It took quite a bit of research to uncover a good amount of these as I often try not to merely cater to the Spotify top ten and I’d like to extend some much given thanks to the audio drama subreddit for their excellent recommendations.

With a bit of assistance, I’ve found the new, the obscure, the scary, the silly, and the weird combinations of both. Here we have fifteen audio dramas that have caught my attention as of late all coming in a variety of tones, lengths, and genres spanning meaty, long-form mysteries, science fiction anthologies, or a short and sweet miniseries from the likes of newcomers and experienced vets.

As a note, all of these podcasts should be listened to from the beginning unless otherwise stated. Almost all of these podcasts are serialized stories with continuous narratives.

The Best Audio Drama Podcasts

Audio drama is certainly a subjective subject. What one person likes, another will hate. But we’ve gone to great lengths to ensure our picks for the best audio drama podcasts employ excellent storytelling, character development, and have the requisite plot twists that will keep you hooked.

So let’s look at the best audio drama podcasts the medium has to offer. At the end of the post we’ve included some bonus audio dramas that didn’t quite make the list of “best,” but are still pretty damned good and worth your time.

Without further adieu.

The Fourth Ambit

A slightly newer podcast debuting last spring of 2021, The Fourth Ambit is already a solid few hours in the length of their episodes and has got me hooked like malware on a hard drive. 

The Fourth Ambit is a dark, intelligently written sci-fi that weaves a fascinating futuristic landscape where the merging of advanced technology and the human condition take center stage. You won’t want to miss any of Gilles’ misadventures between virtual reality and reality-both of which seem to be equally dangerous.

Give Me Away

Give Me Away focuses on a crashed spaceship titled “The Ghosthouse” for the constant presence of ghastly screams from doomed extraterrestrial life trapped in its mainframe. The only way to end such eternal torment is to transfer their minds into willing human participants-permanently. 

This audio drama comes from the writers behind such favorites of The Message, Life/After, and Steal the Stars which ensures Give Me Away will be a gripping, methodical mystery built from the ground up on atmosphere and chilling discoveries.

It makes for a piece of amazing science fiction with a psychological core, dabbling into complex themes of identity and self worth. You’ll be deeply enamored with the journey of protagonist Graham Shapiro and an exploration into the value of one’s life, be it his own and those around him.

If you do like science fiction do check out some of the paranormal podcasts we’ve reviewed recently. Are they fact or fiction? Or a blend of audio drama?

The Program Audio Series

Joining my collection of favorite anthology series besides The Long Hallway and Theatre of Tomorrow is The Program Audio Series where we’re transported to a universe where Money, State, and God form into one entity governing over a future society. The Program Audio Series lets us into the lives of multiple strangers-some innocent, some not so much, all of them somehow affected by the might gonglamorith of technology. 

The Program audio series is an unapologetically cruel but undeniably creative collection of short stories about a terrifyingly possible future and a rapidly changing present.

PLEASURE MACHINE

It all starts when African American sound artist H gets a job offer from tech cooperation Librate–a once in a lifetime opportunity that wroughts on a number of personal conflicts. That’s the base plot of Colt Coeur’s PLEASURE MACHINE, a nine episode long thrill ride that’s a blend of Dear White People and Sorry to Bother You.

PLEASURE MACHINE’S writing is deeply provocative and smart yet simple in execution with its neat editing tricks, and atmospheric sound design that packs so much into so little time. Many struggling under the stress of freelance, social constructs, and societal pressures will adore this miniseries, these all being topics that PLEASURE MACHINE provides with a complex, adult perspective.

Margaret’s Garden

The Bloody Disgusting Podcast Network has carefully crafted the quaint American suburb of Everton, a picturesque suburban brimming with all-American charm, modern appliances, and opportunity…seventy years ago, that is. 

The American Dream becomes the American Nightmare in their show Margaret’s Garden, a suspenseful suburban audio drama fresh from the oven as of the fall of 2020. Margaret’s Garden is a nice blend of Greener Grass and 1989’s Parents, setting itself up as a piece of truly memorable and macabre Americana.

Greenhouse

Put your flower shop AU’s to bed because Atypical Artists’ Greenhouse is the kind of blooming romance you won’t want to miss. Cute, cozy, and awkwardly sweet, Greenhouse is To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before with deeper roots than your favorite Wattpad fic.

Watch from the shrubs as two wallflowers learn to overcome their fears and open up to each other one letter at a time. Our leads Abigail and Rose are as socially anxious as they are adorable and you’ll be ready for their love story to grow from the first “dear”.

Donald August Versus the Land of Flowers

Babysitting and bad gardening merge in this short audio drama comedy that packs plenty of personality (and pollen) in just under an hour. In this unlikely summer tale in Southern Florida we join twelve-year-old Donnie and his nanny Lex as they investigate the presence of a mysterious palm plant when their game of detective turns into a legitimate investigation.

At a brief five episode length, Donald August Versus the Land of Flowers is a simple, charming story with just the right amount of childhood innocence and the kind of summer fun that will lighten up any dreary day. 

Jack of All Trades

In search of work and a place to live, young and spry Jaclyn Seeglay, often known as Jack, gets hired at Fidus Achates as their new repairwoman, even if her own resume could use some tweaking in the truth department. 

Little to her knowledge, she’s signed up to be the company’s new paranormal hunter who must determine if the creaky floors and leaky faucets are the results of poor house planning or a poltergeist. 

Though I”m sold on the absolute disaster lesbian of a protagonist and her hilarious coworkers, Jack of All Trades comes with some surprisingly strong lore and unique takes on supernatural creatures that give its world immaculate depth.

What Can I Get Started For You?

What Can I Get Started For You? is a slice-of-life comedy mini-series that tells the story of four New York baristas passing by work days with hilarious banter and curating the perfect Spotify cue to survive the next lunch rush. 

Lucky Doll Productions has crafted the ultimate coffee shop story complete with seductive health inspector checkups and talent shows.

What Can I Get Started For You? gets by on the strength of its snappy writing, fun characters, and unique stage play framing that gives it the vibe of watching sitcom misadventures. Don’t even bother adding sugar to your coffee this morning, this show’s good vibes should be enough.

PodCube

No need to adjust your settings, PodCube is just as odd as it seems and the kind of alien experience you might be looking for if you have a taste for a weird workplace comedy. PodCube seems to be a semi-improvisation project though it might be the actors’ natural comedic flow with each other that’s got me recalling the Interdimensional Cable segments from Rick and Morty.

Despite its inherent weirdness, PodCube is a weirdly grounded look into the chaos of mainstream marketing and working under capitalistic restrictions. Between fake movie trailers and awkward press conferences, PodCube never once tries to explain itself. You should have been listening to this yesterday.

The Swashbuckling Ladies Debate Society

Now this is unfortunately a late arrival as The Swashbuckling Ladies Debate Society is on its third season as of this writing and as a fan of Barbie and The Three Musketeers I’m honestly a little sad no one told me about this sooner. 

Here we visit an alternate 20th century France in the seaside town of Massalia under the threat of brutal political corruption from a group that calls themselves The Six. It’ll take wits, cunning, and teamwork to fight the forces disturbing the peace and married lesbian couple Saffron and Zinnia are up for the challenge.

The Swashbuckling Ladies Debate Society is my greatest feminist fantasies come true complete with sword fights, fiery debates, and frilly outfits. It not only makes for some excellent historical fiction but has such contagious charisma and charm, it’ll have you rallying alongside these dashing heroines.

Maxine Miles

The newest brainchild of The Bright Sessions’ Lauren Shippen is Maxine Miles, a Nancy Drew by way of Clue audio drama with a choose your own adventure twist. Taking place in the late nineties of Hastings, New Hampshire in the eve of autumn, we join Maxine’s team in uncovering the mysteries of her town after the disappearance of one of her classmates. 

The uber-intelligent and precocious Maxine definitely has the wits to crack the case but will the secrets that plague her New England home be too much for one girl to handle? 

Maxine Miles proves to be wholesome fun with a twinge of suspense and intrigue that’ll have you nostalgic over tweenage mystery novels. You definitely won’t need a magnifying glass to see why this one is a gem.

Death by Dying

The life of an obituary writer isn’t exactly thrilling but in a world where the most unlikely of deaths come attached to haunted bicycles, evil farmers, and cats with a deadly appetite, it’s just one of few misadventures in the life of a rookie occult investigator.

Death by Dying is darkly entertaining in its bold writing choices and macabre yet hilarious subject matter, making it an excellent blend of Wooden Overcoats and Less is Morgue. You’ll enjoy Death by Dying’s smooth narration, solid comedic timing, and intriguingly insane mysteries. It’s grim yet uplifting, discusses the dead and is yet filled with life in each episode.

