Audible launches Marc Fennell AI series on human impact

Audible has launched Unreal: When AI Becomes Us, a new original audio series by Marc Fennell, spanning six standalone episodes.

The series examines how artificial intelligence is shaping personal aspects of life, including relationships, grief, belief and identity, through a human-centred rather than technical lens.

Fennell, an Australian journalist, broadcaster and author, has previously worked with Audible on several original productions, including Corked, It Burns, Nut Jobs, House of Skulls and This is Not a Game. He is also known for television and audio documentaries including Stuff the British Stole, The Kingdom, The Mission, Framed, Came from Nowhere and Red Flag.

The six-part series follows stories in which AI intersects with emotional and moral questions, including parents using AI to recreate the voice of a dead son, people forming romantic attachments to conversational software, communities confronting systems that appear to read minds, and people seeking spiritual meaning in code.

Human focus

The framing shifts away from familiar public debates about automation, disruption and long-term technological change. Instead, the production focuses on how AI is already being used in everyday life and how it may alter a person's sense of self and reality.

That places the series within a growing body of media work that treats artificial intelligence less as a business tool or engineering milestone and more as a social force with consequences for intimacy, memory and accountability.

Commenting on the launch, Fennell described the editorial direction of the series and the subjects it explores.

"This series took me from intimate living rooms to the edges of the uncanny; into stories where grief, love, belief and accountability collide with artificial intelligence. Along the way, I met parents using AI to bring back the voice of a deceased son, romantics falling for code that talks back, and communities grappling with machines that seem to read minds. I followed spirituality as it emerged - and unravelled - in algorithms, and confronted moments where AI blurred the line of personal responsibility entirely. Unreal is messy, confronting and deeply human. It's not about the technology itself, but how it's quietly changing who we are," said Marc Fennell, journalist and broadcaster.

The format also reflects Audible's wider investment in original spoken-word programming, as audio companies seek distinctive material beyond conventional audiobooks and interview podcasts. Documentary-style series have become an important part of that strategy, particularly when led by established journalists or presenters with an existing audience.

Audible's Australian catalogue includes more than 850,000 audio titles spanning Audible Originals, audiobooks and podcasts from a range of studios, publishers and performers. The company is part of Amazon.

Audio strategy

Polly Blenkinship, global head of brand media at Audible, linked the release to the company's long-running relationship with Fennell and to audio's role in exploring difficult subjects.

"Marc has a unique ability to uncover compelling stories and bring audiences into subjects they might not otherwise explore, and that's something we've loved about working with him over many years. With Unreal, he brings his signature curiosity and thoughtful storytelling to artificial intelligence, creating a series that's as entertaining as it is thought-provoking.

"Audio is such a powerful way to explore big ideas, and Unreal does exactly that. It's a series that sparks curiosity and stays with you long after you've finished listening," said Blenkinship.

The release arrives amid sustained public interest in artificial intelligence, but its editorial approach stands apart from coverage focused on software launches, workplace productivity or regulation. By centring case studies on death, romance, spirituality and responsibility, the series appears designed to examine AI through situations where emotional stakes are high and ethical boundaries are less settled.

That may also broaden the audience for AI reporting beyond listeners with a direct interest in technology. Fennell's work often blends investigative reporting with accessible storytelling, and the new series appears to follow that pattern by using individual stories to address wider social questions.

The six episodes are presented as self-contained, suggesting each instalment will tackle a separate theme or case study while contributing to a broader argument about how intelligent systems are changing human experience.

"It's not about the technology itself, but how it's quietly changing who we are," said Fennell.