stay in the country. Together they alternately fight and work the system, growing close in the process.

Brother and sister Rodrigo and Erika are from a mixed status family and have wonderful and busy lives in NYC. Rodrigo, desperate not to go back to Mexico but sick of living in the shadows, gets politically active. Tam is smart, handsome and Haitian, when he finds out he’s about to lose his legal status, he uses his charm to find a marriage to save him. Mazen, the loveliest Lyft driver you’re likely to meet, awaits his asylum interview and tries to forget about his life back in Syria, only to discover that he needs to stay connected or his heart will break.

The stakes couldn’t be higher – an adventure story, a love story, a story of borders and the people who cross them - can they stay in this country they call home?

©2019 Audible Originals, LLC (P)2019 Audible Originals, LLC.
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Go Behind the Scenes of Aliens of Extraordinary Ability

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Our favorite moments from Aliens of Extraordinary Ability

"Oh my god. I love your accent."
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"It was truly beautiful that day."
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Learning about flotsam and jetsam.
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  • Aliens of Extraordinary Ability
  • "Oh my god. I love your accent."
  • Aliens of Extraordinary Ability
  • "It was truly beautiful that day."
  • Aliens of Extraordinary Ability
  • Learning about flotsam and jetsam.

About the Creator and Performer

Maeve Higgins is a contributing writer for The New York Times and the host of the hit podcast Maeve in America: Immigration IRL. She is a comedian who has performed all over the world, and co-hosts Neil deGrasse Tyson’s StarTalk, and has appeared on 2 Dope Queens and Wait Wait, Don't Tell Me. Her critically acclaimed essay collection Maeve in America has been featured in People, Good Housekeeping, Refinery29, and more. Maeve co-hosts the climate justice podcast Mothers of Invention with Mary Robinson.

About the Creator

Shaina Feinberg is a filmmaker from New York City. Her six-part series, Dinette, was produced by BRIC Arts Media and premiered at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival. It has played queer festivals around the world and was shouted out by Pulitzer Prize-winning TV writer Emily Nussbaum in The New Yorker. Shaina’s second feature—the award-winning film, Senior Escort Service, blends nonfiction and fiction and is a comedic meditation on grief. In June 2019, Shaina was named 1 of 25 filmmakers on the rise by Indiewire.

About the Performer

Cristela Alonzo made history in 2014 when she became the first Latina to create, produce, and star in her own network sitcom, Cristela, for ABC. During that same year, she split her time between LA and NYC to serve as one of ABC’s favorite guest hosts on their hit daytime talk show, The View. In 2017, Cristela made history again when she became the first Latina lead in a Disney Pixar film when she voiced the part of Cruz Ramirez in Cars 3. Her first stand-up special, Lower Classy, is available on Netflix. Cristela’s memoir, Music to My Years, will be released by Atria Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster.

About the Performer

Award-winning actress and producer Alysia Reiner is best known as Natalie "Fig" Figueroa on Netflix’s series Orange Is The New Black, for which she won an ensemble Screen Actor Guilds award. Reiner joined the cast of HBO’s The Deuce in season 2 and has a reoccurring. You can see her in all 3 seasons of FX’s critically acclaimed Peabody Award-winning Better Things. Her motherhood dark-comedic feature, Egg, which she produced and stars in with Christina Hendricks and Anna Camp premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival.

About the Performer

Cole Escola, a comedian, actor, and writer, was named one of the 2014 OUT100 and Time Out New York's Top Ten Downtown Cabaret Performers. Cole played Matthew on Hulu’s Difficult People, where he also served as a writer. He played Chris on Man Seeking Woman on FXX, and recurred on the Netflix series Girl Boss, Amazon’s Mozart in the Jungle and the truTV series At Home With Amy Sedaris, for which he is also a staff writer. Cole wrote on the Broadway Video series The Other Two for Comedy Central. He was also the co-creator, writer, and star of the lo-fi cult-hit television show, Jeffrey and Cole Casserole. Other TV appearances include Nurse Jackie, Law & Order, and Smash. He originated the role of Bridget Everett's fetus in Rock Bottom for The Public Theater in a performance Variety referred to as "heroic." His sketch comedy show, The First Gay President sold out every performance and generated buzz and praise from the likes of Paper Magazine and Lena Dunham. Cole most recently ran his wildly popular solo show, Quick! Pretend I’m Asleep!, across the country.

About the Performer

Karim Nematt is an Arab-American actor based in New York. He graduated from Pace University School of Performing Arts in 2019 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting. He has appeared in such films as Mossad, Gap Year, and The Jar.

About the Performer

Carlos Ibarra is an actor, writer, director, and producer. He has appeared in various film, television, national commercials, and theater productions. Selected television credits include The Good Cop, Adam Ruins Everything, and Dora the Explorer. Carlos holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from New York University's Tisch School of Arts. He is an avid runner and successfully ran across America in 2015, making him the first Latino to complete this feat.

