#the bookmarks

I do love an audio drama where the format is a nonfiction podcast, it must be said. Lots of friendship in these because I am a sucker for a good friendship.

The BookMarks

Two best friends, Mark and Marquelle Bookerson (no relation), have a podcast where they review books in an increasingly-wacky-and-fun fantasy alternate modern day. Improvised comedy. The worldbuilding gets weirder with every passing episode, and I love that for it.

Englewood After Dark

Two best friends, Eve and Finn, have a true crime podcast where they unpack cold cases. The pair are college students at a university popularly (and correctly) thought to be haunted. Believer/skeptic dynamic. Horror.

Shelterwood

Nick's sister went missing years ago, leaving a note referencing a town, Shelterwood. When he comes across this strange suburb where time doesn't flow right, Nick follows his lead to find his sister while sending audio back to the normal world to his best friend Solomon to hopefully edit into a full podcast. Hopefully, he can find his sister without being trapped forever in the alluring comfort of Shelterwood. Horror. Warning for kids' toys/cartoons used for horror. (A trope I personally dislike and find very rarely warned for.) Not my favorite on this list, but I love Solomon especially in terms of characters, and I did listen to the full season, actively engaged if not always enjoying it per se.

Rabbits (season 1 only)

Rabbits season 1 follows a journalist, Carly, trying to find her best friend, Yumiko, who went missing while participating in a dodgy ARG. To find her, Carly tracks down and begins to play the ARG, known only as the Game, being pulled deeper and deeper into the reality bending world it entails and creating a shaky allegiance with a fellow player with whom she shares a surprising amount of backstory. Horror, multiverse thriller. Season 1 is incredibly engaging and has a very satisfying plot, and I love Carly's ally Jones so much. If you enjoyed the tv show The OA, especially its second season, you will enjoy this.

Thank you!!!!! (ask game here) ✨- podcast in a different genre than what you usually listen to

Ooooooooh interesting. Ok I'm gonna be a nerd and pick a couple:

Fruit is a slice of life drama about an Irish queer mid-30s friend group. I usually listen to genre fiction but this gives me so much joy!

The BBC Scotland Outdoors podcast. Listen, sometimes you just want to hear some friendly Scottish people talking about nature and the environment and conservation and hiking and it's my comfort show.

The BookMarks is an absurdist comedy formatted as an in-universe book podcast run by best friends Mark Bookerson and Marquelle Bookerson, no relation.

Why you should listen in no particular order

FRIENDSHIP!!!

At first glance, the worldbuilding seems more like the real world, but it quickly gets stranger. And stranger. If you enjoy the Night Vale, Death by Dying, Camp Here & There style of worldbuilding, you'll enjoy this one too.

It has some very heartfelt elements in with the comedy, and it's very sincere.

Marquelle has worked some odd jobs. You know, interning at the CIA, cage fighting, getaway driving, etc. Normal stuff!

Soup.

Did I mention that Mark and Marquelle Bookerson (no relation) are best friends? And they love each other?

I don't often go in for improvised podcasts, but this one is done tightly and very well.

A rec list of some audio fiction to try out written and/or created by Black creatives. Enjoy!

Audio drama -

The BookMarks: Following the book-themed podcast of best friends Mark Bookerson and Marquelle Bookerson (no relation), this show is a delightful slice of life in an absurd world. I know I'm voting for the Winter Wizard this election season. It takes a few episodes to find its footing, but it's become one of my absolute recent favorites. I desperately need this to get a fandom, ok?

Janus Descending (and its sequel Descendants): Space horror! Creator Jordan Cobb has been called the Mistress of Monsters, and it is with good reason. The story is told by two people, from beginning to end and end to beginning. It is a tragedy. Does that ruin the beauty? This also features tragic siblings that haunt my thoughts constantly.

Overbrook: For fans of Night Vale and I Am In Eskew, this is a must-listen. Set in the strange and inescapable small town of Overbrook, New York, we follow Vincent as she navigates life among the horrors and a best friend who dies and returns ad infinitum. It is a strange and compelling world, and I love the central friendship.

Audiobooks -

The Lesson by Cadwell Turnbull, narrated by Janina Edwards and Ron Butler: This compelling scifi novel is tied completely to its setting on the U.S. Virgin Islands. There's a lot of very compelling worldbuilding, and an interesting dynamic of how the world keeps on keeping on after being irreparably changed. Aliens came to the island five years ago. This is what is happening now. A lot of compelling characters, and you can feel sympathy for everyone even when disagreeing with their actions.

The Sound Of Stars by Alechia Dow, narrated by Joy Sunday and Christian Barillas: Another alien invasion story! This one has a focus on connection formed through art and music and books. The characters are compelling, and the situation is tense and interesting.

Kindred by Octavia Butler, narrated by Kim Staunton: An intense, absolute page turner (or audio equivalent) of a novel. Through inexplicable time travel, modern (1970s) author Dana is brought back in time antebellum Maryland repeatedly. This is one that I absolutely couldn't put down once I started. Dana is a brilliant character who ties the whole story together. The use time travel to tell a story about inextricable ties to history, especially painful history and slavery, as well as the question of determinism (will the drowning, abused son of a slave-owner inevitably become as bad as his father? commit to the same evil acts?) is really, really cleverly done.