Queer characters, storylines, creators, and themes show up a lot in the Radio at the End of the World (RaEnWo) roundups. But since it’s been a year of these and pride month, I wanted to do a list that was only LGBTQ+ focused. One that shined a light on past podcasts featured and new ones.

Even though this is coming out in July, weeks after most places have traded their rainbow flags for American ones, it’s still important. Not just for people like me whose pride flags never come down (or whose rainbows never run), but for the people who are curious about what it’s like to love outside of the lines, and support those who do. 

SCIENCE FICTION

The Strange Case of Starship Iris

(Lesbian WLW representation, transgender representation)

The Strange Case of Starship Iris has appeared once before on RaEnWo because, like I said previously, the type of queer science fiction the show depicts is what I’m all about. The show follows a crew of smugglers in a galaxy far in the future as they scratch out an existence in the war-torn stars. There’s a lot of LGBTQ+ representation over the two seasons. That’s what makes The Strange Case of Starship Iris one of those queer audio drama podcasts that I think everyone should listen to. Being able to hear how these characters express, challenge, and live with their identities not only gives hope to the future but can help others find the words to their own stories. 

Apple Podcasts | Pocket Casts | Stitcher | Website 

Strange Horizons, “Women Want Me, Fish Fear Me” by Paris Green

(Transgender representation)

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. May was Strange Horizon’s Trans Special Issue, featuring work by trans authors and editors. I could be biased because I’ve been a fan and copy/associate editor of the magazine for several years now, and they never disappoint. Their trans issue is another stellar array of stories, in particular, Paris Green’s “Women Want Me, Fish Fear Me”. The science fiction story combines sex work with body modifications and gene splicing to deliver a one-of-a-kind very queer, very speculative story. Plus, I’ll never see that saying the same way again.

Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Website | Transcript

Mission to Zyxx

(Queer representation)

Improv, like all comedy, is hit or miss. Mission to Zyxx, an improvised science fiction audio drama about a team of space ambassadors traveling to various planets to create diplomatic relationships, is an absolute hit. Hilarious and filled with queer characters and aliens and space travel and talking ships. It’s got a lot working for it, and I’m not going to lie, I thought that there would be too much going on, but I was amazingly surprised and impressed at how well each character and bit flowed from one to the next. There are five seasons going back to 2018 so it’s a great show to dive into from the beginning and catch up. Like The Strange Case of Starship Iris, Mission to Zyxx has a lot of different LGBTQ+ identities represented on the show from nonbinary to ace. 

Apple Podcasts | Pocket Casts | Stitcher | Website 

FICTION

Moonface

(Gay representation, MLM representation)

Though Moonface ended back in 2019 the audio drama fiction podcast is one of those shows that never loses its flavor. It’s as relevant and impactful now as it was back then if not more so. The six-episode podcast follows a young Korean American gay man as he tries to come out to his mother who doesn’t speak the same language. It’s hard to fully describe how this show resonates and depicts contemporary queer life and love where despite being out, you’re never really out. This mixed with the touching scenes between the main character’s friends and mother make this a drama worth repeating. Though the main focus is on a gay man, there are more queer identities represented throughout the show. 

Apple Podcasts | Pocket Casts | Stitcher | Website

Read more: The 22 Best Podcasts of 2019

COMEDY

Light Hearts

(Ace, queer, lesbian, and gay representation)

Light Hearts is a supernatural comedy audio drama about a business owner who opens up a queer space that happens to also be haunted by ambivalent spirits. But the show’s about a lot more than that. It’s about queer community building and safe places, about consent and friendships and finding a space that accepts and appreciates who we are. The creators of Light Hearts could have made the show simply about the ghosts haunting the space or about starting a queer café/bar/event and art space. They didn’t, though. Instead, they created a dynamic show that’s both parts hilarious and heartwarming. Out of the podcasts I whittled through this past month, Light Hearts—and all the rest—was definitely one of my favorites. 

