My Favorite Podcasts
Last updated 07 Nov 2024
Since I've mentioned my favorite music and videogames, I thought I'd share a list of my favorite podcasts with you all and some thoughts on why I love each of them. I'll try to figure out some categories as well; this is a work-in-progress as so many of the other features on this site. That's OK, flux is OK, growth is OK, stasis is death.
I'm adding a little bit more to the prolegomena, since for some reason Hugo is pulling in nearly the whole entry for the summary, and we don't want that. So let's engage in some circumlocution and run out the clock before we jump in.
Storytelling / Serials
- Knifepoint Horror: One of the finest horror podcasts I think I've ever heard. Soren Narnia (probably a pseudonym) writes exquisitely-crafted, terrifying, otherworldly horror stories. The first episode paints a picture of a town that's not quite right. Another early episode discusses strange, tragic occurrences at a school. Narnia's voice is regular, scarily normal, but also sounds like he as narrator is barely holding it together. The stories are very understated and just wonderful. There's a masterful "radio play" staging of J. G. Ballard's "Report on an Unidentified Space Station" which is absolutely eerie. One of my absolute favorites, and he rarely releases episodes, so, as DJ Shadow famously said in the liner notes to Preemptive Strike, "decamp at leisure" and don't rush through the episodes too quickly.
- Nocturne: A podcast about the night, its wonders and its horrors. Created and narrated by Vanessa Lowe, she created the podcast because of her own relationship with the night, and wanted to explore the depths of the night and its manifold significance to all sorts of people. I love the night myself; I am not as much of a night owl as I used to be, but I generally just listen to this at night in honor of its purpose. It's absolutely lovely, and occasionally heartbreaking.
- I had a little aside in this entry previously, which was rather melancholy. I've saved it for another blog entry and excised it from this one.
- Ads are briefly there but she's largely kept it ad-free lately, whenever it's released. I've considered subscribing to the Patreon but haven't.
- You're Wrong About: A friend on Mastodon got me into this podcast. Journalist and author Sarah Marshall's quest is to dispel rumors about famous figures and set the record as straight as possible. The show started with her and co-host Michael Hobbes, who has since gone on to his own podcast, Maintenance Phase (don't worry, he just went on to other stuff, they are still buddies!), and now has a rotating guest each episode these days. It's lovely, Sarah's lovely, and it has a ton of heart and fun information and discussion. I love it!
Paranormal
- Ghosting Around with Kathleen DeRose and John Cason: Another delightful ghost story podcast. Hosts Kathleen DeRose and John Cason, both working in Hollywood (Cason worked on the crew of Drunk History and DeRose has/had some sort of studio job, and also does stand-up; she's hilarious!), tell campfire-style ghost stories keyed to various cities around the US. It's really fun, and both of them have some really bad, punny "dad jokes," and they are both goddamn adorable. They did a series of episodes all about haunted places at Disneyland and three episodes on Disney World! Those episodes heavily used research from Keaton Moll's Death in the Tragic Kingdom (Theme Park Press, 2014), which is a great read (warning: not HTTPS).
- I'm sad this podcast is over, at least for the time being. It's also short but sweet, and the Disney episodes have really stuck with me.
- Ghosts in the Burbs: Dubbed "cozy horror," this podcast is just a lot of fun. Liz Sower, the creator, does "interviews" with people suffering various kinds of hauntings in and around Wellesley, MA. She meets them at her favorite local coffee shop, occasionally at their or her house, and hears the wildest stories. Lots of creepiness in such a small place! (Keep in mind that this is the conceit of the show; she's said here and there that these are not true stories and they're fictional, but they have so much verisimilitude!)
- The Lore You Know: A podcast created by my friend Heather Moser, whom I met years ago at a conference in grad school. She talks about all sorts of cryptics, paranormal phenomena, and other fun folklore, and always has interesting guests! Love listening to all of her and her guests' stories!
TV Shows/Movies
- Beers, Beats, Battlestar Galactica: This is a nice companion podcast if you're (re)watching the 2004 reimagining of Battlestar Galactica. The series starts out hosted by two Australian women, then after Season 2, one of the hosts drops out and is replaced (I haven't gotten there quite yet). It's now a podcast about the show For All Mankind, but the older episodes are still there, and I've found it an enjoyable companion while rewatching the show (I am on my second watch-through!).
- Fire Talk With Me: I honestly haven't spent much time with this. It's a Twin Peaks podcast, and I think I'll definitely listen on my next watch-through of the series. Caveat auditor, I don't know if this is spoiler-free!
Miscellaneous
- Singing Mountain: Podcasts full of videogame music, mostly 8- and 16-bit, my favorite era of videogames in general. Music from SNES games I've never played. Music from Game Boy games. It's a smorgasbord of retro videogame music delights! Drew Mackie, the host, is delightful as well, and I really, really enjoy this podcast. It is so chill. He hasn't released episodes very often lately, but when it does come out, it's a treat. I've even submitted a few recommendations to him of games to check out, and he's played some pieces from them on the show! Super, super, super cool.
- This podcast is now defunct but had a really nice run. Definitely check out the back catalogue, there are hours and hours...
- Classic Gaming Today: I came across this podcast pretty recently. I was looking for something about retro/classic gaming, and found it! The host is really friendly, knowledgeable, and clearly loves classic games. Each episode, he does a deep dive into classic games, talks about their background and cultural impact, and assesses whether they hold up still today. Highly recommend!
- Lingthusiasm: Lingthusiasm is a lovely podcast about linguistics! Two friends, Gretchen McCulloch and Lauren Gawne, talk about various cool linguistics things each episode! It's so fun. The Patreon is 100% worth it for the bonus episodes! Highly recommend!
Epilegomena
Well, that's all I have for now. I may add more to this later, but here are some of my favorite podcasts these days. Thanks for reading!