Serial Fiction Podcast Recs

[hemogoblin]

I love podcasts, particularly fiction podcasts. Wanted to share some I liked and see what everyone else enjoyed, too.

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Welcome to Night Vale
The or one of the first podcasts to really take advantage of what you could do with stories in the podcast format. Been a fan since almost the beginning. Seen them live several times! I loooooove absurdist surrealism type stuff.

Alice Isn't Dead
By the WTNV crew about a woman who gets drawn into a monstrous horror plot as she tries to track down her missing wife. Looooved this one, too. I've actually been meaning to re-listen.

Within the Wires
Yup, another WTNV production. Especially after reading the accompanying book, You Feel It Just Below the Ribs, I am more and more drawn into this dystopic world of fractured community and lack of family.

The Magnus Archives
Horror fantasy that ended not too long ago and is getting a continuation! I will say that I honestly enjoyed the first part more than the second, which got into harder and harder fantasy, but I am super excited for what the new story will bring. Plus, all sorts of queer rep in this one as well!

King Falls AM
I am SO bummed that this one was cancelled. I really, really enjoyed it. The characters were super easy to get into and want to know what happened with them next. I hope they come back and finish this one some day. :(

Wolf 159
A really great space podcast about a small crew with a mysterious mission in space. Loved the story, loved the last. They knocked it out of the park.

The Bright Sessions, The AM Archives, and The College Tapes
Regular people with superpowers, done through the style of their sessions with the same therapist. As much as I loved The Bright Sessions, I think I may have loved The College Tapes more. Fun series.

Mayfair Watchers Society
Just found this one and fell absolutely in love with it. It's disconnected horror stories set in the same town. I listen to a lot of random short story pods, but I really love this one because sometimes this style can be really hit or miss with the stories, but I've loved all the stories thus far for Mayfair.

Old Gods of Appalachia
If you listen to one podcast, let it be this one!!! Appalachian folk horror. SO. EFFING. AMAZING. Seemingly disconnected tales that always end up weaving back into each other. Witches, demons, the creepy Appalachian mountains spanning over great timescales. An absolutely spectacular podcast.

Limetown
Science fiction mystery about a woman trying to find the truth behind an entire town that went missing. I was hooked the first time I listened. I was really excited for the recent show they made based on the podcast, but honestly, I think part of the eerie vibe really hinged on the imagery being a part of your own imagination. The show wasn't bad at all, but I do think the podcast was just better.

The Magic Tavern
Improv series based on the idea of the main character falling from our world into a magical world. Very, veeery loose plot involved, lol. Lots of dirty and juvenilistic humor. But it's a good way to pass the time, and their silliness does make me laugh. Plus, I think both Jeffrey and Joseph like the Tavern and now both of them have guest starred? Or one of them has starred twice? They get all sorts of recognizable names stopping by, too!

NoSleep Podcast
One of those disconnected horror story pods I listen to. I went on a road trip to see them live and had a blast!

LeVar Burton Reads
LeVar is back with Reading Rainbow for adults! He's introduced me to some absolutely amazing authors I hadn't heard of yet. And the last winner of their story writing contest with their magic story where a lockpicker gave up memories to undo locks was so good it made me want to cry from the brilliance.

Scott Sigler
Okay, not really in line with the other podcasts, but this is an author who regularly gives away his fiction for free through his podcast. If I had started reading him today, I probably wouldn't be into him, but my mom suggested him when I was a teenager, and now there's an element of nostalgia and having listened to him for so long that it's hard to give him up. He's not great on the diversity scale, but he is a good storyteller.

Left Right Game
Started this one because Tessa Thompson voice acts in it, but this one was definitely worth the listen! More audiodrama than serialized fiction with its shorter run, but this was a very interesting idea and unfolded at a great pace. The idea is that if you drive in a certain left/right pattern down roads, you eventually drive into basically an alternate universe. What starts out as unbelievable and casual quickly devolves into spine-tingling.

Maxine Miles
A young adult whodunit where a teen gets drawn into solving a mystery that the adults around her don't seem that interested in solving. Similar to The Bright Sessions in tone (done by the same studio). It was a fun listen. It's looking like there won't be any more, though, and I feel like there was definitely a lot they had to wrap up. D:

Unseen
Disconnected stories of magic in the modern world. I was actually so intrigued by the first story and hoping it would continue that this one was almost a let down, LOL. But the stories were all really great and interesting.

The Milkman of St. Gaff's
Another top for me about a young man who becomes a milkman and gets drawn into a dairy conspiracy. Surrealist. Unreliable narrator. Monster cows. Plus, the voice of the MC is just perfect. I never would have imagined loving a podcast from this description but the more episodes it gets, the more I get drawn in!