Apple Podcasts | Pocket Casts | Stitcher | Website | Transcripts

ROMANCE

Majoring in Me

(Gay representation, MLM representation)

Another return from a previous list is Majoring in Me. The gay audio drama deals with Black gay love, a topic that isn’t given a lot of facetime making it feel necessary, especially during Pride Month. Majoring in Me follows a college freshman as he navigates school, friends, and love. A podcast that goes beyond showcasing queer Black joy and love, Majoring in Me tackles themes of undergraduate life and navigating deep adult relationships for the first time. With conflict and issues mixed in throughout the two-season show, Majoring in Me is a great romantic podcast for listeners who love those awkward first love moments and the fallout that can come from them. The second just ended in May and wrapped up with some behind-the-scenes interviews that help listeners connect with the people who voice the characters on the podcast. 

Apple Podcasts | Pocket Casts | Stitcher | Website

Read more: PRIDE: The Podcasts That Queered Me

FANTASY

Lightspeed Magazine Podcast, “Wild Bill’s Last Stand” by Kyle Muntz

(Gay representation, MLM representation)

This story appeared in Lightspeed’s July 2018 issue. I’d like to say that what pulled me to this story was the idea of hot and steamy cowboys living in a gay town for others like them, but really what it was, was the Big Iron character of Wild Bill. That and the way the narrator’s voice lends itself to the fantasy western that is Kyle Muntz’ “Wild Bill’s Last Stand” to the reader. Muntz spends less time in the forest of world-building and more time showing the reader who the characters are through their relationships and life choices. The intimate pillow talk moments are just that small and intimate. They are realistically heartwarming even though the conversation matter is dark. As far as gay fantasy westerns go, “Wild Bill’s Last Stand” is a memorable best.

 Website | Transcripts

As always, if you are the creator or writer for an audio drama or audio fiction podcast, please drop me a line through my site, on Twitter, or in my inbox. Let me know what you’re working on and putting out into the world. I can’t guarantee it’ll make it on one of these roundups, but I can guarantee that I’ll listen to it with an open mind and excitement for your words.  

I also insist that you go beyond listening to these podcasts but support them by sharing them with other people, donating to the creators, or subscribing as a returning listener. These acts of support not only show the creators that people are into what they are creating, but it also helps ensure these podcasts keep getting made. 

The post Radio at the End of the World: Audio Fiction and Drama Podcast Roundup June 2021 appeared first on Discover the Best Podcasts | Discover Pods.

As with any “best of” list — especially those written by a single person (like this one) — there’s a decent amount of subjectivity as indivudual’s tastes vary drastically. I feel like this is magnified in the world of podcasts. So given the obligatory disclaimer, my best podcasts of 2019 list is through my lens. I tend to skew towards newer podcasts — or those who made a substantial leap this year — and run the spectrum of indie to mainstream. 

If you’re looking for a more comprehensive list that takes into account multiple interests and opinions, read our list from midyear, The Best Podcasts of 2019 (So Far). Also, while I’ve got your attention, here’s my list from 2018 and the requisite 2018 midyear collective list. 

2019 continued to push the boundaries of what’s possible in podcasting, from a creative and quality perspective. As always, podcast stalwarts like This American Life, Radiolab, Criminal, Reply All, and others are deserving of every accolade thrown their way. That said, I didn’t include them on my list, opting to go with newer and less known podcasts. 

End of the preamble, here are my best podcasts of 2019 — in no particular order — along with some honorable mentions.  

Running From COPS

Dan Taberski continues his elite storytelling run and is in my short-list for podcasters I’ll auto-subscribe to their new work, whatever the subject (see: Trufelman, Avery in the recommendation below). After the successes of Missing Richard Simmons and Surviving Y2K, Taberski focused his next Headlong installment on the long-running TV program, COPS, and the troubles with how police action and crime is portrayed. 

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

Nice Try! Utopian

As I alluded to in the Running From COPS paragraph, we can go ahead and pencil in whatever new project Avery Trufelman is working on for the 2020 list. In the midyear roundup, Nice Try! Utopian was recommended by true podcast tastemakers, Wil Williams, Paul Bae, and Zack Kahn — something that shouldn’t go unnoticed. 