Hannahpocalypse

It’s the end of the world as we know it and Hannah is doing weirdly fine. From Red Fathom Entertainment comes Hannahpocalypse, a comedy/horror audio drama from the perspective of the world’s last unliving girl who has (un)survived a zombie apocalypse merged with a Terminator-style apocalypse.

Hannahpocalypse is a smartly written, tongue-in-cheek take on post apocalyptic tropes told from the perspective of the titular monster. Hannahpocalypse has weaved a funny and insanely charming piece of self aware comedy that’s a refreshing take on the usual piece of glum and gritty apocalypse fiction.

Who Killed Avril Lavigne: A Time-Traveling Pop Punk Podcast

Local teen edgelord Derek Walker has his head up in space and himself back in time when his substitute teacher sends him back to Warp Tour to investigate the disappearance of pop punk princess Avril Lavinge. From that premise alone, the best damn thing might be Who Killed Avril Lavigne: A Time-Traveling Pop Punk Podcast, a love letter to rock and the early 2000’s that will resonate with millennials and the average music fan. 

Who Killed Avril Lavigne is a nostalgic yet strangely modern piece of time-travel comedy that blends crackpot conspiracies and punk rock edge seamlessly. No reason to make things so complicated, you won’t find many things this stylistically gorgeous, absurd, and unbelievably original.

Bonus audio drama podcasts

These audio drama podcasts come from versions of this article past. We still recommend them! They remain some of the greats in audio drama podcasting.

Life With LEO(h)

The androids that don’t dream of electric sheep or are probably dreaming of long walks on the beach. From the same studio that brought you podcast darling The Bright Sessions comes Life With LEO(h), a lighthearted sci-fi comedy about the bond between girl and machine. 

In true rom-com fashion, it focuses on strict and serious Jeanine Bell whose active work life as a robotics intelligence lawyer has majorly crippled her chances at an active love life.

Luckily for her, she’s getting a relationship reboot if she wants it or not once she comes across the adorably dysfunctional, and highly illegal android LEO, Loving, Empathetic, Optimistic, and (only sorta) helpful. This show will never have you doubting if robots could ever know love. When Leo is involved, romance is always part of the equation.

Read more: Life with LEO(h): Atypical’s New Fiction Podcast About Living With a Sexy Robot 

Less is Morgue

Meet your fellow monster in this excellent comedy with a horror twist, Less is Morgue. Taking place in a fantastical Tallahassee, Florida where the supernatural is the norm, a grumpy ghoul named Riley and giddy ghost Evelyn host their own podcast from the comfort of their basement.

But this duo proves that being dead doesn’t make their days any less lively. 

Less is Morgue is smartly written, weird, and wonderfully charming with a great cast of characters, quotable dialogue, and some very solid chemistry from the main undead duo that makes every scene hauntingly hilarious.

Where The Stars Fell

From the creator of Inkwyrm comes a supernatural mystery audio drama written by Newt Schottelkotte of the always experimental Caldera Studios. It follows the not so average life of Dr. Edison Tucker, A.K.A. Ed, whose search for the paranormal might have to start with herself.

Where The Stars Fell is a story of truly biblical proportions twinged with all things existential, violent, and downright weird. Honestly, it might be best to go in blind to truly get the full experience yourself. Be not afraid and check it out. 

When Angels Visit Armadillo

Conspiracies ahoy in Christin Campbell’s When Angels Visit Armadillo. Get to know Magnolia Waters as she tells all through interviews and phone calls about a mysterious disappearance back in ‘88.

When Angels Visit Armadillo is an excellent piece of Americana, a deeply intriguing mystery with Southern flair and a sapphic story at its core. It’s a pleasant mixing pot of Alice Isn’t Dead and the previously mentioned Where The Stars Fell, and despite its short runtime, it’s got a real grit to its presentation that I can’t help but respect.

Spirit Box Radio

Set your stereos to supernatural with Spirit Box Radio, a weekly horror audio drama from Hanging Sloth Studios. When the original host, Madame Marie of Spirit Box Radio‘s Advice and Community Segment goes missing, plucky newcomer Sam Enfield will have to take her place.

But hosting a mystical radio show isn’t exactly a walk in the graveyard when the studio itself is host to terrifying secrets and its own history of hauntings. Spirit Box, with its interesting premise and wiccan vibes, should be a fun listen for anyone seeking out some new, lighthearted horror.

Seen and Not Heard

Our lead in this excellent audio drama is Bet Kline, a woman who is now legally deaf and must navigate herself around such an unexpected curveball. Seen and not Heard is a brutally honest look into living with disability that doesn’t spare a good sense of humor to get its message across.

Those who have struggled with anything be it mental health or hospital stays will find a lot of catharsis in the show’s sincerity and delicate yet bold approach. (Discloure: Caroline Mincks has written for Discover Pods.)

Read more: Seen and Not Heard: On Hearing, On Listening

Ronstadt

Spooky yet weirdly sentimental, mystical yet down to earth, cool as ice and yet hot as hell-that’s one of many ways to describe Ronstadt, a severely undepreciated supernatural noir comedy taking place in an alternative Los Angeles. Meet Rhett McLaughlin, AKA Ronstadt, a snarky, dysfunctional phone jockey thrown headfirst into the dark underbelly of L.A., here known less for its sandy beaches and overpriced coffees and instead it’s otherworldly events.

Combining the aesthetics of The Meat Blockade with the general, effortlessly cool vibe of a Juno Steel adventure, Ronstadt’s strong voice acting, crisp sound editing, and solid storytelling makes a great find for mystery and magic fans looking for that urban twist.

Only Sketches About Podcast

If you’re looking for a less linear podcast experience, you’ll definitely find it with the Only Sketches About Podcast, a grab bag of topics ranging from the mundane like camping trips and gift shops to the more abstract tales of UFO’s and clams. 

Only Sketches is always weird and always funny with a nice twinge of satire to boot. Regardless, Only Sketches is a delightfully unpredictable time with a small but strong cast delivering wonderfully weird stories in this collection of memorable skits.

The Luchador: 1000 Fights of El Fuego Fuerte

Do you ever read the title of something and immediately be sold on its premise? Well, that was the case with picking up The Luchador: 1000 Fights of El Fuego Fuerte, and luckily a pretty solid adventure comedy podcast happened to be attached to it. 

El Fuego Fuerte is a thoroughly original, bombastic joy ride filled to the gills with combat and camp you probably can’t find anywhere else. Creator Daniel Valero Fletcher shows a real love and passion for the art of masked wrestling and the series is pure passion from start to finish.

Mars’ Best Brisket/Midnight Burger

From your local restaurant comes Mars Best Brisket, a short and snacky sitcom by Ponders Productions. Join this eclectic couple as they create the first ever vegan restaurant on Mars, navigating food critics and new hires. Mars Best Brisket is cute, homey, and lovably original with strong writing and the unmistakable wholesome center of visiting a family diner to support its short runtime. 

In fact, why don’t we sandwich a similar recommendation into this with a heaping helping of Midnight Burger, the story of a seemingly normal Phoenix diner that’s actually a time bending, dimension hopping restaurant. Check out either one of these or maybe develop a craving for both. Regardless, you’re bound to leave here smiling and satisfied.

Patient 33

The podcast where the protagonist is in a coma. To be completely honest, that premise alone has sold me on Patient 33, a splice of comedy and medical drama that deconstructs the very nature of podcasts with its clever use of dissecting listener agency with this unorthodox but very creative choice of perspective.

Patient 33 is genuinely engaging with its ongoing plot and dysfunctional cast of characters, making Hope’s Memorial Hospital the hospital that never sleeps.

OBSIDIAN

Ever since checking out Adventures in New America from Night Vale Presents, I’ve been on the prowl for more afrofuturism. Luckily, speculative fiction podcast OBSIDIAN has seriously been scratching that itch for me lately in this truly excellent sci-fi anthology collection. 

OBSIDIAN is delightfully bizarre and insanely smart with inspired settings and one of a kind world building that dabbles into ideas of space travel to simulations, making for an intense, psychological romp that may spark only a minor existential breakdown.

Beautifully constructed from the ground up, OBSIDIAN is an easy yet engaging listen for anyone who wants to get lost for a while.

Kalila Stormfire’s Economical Magick Services

Fans of Alba Salix, Royal Physician will probably get a kick out of this ongoing lost gem from 2018, Kalila Stormfire’s Economical Magick Services. In this modern take on witches navigating the working world, local witch Kalila Stormfire makes a living as a one-stop shop for fixing magical (magickal?) mishaps. 

You won’t just get tarot card readings and healing crystals here because Economical Magick Services is conjuring up astral projection and speaking to the dead all at an adorable price. And, luckily for you, you can check out this excellent audio drama free of charge. 

