The Handmaid's Tale

Wondery

Award-winning audio producer John Scott Dryden brings you into a dystopian future, in which the birth rate has plummeted and the United States has become a theocracy called Gilead. Women who are capable of childbirth are pulled out of society and trained as handmaids, then assigned to men for the sole purpose of procreation. From the same source material as the critically acclaimed Hulu series, this six part series of “The Handmaid’s Tale” is audio fiction at its finest.

Listen to new episodes of The Handmaid's Tale early and ad-free by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery App: https://wondery.app.link/thehandmaidstale

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Our Editor's Take

Canadian author Margaret Atwood's 1985 novel The Handmaid's Tale has never been more popular. Not because it is a popular television series, but because 30 years after its publication the story feels more relevant than ever. Wondery's six-part dramatic adaptation of The Handmaid's Tale offers a unique approach to Atwood's storytelling.

Producer John Scott Dryden is an expert in audio fiction and has produced three successful fiction podcasts in recent years. His audio drama series for BBC radio includeSevered Threads, The Reluctant Spy, and Pandemic.

In The Handmaid's Tale, religious fanatics have overthrown society and have created social classes in its place. A citizen's designation dictates their freedoms and duties. Women serve social and servant functions while dressed in specific colors to identify what they are. Handmaids wear long red gowns, heavy brown boots, and white coifs. They serve a singular function and if they deviate from it, they receive punishment. The Handmaid's Tale focuses on one woman and her struggle against restrictions and expectations.

Dramatic narration provides a different level of depth and color than traditional audiobooks. Wondery's The Handmaid's Tale is for fans of fiction, theater, and drama alike.

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FictionFiction

Start Here

In the first of this six-part audio drama based on Margaret Atwood’s chilling novel, the United States government has been overthrown and replaced by a military theocracy called the Republic of Gilead. As women's rights are being stripped away, the protagonist and her family attempt to flee the country. But they are not so lucky.Listen to new episodes of The Handmaid's Tale early and ad-free by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery App: https://wondery.app.link/thehandmaidstaleSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Episodes

In the first of this six-part audio drama based on Margaret Atwood’s chilling novel, the United States government has been overthrown and replaced by a military theocracy called the Republic of Gilead. As women's rights are being stripped away, the protagonist and her family attempt to flee the country. But they are not so lucky.Listen to new episodes of The Handmaid's Tale early and ad-free by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery App: https://wondery.app.link/thehandmaidstaleSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Having lost everything, including her name, our hero begins her indoctrination into the new religious order as she trains to become a handmaid. An honored position in this new world, she will be a servant whose sole function is procreation.Listen to new episodes of The Handmaid's Tale early and ad-free by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery App: https://wondery.app.link/thehandmaidstaleSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The protagonist receives a new assignment and name: Offred, “Of Fred.” It is her third posting as a handmaid, and she well knows what happens to handmaids who fail to bear a child. She settles into her new home, forging a complex relationship with the Commander’s wife, Serena Joy, as she prepares for the upcoming ceremony.Listen to new episodes of The Handmaid's Tale early and ad-free by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery App: https://wondery.app.link/thehandmaidstale.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Offred's after-hours visits with the Commander complicates her relationship with him. On one of their regular outings, another handmaid reveals a shocking secret about Offred's predecessor in the Commander’s home.Listen to new episodes of The Handmaid's Tale early and ad-free by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery App: https://wondery.app.link/thehandmaidstale.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Frustrated that Offred has not yet conceived, Serena Joy proposes a solution. Meanwhile, the Commander has a surprise that leads Offred on an unexpected trip, and an encounter with an old friend.Listen to new episodes of The Handmaid's Tale early and ad-free by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery App: https://wondery.app.link/thehandmaidstaleSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In the series finale, another handmaid’s suicide alarms Offred, and intensifies her already difficult situation.Listen to new episodes of The Handmaid's Tale early and ad-free by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery App: https://wondery.app.link/thehandmaidstale.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.