As Trufelman tested (and found success) with her 99PI spin-off mini series, Articles of Interest in 2018, she took a similar concept to found a standalone project. Nice Try! Utopian is a seven-episode series covering design failures in utopia attempts. As Kahn succinctly reviews, “Trufelman leverages the expansive canvas of longform narrative audio to paint a rich, color portrait of attempts to try and design a better world, and what happened when those designs didn’t go according to plan.”

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

Dolly Parton’s America

Host Jad Abumrad explores country music icon, Dolly Parton’s impact on American and global culture, her life and her worldview. He finds that Dolly Parton’s fan base is a cross-section of American demographics, and he embarks on a quest to answer why. 

Jad’s interviewing showcases Dolly Parton’s charm and no-nonsense approach to song writing. She laments about the darkness in her early music while still being able to laugh about it. “I used to write a lot of sad-ass songs,” she tells Jad. Sound clips of her music and wisdom drape nine episodes that explore the “Dollyverse.”

Dolly Parton’s song “9 to 5” was an anthem to women’s empowerment. In the episode Dollitics, Jad delves into Dolly Parton’s relationship with politics, how she manages risk, and seems to “circumvent disaster.” Her “verbal judo” has kept her afloat in an age of deep political polarization. What connects with people is her genuineness, down-to-earth-nature and big heart.

The show is not without critique. Writer and editor, Aisha Harris, states in an interview that even good-hearted people have blind spots. What is so refreshing is Dolly Parton’s response to the controversy surrounding Dixie Stampede.   

Dolly Parton’s America will reward and satisfy her biggest fans, and convert new ones. 

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

StartUp

The first season of StartUp documented Alex Blumberg’s post-This American Life entrepreneurial project which would later become podcast studio success story, Gimlet. It was an expertly-narrated meta look into the difficulties of podcasting and starting a business. 

I didn’t find any subsequent season of StartUp to be all that fascinating. 

Then in February, the news broke Spotify would be acquiring both Gimlet and podcast hosting company, Anchor. Many hoped Blumberg and co-founder Matt Lieber would give a similar behind the scenes documentary into the acquisition, and they delivered. The final season of StartUp provides a truly honest view into the difficulties of podcasting at scale, dealing with start-up growing pains including financial and inter-personal issues, and ultimately what led to them selling to Spotify. 

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

All Fantasy Everything

I wrote in a CBC round-up that All Fantasy Everything is my guilty pleasure podcast and two paragraphs later Jody Avirgan mic dropped the term out of existence, ”you should never feel guilty about the things you like.”

The truth is, however, AFE leveled up in 2019. 150+ episodes later, and the comedy improv show about fake drafting obscure items like Tom Hanks movies, things you say after you dunk on someone, or the perfect sandwich has nearly perfected what I’d look for in a comedy podcast. 

This year, they produced what I’d consider their best episode, Disney Songs with guest Katie Nolan. The core crew has an unrivaled rapport and their ability to integrate guests make for a super fun listening experience and more than a couple laughs.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

Spectacular Failures

Following the success of How I Built This, it seemed like there was a mad dash for entrepreneur interview podcasts. You know what’s even more interesting than rich people talking about their success? Stories of failures. 

Executive Producer of Radiotopia, Julie Shapiro, wrote a review of Spectacular Failures in our midyear round-up, “While other pods have taken on the culture of failed business and ruined legacies, none have done so with the particular spirit and chummy schadenfreude that Lauren Ober brings to Spectacular Failures. The show features stories you’ll realize you’ve been wondering about for years, as soon as you read the episode titles: “Schlitz Beer goes bad, then worse,” “Kodak misses its moment”, etc.”

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

Uncover

Award-winning Uncover spans five seasons of compelling and chilling story-telling. Each season is hosted by a different journalist as they investigate Canadian and international crime mysteries. People closely connected with the topics at hand will often get emotional when they recount the horrors experienced or mourn the loss of loved ones. 

