💭 Podcast Recommendations

2023.09.13

I was asked by 82mhz for fiction podcast recommendations, and I ended up sending a lengthy email, which I figured might be useful to some other people so I decided to publish it here. Below are a couple categories with my favorite podcasts of each.

👻 Paranormal

I got started in audio dramas with The Black Tapes. It's about ghosts and investigating them, but one of the main characters does not believe in ghosts. It has concluded (no news seasons will be created), and it was one of my favorites.

I am currently listening to Archive 81 and I love it. It's one of my top favorites of all time. The first season was fantastic. It's about a building where a lot of weird stuff happens. The second season takes a huge turn into a very different and bizarre storyline, but I was on board. I'm currently listening to season 3, and it's fantastic. It can be a bit graphic, and it's definitely extremely weird, but if you're into that kind of stuff it's great. They also turned the first season into a show on Netflix, which was cancelled after the first season. I'm maybe halfway through that, but it's also pretty good. This podcast is also complete, so no new seasons will be created.

Every year the 13 Days of Halloween podcast has an episode a day in the 13 days leading up to Halloween. Each season is a self contained story, and I have loved it every year. This is from the creator of the podcast Lore, if you've ever heard of that.

He also created 12 Ghosts, which is the same format as 13 days, but it's the 12 days leading up to Christmas. It's also fantastic and I would highly recommend both.

I recently finished Video Palace. It was created by the horror streaming service, Shudder. I really enjoyed this one. It's about some mysterious VHS tapes that cause weird things for the people that watch them. I believe it was canceled, but I can't remember. There was also book that spun off from it that I bought but haven't read yet.

The Left Right Game was based on a creepy pasta. It was really good and very bizarre. It's about a game you play where you drive and as soon as you can, turn left, then the next turn right. You can't miss a turn or bad things happen, and during the drive a lot of weird things happen. Pretty interesting idea.

👽 Scifi

One of my top favorite podcasts is Rabbits. It's about a mysterious game with alternate reality/multiverse themes. This was created by the same person that made The Black Tapes. It also spun off a book which I really enjoyed,and a sequel, The Quiet Room, that hasn't been released yet. This one is still ongoing, so a new season will come eventually.

The Cipher is from the BBC and it's about weird puzzles, extra terrestrial themes, etc. I think they will have a second season eventually but one isn't out yet. The first was released in 2021.

🎬 Thrillers

I don't know what to categorize these as. They aren't scifi or paranormal. They're just.. things that could happen in our real world. Thriller seemed the best description I could come up with.

Blackout has 2 seasons. It follows a family as they deal with all of the power suddenly going out in the US and not coming back.

The Hacker Chronicles is about someone who stumbles into cyber crime and we go along with her as she learns, makes mistakes, and deals with the aftermath of her hacks. It's currently in the second season, and not all episodes of it are out yet. I'm a couple episodes behind but it's been really good so far.

🎧 Misc

I recently finished The Polybius Conspiracy. It's a weird mix of a fiction story and presenting information about the myth of Polybius (a mysterious black arcade game that supposedly appeared for a bit in Portland, OR in the 80s and caused adverse effects in the people who played it). I found the ending fairly disappointing, but it was still interesting to listen to. There won't be more seasons.

Every year the Christmas Stories podcast has 24 new episodes in the days leading up to Christmas, but unlike 12 Ghosts, this one is a light, enjoyable story. Each year is a single story split across the 24 episodes. This one feels closest to the old radio dramas. I listened to it the last 2 years and really enjoyed each of the stories.

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