Audio Drama Hub

🦋 @remnantspod (54) Oh, damn, this episode got me even more than usual! How stunning: the poetry, the description of niqab, the scene in the hospital, Elio, Rachel. I listened to this on the way into work and was just emotionally floored by the time I got there. I really got a sense of healing from this remnant, a recognition of how people had been hurt by EP, but also how they found community and family in the wake of his life. So much to sit with and unpack here! 

⚓️ @eelerschoice (12) Eeler’s finale! What a thoroughly enjoyable episode! I felt it did such a good job of tying up everyone’s arcs this season and I was especially thrilled for Nama! 🌬️ Again, I thought the action scenes were beautifully executed and I could really feel the heart of the show shining through in the resolution of the series!! 

🧋 @hinaypod (89) Ohh, it’s so sad to spell out the misunderstanding around Mari’s connection to the Mambabarang and how it’s still affecting the people she left behind at home ☹️ It is nice that it’s (?she’s) still keeping the police out of her local area though! It must be so hard to hear loved ones fearing for her safety about something that she created! ‘Intercessors’ is such a fun word for Michael and Lori! 

⛪️ Forgive Me (2.05 - 2.07) St Patricks continues to deliver a lighthearted giggle or two! I’ve never attended a Thanksgiving dinner before, but this ep didn’t really sell it to me 😂 I loved hearing from Clara again! She is a fave of mine! 

📖 @storiesfromylelmore (204) This might be my favourite SFY episode so far! I adoreddddd Keryth’s PI bit (and what a talent to be able to voice someone pretending to voice someone else!) and I can’t fault the logic of being sure to finish first. It *is* always the Dame, I hope by sharing this unflattering part of their past, Elas is able to progress forwards in a less puce manner! 

🌵 @desertskiespodcast (26) This Inter State episode had one of the best cold openings of the season. ‘The desire is growwwinnngg. The desire is subsiding. . . Now it is growing again’ - SO funny. The ep was a lovely blend of nostalgia and healing. But what an ending! I fear Evil Jennifer Coolidge has returned!! 

🚚  Don’t Tell Alice (1,8) oooh I love the notion of Praxis as an ongoing network of community and support! These people have been indelibly changed and they’re still willing to help make things better! We finally meet the person behind the murders and… they’re human?! I think Keisha has her hands full here… 

Hope you had a nice Sunday! I went to the cinema with a friend, and I’m working my way through Moss’d in Space, which is PERFECT for Murderbot fans.

🪨 G.O.B.L.I.N.S — Episode 7 - Riddles, Piddles, Twubble-wubble: Hooper was deeply annoying in this episode, but that specifically targeted punishment is a fun idea for fairies to do. Meanwhile, Elizabeth was solving riddles! Elizabeth used to think handwriting competitions were fun, and now she’s stared down the devil! Elizabeth realised she’ll miss her friends when she goes home! And of course, Tripe was a very brave friend and had to actually act serious. (And Elisar is still sometimes being a nice person).

👹 @theredactedunit — Postmortem: Prodigy (Part 2) - S1E26: Clickolding: poor Sloan. After getting her head bitten off, she’s actually being professional in meetings. This downwards spiral is freaking me out; I hope she reunites with Dr Danse, calls her parents and hangs out with Eli outside of work, instead of ending up like Jordan. But the deal with Clickolding! Working for TRU can really make people worse. Not only did Jacob hit a breaking point, Lucas was Not doing well in this episode. The monster of the week wasn’t what I expected it to be.

🪦 Something’s Amiss at Juniper’s House — The Day I Met Juniper: Wyatt and Finley had an interesting day. Wyatt’s handy skill set came as a surprise, and him and Finley getting on was sweet. He was SO bad at being casual, but his attitude to the “air being weird” around Juniper was delightfully realistic. And it turns out Juniper’s family do kind of have a code of honour! Initially I thought Wyatt was just screwed, but they really are targeting lousy men. Honestly, I feel kinda bad that Etta is put in that situation. So looking forward to the next episode.

Our next elimination episode is available for Backstage Pass supporters, and we have a special treat: the concept and performances for this commercial come from our pals over at the [REDACTED] podcast, another show presented by Rusty Quill!