We Fix Space Junk

A long time favorite of mine, We Fix Space Junk specifically appeals to my favorite brand of science fiction: the down on their luck, ragtag working class variety like you find in shoes like Wolf 359. 

Here we join repairwoman Kilner and her A.I. partner in crime as they take on any variety of odd jobs while narrowly avoiding being blown into space dust. We Fix Space Junk is a hilariously written, tongue-in-cheek satire that cinches its story with some great acting chops and editing all while being an impassioned love letter to the genre.

If you’re a fan of quirky space comedies like Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, you’re bound to enjoy this.

Community Cat News

Oh the things you’ll find if you dig just deep enough, and in this case, my journey concludes in the litter box. Community Cat News is exactly what it appears to be on the surface, an adorable glimpse into the minds of neighborhood cats and what makes them tick in their personal cuddly corner of the world. 

Composed entirely of short episodes, Community Cat News will make up only about five minutes or less of your day and with it sponsored by the prestigious Meow Meow Puffytail, Feline Rights Attorney, you know it’s bound to be a pur-fect entertainment for you and your own feline friend.

Brimstone Valley Mall

As a soda-chugging, pizza-munching, Twitter-account-owning degenerate who feels entitled to the kind of liveable wage a part time mall job simply can’t provide, a black comedy podcast about demons in a rock band working at a suburban shopping mall during the late nineties is a little too up my alley. 

Though my Goth phase is long past me, a show that encompasses Goth aesthetics is such a rare and incredibly welcomed facet to the considerably less Goth podcasts lying around. No time for prissy preps here, Brimstone Valley Mall is truly the epitome of what old people think rock music does to the youth-Satan worshipping and a sudden taste for leather included.

The Godshead Incidental

(Disclosure: Cole Burkhardt, who plays Lorem Ipsum, is a Discover Pods contributor.)

It usually doesn’t take much to impress me so The Godshead Incidental passing the test within a mere few seconds of its first episode is actually high praise. In this urban fantasy that’s a nice combination of The Wicked and The Divine and an episode of Parks and Recreation, comes one of the most unique takes on modernized mythology I’ve heard in years.

Get to know advice columnist Em as she tries to find her missing sister after a sudden run in with the God of Memory, throwing her into a risky partnership with the charmingly mysterious Lorem Ipsum. Witty dialogue, fantastic world building, and solid acting chops makes for a one of a kind experience. 

Read more: New Religion: “The Godshead Incidental” Review

The Magnus Archives 

As the kind of person who still gets startled by bread coming out of a toaster, I’m probably not the kind of person who should be getting personally invested in horror shows. Too bad The Magnus Archives has already sunk its teeth into me and hasn’t let go for the better half of last year. 

What starts as a loosely connected compilation of one-off horror stories becomes a densely personal psychological horror peppered with just the right amount of existential dread and body horror galore. If you can stomach what it has to offer, it’ll prove to be as satisfying as it is scary.

The Long Hallway

Perhaps blame my short attention span or growing fondness for Black Mirror, but there’s something I inevitably enjoy about anthologies. There’s definitely an art to be appreciated in the nature of a short story, how quickly we’re introduced to characters and ideas until we’re forced to jump to another one with the fate of our last gallery of heroes left completely abandoned. 

Anthology shows are in no short supply in audio drama but there’s just something about The Long Hallway that really caught my attention. Its methodical pace, its slightly eerie atmosphere, and its love for twists and subtle theming all packed in episodes that never go over eleven minutes makes it an excellent entry level podcast.

The Theatre of Tomorrow 

While still on the topic of anthologies, the first collection I found myself smitten by was easily 2017’s The Theatre of Tomorrow by Midnight Disease Productions. There’s just something so fun about shows that are wacky for wackiness sake and it takes a delicate hand to make these kinds of shows charming instead of obnoxious.

The Theatre of Tomorrow is silly but inspired by its love of retro, old-timey radio plays, granting it a sort of 1950’s aesthetic pleasantness. It’s random but never incoherent which is helped by some positively solid casting and editing, making it as hilarious as it is fabulously put together. Nothing quite tickles my fancy the way a good scripted comedy does and The Theatre of Tomorrow is a severely underappreciated relic.

Fuck Humans

Audio-fiction erotica is in itself quite a rare genre. Not that podcasts can’t talk about or include sex or sexually active charaters, but many of which can hardly call themselves legitimate smut. And for the lonely adults in the world in need of some more sizzly soundbytes comes Fuck Humans, a fantasy romance for the eighteen and older audience.

Fuck Humans manages the art of combining both smut and story and doing so with expert consistency. All around, it’s the kind of show you can enjoy with a bit of privacy…or out in the open if you’re into that sort of thing. What could have been a mere monster mash is a rather simple tale about overcoming prejudices with a sexy twist.

The Penumbra Podcast

Be it you’re tuning in for the suspenseful cyber noir of private eye Juno Steel or the medieval misadventures of many a dreamy knight at The Second Citadel, The Penumbra Podcast is one of the more popular selections to have come out in years but has certainly earned its position among the greats. Excellently crafted with great characters and even greater mysteries to uncover, any path you choose guarantees hours of wit, whimsy, and wonderful angst.

Read more: Plug in, Press Play: Reimagining Podcasts as Games

Dark Dice

I personally feel like I’m still barely toddling into the realm of DnD podcasts which is a shame given how incredibly popular they are. An easy format thanks to the improvised storytelling aspects and the wholesome company of good friends with wild imaginations, but it takes far more than just setting up some sound equipment in your mother’s basement to make a session podcast worthy.

That’s why I highly recommend Dark Dice, a grim fantasy adventure following a lovably flawed party banding together to find the missing children of a nearby village while being pursued by a shapeshifting monster. Fool and Scholar Productions creates a solid atmosphere with the kind of interesting creatures, mysterious lands, and high stakes you find in the likes of Thrilling Adventure Zone and Critical Role. So roll for initiative and check it out.

Rover Red: Alone in the Apocalypse 

As someone so hung up on their own nostalgia that they still have Adobe Flash installed on their computer purely out of spite, it’s no wonder I’m still not over Rover Red: Alone in the Apocalypse, a gloriously short-lived science fiction thriller that debuted in 2017 and, much like a sentient implant drilled into my ear canal, hasn’t left my mind since. 

In this rather intense show we follow the adventures of Leah as she navigates the ruined remains of a post-apocalyptic world with only an artificial intelligence and the motivation to find her brother pushing her through increasingly difficult trials that a mysterious council, i.e. listeners, were able to vote on.

Even if there’s only so few episodes to spare, it’s worth a peak regardless for its iron hard tension, excellent world building, and blend of psychological horror and science fiction adventure that makes Ender’s Game look like Little Einsteins.

THE INFINITE NOW

As far as non-linear, artsy shows go, THE INFINITE NOW  is a short and sweet but certainly fun little detour. To describe the show’s premise is a bit of a tall order as it’s more or less a random selection of spacy monologues narrated by the show’s creator Richard Penner. But if you have a taste for surrealism, existential horror, and some atmospheric music, it’s an excellent selection to backtrack your next blunt rotation with some close friends.

The Meat Blockade

High-brow surrealist comedy with singing pirate frogs and lamb scrotum isn’t the kind of thing you’d be bragging about in your next book club but somebody’s gotta break the ice, especially if you’re in the similar company of Kafka enthusiasts. 

The Meat Blockade by the Hennesy brothers is a thrillingly absurd look into the unlucky life of Karl Berenger as he desperately tries to crawl his way back home after one single choice lands him in the gaping maw of Nighttown. Gorgeously edited, fabulously acted, and never slacking in surprises, it’s a wonderfully bizarre romp that wears its inspiration on its sleeves.

SAYER

A favorite, always going to be a favorite, and is still a favorite to this day. SAYER is the science fiction horror audio drama debut of Adam Bash who has weaved a positively fascinating if terrifying futuristic dystopia. And it’s through the eyes of the titular SAYER, as well as a number of other equally dysfunctional artificial intelligences, that we learn about the dark secrets and darker tragedies befalling the citizens of Typhon.

Hadron Gospel Hour

Hadron Gospel Hour is the kind of show your dad would like, maybe even my dad would like, but that hasn’t stopped teenage me or adult me from being insanely fond of easily one of my favorite audio drama sci-fi comedies.

With its wacky dimension hopping, reality bending mishaps, and chaotic duo of a mad scientist and average joe, Hadron Gospel Hour was Rick and Morty before Rick and Morty was cool, so it’s worth a listen simply for that level of hipster street cred.

Return Home

Small towns with big secrets is common ground to tread for many fiction series with varying levels of success. There’s something just so oddly humble about the hidden secrets of an average community being brought to the forefront and it’s things like Return Home that reminds me of the potential they have to be fun, wonderfully bizarre experiences. 

