Preview

Free with 30-day trial
A 30-day trial plus your first audiobook free.
1 credit/month after trial—to buy any title you like, yours to keep.
Listen all you want to a selection of thousands of Audible Originals, audiobooks and podcasts.
$16.45 a month after 30 day trial. Cancel anytime.

American ISIS

By: Trevor Aaronson
Narrated by: Trevor Aaronson
Free with 30-day trial

$16.45/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

  • Summary

  • American ISIS tells the story of Russell Dennison, an American who converted to Islam and traveled to Syria to fight for the Islamic State. For more than six months, Russell secretly communicated with journalist Trevor Aaronson, sending more than 30 hours of recordings that detail his suburban upbringing, his pursuit by the FBI, his embrace of extremism, and his decision to live and die on distant battlefields. Russell’s recordings provide an unprecedented firsthand account of what it was like for an American to be part of one of the world’s most fearsome terrorist groups. A remarkable work of journalism and narrative storytelling, American ISIS brings listeners into a hidden world few Americans have witnessed - filled with jihadis, human smugglers, FBI agents, government informants, and nightly bombings. Trevor Aaronson, a journalist for The Intercept, tracks down the people who knew Russell in the United States and in the Middle East as he investigates and corroborates Russell’s incredible story, from his childhood in Pennsylvania to bombed-out Syrian villages thousands of miles from the life he’d once known. An Audible Original produced by The Intercept, Topic Studios, and Western Sound.
    ©2021 First Look Institute, Inc. (P)2021 Audible Originals, LLC
    Show More Show Less
Murder
Show More Show Less
Episodes
  • American ISIS Trailer

    American ISIS Trailer
    Jul 1 2021
    American ISIS is an eight-episode podcast that tells the remarkable story of Russell Dennison, an American ex-convict and Muslim convert who joined the Islamic State in Syria. As US and coalition airstrikes rained down on ISIS fighters in 2018 and 2019, Dennison secretly recorded dozens of hours of audio about his past and his life with ISIS and sent them to journalist Trevor Aaronson with one condition: Nothing he said could be revealed until he was captured or - more likely - killed.
    Show More Show Less
    Less than 1 minute
    Free with 30-day trial
  • Episode 1: Death and Life

    Episode 1: Death and Life
    Jul 15 2021

    As the Islamic State collapses in Syria, Russell Dennison contacts journalist Trevor Aaronson and says he wants to talk.
    Show More Show Less
    35 mins
    Free with 30-day trial
  • Episode 2: Beginnings

    Episode 2: Beginnings
    Jul 15 2021
    Russell’s typical suburban childhood features Saturday-morning cartoons, action figures under the Christmas tree, and a basketball hoop in the driveway. But his life takes a turn in his 20s, when he’s arrested in Pennsylvania for selling marijuana.
    Show More Show Less
    27 mins
    Free with 30-day trial

What listeners say about American ISIS

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    33
  • 4 Stars
    4
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    2
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    30
  • 4 Stars
    5
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    28
  • 4 Stars
    5
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    2

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

Audible.com.au reviews

Amazon Reviews
Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for chris

gripping

intimate, well narrated and gives so much context to the war and the different motivations.

Report this

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Anonymous User

Amazing story

What a story, kept me hooked the whole time. Sad story but very interesting.

Report this

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for barnaby sullivan

wouldn't have expected anything less from intercep

I have been a big fan of the intercept for a long time, donated at points as well. this kind of content is the reason. level headed, well thought through and explaining topics with a clear perspective of how all the parties see the matter.

Report this

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Amazon Customer

Very interesting listen

Recommended listen. Interesting insight into isis and why some westerners end up in the terror organisation

Report this

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Jeffrey Banfield

just wow!

Thus podcast is fantastic! as someone that is an atheist but extremely interested in others personal views on religion and what drives them to it, this was fascinating. Hearing about Russ's internal struggles with life, religion and what drove him to be in his position was interesting. Hats off to the journalist who covered this story. Fantastic work all round!

Report this

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Sister Luke

the most ISIS-friendly "podcast" on the net

This Jew journalist interviewing a ginger Jihadi (why is it always the redheads that go Muhammedan?) makes for him every excuse in the book, trots out the typical lines, blames Western foreign policy for Middle-eastern dysfunction (never mind that Mohammedans have been trying to destroy, subjugate and enslave us for over a thousand years, ever since their detestable cult first spawned out of the desert). And all the time I was listening I could only think about how totally different the tone and presentation would be if it were about some pro-White "extremist" group in the West.

Report this

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Anonymous User

Interesting

Good insights into Isis, factual accounts of the war. Not particularly well narrated.
xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx

Report this

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.