A udible has launched a new slate of Canadian originals with some recognizable voices as it brings its Plus Catalogue north of the border.

The audio content provider and producer launched its Plus Catalogue yesterday (Aug. 17), which gives paid members access to more than 12,000 audiobooks and podcasts.

To mark the release, the company announced its next slate of Canadian originals, including a new podcast hosted by Ottawa-born actor Jay Baruchel (pictured) and an exclusive audiobook that features a performance by Vancouver-born actor Joshua Jackson.

Highly Legal, produced by Toronto’s Shed Creative, is one of two podcasts announced in the Plus Catalogue rollout. Hosted by Baruchel, the podcast examines how the legalization of recreational cannabis in Canada has impacted the country and what it has taught the world at large.

The second podcast released is French-language title Habiter: Les univers de Sarah-Jeanne Labrosse (Magnéto), where host and Montreal actor Labrosse speaks with inspirational guests – such as singer-songwriter Ariane Moffatt, comedian Philippe-Audrey Larrue-St-Jacques and scientist Boucar Diouf – at her home. Both podcasts are available now.

Georgia Knox, VP Canada country manager at Audible, told Playback Daily the company has more Canadian-produced podcasts in the pipeline, to be announced at a later date. “We are always in the process of developing new Canadian content and looking for great Canadian voices to amplify and stories to tell, no matter what form they take – podcasts, audiobooks or Audible Originals,” says Knox.

Oracle, produced by Audible Studios, is one of four additional audio originals announced on the slate. The audiobook was developed exclusively for Audible by author Andrew Pyper, about a police psychic who uses their gifts to track an elusive serial killer, and performed by Joshua Jackson.

Other audio titles included in the slate are China White (China White: la voie de Dharma), a French- and English-language audiobook produced by Audible Studios and voiced by actor Juliette Gosselin (The Hummingbird Project), which follows the unlikely partnership between an ex-police officer and teen cult member. Death by Unknown Event, produced by L.A.’s Skybound Entertainment, investigates the death of Vancouver nurse Cindy James; and Imminent Disaster, produced by Audible Studios, a sketch comedy audio series created by Canadian writer Catherine Hernandez.

Oracle and China White are currently available on Audible, Imminent Disaster is will be available in November and Death by Unknown Event‘s release date will be announced later.

Audible’s initial Canadian slate, which was announced in 2020, included True North Heists, produced by Pacific Content and narrated by Colm Feore, and The Secret Diaries of Detective Murdoch, produced by Shaftesbury and narrated by Yannick Bisson.