Though it may not be for everyone, Return Home is one of those shows that has a little bit of everything: comedy, strange supernatural forces, and romance all wrapped up in a package that’s so unashamedly authentic.

With a loveable trio as the leads and an interesting slew of monsters to pick from, this long trip to Melancholy Falls is a nice blend of creative and campy.

Adventures in New America

Night Vale Presents is nothing short of a seal of quality around these parts so it’s no wonder that shows like Within the Wires and Alice Isn’t Dead are such beloved audio drama favorites that still have just the slightest DNA of our favorite desert town in its veins. And though those shows are darling to me, Adventures in New America feels like a truly unique entity.

Branching off from the more Americana-esque vibes of Night Vale Presents other works, this show decides to walk in the pond of political satire with a cyberpunk twist. In this “Afrofuturistic buddy comedy”, tag along with best friends IA and Simon Carr as they wind up in increasingly more absurd heist missions on the dangerous streets of New New York City for the deliberate goal of landing in jail for the benefit of free health insurance. 

Be it you’re in the mood for social commentary or foul mouthed and funny exchanges, you’re bound to be seeing things in neon after one listen.

Steal the Stars

Written by Mac Rogers, Steal the Stars is the story of Dakota “Dak” Prentiss, a government worker on a secret test site. She and her team are tasked with looking after Moss, the comatose body of an alien named for the moss-like substance growing on its body, and its baffling ship that emits deadly waves.

The project is so dangerous that Dak’s higher-ups have completely forbidden the team from becoming attached to each other. No friends. No confidants. And definitely no hookups–which becomes more difficult when the painfully attractive Matt Salem is hired. What starts as a pulpy romance slowly turns into a political intrigue thriller, a heist, and one of the most memorable final episodes in audio drama to date.

Harlem Queen

Audio drama is known for being heavy on the sci-fi and horror, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t great realistic fiction. Based on the true story of “Numbers Queen” Madame Stephanie St. Clair, mobster and gambler, Harlem Queen is a historical fiction podcast set during the Harlem Renaissance. Harlem Queen is jazzy, glamorous, and exciting–but it also doesn’t shy away from the realities of being black, and especially being a black woman, in the American 1920’s.

Wolf 359

Wolf 359 was an audio drama space opera, set in a massive space station orbiting the eponymous red dwarf star. What starts out as a lighthearted story about the lackadaisical protagonist Doug Eiffel being bored in space eventually becomes an action-packed, dramatic, heart-wrenching story about the cost of the greater good, the path to redemption, what it means to be human, and overcoming trauma. Wolf 359 concluded its four-season run at the end of 2017, making it a perfect completed story to listen to without worrying about staying current.

The Big Loop

The Big Loop is a somewhat sci-fi, somewhat magical realism anthology series created by Paul Bae of the well-known horror fiction podcast The Black Tapes. Each episode of The Big Loop is a different story, meaning you can skip around and jump in whenever you’d like. Each episode also feels like a different genre: “The Studio” is a sort of ghost story, “YOU” is about an astronaut and her AI, and “All God’s Children” is somewhere between comedy and Lovecraftian horror. If you’re in for a supernatural story with some heavy emotional punches, though, “Goodbye Mr. Adams” is a great place to start.

CARAVAN

A product of audio drama cornerstone The Whisperforge, CARAVAN is a buckwild journey into a story about demons, vampires, banshees, and the caravans that slay them. Protagonist Samir is a play on a typical nerdy everyman genre fiction hero, with the important differences that he’s queer, Desi, and explicitly not thin. As Samir falls into an otherworldly, weird west canyon, he teams up with a traveling group of demon hunters but winds up seeing how he can change their ways to be more ethical. CARAVAN plays with genre, the hero’s journey, and eroticism in one big, unabashed, thrilling bundle.

36 Questions

If you’re looking for a realistic fiction story you can get through in an afternoon and you’re not against the idea of musicals, 36 Questions is a great first foray into audio drama podcasts. This 3-part limited series is a full musical about a husband and wife who are recently separated and their attempts to rekindle their romance–or snuff it out for good. The songs are gorgeous and catchy with lyrics that balance profoundness with authenticity. It’s a fiction podcast you won’t be able to get out of your head, whether because of the songs or the incredible characters singing them.

Alba Salix, Royal Physician

Alba Salix is a comedy audio drama about a royal physician in a fantastical realm, trying her hardest to make her patients understand common sense. It’s one part Scrubs, one part Monty Python, one part Robin Hood: Men in Tights. It’s an easy listen even with an overarching plot that delivers fast-paced jokes and ridiculous characters. If you want to get an introduction to audio drama podcasts but maybe without so much drama, Alba Salix is delightfully whimsical, light-hearted, and hilarious.

The Amelia Project

The Amelia Project is a comedy audio drama about a company that helps clients fake their deaths and start anew, complete with faked identities. Each episode is a consultation with the prospective client to find out why they want their death faked, how they want it do be faked, and how they want to come back. The comedy is absurd and twisted without ever being to gritty or macabre. The level of creativity in The Amelia Project is already enough to make it a great listen, but the acting and sound design are both just as impressive.

For more on The Amelia Project, make sure to read Morgan Hines’s interview with its creators.

Greater Boston

Greater Boston feels like the Mike Schur equivalent in the podcast world. Like Brooklyn 99 or Parks and Recreation, Greater Boston takes place in a hyperbolic version of a real place. Like The Good Place, that level of hyperbole is sometimes brought to bizarre high-concept episodes with an almost supernatural feel. Greater Boston takes place after the world’s most boring man dies on a roller coaster, and the podcast only gets more surprising, hilarious, and intriguing from there.

Fan Wars: The Empire Claps Back

Rom-coms are finally returning to popular culture, including in podcasts. Fan Wars: The Empire Claps Back is a romantic dramedy about two fans on the opposite sides of many debates in the Star Wars discourse. It’s a classic setup: two hot-headed opponents make assumptions about each other, expect the worst from each other, and then consistently surprise themselves when they find common ground and maybe even common attraction. Wrap the premise up in some cosplay and give it a lightsaber and you’re in for a great listen.

Limetown

Limetown is an audio drama that straddles the line between science fiction and horror. Framed like an investigated journalism podcast a la Serial, Limetown follows a reporter trying to find out what happened to a town where everyone suddenly went missing ten years ago. Limetown packs so much character development into its first season, with most episodes following a specific interviewee, but it balances character with one of the most riveting plots I’ve ever heard. After several years, Limetown is returning with its second season on October 31st–yes, Halloween–2018, as well as releasing a prequel novel set when Limetown was founded.

The Bright Sessions

The Bright Sessions is a character-driven audio drama about people with superpowers going to therapy. Don’t shy away if you’re not a fan of big superhero blockbusters, though–The Bright Sessions is much more Friday Night Lights than The Avengers. It’s a gorgeous character study, but it also has a plot that focuses on government conspiracies, well-researched discussions of mental health, and some beautiful love stories. The Bright Sessions is also being adapted as a TV show and three spinoff novels, so make sure to catch up first.

Marsfall

Marsfall is a newer addition to the audio drama world, but it’s already being regarded as one of the best in the scene. This science fiction audio drama follows a different character’s perspective each episode as they land on Mars for an expedition. The changing point of view adds depth to each part of its somewhat large cast while also complicating the ethics so often discussed in the plot. Marsfall also proves that large-scale action sequences are not only possible in audio, but can also be beautiful.

Station to Station

Station to Station is a horror audio drama that turns the audio medium on its head. Plenty of audio drama podcasts give a reason for their story to take place in audio, but Station to Station subverts this with internal monolgues and changing perspectives. This fiction podcast follows a researcher on a massive ship whose research partner never showed up for the voyage–but did leave the protagonist some audio recordings. Station to Station is an audio drama that you could listen to casually, but it’s best when given the time and attention one might give Lost or Westworld, and it merits just as much theorizing.

The post 15 Audio Drama Podcasts to Get You Hooked on Fiction appeared first on Discover the Best Podcasts | Discover Pods.

As creators, we talk a lot about representation, but we don’t always get into why it matters beyond a vague “it’s important to see everyone reflected in media” statement. While that’s absolutely true, because the way marginalized people are presented in our media affects how they are viewed in real life, it goes way beyond just slapping an Ashkenazi surname on a character and calling it a day. Not to say that’s not a valid form of representation in its own way – there are plenty of people for whom that’s where their connection to their Judaism stops – but we need to see more variation in these characters in audio drama before we can actually claim to be representative. 