Find out who survives the Reunion Episode... and check out [REDACTED] if you like what you hear.

Let's talk about Sex!

Specifically, let's talk about directing voice actors in the awesome sex scenes we do at the Tales of the Forgotten Fiction Network, and what exactly we mean when we're talking about the "female gaze".

Part 1 Sex. Part 2 coming up shortly, Sex + Marketing. Ugh. Marketing.

'You are running on fumes and the dust of rot. On an echo of empty promise and abandonment.' - Dr Julian Doyle.

Want to hear the first season of Hollow Disciple? It's available right now wherever you get your podcasts, just search 'Hollow Disciple'.

We have a new show to add to our roster! Audio Fiction FM (@audiofictionfm) is a show for those looking to discover new audio fiction, whether you've been enjoying audio only shows for years or are looking to start listening for the first time. Host @the-sassy-composer, audio drama editor and creator of "Liars & Leeches," will share news from the audio fiction world, the first episode of a piece of audio fiction, and an interview with that show's creators.

Join us for the premiere of Audio Fiction FM on our YouTube, August 12th at 8:00pm central time, where you can chat in real time with fans and audio drama creators as you listen. If you miss the premiere, or would prefer to listen to an audio only version, all episodes will be uploaded wherever you get your podcasts.

New episodes will be released on the second Wednesday of every month.

The death toll from the twin earthquakes that struck Venezuela on June 24 has risen to 3,342, according to official figures just released. Reuters quoted Venezuela’s Ministry of Information as saying that 16,470 people have been injured and 17,345 displaced by the disaster.

American Afterlife is a fiction podcast starring Scarlett Estevez and is adapted from the best-selling book by Pedro Hoffmeister. A catastrophic earthquake floods Eugene, Oregon; undocumented teen Cielo stays behind. As she searches for her missing mother, she’s hunted through a broken city overtaken by a right-wing militia. Her journey is told between survival on the run and a military interrogation over a murder she may not have committed. Survival isn’t just escape; it’s trust.

President and CEO of Aurora Productions, William Stuart, approached it exactly like a film: find the IP, hire the writers, cast the series, direct every moment. As he puts it, “Audio podcasts such as American Afterlife are the new pitch material to demonstrate the ‘vertical’ from book to podcast to TV series.” He didn’t theorize about the model. He built it.

William Stuart is a veteran entertainment executive with more than five decades of industry experience, Stuart developed and executive-produced the blockbuster feature The Rock for Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer Productions, one of the highest-grossing films of 1996, and later served as Executive Producer of The Ottoman Lieutenant.

After decades in film and television, William Stuart saw scripted audio as one of the most exciting spaces for storytelling. Podcasts remove many of the creative and financial barriers that come with traditional production, allowing compelling stories to reach audiences much faster while preserving the creator’s original vision.

When Stuart read Pedro Hoffmeister’s American Afterlife trilogy, he believed it had all the elements of a premium screen project, but he also recognized that an immersive audio adaptation could introduce the world and its characters to audiences immediately. Rather than waiting years for a film or television green light, the podcast became a way to prove the story’s appeal through cinematic sound design, strong performances, and a listening experience that encourages audiences to imagine the world for themselves.

Here’s the summary of the first episode for a taste of the show: “The episode opens with Cielo’s vivid recollections of the earthquake’s devastating impact, painting a haunting picture of total destruction and the immediate panic that ensues. As she navigates the treacherous landscape, listeners are drawn into her emotional turmoil, grappling with trauma and the haunting specter of loss. Cielo’s quest for supplies leads her to encounter other survivors, each carrying their own stories of heartache and resilience. The echo of death lingers in the air, serving as a constant reminder of the fragility of life.

“Amidst the chaos, Cielo crosses paths with Mr. Francois, her French teacher, who finds himself trapped and injured. Their poignant interaction becomes a beacon of hope, illustrating the profound connections that can emerge in times of tragedy. As they share their fears and hopes, the themes of survival and the indomitable human spirit come to life, showcasing the strength that binds us even in our darkest hours.”

The show’s sound design and production is superb, reinforcing the case for the power of audio amid all the kerfuffle over video podcasts. To produce this audio drama in video would cost hundreds of millions of dollars. This audio drama is just as powerful as the frightening CGI images that would have been created in video.

