Radio at the End of the World: Audio Fiction and Drama Podcast Roundup August 2021
For listeners and supporters of audio drama or audio fiction podcasts, Radio at the End of the World is here every month to bring you new stories, new characters, and new podcasts to sink into. Whether you’re new to audio dramas or not, I try and provide a comprehensive sampling of listening experiences.
This month, there’s a little bit of something for everyone, except for kids. Unfortunately, I didn’t come across any this month that captured me. Oh well, there’s always next month!
If you find an audio drama podcast you like below, don’t just listen to it. Go beyond that and support them by sharing, donating, and/or subscribing. These acts help show the creators that people are interested in what they are creating and encourages new episodes and new stories.
SPECULATIVE FICTION MYSTERY
Great & Terrible
Usually, extremely podcasts whose episodes are under five minutes aren’t my favorite, but Great & Terrible (and one other on this list) is the exception. The speculative fiction mystery audio drama Great & Terrible follows a high school student locked in a curse that allows her to live forever as long as she kills someone every full moon. It doesn’t matter who, just as long as a life is taken. The mystery of who will be the new victim and when the curse will end permeates many of the short episodes. In quick—and I mean real quick (2-4 minutes on average)—episodes, Great & Terrible not only charts what it’s like for a teenager curse bound but what it’s like to be a teenager in high school.
Apple Podcasts | Pocket Casts | Stitcher | Website | Transcripts
ROMANCE
Meet Cute
I’m not blushing; you’re blushing. Meet Cute is one of the most perfect concepts for a romance audio drama series I’ve come across in a while. In short episodes, Meet Cute gives listeners a chance to hear how a relationship begins—hundreds of relationships. Each story introduces new characters, situations, and cuteness. These episodes sound like the beginnings of genuine contemporary relationships. They are diverse, realistic, adorable, ranging in ages and relationship types. Just pick what kind of setup you want to experience and settle in for the sparks to start flying. I tried to find just one to recommend, but honestly, every episode I listened to made me smile and gave me butterflies.
Apple Podcasts | Pocket Casts | Stitcher | Website
DARK SPECULATIVE FICTION
SCP Archives
SCP Archives is a dark speculative fiction mystery audio drama anthology podcast series. Each episode dives deeper into the sordid, terrifying, and very classified files held within the SCP Archives. While the audio drama centers around the SCP Foundation, the episodes themselves are sorta standalone episodes of weird fiction. The podcast reminds me of So Weird; Erie, Indiana; The X Files, and other paranormal anthology mystery television shows. SCP Archives is interesting and weird in a way that I forget about the overarching oddness of the Foundation and get lost in the episodes. Mix each episode’s oddness with the fact that they aren’t done in any order, and it creates a haunting atmosphere that never seems to end.
Apple Podcasts | Pocket Casts | Stitcher | Website | Transcripts
Ostium Podcast
Ostium Podcast sounds like right out of the SCP Archives. A strange town hidden in the woods and supposedly empty, except for all the strangeness and locked doors that lead to other times and places. Ostium Podcast began back in 2017 and introduced fans to Jake Fisher, a man lured to Ostium, a town out of time and space. Speculative fiction mysteries have a way of capturing my attention pretty quickly. What worked so well for Ostium Podcast was the attraction of the simple Google Maps game that leads Jake to Ostium and all its hidden strangeness. From there, like Jake, I was hooked, snared by the mystery of Ostium.
Apple Podcasts | Pocket Casts | Stitcher | Website | Transcripts
FANTASY COMEDY
Alba Salix, Royal Physician
The fantasy comedy audio drama podcast Alba Salix, Royal Physician, sounds like an improv play cast. A fantasy podcast about a kingdom’s magical healer and the sordid and hilarious affairs she gets herself into. The jokes land flawlessly between the characters, and the world feels fleshed out enough to carry it for many more seasons to come. Until then, there are two seasons available for listeners, with a third on the way. There’s even a spinoff following a couple of the side characters, but I haven’t given it a listen yet. If it’s anything like Alba Salix, Royal Physician, then it’s probably absolutely hilarious.
Apple Podcasts | Pocket Casts | Stitcher | Website | Transcripts
Read more: The 20 Funniest Comedy Podcasts (You Might Not Be Listening To Yet)
HISTORICAL FICTION
Blackbirds Volume 1
Content warning for racism and racial slurs
Blackbirds Volume 1 is a historical audio drama podcast focused on a Black family living in the Jim Crow Deep South before the Civil Rights Movement. Blackbirds Volume 1 only started airing back in June, so there are only five episodes out right now, but each one is poignant, heartbreaking, and filled with small Black joy. This one was suggested to me by the creator of the show, André Coleman. And I am so glad that he put it on my radar. I haven’t swung back and forth between laughing and crying while listening to an audio drama in quite some time. It’s a stark depiction of Jim Crow struggles for Blacks while also giving insight into Black culture during the time.
Apple Podcasts | Pocket Casts | Stitcher | Website
Harlem Queen
Content warnings for racism and racial slurs
Another historical audio drama focused on Black lives is Harlem Queen. Except instead of the Jim Crow south, Harlem Queen depicts the life and times of the Numbers Queen, Madame Stephanie St. Clair, during the Harlem Renaissance. Like Blackbirds Volume 1, Harlem Queen gives listeners an unscrupulous and honest depiction of what it was like during those times. There are two seasons out, with the third one wrapping up in August with a quick finale. I will note that the episodes are pretty short and definitely left me wanting more. But what was there felt fleshed out and full in both acting and sound design, which is why I wanted the episodes or seasons to be longer because they are so damn good.
Apple Podcasts | Pocket Casts | Stitcher | Website
That’s it for this month’s roundup of audio drama podcasts. I hope you were able to find at least one new podcast to add to your to be listened list.
If you are the creator or writer for an audio drama or audio fiction podcast, please drop me a line through my site, on Twitter, or in my inbox. Let me know what you’re working on and putting out into the world. I can’t guarantee it’ll make it on one of these roundups, but I can promise that I’ll listen to it with an open mind and excitement for your words.
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