Read more: Most De(a)f Representation in Podcasting

Upon entering the world of audio drama, I found so many opportunities to not only create Jewish characters for myself to play, but to create Jewish characters who were vastly different from one another, who approach their Judaism and practice their religion – or not – in their own way. My Jewishness is a big part of my identity, and I jumped at the chance to see it reflected in ways that felt real, natural, and respectful in the audio dramas I work on.

When I was cast in This Planet Needs a Name, the creator, Evan Tess Murray, worked closely with each of the actors to craft our characters from the ground up. We were given reign to help invent these people, to define who they were and what drove them. Zahava Silberberg was born of my desire to see a practicing, religious Jewish character in this setting. Many sci-fi stories, especially those set far into the future, imply that humans have evolved past the concept of religion, and I thought it would be interesting to take a different approach. The first time we meet Zahava, we hear her say a blessing over a piece of cheese, sing a lullaby in Hebrew, and muse to her late husband and wife – the latter of whom was a rabbi – about what it will mean to start life over on an entirely new world. Another character, Cyrus, gives Zahava the gift of challah and candles along with her new house, and Zahava instructs each of the Nameless Crew to choose a day of the week as their day of rest – their own Shabbat. 

Jewish history is filled with examples of times of persecution, of violence, of genocide. To see a character like Zahava means that Jews not only survived this far into the future, but have thrived and kept traditions alive. Zahava embodies the value of tikkun olam, which means “repair of the world”. It guides her in her decision-making and leadership and informs her entire worldview. In This Planet Needs a Name, to repair the world meant to leave the old one behind and start anew, to form a new earth so that humanity may continue. Zahava is someone who knowingly signed up to live out the rest of her days with just a handful of other people as her only company, leading an uncertain life into an even less certain future, all so that what remains of the world may have a chance. Zahava’s Judaism is not only her religion, but her philosophy, culture, history, and future. 

Of course, not all Jews are particularly religious, but many still retain a connection to their religion in some way. This is the case for Bet Kline in Seen and Not Heard, who describes herself as believing in God “sometimes” when speaking to her rabbi. The rabbi more or less says they feel a similar way, and later states that they’re no more of an authority on God than Bet is – they just did more of the reading. Rather than this show focusing on the religion of Judaism, it uses certain parts of the philosophy and culture to tell the story. The rabbi prescribes rest and community rather than prayer as a remedy for Bet’s difficulties.

Read more: Seen and Not Heard: On Hearing, On Listening

The story itself takes place around the High Holidays and specifically touches on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. While the closest we ever get to a religious declaration from Bet is a reference to her “semi-piousness in direct proximity to Yom Kippur,” she still observes these important days. She is at a tipping point in her life around Rosh Hashanah, and while she celebrates in a secular way – no mention of God but plenty of mention of the dinner menu – the beginning of the self-reflective Days of Awe occur at this moment in Bet’s life in a way that spurs her into taking more assertive action in the next episode. She touches on what Yom Kippur really means (not seeking forgiveness, but practicing atonement) when she confronts her mother Elaine about her lack of support for Bet’s new life as a deaf person. She gives Elaine a direct, specific suggestion for how amends might be made for recent hurts, and we see Bet begin to make much more progress toward healing. 

By drawing on the importance of these holidays and Bet’s relationship to her Judaism without actually making the story about religion, without making it Jewish People Doing Jewish Things Jewishly, it allowed me to touch on the way Jewish identity informs other areas of life. Bet may or may not actually fast on Yom Kippur, but she for damn sure takes what it represents seriously and applies it in actionable ways in her personal life. 

And then you have the least religious of the bunch, Mincks from Hughes and Mincks: Ghost Detectives and Janine from Light Hearts. Both are canonically Jewish, but neither even makes mention of it until the holiday special episodes. In Janine’s case, it’s particularly offhanded, just a bit of talk about latkes and menorahs and some reflection on how Chanukah was celebrated when she was a kid.

The episode with Mincks, however, entitled “Eight Ghosts, Nine Opinions”, leans hard into using Jewishness as a basis for comedy, and even veers into the stereotypical at times. This is a difficult balancing act, but the base of successful Jewish comedy that doesn’t end up being harmful lies in A) being written by a Jew who has the cultural awareness and connection necessary, B) not using the humor to actually make a statement about Judaism, and C) approaching the characters from a place of kindness and positivity.  

I often see people say that they’d like to write Jewish characters but aren’t sure how, and that they worry about the possibility of accidentally leaning into dangerous rhetoric. This concern is absolutely valid, and is actually a very valuable thing to feel – antisemitism is as alive as ever, and it is vital to avoid feeding into it. As with any other sort of representation, the key is to approach it responsibly. Do the research. Ask the questions. Hire the sensitivity readers. Be willing – without doubling down – to accept criticism of your portrayal if it is offered. If a poor attempt at representation earns more than a sigh and a weary “goyim gonna goy”, it’s serious enough to be addressed and corrected.

Actually? Scratch that. 

Address and correct it if it gets the “goyim gonna goy” reaction. We’re tired. 

The point is this: there is no one way to portray Jewish characters. There is no way to portray all of Judaism in one go. There are, however, necessary steps to take in order to ensure that characters are created in ways that are safe and that do not put real Jewish people in danger. Steps that help dispel the notion that we are some sort of monolith, that we are interchangeable. Not all of us are American, white, and Ashkenazi. It’s especially important, if you are a member of a religious majority or are part of the majority culture regardless of your religious beliefs, that you examine your portrayals closely. Depending on how you were raised, there may be a lot of what you consider the norm that is actually influenced by religion (when breaks from school or work are scheduled, for example). If you want to create Jewish characters, it may require more self-reflection than you expect – don’t shy away from it! 

As is my right as a Jew, I’m going to leave you with a conclusion in the form of a joke: 

Two Jews stayed up all night, debating the existence of God. By sunup, they had come to the conclusion that there was no God, never had been and never would be. They parted ways and went home, armed with this new and unshakable knowledge. 

The next day, the first Jew walked past the synagogue on their way to work and saw the second inside, kippah and tallit on, praying. Confused, the first went inside and approached the second. 

“What are you doing here?” the first Jew asked. “Didn’t we just agree that there’s no such thing as God?”

The second Jew shrugged at the first and said “What’s that got to do with anything?”

The post Jewish Representation in Audio Drama (and Why it Matters) appeared first on Discover the Best Podcasts | Discover Pods.

So I collected a list of some of my favorite podcasts and analyzed how they nourish me. Just as food has, they do appear to provide me with nourishment in the form of grounding, reflecting and connecting. 

Tara Brach 

During the past year I’ve started to use a lot of audio content to help with the inevitable stress and anxiety that comes with changes as big as we’ve all had to deal with. One of the most helpful of these finds is Brach’s podcast. Her advice, stories and humor are so soothing that I find myself calm after just 1 or 2 minutes into an episode. Brach is a Buddhist meditation teacher that balances Eastern and Western spiritual practices and ideas. But honestly, I find her storytelling method to be like listening to a friend. She is funny, grounded, insightful and practical. The episodes vary from just stories to help us handle life’s challenges to guided meditations and sometimes a combination of these two. It’s usually rare for me to relisten to a podcast episode but find her podcast breaks this rule for me. 

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

Real Ass Affirmations 

Chisa Pennix-Brown is humorous in her attempt to calm and soothe her audience but with more of a punch. As you can guess from the title of this podcast, there is cursing involved in her rants and affirmations sometimes. But it’s not crude or offensive. And that rawness is what I love about these short bursts of reality check episodes. Pennix-Brown does not sugar coat anything. Instead, she guides us through one difficult situation at a time with quick, hilarious and biting honesty. But somehow she does this with a gentleness that’s super comforting. Pennix-Brown is the kind of friend that you’d want to reach out to when you wanted blunt, honest feedback that would cut hours and maybe even days off of your self torturous thoughts. It’s one of the most refreshing podcasts that I’ve heard in a long time. 

Read more: The 71 Best Podcasts of 2020

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

I Like The Sound

I am a huge fan of curiosity driven podcasts and this is one of my favorites. It is also in my grounding podcast toolbox because of the atmospheric nature of the episodes. Frank Burton of Ragbag Podcast carefully crafts this sound oriented podcast in the most delightful way. There is a bit of narration but the sounds in every episode are the main characters. For example, in episode 15, “Falling Snow”, the sounds of the snow are internationally the focus. He walks us through the sounds that he captures so we not only hear but see where they are happening. He’s honest that this podcast is a sound experiment. He does not delete the sounds that are not, well, audibly impressive. Instead, he comments on how he can change the sound characteristics, when possible, to make “a more pleasing sound” next time. Unlike all spoken word podcasts, these types of episodes really make me focus on every sound, every moment, and it slows me down. It grounds me. And I appreciate it so much. 