📼 THE FIRST TRANSMISSION IS LIVE

Night Owls, the doors to the Archive have opened—just a crack.

In this special preview, I’ll be introducing you to Nova Nightwood’s Obscura Archive, revealing a glimpse of the strange world we’ll be exploring together, and sharing an exclusive passage from our first case:

File 001: The Weight of Silence.

It begins in 1989, with an ordinary television, an unmarked videotape, and a man who has spent years believing the past was finished with him.

The past, as it happens, has a rather long memory.

Watch the preview on YouTube, then subscribe and follow the Archive on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Amazon Music before three complete stories arrive on September 4th.

There are buried secrets waiting to be unearthed, strange signals calling through the dark, and many more adventures ahead. I do hope you’ll join me.

The Archive is nearly ready for you.

Watch the preview: https://youtu.be/KjnXwxKSsHI?si=2ENWcauxt-2XFCBF

Financially, it has a low barrier for entry, a low point of diminishing returns, and a relatively small potential market. It's basically impervious to being taken over by giant studios - even the "big" networks like RQ would be considered indie in the film or game dev industries. With the exception of the BBC, they tend to dip their toes into audio fiction, figure out quickly that, although it's beloved by its fans, there isn't that kind of money in it, and proceed to leave us alone forever.

Then there's the fact that it propagates largely by word of mouth. Audio dramas owe everything to obsessive nerds forcing nearly everyone they know to listen to that podcast they just discovered.

So it's more about the thing being actually good, plus a decent amount of luck and persistence.

There's no optimally marketable success formula being relentlessly enforced by gatekeeping jellybean-counters because they don't exist here. So people make whatever they want. So it draws people to it who are looking for something different. And the cycle feeds itself, and the medium gets weirder (in a good way).

It may very well ALWAYS remain the wild west of storytelling.

So listeners tell your friends about that podcast!

And creators, make the weird thing! There are no rules! It can be an hour long or Breaker Whiskey short, or Re:Dracula all over the place length. It can be another tape recorder framing or another voicemail framing or basically just an audiobook. It can be any genre or blend of genres. This creative space gives us the opportunity to be our own target audience in a way rarely found elsewhere.

If you enjoy the thing you're making, odds are somone else out there will enjoy it too. I've already found this to be true, and my time as an audio fiction creator is still just beginning.

🚀 My first audio drama comes from an unexpected quarter—there’s this nonfiction show called First America that tells American history with indigenous history added back in, and one of the things they did this week was run a contest for Native American young folks to write stories about indigenous futures. And then they took one of those stories and made it into audio drama on the show. And it made me cry. I highly recommend the show in general, but I love when nonfiction shows get really into their creativity like this.

⛈️ This episode of @eelerschoice!!!! I’m so proud of literally everyone, particularly Nama. I really love how Eeler’s Choice is a show about environmental consequences, but it’s also a show about becoming better, growing. I adore the way these action sequences wrapped up the season—that sound design amirite???—and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

🥩 MEAT IS BACK ON THE MENU, @thegospelofhaven is back!!! This season’s structure is so interesting—the multi-perspective thing has always worked great for The Gospel of Haven, and adding an element of time difference is going to be fascinating. Kale Brown is always a great time, but I’m especially excited for the additions of Nhea Durousseau and Jordan Cobb. I’m ALSO psyched about the book!!! The novelization!!!! Where is the link??? Get me in there.

💻 At this point I just expect @theredactedunit to never miss, and the way they used this week’s crossover ep as an opportunity to explore the life of fan fave Lucas was both smart and excellent. I’m kind of obsessed with the background story of the Eli time loop in this episode—that tiny repetition (and Lucas’ mental distance from it) hits hard. Lucas is not my type of poor little meow meow, but I did love this episode. Redacted knows its characters.

Why shouldn’t they be?

“Why does this character have to be a woman?”

Why shouldn’t she be?

“Why does this character have to be gay?”

Why shouldn’t they be?

“Why does this character have to be trans?”

Why shouldn’t they be?

“Why does this character have to be disabled?”

Why shouldn’t they be?

“Why does this character have to be fat?”