About the Performer

A scion of Haitian musical royalty, Paul has spent his life living to the beat. Son of the Grammy-nominated band Boukman Eksperyans, his earliest memories are of rhythm and sound. Moving to New York as a youth, he was inspired by his heritage to begin crafting a sound all his own. Constantly aware of his roots, the struggle of an immigrant and the drive of New York life, Paul began to create a path where music, activism, and history meet. Paul has played alongside some of the world's best artists including Ms. Lauryn Hill, Maxwell, Arcade Fire, Jackson Browne, and Bob Weir.

About the Performer

Anton Obeid is a multilingual New York-based theater and film actor, known for his TV roles in shows such as Law & Order: SVU and Blue Bloods and big screen appearances in films such as The Dictator with Sacha Baron Cohen and Beirut with Jon Hamm. He is a graduate of Columbia University with masters degrees in computer science and chemistry. Anton also studied at The Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in New York City. Other film credits include Last Night, 36 Saints, The Lobby Writer, Front of House, Good Days Bad Days, and Happiness. His recent theatre credits include Le Problème. After a 20-year career in investment banking in New York, London, and Hong Kong, Anton decided nine years ago to pursue a career in acting. He is passionate about his new career, which he believes is an honest means of creative expression. When not acting, Anton enjoys fencing, tennis, swimming, sailing, and skiing. Accomplishments include skiing the French, Austrian, and Italian Alps, sailing the Magellan Strait in Patagonia/Tierra del Fuego, hiking the Arctic Circle, and climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro. He also survived a civil war in his home country of Lebanon. Anton is proficient in English, Arabic, and French.

What listeners say about Aliens of Extraordinary Ability

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Not what I expected but that’s good...

I wasn’t expecting the live action narration of the book and initially wasn’t sure I’d like it. However, I did. It made the story more authentic. The story was believable and a reflection of the inhuman way people of color and immigrants of color are treated in the U.S.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

great cast

i really hoped it would have a proper ending but i guess it reflects the reality of people stuck in immigration limbo. does it really matter what kind of visas they're getting? the title was a jab at how dehumanizing calling immigrants "aliens" is. I'm not american and i think the dialogue did a good job at presenting what americans are like - oblivious, blinded by their definition of race, little to no knowledge about other countries - the whole package. i did think sadie was a touch too clueless on the verge of annoying though.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Just the right amount of cliché

This is a good, entertaining, not too deep immigration story. If you are in the mood for “light social justice” you will enjoy this. It uses some stereotypes of races and sexual orientations but not enough to turn me off. And the most annoying character is the clueless white girl which rings true to reality. The one thing I did not like at all was the music in between chapters. Elevator music has never been fun and I did not appreciate being forced to hear it.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

What an amazing story

This is what this world needs. This take you by the heart and shows you that this life is worth living.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

It was alright

This was an interesting listen about various immigrants living in New York City. The plot revolves around talking about immigration, xenophobia and white privilege.

The Story: The plot was all right but it didn’t absolutely captivate me. I feel like there was a lot of potential that wasn’t tapped into here and it got let hanging. The main character, Sadie, was very annoying and her little quips got old very fast. That’s just a personal note though. I have definitely met people who are like her. The other characters were well voiced but not necessarily developed. I was most interested in the Syrian character and his story.

The Cast: The cast was absolutely fantastic. I was completely engaged because of the variety of actors.

The Bad: The only thing that was bad enough that I would comment on it is the annoying transition music that lasted way too goddamn long. With all of the amount of time spent on the transition music, they could’ve easily fit in another chapter. I feel like it was a waste of audio. Fix it that.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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Overall good

Overall this was good. Story line and performances really well done. My one issue is the extremely long music breaks. It broke the story up too much for me and I found them frustrating.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Very Sad

I wanted to like this story but I guess I am not young enough. The main character was so blind it hurt. Or rather that is how it appeared to me. Her success was at the unintended expense of others. She didn’t think of the consequences of her actions. Also I am not a New Yorker and don’t understand the culture. I understand the power and influence some people have. I believe perhaps it takes some knowledge and understanding of that power to grasp this story. While I tried to like the characters I couldn’t. I hurt for their situation and the injustice of it. I can’t grasp what their public actions were going to accomplish for the group. It certainly helped some individuals but not the group as a whole. Nor did it help their cause. The story painted New Yorkers as mean and short sighted. In spite of it being a city of immigrants and of many cultures it is also very racist and uncaring as a whole. Not an image I would want to show the world if I were a New Yorker. It is a place that has greatness because of so many people from so many places and backgrounds. The richness and diversity of its cultures is the essence of its success. I waded through the story in hopes I would get to cheer for the groups success but I was left disappointed. Members of the group are successful but as a whole the group fails. Perhaps not because some do succeed in reaching their goals. It doesn’t offer a blueprint for success to others. The lives left destroyed don’t get resurrected.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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Characters you can really root for!

Their struggle is real. I grew to really care for all the people these characters represent. The readers and the haunting guitar kept me hooked!!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A wonderful new genre ... audio telenovela.

superb vocal characters and oh so important topic, plus awesome music interludes. you will laugh and your heart will hurt.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Is USA so bad???

Entertaining & well produced. However...the only character truly deserving of the Green card was the Syrian. Always interesting how illegals criticize this country yet really want to be here. As for Rodriguez, he can probably just walk back across border. Immigration laws need to be changed for good of everyone.

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