Listen: Podchaser | Stitcher 

The next set of podcasts are reflection focused. 

Bag Ladiez

In a year where I’m consciously ignoring a large part of the news cycle, I’m intrigued by what Estephanie & Lina are doing in their podcast. They are 2 Bronx Afro-Latinas who are balancing the staying informed and staying calm thing far better than I am. They talk about current events in their episodes but it does not at all increase my anxiety at all. Instead, I’m inspired by how they are able to tackle topics like income disparity, masks resistance, anti-blackness and more. But they are not just helping me to stay informed as I block out sensationalistic major “news” sources. They provide perspectives on these issues that I’m not used to hearing. And they do so while being playful, informed, connected and angry. Because to insight change sometimes you have to show your anger. And I’m glad that they are showing us how to channel our anger into making change. We need change and we need Estephanie and Lina. 

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

Wǒ Men podcast: Modern China from the Inside

Yajun Zhang and Jingjing Zhang are two Chinese women who examine modern Chinese culture with a global mindset. The podcast name itself shows you how culturally playful and inquisitive they are: “wǒ men” in Mandarin Chinese means “we” in English but it also looks like the English word “women.” This is intentional. The podcast dives into women’s lives in the fast paced, rapidly changing China. Yajun and Jingjing explore intimate details of modern day Chinese culture that include their LGBTQ+ community, sexual assault, online dating, plastic surgery and so much more. They don’t shy away from topics, they dive into them head first. Even while asking their guests difficult questions, they are always light hearted and respectful. This is a strong podcast from two people who want to share aspects of their culture with the English speaking audience. 

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

Brown Girls Read

Daman Tiwana and Khyati Thakur are my kind of bookworms. They read across genres, are not shy about their opinions, and openly share content connections to their Indian backgrounds. Because their personal connection to reading and to each other is so strong, I find myself listening to them talk about books that I normally would not consider reading. For example, I’d been successfully ignoring a certain productivity book for years. But when they reviewed it and applied it to their daily lives last July, I could not resist. The points in the book that they highlighted sounded really useful so I decided to read it. Not surprisingly, I found immediate and needed improvements in my life. Because Daman, Khyati and I seem to value similar things in life, I know I can trust their blunt and detailed reviews of books.

Listen: Apple Podcasts |Spotify

Faster Than Normal

I have not been officially diagnosed with ADD or ADHD but after reading Peter Shankman’s book by the same name podcast last year, I knew I didn’t need to. I’ve always processed things faster and very differently than others. I didn’t realize how much I internalized a certain shame with my neurodiversity until finding FTN. The beauty of both the book and the podcast is that Peter exudes such a positive, zero shame energy about his own faster than normal brain that it’s hard to stay self critical. Throughout the episodes I’ve realized that he’s right, we are not weird or wrong, we are different. And our differences can be used to our advantage. The tips that his guests share of accepting their FTN brain give examples on how to do this. In this podcast he’s really doing an amazing job helping to reframe the negative stigma around ADD/ADHD and to move us to the point of accepting ourselves. Myself. Yourself. Ourselves. It’s truly a beautiful thing. 

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

Finally, here are some podcasts that help me connect to the larger world around me.   Spoiler, they also teach me quite a bit in the process. 

Seen and Not Heard

I followed this podcast because of what Caroline Mincks, the Creator, was doing in the podcasting space to educate people about making podcasts more accessible to deaf, Deaf and hearing impaired folks.I was prepared for an audio drama that was informed, educational and useful. What I wasn’t fully ready for the soft and addictive nature of this story. Bet, the lead character, is vulnerably lost and honest, making her way through the world after a life changing illness affected her hearing greatly. As she struggles with her own place in this new world, I  find myself comparing our parallel emotional lives. But I’m also gaining insights into deaf and Deaf environments, communities and norms. This is a gorgeous story of loss, gain and the human connection and I am a more connected person for having listened to it. You will be too! (Disclosure: Caroline Mincks has contributed to Discover Pods.)

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

AfroQueer

The stories in this podcast are brutally honest and sometimes it’s hard to keep going.  So far I’ve learned about controversial films like Rafiki, a gay wedding in Nigeria that went viral online, African gay fiction Writers, and so much more. The episode “Choices,” for example, is a powerful telling of a roller coaster ride of a queer African love story that started out online. I kid you not, while listening to this episode I shouted at my phone “walk away, she’s lying to you.” That’s how delicately they craft these stories for the podcast. There are so many layers of emotions and complications to these stories. These stories that need to be heard: in and outside of the African continent. 

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

Hit Parade

Even though music has personally inspired and defined entire segments of my life, I rarely take the time to sit down and contextualize all of the factors that go into making it. And that’s why I love listening to Hit Parade. Pop-Chart Analyst Chris Molanphy takes deep dives into many different genres of music such as yacht rock, heavy metal, country, rap and more. With incredible research acumen he creates a web of interconnectivity between music and history. 

And this is why I’m still mad at Chris for last year’s Billy Joel episode. In painstaking detail he described how Mr. Joel may have etched out a music career by riding trends instead of honing his own craft. It was a painful realization for a musical landscape that my childhood was built on. But then again, it was a geniusly crafted argument. And he might be right. But I won’t ever admit that. I’m keeping the faith. 

  Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

After pondering the effects of these podcasts I think it’s safe to say that yes, we are what we listen to. Or at least, I am what I listen to. I want to be at least. I want to be grounded, reflective and connected and I feel like podcasts help me reach these goals, even on iffy days. What podcasts do you eat–I mean, listen to–for nourishment? 

The post You Are What You Listen To: How Podcast Listening Nourishes Me appeared first on Discover the Best Podcasts | Discover Pods.

This show hit close to home for me in ways that are both obvious and hard to articulate. Ignoring the fact that, for a third of my life, my mother lived with a massive hearing loss, what cut me to my very core was the relationship Seen and Not Heard’s protagonist had with their family: one that was strained and full of willful miscommunication. But the thing that I came out of it understanding was how very human it is to be your own best advocate, even when that doesn’t feel like enough.

Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Website | RSS

Transcripts can be found linked in the show notes of each episode.

Over the course of four micro-prologues, we’re introduced to Bet Kline, a Virginia-based food photographer who came down with an unnamed illness and began to lose their hearing as an adult. We see them go to an ASL (American Sign Language) class for the very first time, intimidated both by their inability to keep up and the gut feeling that the whole endeavor is fraught because none of their loved ones will learn alongside them. We meet their mother, father, sister, and eventual new friend at a busy restaurant where they can barely track the conversation happening around them and are chastised for not wearing their hearing aids, despite their stated discomfort after a long day in them.

Read more: “Everything Is Alive” Defies Genre and Expectations

It’s the early 90’s and my mother, a lifelong Speech-Language Pathologist, begins to lose her hearing. However, unlike Bet and so many others, the specific cause of her loss is apparent: otosclerosis, which is the calcification of your ossicles, one of the three bones that make up your inner ear. Sound is an intrinsic part of my mother’s life and career, so she’ll do anything to maintain her access to it. She’s gotten herself a hearing aid, and though it does a lot to help, her inability to experience the world around her in stereo sends her into a deep depression.

Fortunately for her, there’s a surgery that could possibly slow the process of her increased decibel loss, if not outright reverse it. Then again, there is a 1% chance that, instead of slowing it down, her hearing could deteriorate more rapidly. But in 1998, my loving mother takes a chance on her future and goes under the knife for a stapedectomy. Only, instead of removing the calcified bone like he’s supposed to, her first surgeon forces the disarticulated ossicles back together in an attempt to correct the issue manually. 

And, afterward, when he asks her to recite the Spondee Words (two-syllable words with equal stress on each syllable, which are employed to obtain thresholds for speech) that have been whispered into her ear, she doesn’t at first realize that she’s memorized them from her own time in college. She’s in a state of twilight anesthesia and relying on her memory and doesn’t immediately recognize that, against all hope, she’s fallen into that 1% of patients who will eventually lose any hearing that she has left in her operated ear.

By the time the series begins in earnest, we’re fully entrenched within the Kline family dynamic. And while, with this being a slice-of-life style drama, there are no direct villains to root against: we do understand quickly why Bet would view learning ASL as a pointless exercise. Their mother, Elaine, is a proud music teacher who seems more offended that her kid is no longer able to engage with her compositions than she is concerned with their health and well-being. Their father, Joe, is an emotionally supportive and loving man who is too busy making excuses for his wife to advocate for Bet. And their sister, Sarah, while on her sibling’s side emotionally, is much more comfortable keeping the peace than pointing out their parents’ hypocrisy alongside them.

