Radio at the End of the World: Audio Fiction and Drama Podcast Roundup December 2020
Happy new year and welcome to the future that seemed so far away only a couple months ago. I hope you are ready to dive into some new podcasts this year. Instead of doing a 2020 round up, I decided to stick to the regular monthly roundup. If you are looking for a year end best of list, check out Discover Pods’ Best of 2020.
For past months’ round ups, here’s the last three months’ Radio at the End of the World articles: November, October, and September. I write a new list every month after listening through tons of different audio fiction and audio drama podcasts. To keep up to date, follow my writing here or subscribe to my newsletter.
HORROR
Campfire Radio Theater
I’m a fan of horror anthologies whether that be TV shows or podcasts, so I find myself listening to a lot of different ones throughout the months. A new one that I started last month was Campfire Radio Theater. The show features original horror audio dramas meant to drag the reader into the story through full cast performances, high quality audio production, and thematic soundscapes. The creators call it a modern horror anthology that uses techniques reminiscent of classic radio theater productions. Recent episode Gerald is a great example of the modern storytelling of the show and the classical structure of the podcast itself mixing and enhancing the story and listening experience. This is a show that’s been around for a while, so there’s a nice back catalogue for binge listening on cold dark winter nights.
Listen Here: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify
SCIENCE FICTION
Dirt – An Audio Drama
Before I get you fully amped about this audio drama, I want to preface that its last episode aired in October without any info on when the next one would air. So, there’s a possibility that this intriguing audio drama won’t have an end. Most of the work on Dirt is done by Kristopher Kaiyala who plays the main character, a man in his 30s who embarks on a fun and imaginative journey after receiving a strange letter. Dirt is one of those audio dramas that creates a whole world for the reader through beautifully original music and narrative performances that feel genuine and real. Listening to an episode is like strapping yourself to the main character’s back and joining him as he tries to unearth long dead answers to questions he didn’t know he needed to ask.
Listen Here: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify
Strange Horizons ‘Renovations of a Finite Apartment’ by Toby MacNutt
Strange Horizons is a hub for great, thought provoking science fiction, fantasy, horror, and stories of the weird. It is a weekly magazine that also has an audio fiction podcast where they select stories and poems from their issues to offer them a second life in your ears. This past December, Strange Horizons released 4 issues that are all honestly amazing. I could be bias because I’ve been a fan of the magazine and podcast for several years now, and they never disappoint. There is one episode from this past month that I want to shine a light on and that’s Toby MacNutt’s story ‘Renovations of a Finite Apartment’. A, possible, robot or other thought machine grapples with their surroundings and what it means to them in relation with the humans and machines in their life. With most of us coming up on a year in quarantine, a year tracing the small spaces of our abodes, this audio fiction speaks to that automated machine we’ve become.
Listen Here: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify
THRILLER
The Other Stories
I recently stumbled across the audio fiction podcast The Other Stories and was instantly a fan. Like Strange Horizons and The Drabblecast, The Other Stories features some wild stories that stretch the readers imagination and leaves them in a weary dream state that can only be cured by more weird and original stories. Hosted and started by writer Ilana Masad, The Other Stories podcast aims to deliver to its listeners a mix of stories from emerging or struggling writers and old hands at the trade. So listeners can discover new and fresh voices, delivering remarkable stories alongside their favorite spec fic writers. I recommend one of December’s episodes ‘A Sky Full of Shooting Starfish’ by Diane Arrelle about the folly of making wishes.
Listen Here: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify
MYSTERY
Stories Fables Ghostly Tales
Like other creative commons audio fiction podcasts, Stories Fables Ghostly Tales pulls stories from a multitude of cultures, time periods, genres, and themes. The whole purpose is to offer a story for anyone and everyone. With a deep catalogue of back stories and a constant publishing schedule, Stories Fables Ghostly Tales delivers on its purpose. My favorite feature of the podcast is when the Tale Teller pulls out and dusts off older radio dramas like the December episode ‘Crime Club’. Though it is quite outdated and features some problematic dialogue and scenes, the well-acted double feature is pure radio detective gold.
Listen Here: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify
FICTION
Radio National Fictions ‘Corona Tales Part 1, 2, and 3’
Like many out there, the pandemic has opened up new doorways of connection and vulnerability for me and the writers whose stories are featured in the three-part episode. Radio National Fictions is an audio fiction podcast highlighting and showcasing the best in stories and writers from Australia. Corona Tales is about the small intimate moments that we’ve learned to cherish over the past few months. I’m based in America, so hearing other writers’ quarantine blues from a totally different country was refreshing and reminded me of the greater community that I am a part of. The stories are vulnerable and intimate, made deeper by the beautiful and original music paired with the episodes.
Listen Here: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts
I hope you were able to find something new and fun to listen to or recommend to the people in your life. If you have an audio drama or fiction podcast that you want me to check out, please feel free to send me a message! I’m always on the lookout for new stories and experiences.
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