Another month of swimming through the audio drama and fiction world to find the best of the best. With new audio dramas starting every day and podcasts releasing episodes on a routine basis, there was a lot to admire in this month’s releases from across the audio globe. Though Radio at the End of the World scopes out a large base of podcasts, I can only choose so many, which doesn’t mean that the podcasts not included aren’t great, but due to a litany of elements, from story content to audio production, weren’t selected. 

The seven that were selected for this month’s roundup stood out because they did something different, used a literary device in a stunning way, or were so gripping in their telling that they outshined the rest. 

Below you’ll find horror podcasts, fiction for kids, and some erotica for the adults, but mostly, you’ll find some damn fine podcasts. 

HORROR

Nightmare Magazine Podcast ‘Dead Girls Have No Names’ by Claire Wrenwood

Nightmare Magazine Podcast is the podcast arm of a monthly horror fiction and nonfiction online magazine, Nightmare Magazine. The stories found in Nightmare are some of the best literary horror stories on the net, up there with Strange Horizons and Nightlight Horror Podcast. One of August’s stories ‘Dead Girls Have No Names’ by Claire Wrenwood and narrated by Kate Orsini takes the true crime trend of powerless and victimized girls at the hands of men and turns it absolutely topsy turvy. Not in the way that you would think, though. There are no killers, but victimizers. Fetishist that make a mockery of the pieced together traumatization of young girls. ‘Dead Girls Have No Names’ is a horror worth a listen and a thought about the way we as a society stitch this mad tapestry of death and pain and of true crime obsession together. 

Listen Here: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify 

SCIENCE FICTION

Escape Pod Podcast Episode #746 ‘’76 Goldwater Dime’ by John Medaille

Escape Pod is a part of the Escape Artist podcast group that includes PseudoPod, Podcastle, and Cast of Wonders. All covering different genres and audience groups. Out of the four, Escape Pod is the group’s science fiction podcast. Many of the stories encompass the large umbrella that is sci-fi from hard to soft to space opera and science fantasy. This past summer, Escape Pod did a summer school series for writers and listeners. Each episode or group of episodes focused on how different authors tackle the various themes that dominate the craft and science fiction. ‘’76 Goldwater Dime’ by John Medaille and narrated by Norm Sherman of the Drabblecast focused on identity and did wonders showing that depth. The story is told in a wonderful perspective that has the main character speaking to you about their coin collecting specialty. Not only did Norm Sherman bring the character’s sometimes unsettling personality and obsession to life, but he did it in such a slow and unraveling way that as the story grew to a close, you’re not quite sure if you truly understand this person’s … specialty. 

Listen Here: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify

EROTICA

Wylde in Bed ‘A Woodland View’ by Devlin Wylde 

CW: NSFW, Dogging, and Voyeurism 

Devlin Wylde is an erotica writer that puts out all forms of erotic content including his erotic podcast, Wylde in Bed, that urges listeners to spend some quality time on their backs while listening to this podcast. Indeed, Wylde’s voice is quite melodic and sensual, giving the erotic tellings an extra bit of atmosphere as any good erotic podcast should. ‘A Woodland View’ is a short erotic tale of a woman who gives in to her voyeuristic and dogging fantasies. Wylde takes listeners on a journey of sexual self-discovery by giving the character more than wants and orgasms but fears and shame. 

Listen Here: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify

MYSTERY

Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine Podcast Episode #130 ‘Sac-a-lait Man’ by O’Neil De Noux

Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine Podcast is a monthly podcast that does readings of the popular mystery magazine, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. The magazine side of the podcast is an award-winning magazine that has published top authors and groundbreaking mystery stories. August’s episode of the podcast by O’Neil De Noux a multi-genre award winning author whose tale ‘Sac-a-lait Man’ is right up anyone’s alley who loves a chilling mystery and a straightforward private investigator who uses observation and kindness to solve his cases. A tale that involves a dead child and two very confused families unfolds for listeners in the episode. For those who are familiar with his novels and work will recognize the world of the Lucien Caye series that he writes. 

Listen Here: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts 

FANTASY

PodCastle Episode #641 ‘And Their Lips Rang with the Sun’ by Amal El-Mohtar

Like Escape Pod further up on the list, PodCastle is the fantasy tentacle of the Escape Artist family. Fans of literary fantasy, urban fantasy, secondary world fantasy, well, really, any type of fantasy will find a home at PodCastle among its weekly episodes. ‘And Their Lips Rang with the Sun’ by award-winning author Amal El-Mohtar and read by N.K. Jemisin, another award-winning author, is a secondary world fantasy—fantasy set in a world other than ours—about culture, love, and the secrets they breed. The original story appeared in Strange Horizons way back in 2009. It’s one of those pieces that shows the mastery that Amal El-Mohtar had even back then before cleaning it up at the major awards this year with ‘This is How You Lose the Time War.’ The use of a frame narrative story is deftly handled, bringing the listeners into the main character’s story that ends up becoming the story of the two characters, them and you. 

Listen Here: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify

FICTION

The New Yorker: The Writer’s Voice ‘The Sand Banks, 1861’ by David Wright Faladé

CW: Racism, Racial Slurs

Uncomfortable tellings and listenings. Stories that make us queasy with sad reminders of our past. Stories that show a moment in a person’s life so hard and important they need to be shown, to be witnessed. It’s these stories that cut through the noise and remind us where we come from, of our shared and personal histories. David Wright Faladé has one of these types of stories in the August issue of The New Yorker that he reads in The New Yorker: The Writer’s Voice the magazine’s podcast where they have the fiction published in the issue read by the authors who wrote it. By doing this, it adds an extra layer of emotion where you can feel the stakes of the story for the writer. ‘The Sand Banks, 1861’ is a powerful story of coming to terms with the way Black people were and are seen by non-Blacks, but more importantly, about how we as Blacks come to see ourselves in that gaze. 

Listen Here: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher

KIDS

Stories Podcast: A Bedtime Show for Kids of All Ages ‘The Lazy Pony’

Stories Podcast is a show for kids and those young at heart who love fairy tale retellings and old yarns. Some of the stories produced are old ones with no twists or totally original stories for the podcast. Like a lot of fairy tales for children, these have a strong moral theme. ‘The Lazy Pony’ is an adaptation of an Aesop Fable. Amanda Weldin, the host and voice actor, made me laugh with the breath she breathed into the story. Every mischievous thing the pony did and even the story itself was predictable, but anything predictable can be made magical by bringing it into the real. That’s what Weldin does. It’s worth a listen by any child or adult. 

Listen Here: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher

These podcasts and episodes are only a very small amount of what is out there. Take a listen to these, but don’t stop there. Listen to old episodes of these shows and search out others. Explore what the audio drama and fiction world has to offer because I can assure that it is wondrous. 

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