There’s an increased focus on the cost of their ASL class and an assertion that by investing time and money in that skill, Bet will somehow allow their culinary skills to atrophy in the process. As if learning a new form of communication that will give them a more accessible life is some kind of fun throwaway hobby. It makes for an isolating experience and fraught dynamic that I think will resonate deeply, especially within millennials raised by closed-off Boomers.

Seen and Not Heard is a show about loudly and proudly advocating for yourself, even when those around you won’t show you the same kind of respect. But it’s also a show that demonstrates how hard that can be, and how sometimes: maintaining a toxic family dynamic is easier than the alternative.

In the early 2000’s I’m an incredibly in the closet baby queer who has spent years experimenting sexually with some of the boys in my life. And one day, in the car on a sunny summer evening as my father drives me the two miles to one of their houses for a sleepover, I’m confronted with my own uncomfortable truth. My step-brother has learned from the neighbor about my proclivities, and now my step-mother is using that fact against my father in her threat of divorce.

My father, who’s already awkward in any conversation that isn’t about technology or tv, stumbles his way through a Seinfeld quote: “Not that there’s anything wrong with that,” he begins, “but you’re too young for that sort of thing. And besides, that’s… just not you.” As if somehow, through his creation of me, he’s also able to make that kind of decision about the way I’m wired.

The pit in my stomach that grows during this confrontation feels endless. I ache to get to the comfort of my friend’s house, and out of the car where I’ll have to talk about it anymore. I deny the truth with every fabric of my being, which brings my father comfort, even if some part of him probably realizes that I’m lying. I pray that that will be the end of that, but the sinister fight or flight mechanism I’d developed years ago during my parents’ divorce rears its ugly head. And I’m plunged into one of the deepest depressions of my life.

I’d be remiss to talk about Seen and Not Heard and not highlight the incredible sound design that crops up in small, but deeply affecting moments across the series. (Full disclosure: Tal Minear, who sound designed the show, is also a writer for DiscoverPods). The series begins in a restaurant with Bet’s family’s dialogue sounding far off and distorted and their inner monologue introduces the situation. They’re kind enough to drop the pretense after a moment, understanding how disorienting the experience must be for the audience, but still gives you the kind of glimpse into what their, and by proxy, creator Mincks’, life is like on a daily basis.

But the true standout moment in the entire season comes a few episodes later, as Bet attends a school concert put on by Elaine’s students. It’s hard to explain what exactly they’re experiencing at this moment: as bits and bobs of the children’s voices come in reverberated, mechanical waves lacking both clarity and melody. The experience is incredible, and the scope of aural language these two creators’ developed during this scene is breathtaking. 

Mincks initially planned to sound design the series themself but realized quickly that they were in over their head. They understood innately how important it was to get their experience with hearing loss in a way that would translate for a hearing audience, and how they needed a hearing sound designer in order to achieve their vision. You can hear Mincks and Minear discuss the process in-depth in one of the series fantastic interview episodes, available in Seen and Not Heard’s RSS feed.

Mincks and I take the time to speak on Discord about their various attempts to write this story over the last several years. How it existed in various different formats, and how, it isn’t until they’ve found the fiction podcast community that they realized they’d discovered the perfect story to explore their truth. Beyond discussing Bet’s deafness and the overall strained family dynamics portrayed, we stumbled onto another aspect of their real-life identity that made it into the show: OCD.

David, the waiter from the third prologue who eventually becomes Bet’s close friend, is an artist with a strained familial relationship of his own. And we learn that that comes not only from his father’s desire for him to be masculine; to play sports instead of making art, but also because of elements of his mental illness that are beyond his control. Yelling at him for counting his steps or turning the light off an on a certain number of times.

What I love about the way this show tackles OCD, in particular, is that it doesn’t fall into the trap that so many media portrayals have before it: it doesn’t manifest as Adrian Monk’s quirky germaphobia, or Monica Gellar’s Type-A need for things to be organized, but instead as an obsessive, needling thought that can send you into an intense anxiety spiral and ruin your whole day, if not longer.

The OCD that David experiences Seen and Not Heard is not cute, in the way that we’re so used to seeing. It is a serious mental illness that is treated as such. When asked if Mincks originally intended to create a single character with both aspects of their real life, they admit that, while that was initially the case, it became too hard to balance those aspects in a single character. Deciding to have David experience a disability of his own, separate from Bet’s deafness, opened up a lot of story opportunities. Allowing each character to understand and support the other, if not fully, then at least better than either of their own families will ever try to.

Read more: How to make your podcast more accessible using transcripts

By 2005, after years of bullying for my queer identity, my internalized homophobia and social anxiety have morphed into full-blown suicidal ideation. My mother fiercely advocates for my need to get help: first through talk therapy, and then eventually, through a low dose of anti-depressants. My father, ever the Boomer he is, is furious. He doesn’t understand what I could possibly have to be depressed about when my every need is taken care of and I have every instrument, or video game, or CD I could possibly want for. Angry that I could feel that any decisions they’ve made for my life could’ve been done in error and that I’d talk to anyone outside of the family about private matters.

He and my stepmother sit me down in the den of our home to talk to me about the dangers of medication. How they’ll make me put on unnecessary weight as if a few extra pounds are more detrimental to my well-being than the desire to no longer exist. It is a battle, but one that my mother and I ultimately persevere through, as my needs are taken care of and I receive access to the care I need to survive despite them.

There is something about our parents’ generation that finds strength in bottling everything up. Like somehow, if we keep everything in the furthest reaches of our psyches and just put on a good face for the world, we’ll be healthy and well-adjusted people. And, in excavating those deeply traumatic parts of ourselves, we’re dredging up thoughts and feelings too painful to have again. As if holding onto them and never discussing it means we’ve healed.

We watch this play out in real-time as Seen and Not Heard progresses. Bet’s grandmother’s health has been in decline for a while, but when she falls ill and the family needs to visit her on her deathbed, they’re given the chance to confront their mother for her failings. Joe and Sarah are inconsolable at their impending loss, whereas Elaine is in control mode: making the calls necessary to mitigate the situation on a practical level, if not being there for her family emotionally. Bet points out Elaine’s inability to be there for them during their own time in the hospital which they haven’t forgiven her for and says that she has the opportunity to make amends by being there for her husband and daughter now. Here, we’re given the most in-depth look at Elaine’s trauma yet and learn a story about her own childhood witnessing her mother’s death at a young age, which helps a lot of her failings during Bet’s illness click into place.

It’s 2013 and my mother has found another surgeon willing to try giving her another stapedectomy. At this point, she has lived for 15 years deaf in one ear, with a variety of hearing aids and a purse full of loose batteries, and her optimism for the procedure isn’t high. Chances are nothing about her life will change, and she’s okay with that fact, but her new surgeon’s willingness gives her hope.

I’m living in Brooklyn in my first year after college making no money and in the market for a new pair of Doc Marten’s. It’s two weeks after my mom’s surgery, which seems to have been a success, despite the fluid buildup that’s prevented her from knowing for certain how much of her hearing has gotten back. I’m torn between a cheap pair on sale I don’t like as much, and a more expensive pair with a lifetime warranty. 

For the first time in almost two decades, my mom, without telling me, tries to put the phone up to her previously deaf ear. And as I ramble to her about the pros and cons of my decision, I can hear happy tears in her voice. The surgery has done its job. Her hearing is back. And to celebrate that fact, she tells me to buy the better pair of boots.

Seen and Not Heard is a series that does many things very, very well. It depicts a variety of incredibly human emotions and experiences in a visceral way. It illustrates multiple disabilities with a deftness I’d yet to see in any medium done as artfully or true to life. Mincks gives us a story of forgiveness and support and familial love and failings that remind us what it’s like to truly be human. And it does all of this without the sci-fi or fantasy trappings that so many other shows in the medium use to explore the world in a way that is one step removed. It is a masterclass in storytelling, performance, and sound design, and I genuinely hope that you will give it a chance.

The post Seen and Not Heard: On Hearing, On Listening appeared first on Discover the Best Podcasts | Discover Pods.

Before I really get into it, I want to take a moment to define my own identity as well as some terms I will be using throughout the article. The reason I pitched this article was because I am deaf. I began to lose my hearing in sophomore year of college, and, despite my best efforts, my hearing has been slowly degrading ever since. I wrote this article not just to highlight Deaf creators, but to also explore the ways I and others could continue to engage with the podcasting community, in spite of our disability.

So! Some terms I will need to define. Deaf (with an uppercase “D”) is generally referred to someone with no functional hearing or someone who has been Deaf from birth. It can also be used to describe people who are culturally “active members” of the Deaf Community, meaning they communicate in sign language and consider being Deaf a cultural identity. The word deaf (with a lowercase “d”) usually refers to someone who has gradually lost their ability to hear and/or do not consider themselves to be apart of the Deaf Community. Hard of Hearing (or “HoH”), simply put, is just a term to refer to someone with mild to moderate hearing loss. With all of that out of the way, let’s dive into it.

