8 New or Obscure Storytelling Podcasts. Start Listening

Do you wish there was some sort of podcast version of your favorite TV show? With awesome characters, engaging plot-lines, and crazy cliffhangers?

Well, there are. They’re called “audio drama.” And they’re amazing.

Right now, audio drama is having a bit of a renaissance. But it’s not all shows like Welcome to Night Vale, The Black Tapes, The Message, and Tanis. There’s weirder, more underground, stuff out there. Podcasts off the beaten path that you should definitely check out.

So, here you go, 8 podcasts that are either super new or pretty obscure:

Alice Isn't Dead

This is from the same people that brought us Welcome to Night Vale, and it’s got that same middle-of-nowhere weirdness that WTNV does so successfully. And it may or may not have Winona Ryder. (It doesn’t have Winona Ryder)

Website: http://www.nightvalepresents.com/aliceisntdead/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/alice-isnt-dead/id1088978354?mt=2
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/nightvaleradio/alice-isnt-dead-ep-1-omelet

Archive 81

A “found footage” audio drama, this one’s creepy. Like, really creepy. The premise is that we’re listening to some of the tape that an archivist recorded right before he disappeared. Needless to say, the tapes themselves are scary/weird/unsettling. There’s teleportation, an opera that shatters souls, and a cult that can rewrite memory. Listen during the daytime. Oh, and the sound design kicks ass.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/archive-81/id1098194172?mt=2

Ars Paradoxica

Ars Paradoxica is a time travel show, so future you has probably already checked this out. It’s about a government scientist in the near future who gets sucked back in time all the way back to WWII. Does she fight Nazis? Does she comprehend the destruction of the atomic bomb? Does she fall in love? Listen and find out.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ars-paradoxica/id1006173000?mt=2

The Bright Sessions

It’s The X-Men meets In Treatment. You’re listening to the recordings of a therapist as she tries to help some… unusual patients. You’ve got empaths, time-travelers, mind-readers, and evil jerks. Come for the superpowers, stay for the delicate portraits of ordinary people trying to live their lives. Oh, and the acting’s steller.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-bright-sessions/id1053268058?mt=2

King Falls AM

It’s a community radio broadcast in a weird small town, so the Night Vale comparisons are both apt and warranted. But King Falls AM carves its own path, moving away from the “weird for weird’s sake” ethos of Night Vale. There are strong ongoing plotlines, good characters, and the acting is pretty great. It’s also funny as heck.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/king-falls-am/id1016760065?mt=2

Serendipity

This one is artsy. Like, really artsy. Kind of like The Truth, but even more experimental. It can be hit or miss at times, but I really like the fact that it’s exploring the potential of stories in sound. Plus, the people that produce the podcast are really trying to energize the audio drama community, so that’s always a plus.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/serendipity/id1015992066?mt=2

The Truth

This is neither obscure or new… but it’s just so good I had to put it on here. It’s an anthology series, each episode is a new, fully acted story. Jonathan Mitchell really pushes the medium of audio storytelling to its limit. And they’re starting up a new miniseries called Songonauts, which is like if Steven Universe and Sliders had a baby, and that baby played a mean keytar. If you prefer your audio fiction more dread-filled, try out That’s Democracy. That’s Democracy is essentially perfect.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-truth/id502304410?mt=2

We're Alive: Lockdown

A continuation of one of the most popular audio drama podcasts ever, We’re Alive: Lockdown, is kind of like The Walking Dead, if The Walking Dead’s plot actually went anywhere. We’re Alive was one of the first podcasts with legit sound design and competent production, so their second series should be even stronger. This one’s set in a prison, with the guards and prisoners having to work together to fight a zombie apocalypse. There’s only been five episodes, so get in on the ground floor.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/were-alive-lockdown/id1103884477?mt=2