Directive

Summary:

looking for good audio fiction podcasts!

I am caught up on/finished

The Magnus Archives (+TMP)

Red Valley

wolf 359

Malevolent

Directive

A man accepts the job of being a caretaker on a spaceship, where he’s the only human awake on a 20-year journey taking sleeping colonists to a new planet.

No apology required. Here's some Non-Comedy Space Podcasts I enjoyed.

Directive: Heart-crushing podcast about a man tasked with taking care of the sleeping passengers aboard a colony ship, over the course of 20 years. Reflections, happenings, and something that's not quite as it seems.

Erraticus: Three individuals - one who's not a comdemned criminal, one who's not a bomber, and one who's not an AI - find themselves together on a ship fleeing danger toward the edge of the edge of the solar system, and a dangerous conspiracy none of them signed up for. Not far in yet but I like the characters, banter, and the creator's policy to release episodes only on their own schedule.

Girl in Space: If you liked Wolf 359, please do not go past Girl in Space. The Girl in Space lives alone on a station, doing science, making cheese, watching Jurassic Park, chatting with the old AI, recording her journals... It's a pretty good life. Would be a shame if something were to change that. Really well made, performed, written. Queer.

InCo: Follows the travels of a disgruntled interstellar information trader, her peppy AI, and the strange boy they find floating in space. I sometimes have a hard time believing this is the product of one person, because they do such a good job at voicing, writing, audio, music, worldbuilding (oh, the worldbuilding). And, though subtle, it's queer!

In Transit: Aboard The Eurus, a ship bound for a new world, things are going smoothly: crops are growing, oxygen is high, morale is decent, and they're making great time. So when a series of murders following a notable pattern occur, they call in (or, unthaw) a specialist, one who must use all the skills, training, and limited resources she has to solve it, while trying to adjust to life 113 years after she last went to sleep. The mic qualities vary and can be a bit rough, admittedly, but I enjoyed the story and writing. Oh, and it's queer!

Janus Descending: Do you like horror? Perhaps having your heart torn out and ditched at the nearest wall? Janus Descending follows a xenopaleontologist and a xenoanthropologist who travel to a new world to study a lost civilisation, but find far more then they bargained for. A really interesting framing device: her tapes are from first to last (chronologically), and his from last to first, and they use this really well. I heavily recommend listening to the supercut instead of each episode individually.

Mnemosyne: Mnemosyne is an isolated space station with duel purpose, both prison and shady testing facility. The show follows the people involved in one experiment in particular, both in their daily lives aboard and as part of the testing of a potentially revolutionary piece of technology. It does have a healthy dose of humor in it, but I'd not call it an outright comedy. I would call it underrated. Queer.

Moonbase Theta, Out: Messages to Earth from the communications officer of Moonbase Theta, as the facility prepares for shutdown, both to the people overseeing the project, and to his husband. Season one has short episodes (listen to the supercut), but longer for seasons 2 and 3. Really well made, and very queer.

Novitero: The princess of a planet is banished until she can make up the excessive funds she's lost, and is picked up by a group of wanted criminals. From a shared interest in getting rich fast, they reach an agreement: the ultimate heist.

The Orphans: I could spoil this podcast, (it'd still be great), but I won't. It's very well made, set in the far future, features AI, unethical science, quality worldbuilding, heart-crushing tragedies, and a dash of political intrigue. A bit queer, but you'll need to wait til season 3.

The Pasithea Powder: The last major interplanetary war was full of atrocities, but possibly none more infamous then the creation of Pasithea Powder, a memory altering drug which was used to horrible effect and landed it's entire team of creators in prison. So when decorated war hero Captain Sophie Green sees one of them wandering free, worlds away from his prison, she gets in touch with a very old, estranged friend: one Dr. Jane Gonzalez, who's behind bars for the very same reason. Very good, and absolutely queer.

SAYER: Crisp sci-fi horror. You are an employee of Ærolith dynamics on Typhon, an artifical moon orbiting Earth. A selection of ominous and highly advanced AI speak in your ear, helping you to adjust to your new life, and guiding you through your daily (and often disturbing) tasks. Pretty popular, but for a good reason.

Second Star to the Left: Follows a scout tasked with investigating a new world and preparing it for a new human colony, and the minder back home tasked with keeping an eye on her, as they each deal with various challenges, try to help each other from half a galaxy away, and become closer in the process. I really enjoyed this podcast. Queer.

The Strange Case of Starship Iris: When the shuttle carrying the crew of scientific research ship Iris explodes, Violet Liu finds herself stranded in space, the last survivor with no way out. Until her emergency broadcast is picked up by a passing ship. But the crew aren't who they seem to be, there's more going on here than anyone knows yet, and Violet must decide who she can really trust. Very queer.

To Starlight We Come: A very new podcast about a talented young thief who ends up working on a station as part of her prison sentence, a new program which claims to rehabilitate young offenders. She's been working her ass off, dreaming about returning to her lucrative life of crime and beloved girlfriend when she gets home, and it's all going pretty smoothly, until she's framed for murder. Now she's got to work out who the real killer is to prove her own innocence, or she's leaving the station early, and without an oxygen supply. Queer.

VAST Horizon: An agronomist tasked with kickstarting agriculture on a new world wakes on the ship before they arrive, to discover something has gone horribly wrong. The ship is adrift, nobody but the malfuctioning AI to be seen, and the ship riddled with issues, she must do her best to save the ship and herself, and work out what happened. Great sci-fi horror.

Not that weird, but not my strongest suit. Two I am sure of, and are both supurb.

Janus Descending: (Sci-fi, Horror). A xenoarcheologist and a xenoanthropologist go explore the ruins of an alien city. Interesting format: his logs are from first to last and hers are from last to first, and the whole thing is more tragic for it. Listen to the supercut instead of each episode individually.

Directive: (Sci-Fi). Records of a caretaker who spends 20 years on a long-distance ship watching over the sleeping passengers, and alone bar the limited AI and scheduled conversations with the other caretakers. Something isn't right. Heartbreaking but not for the obvious reasons.

Or, how I would define the podcasts I've listened to (am listening to) so far.

Directive: Space capitalism causes pain

Archive 81: Unhinged cult madness

The Deep Vault: Dystopian chaos