What the Deaf?!

The What the Deaf?! podcast, an unscripted, conversational podcast, offers one of the most honest looks into what it means to be Deaf in a hearing world, and does so in a way I had never heard (haha) of before. The hosts of this podcast, Sarah Tubert and Carly Weyers, communicate via American Sign Language, with Carly Weyers being voiced in English by Jenny Corum. The two (well, three), discuss everything, from identity to dating to the struggles of their day to day lives. Tubert and Weyers aim to educate the hearing community on what it means to be Deaf and to bridge the gap between their two communities.  This podcast is such a special piece of media because it reinforces the idea that there’s no right way to be Deaf. Both of these woman come from completely different backgrounds but are able to come together to share and revel in their shared experiences: the ableism they face, the small joys of being Deaf, and the warmth they’ve been shown in both the Deaf and hearing community. Though the podcast is still relatively new, each episode is a delight to listen to and offers great insight into their world. 

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Sidequesting, “2.1: Honor Among Thieves”

While Sidequesting, as a whole, does not feature any d/Deaf or Hard of Hearing characters, I would love to touch on the episode “Honor Among Thieves.” This episode does have a Deaf character, played by Caroline Mincks, a deaf voice actor and creator. Mincks plays a dashing leader of a small group of rogues. More impressively, this episode also includes a fantasy sign language. Not only does this daring gang of thieves use it to communicate between each other, they also use it during their stealth missions to rob the greedy lord that rules their city. The sound design is particularly well done, as you can actually hear the motion of these characters hands as they sign. It is such a small detail, but it adds such a realism to the world.

I had a chance to speak with Tal Minear, the creator and sound designer, about their process for designing this episode. Minear wanted an audible indicator for their signing, something “in your face.” They felt it was important to include because, even though the signing was translated for Rion and the audience, it was a good reminder for the audience as well. Brad Colbroock provided the actual noises the singing made throughout the episode. Needless to say, that aspect was very much appreciated.

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Seen and Not Heard

Seen and Not Heard is a recent audio drama (or fiction podcast) that explores the life of Bet Kline, a young woman who is slowly losing her hearing. This story is lovingly crafted by Caroline Mincks, who is also deaf, with sound design done by Tal Minear. This story feels incredibly genuine and the sound design is top notch. Seen and Not Heard accurately explores what it’s like to lose your hearing and the frustrating experience of how others react to and treat d/Deaf and hard of hearing people, who are just trying to live their life as best they can. Throughout the show, Bet is faced with prejudices from friends, family and even the Deaf community but more importantly, it focuses on how d/Deaf people are still just that; people. People with hopes and dreams. People who still deserve respect despite the struggles they face.

Bet’s journey of self-discovery is truly inspiring and her frank discussions of those struggles and doubts brought me to tears quite a few times during my (multiple) listens. Mincks delivers beautiful prose about their frustrations as a deaf person along with hilariously sharp wit about it all.

I would also be remiss if I didn’t touch upon the sound design of the show. Tal Minear is a true mastermind when it comes to designing this world. They take us through how Bet experiences sound and, as someone who is also partially deaf, it is incredibly accurate. The muffled, overwhelming muddle of sounds, or lack thereof, and the subtly of the noises you truly miss out on is orchestrated so perfectly. There were a few moments while I was listening to the first episode where I was concerned that my own hearing had worsen, only to realize it was just Minear working their magic.

I was able to speak with Mincks and Minear about the process for designing these scenes. There was “a lot of back and forth with Caroline [Mincks],” says Minear. Mincks was able to send them videos with examples of moderate to severe hearing loss and after Minear designed the scene, would send back to Mincks, who provided feedback about sound levels. As the two of them got more used to designing sound, or the lack of it, it got easier. Minear went on to describe how they went on to layer dozens of sounds and effects over each other: “Every voice had its own thing done to it, so it wasn’t just slapping a muffled filter over it. A lot of very fine tuned layers on each individual aspect.” Seen and Not Heard’s last episode was released today, January 22nd, 2021, making it a great time to get caught up.

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Honestly, I could go on forever about why I adore Seen and Not Heard, but for the sake of this article, I want to move on to touch on an unfortunate truth within the podcast community.

(Note: The Big Loop‘s “Surfacing” and The AM Archives also include d/Deaf characters.)

The Unfortunate Truth

As you can probably tell from the meager list at the top of this article, there aren’t a whole lot of d/Deaf characters and content within the podcasting community. To put it plainly: Not much space has been made within the podcast community for d/Deaf listeners and producers. I know this seems obvious. Why would someone who cannot hear be interested in a strictly audio medium? I had the chance to speak with Mincks and Cassie Josephs, another deaf audio producer, about just that. We discussed their love of podcasting, their experiences in the medium, and proper and respectful representation of d/Deaf stories. 

Both these creators found their love of podcasting in various ways. Mincks found live theater to be extremely limiting in the stories they wanted to tell. They loved the diversity of story and setting and “the fact that through the magic of asynchronous recording and sound design,” Mincks explains, “I could place anyone from anywhere in any setting I could dream of.” Josephs fell in love with the medium through shows like Welcome to Night Vale and The Adventure Zone. He remembers how his husband encouraged him to delve more into podcasting. Josephs was “absolutely delighted by the way that such a rich, complex story could be told only through sound.” From there, he ended up creating Mina’s Story, an eight episode microfiction podcast. 

Read more: A History of Night Vale Presents

Very quickly, both these creators realized one of the bigger setbacks of the audio medium and perhaps the most important: sound design. It is extremely difficult to design scenes when you can only hear half the sounds. Josephs described his struggle with audio beautifully: “It’s like being unable to see the color blue but then trying to paint a picture that only uses blue tones. It’s hard!”

While Josephs has decided to put down his paint brush for the time being, he is not too upset about it, preferring to write and direct. Mincks however, has found a couple of ways to navigate sound design, many of which I myself have also had to utilize. The simplest way to figure out what sound, well, sounds like is to figure what they look like. “I learned how to read soundwaves,” says Mincks, “How to tell just by looking if the pacing is right and the levels are good, that sort of thing.” The other skill Mincks had to learn was perhaps the hardest: learning to ask for help. Both Mincks and I have had to reach out to others, outside the usual conversations like, “How does reverb work?” or, “How on Earth do I get RX Elements to function properly?”. We have had to actually reach out to trusted ears and ask “Hey, can you listen to this and tell me if it sounds okay?”

Mincks went on to talk about how, in the beginning, this was pretty tough to do, as they were so accustomed to doing things on their own. Thankfully, they found that asking for help got easier with practice and doing so helped improve their work in the long run. 

Both creators also touched on how to make the podcasting community more accessible to d/Deaf listeners, with the number one important aspect being transcripts. Regardless of the type of podcast you create, be it fiction or non-fiction, make sure your transcripts are easily accessible, accurate and most importantly, free. The number of times I have seen transcripts behind a paywall, like a Patreon reward, is baffling. Not sure how to start making transcripts? Josephs has a great guide, which you can find here. Josephs also stresses the importance of having live captioning for events. Podtales is one of the first podcasting conventions I’ve seen utilize live captioning and an ASL interpreter (Big shout out to the wonderful Brandon Kazen-Maddox).

Mincks also stresses the importance of creators actually having conversations about accessibility with their cast and crew, instead of waiting for their cast to come to them: “Sometimes it can be an awkward thing to bring up, and many disabled people are made to feel like burdens when we have to outright ask for things ourselves.” Along with that, creators should be aware that disabled people’s needs can change and vary from person to person. As Mincks puts it, “Be willing to listen and work together to find solutions.”

Overall, one of the best ways to make sure Deaf people feel welcome in the community is to just support us and boost our voices. Support deaf stories told by deaf creators and encourage others to tell their own stories. Not just that, let deaf/hard of hearing characters have identities outside of their disability. “If the only thing people can name about a character is that they’re ‘the deaf one,’ you haven’t given them enough layers,” Mincks reminds us. As a note, if you are going to have deaf characters, please, please, make sure you cast a deaf actor for the role and reach out to sensitivity consultants to make sure you are portraying these characters properly and respectfully. Do your research, and don’t rely on your cast to do it for you.

It is no surprise the Deaf community gets overlooked within the podcasting word, both as listeners and creators. The hearing community has a long way to go in regards to decent representation of Deaf characters and in the ways that they support Deaf and other marginalized creators. In the words of Josephs: “Deaf people are in podcasting—no amount of denying that will make us leave or erase our involvement. And the sooner the podcast community as a whole realizes that and begins working with us, the sooner their shows will have an added layer of richness, accessibility, and realism.”

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