Podcasts

I love podcasts. They're like audiobooks with character and panache. They range from funny to serious, light-hearted to grim, fictitious to factual. Plus, they're really convenient entertainment for long road trips, cleaning the house, or being sat next to weird Uncle Jim at Thanksgiving. Here's a list of some of my favorite podcasts, along with a short description. If you see one you like, why not give it a go?

Fiction
Welcome to Night Vale: If you've heard of any of the podcasts on this list, it's probably this one. It's the story of a strange desert town where the most unusual things can happen. Imagine if Lake Wobegone was written by Steven King and H.P. Lovecraft, and that's a pretty good start. Bonus: there is a canonical gay relationship. Also bonus: every episode contains a new song, most of which are really quite good. Updates the first and fifteenth of every month.

Alice Isn't Dead: This is by the same guys who do Welcome to Night Vale. If you tried that, and it wasn't creepy enough for you, try this instead. It's the story of a trucker who travels the country looking for her supposedly but not really dead wife (Alice). Along the way, she encounters horrifying scenes and is being pursued by a mysterious, deadly force. We're currently in the middle of the final season. Updates every other Thursday.

Within the Wires: Also by the Welcome to Night Vale gang. These are in the form of a series of cassettes, each one revealing a new facet of the story that you, the listener, are embroiled in. Season one is a collection of relaxation tapes (which actually are pretty relaxing), season two is a collection of museum audio guides. Currently waiting on series 3.

Other Night Vale Presents shows: The Orbiting Human Circus of the Air and It Makes a Sound are fiction, Conversations with People Who Hate Me and I Only Listen to the Mountain Goats are nonfiction, and Pounded in the Butt by my Own Podcast is erotica.

Wooden Overcoats: A British comedy set on the small island of Piffling, focusing on the escapades of Funn Funerals as they compete with their new rival, Eric Chapman. It's a wild ride, it's narrated by a mouse, many of the characters are extremely relatable, and despite having neither a sexuality or a gender I am extremely gay for Georgie. Listen to it. You'll laugh until you cry.

Inkwyrm: A fashion magazine in space, starring Annie Inkwyrm and Mella Sonder as Just Kiss, Dammit. There's also a sociopathic AI, a grumpy doctor, and a southern PR manager. I promise it's really good, it's on series 3.

EOS 10: Doctors in space. Doctors being salty in space. Doctors putting up with the shenanigans of a hypochondriac dishwasher in space. Doctors being salty while helping an accused terrorist clear his name. In space. Season 2 ended in 2015, but I retain hope.

Victoriocity: Alternate, steampunk London with murder and comedy. Follows Inspector Fleet and journalist Clara Entwhistle as they try to solve the murder of the nation's foremost scientist while sending up all the conceits of Victoriana. Only one season so far, and I haven't finished it.

Hector Vs. the Future: A grumpy clockwork-powered curator tries to fight progress and save his museum, while his rival, at the Up-to-date-ium tries to solve her own problems. Again, only one season, I haven't finished listening.

Nonfiction
No Such Thing As a Fish: If you, like me, survive solely on tidbits of information and weird facts, this is the podcast for you. Every Friday, enjoy forty minutes of wonderfully odd information presented by the wildly comedic QI Elves. Ongoing.

Pessimist's Archive: A look back at all the times people have claimed that a new invention is going to destroy society, followed by an explanation of why that wasn't true, why people thought it was, and how that applies to the modern day. Updates every other month or so.

Queer as Fact: Are you Not Straight? Do you enjoy history? Do you like listening to historical people's sex lives being read out? Then this is a podcast for you! It looks at queer figures from history, from an Australian bush ranger to the woman who created Yuri to the most famous economist in the world, and examines their lives. Now with bonus Queer as Fiction episodes, looking at queerness in the media. So far they've only covered Carmilla, but it's quite a recent feature. Listen to this because history is way more awesome and gay than you ever thought.

There are also a lot of other podcasts out there that I've never even listened to, so if none of these strikes your fancy, just go to your podcast app (installed automatically on Apple devices, it's purple with a sort of white radio tower on it, I dunno about Microsoft) and type in whatever subject you want to hear about. There's almost certainly a podcast for it somewhere.