Dark themes are explored by CBC Podcasts through the exposé of the cult NXVIM (pronounced “Nexium”) in Season 1: Escaping NXVIUM, the unsolved case of 1965 Canadian Pacific Airlines Flight 21 in Season 2: Bomb on Board, a serial killer that targeted Toronto’s gay community dating to 1975 in Season 3: The Village, the 1998 disappearance of 77-year-old woman Joan Lawrence in Season 4: The Cat Lady Case, and the homicide of Toronto teen Sharmini Anandavel in Season 5: Sharmini. 

Journalists Josh Bloch, Ian Hanomansing, Johanna Wagstaffe, Justin Ling, Zander Sherman and Michelle Shephard tackle unresolved questions in their individual styles. 

To cherry-pick a few moments from such a wide-scope, a tape-recording of Sharmini’s voice in S5: E6 is particularly haunting, Season 1’s Sarah Edmondson’s realization of abuse in her community deeply disturbs, and Chuck Shaw-MacLaren’s eyewitness account of Canadian Pacific Airlines Flight 21 crash as an ambulance driver grips the listener. Stories that he had kept to himself for 50 years tug at the heart strings. “I’m talking more to you, than I have to anybody,” he admits after he takes host Johanna Wagstaffe’s hand.

Uncover peers into the tragedies and trauma caused by unsettled mysteries.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

ESPN 30 for 30 The Sterling Affairs

Sometimes I think the ESPN brand actually holds back the 30 for 30 podcast from a larger audience. Sure, the podcast focuses on stories with a sports angle, but simplifying the podcast into a narrow category does a disservice to its excellent documentary storytelling ability. Though their individual contained episodes are often wonderful, I think the podcast is at its best when it’s given a couple episode mini-series. Last year, their Bikram series made my best of list, and this year they went back to the well with a season focused on disgraced former NBA owner, Donald Sterling. 

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

BROKEN: Jeffrey Epstein

Before we hit “peak Epstein podcasts” (related: peak impeachment podcasts), BROKEN hit the scenes combined with seasoned journalists (The New Yorker’s Ariel Levy, The Miami Herald’s Julie K. Brown), with podcast studio Three Uncanny Four Productions and Oscar-winning director Adam McKay. 

There may be some fatigue around the subject matter, however, BROKEN is a riveting six-episode series detailing Epstein’s history, rise of his monstrous empire, and eventual arrest and death.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

1619

The New York Time’s foray into podcasting has been an unbridled success on every level. Last year’s limited series, Caliphate, was my personal pick for best podcast of the year. This year, they produced a five- (really, six-) episode miniseries about the history of the US and the slave trade. 

Hosted by Nikole Hannah-Jones, the podcast gives an excellent history and insight into America’s civil liberties problems and institutional racism. 

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

Mobituaries

Mo Rocca applies his love for obituaries in pieces that explore the lives of people that have inspired him. Funny and inquisitive, Mo Rocca’s experience as a correspondent on The Daily Show and CBS Sunday Morning helps structure well-paced narratives. His journalistic integrity and approach stand out. Mobituaries weaves interviews with experts and enthusiasts, poll questions, and elements of film, music, and television to great effect. What results are compelling stories that shine a light on forgotten historical figures and aspects of household names that are not common knowledge.    

In the episode Thomas Paine: Death of a Forgotten Founding Founder, Mo Rocca asks Anthony Salvanto, CBS News’ Director of Elections and Surveys, “If there would have been no Thomas Paine, there would be no ‘what’?” His questions open up in-depth conversation that relates to the world we live in today. 

In The Black Congressmen of Reconstruction: Death of Representation, the sounds of the Charleston Harbor backdrop a riveting tale of enslaved seaman, Robert Smalls’ great escape into the Union Blockade. Mo Rocca’s exchange with Michael Bouleware Moore, Robert Small’s great-great-grandson, provides a personal touch and reminds us that we are not too far removed from the age of slavery.

