hi guys!
im a bit of a podcasthead by now i suppose....
let's share the love!
these days, with a few exceptions, i mostly enjoy nonfiction.
FREQUENTLY LISTENED TO:
I keep up with new releases for these and/or tend to listen/relisten to episodes often.
1. sayer
sayer is a podcast that ate my whole life in mid-january 2024. it's a scifi/horror/comedy podcast about an evil science lab in space. one day, you wake up to find you're on earth's second manmade moon, typhon, as an employee of aerolith dynamics, and you have complete and unrecoverable amnesia, and a big evil computer is your boss....
ymmv on how scary it is, but i'd say "very". ymmv on how hot sayer is, but i'd say "very".
i think it's a very well-done series that does a really good job with balancing plot and episodic structure. im extremely picky about plot twists but theres one in here that worked excellently for me.
2. the shrieking shack
NO LONGER a harry potter podcast for lapsed fans, The Shrieking Shack (aka shriekcast) is a book review podcast hosted by xeecee and liz.
it started out with the harry potter books (+cursed child) (+documenting the downfall of jkr into terfdom live as it happened) but moved on to YA and popular novels in general- theyve read twilight, some maximum ride, a star wars novel, the da vinci code.... currently, theyre in middle of the hunger games series!
they're incredibly funny and interesting and have some good ways of discussing media. i find myself really into not just their book reviews but their casual chats, too... it's got really good energy! (and they like when they cry... good taste).
Episodes are generally split into 3 parts: an intro/"news" segment that tries to go over the popculture news surrounding the media they're reading (harder to do when it isnt harry potter tbh), the book discussion itself, and the "third segment" - a game or other activity for funsies such as 'infiltrating hp reddit' or 'tell me which of these 3 book summaries is fake' or 'hunger games trading cards'.
3. the ranged touch network
ranged touch is a network hosting several pods with overlapping casts. i'm going to break this into 3 parts, because i listen to 3 of their podcasts.
3a. HOMESTUCK MADE THIS WORLD
each episode, the hosts read and discuss a bit of the webcomic homestuck, as well as the somethingawful forum thread from that update. michael is a long time hs fan, cameron has never read it before.
it's a great look in at fandom history, and if you were more on the tumblr side of things back in the day (as i was), a great look at an unfamilar fandom history. you will, if you're like me, leave this podcast with a new (and maybe a little depressing) look at creating fiction - the hosts are quite critical of the theory of writing as tapping into an 'existing' story or character or archetype. their look at how homestuck plays with the idea of 'canon' is also pretty harsh - "can i legally sell a t shirt with jake english on it?" "is hs in the public domain?" sort of thing. but i think its important to hear.
i read The Neverending Story because of this podcast. great book.
3b. GAME STUDIES STUDY BUDDIES
GSSB has saved me so many times through all manner of distress (physical, emotional, etc) that i suppose michael and cameron have a sort of pagliacci effect when they get sick: the doctor is like go online....look up "game study study buddies", youll feel better. but doctor i am michael and cameron of the ranged touch network....
in this show, the hosts discuss a game studies book or game from an academic perspective. i'll be honest, i mostly listen to this one when i'm sick, and i imagine i'm curled up in blankets at the back of a college class.
recently, they had an episode on myst, a game i love very much....... it felt like a beautiful gift being given to meeeee......
i badly want them to read umineko..........
3c. JUST KING THINGS
JKT is a podcast reviewing each of the books of steven king in publication order! my brother really loves steven king, and i..... have tried to get into his books, but i dislike his writing style................. so at first i came here to confirm like "the talisman sucks, right???" and they were like ooo we hated that book yeah. but then i started listening to more..... right now, i try to listen to 1 a week so i can discuss it with my brother.
theres a quote from the danse macabre episode i found a little life-changing:
"and here's the greatest thing of all with media: you thinking about it does not change the object in any way. (mhm!) It still exists, it's still running around doing whatever it wants to do, with millions of other people engaging with it...... there is no close reading of a sentence you could do that would alter The Stand.... it's not how it works, right? it's not like thinking about it impugns the object.... the sentence is always there and anyone can engage with it however they want to."
i was thinking just now, but you could probably apply that way of thinking to religious matters, too.......................... hm, don't worry about it. let's not get sidetracked.
OCCASIONAL
these are shows i put on every now and then to draw to etc but dont keep up with or listen to super-frequently.
4. a riverdale flows in you
a show going through the very silly cw show riverdale! i really should watch more of that show...
5. Jim Gordon Must Die
ive never seen gotham (tv show), but they discuss it here! sounds absolutely wild. im only like 2 eps in but its a fun listen, good energy. i may be biased (my friend B is there,)
PAST FAVES
i dont really listen to these at all anymore, but i have fond memories of them.
6. my brother, my brother, and me/the adventure zone
mannnn remember when the mcelroys were THE comedians?! everyone ever was talking about these good good boys. many an amazing bit had me crying laughing.
long-term effects remain, i still say "when i am coach" and "can we send jokes out of the room"...im sure theres others, too.
taz:balance was really fun but im not enough of a ttrpg podcast enjoyer to really get sooo super into the others. though i went to a later-taz live show once with a friend and it was really fun. i think they played the trailer for taz:graduation at that one.... lol well that ended in infamy...
7. kosher queers
from their website: "Kosher Queers is a weekly podcast featuring at least two Jews with generally more than three opinions. Your hosts, Lulav and Jaz, bring you queer takes on Torah, jokes about Judaism, and a thorough look at the parsha and haftarah."
they've finished the project and moved on, but i kind of miss it.... i should relisten sometime but im a little embarassed of how much i was getting excited over this one in the hosts' face at the time lololol. not too much actually, but juuuust enough to be embarassed....
i need another podcast with this sort of energy in my life lol. particularly these days... it can feel very difficult to learn about Torah subjects especially with other jews, am i right? at least if you have the kind of ambivalence and complicated feelings that i do now. no matter how objective- and let's be honest, rarely does it stay objective - it's hard to sit through a shiur by someone you know has an outlook on life that makes you incredibly angry and upset.
torah study should not be the sole domain of those with right wing politics.
8. second best dnd
one of the first podcasts i listened to. not The first, but an early one.
this had something special...... bug yola gail hue I LOVE YOU 5EVER!!!!!!!!
rip sbdnd 💔💔 taken from us too soon.
i got a set of dice via their sponsor dieharddice when i was still trying to play dnd (turns out it's just not for me!), and theyre really pretty.
i actually had some trouble finding a place to listen to SBDND.... its down from all the places i used to hear it. a friend told me spotify still works but for me it doesnt.
9. dungeons and dykes: a lesbian fantasy adventure
my awesome friend zee invented this one, so you have to go listen. ok? ok.
........it's been so long that i also need a relisten, huh T_T
pavlova you will always be peak character design.
PODCASTS I HAVENT HEARD YET BUT WOULD LIKE TO TRY:
the grotto, the magnus archives....but somehow, right now, listening to another fiction podcast feels like id be cheating on sayer, or breaking my loyalty to it. i have the grotto open in my tabs though.
some of the Scary of sayer wears off with enough relistens as you become more oriented towards understanding the character drama, so id like to properly have the pants scared off me again.
one of these days id like to patreon subscribe to rangedtouch so i can hear the episodes about psycholonials.
malevolent sounds fun, too, but also like a huge "you'll be cheating on sayer!!!" show, lol.
if you have reccomendations, particularly for media review/analysis, discussion, etc, please let me know so i can say ill get around to it soon and finally google it in twenty years and cry because its been taken down a single cruel month before my search.
kmkmkmkmkm 