History buffs and curious minds will appreciate Mobituaries and Mo Rocca’s enthusiasm for forgotten knowledge.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

The Rewatchables / The Rewatchables 1999

Another podcast entry that’s nowhere near new but one that seems to get stronger the more episodes they do. The Ringer expanded their partnership with Luminary and created a spin-off podcast solely focused on movies that came out in 1999. Besides the narrowed scope, the two podcasts are essentially identical. 

If you’re unfamiliar, The Rewatchables is a movie podcast which analyzes and mostly celebrates past movies. Their vibe is very much “friends watching on the couch” but mixed with insights, jokes, and genuine fun. The Rewatchables at least partially makes this list for their episode on Old School, which single-handedly forced me to end a workout early because I was crying laughing and in no shape to even stand up. 

The Rewatchables Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

The Rewatchables 1999 Listen: Luminary

Gay Future

We’ve covered audio drama and fiction podcasts extensively on this site, but it truthfully needs to be repeated ad nauseam: the most creative and ground-breaking work in podcasts is being done in the audio drama genre. The Allusionist’s Helen Zaltzman perfectly sums up the appeal of Gay Future, “In a long-lost YA novel by Mike Pence, it’s 2062 and, under the totalitarian regime ruling North America, everyone is gay. Except one schoolkid… This show is so funny; the acting is on point and the production is great. I had such a blast listening to this caper.”

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

Slow Burn

Slow Burn’s future seemed uncertain after the creator, Leon Neyfakh, left Slate to start a new podcast exclusive to Luminary (see: FIASCO below). The first two seasons covered the political climate and delved into the respective impeachment processes for Presidents Nixon and Clinton. The third season, however, takes a departure from the traditional political genre and instead covers the infamous feud and eventual deaths of rappers Tupac and Notorious BIG.

Though the chosen topic is a departure, fortunately that’s the extent of the differences of the podcast in the post-Neyfakh era. The interviews, analysis, and overall documentary narrative are among the best examples in podcasting today.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

Switched on Pop

With both AFE and The Rewatchables I mention they sort of leveled up this year. In Switched On Pop’s case, which started in 2014, this is especially true. Media giant, Vox, picked up the podcast earlier this year and the show was exposed to a much larger audience. 

Hosted by songwriter and music journalist, Nate Harding, and musicologist, Nate Sloan. Together they have both an expanse of knowledge and the chemistry to make a truly entertaining and informative podcast. 

Related reading: Switched On Pop: A podcast that’s music to your ears

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

The Dropout

The Dropout opens with Elizabeth Holmes, once Silicon Valley’s youngest female self-made billionaire, taking an oath for her testimony on July 11, 2017 on nine criminal charges of wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. In six episodes that range from 39 to 47 minutes, host Rebecca Jarvis unfolds a story of unbridled ambition, gratuitous ethics violations and the culture of celebrity.

Elizabeth Holmes and her blood-testing company, Theranos, were poised to become the “Apple of healthcare.” Rebecca Jarvis’s thorough journalism and interviews are weaved in the style of a true-crime drama. She delivers the story as a reporter, and manages to remain an objective narrator. 

Theranos’s promise to conduct a myriad of tests from a single pin-prick of blood was lofty, but with Elizabeth’s business savvy, charm and cunning she was able to convince investors of her product. The allure of working with the then world’s youngest self-made female billionaire is honed in on the episode A Star Is Born. Jared Leto introduces Elizabeth at the 2015 Glamour Women Of The Year Awards, and Bill Clinton sings praises as he assures a captive audience that “We’re in good hands.”

Join Rebecca Jarvis as she unravels the rise and fall of Elizabeth Holmes in a stark commentary on fame and corporate greed.         

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

Honorable Mentions

Have You Heard George’s Podcast

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

Moonface

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

FIASCO

Listen: Luminary

The Big One

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

Sonic Boom

Listen: Luminary

The post The 22 Best Podcasts of 2019 appeared first on Discover the Best Podcasts | Discover Pods.