This week, I chat with Eric and Amanda, two of the minds behind Join the Party, an inclusive audio drama powered by roleplaying game mechanics. We played an episode of their show in Episode 492; join me as I chat with the two of them about: Making the hobby accessibleActual-play podcasts like The Adventure ZoneMaking space for queerness and women in nerd cultureTweaking game mechanics for storytelling purposesFleeting Carly Rae Jepsen referencesAaaaand more!
Feb 17, 2018•44 min•Ep. 490
This week, we're playing an episode of the roleplaying podcast Join the Party, a hybrid actual-play and audio drama by some talented producers and performers out of New York. Gather round the table and get immersed in DM Eric's tale of the Concentric States. Inara, Johnny, and TR8C must be fleet of foot and quick of wit to catch up with the Red Throat gang, who have captured the beloved Prince Alonzo! Actual-play RPG podcasts have spiked in popularity recently, and I wanted to highlight a succes...
Feb 10, 2018•50 min•Ep. 489
In this episode, we play Kane and Feels, Paranormal Investigators, a new series from Skaði's Symphony. They're a production team out of the UK with a neo-noir that blends Jungian psychology with, in this case, Norse myth. In this week, Kane and Feels take on the case of "The Frozen Child".
Feb 03, 2018•45 min•Ep. 488
Harry wanted to be alone, and so he was: as alone as a person can be, transmuted into tachyon particles and hurled into deepest space, with nothing but an artificial intelligence for company. He was alone, and then, gradually, he wasn't. Harry and his friend Cailyn, are commanders on distant power stations with nothing but their AIs and their correspondence for company. Harry and Cailyn receive an application that allows them to upload virtual surrogates of themselves so that they can communicat...
Jan 27, 2018•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 487
This week, we're featuring Earbud Theater's "The Sounds Below", a chilling tale about a man plagued by panic and sleeplessness. Chris, unable to shake the trauma of his brother's death in a car accident, is making no headway with his therapist, and one night he goes wandering into the city, stumbling upon a strange little shop. The shopkeeper claims she sells the cure for fear. Would you buy it?
Jan 20, 2018•35 min•Ep. 486
This week, we're exploring Christopher Reynaga's Point Mystic, playing "White Rabbit, Parts I and II" from that show. Point Mystic is a fiction show done up in a narrative-nonfiction style, à la This American Life—it's about Christopher's family, and the spookiness of the town they inhabit. The White Rabbit cycle was created in collaboration with Christopher's wife, Marguerite Croft, and their son Fox—and all three of them act (quite ably) in the show. It's a fascinating mixture of nonfiction in...
Jan 13, 2018•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 485
It's our Christmas spectacula-a-a-a-a-ar! Settle in for a long winter's DELIGHT as we present Sassquach Radio's Deck The Halls (With Matrimony!), a Christmas romantic comedy. Then stick around, because I interview the writer/director, Ashley Quach, and the show's star and producer, Paula Deming. It's a fabulous time and I hope you'll join us. In this episode: smooch foley! audio drama origins! foot foley! creative freedom! and butt foley. We have it all covered, this Christmas season....
Dec 23, 2017•1 hr 55 min•Ep. 484
This week, join us as we go urban-exploring in a spooky, abandoned house with Five Levels of Fear, a new audio series written by Sable Jak, and directed, designed, and edited by our very own Matt Boudreau and Eli McIlveen. You can find out more about Five Levels of Fear by searchin' for it on that internet!
Dec 16, 2017•38 min•Ep. 483
Peri is a quiet woman who keeps to herself in a lighthouse overlooking the ocean, but one day, she wakes up somewhere totally unfamiliar; she's still in the lighthouse, but the lighthouse no longer overlooks the ocean... It's The Far Meridian by Eli Barraza, a writer and actor on ars PARADOXICA and a thoughtful, fascinating creator. Join us as we listen to the first two episodes of The Far Meridian's first season; then Eli herself joins me for a conversation about the origins of this show, magic...
Dec 09, 2017•59 min•Ep. 482
Northwestern University professor of Sound Studies Neil Verma joins me for a segment we call GOING DEEP. This week, we're exploring the classic horror of Arch Oboler's Lights Out, in a 1943 episode called "Murder in the Script Department". After the feature, Professor Verma teaches me about what was going on in this period of audio drama, I learn about how Oboler was a scriptomaniac man-about-town, and how voice actress Mercedes McCambridge (of EXORCIST fame) exerted absolute control over her in...
Dec 02, 2017•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 481
What a suntabulous bicuspid of a day! It's time for the Sunshine Smile Hour, a dental hygiene-themed children's program! Oh golly, this is a good one, and ain't that the tooth. So this episode is utterly wackadoo: imagine a musical comedy along the lines of Book of Mormon, Avenue Q, or Reefer Madness, with a solid helping of noir pastiche and cosmic horror alongside. The Fall of the House of Sunshine is like if you put all of the above musicals into a high-powered blender along with a collection...
Nov 18, 2017•33 min•Ep. 480
This week, we're presenting writer, director, and film professor Faith McQuinn's Boom, a story of loss, recovery, secrets, and murder. Porter, the protagonist, must deal with the murder of his best friend—and the police consider him the prime suspect. We get inside Porter's head as he struggles to come to grips with the crime and reassemble his life. Faith gave us episodes 1 and 2 of Boom for you. Listen, follow and subscribe! Find out more about Faith McQuinn! Our sweet sweet PayPal donation bu...
Nov 11, 2017•33 min•Ep. 479
Bronzeville is a story of the Great Migration: it follows Jimmy Tillman (Larenz Tate), a papermill worker from Arkansas who kills a strikebreaker and flees to Chicago to find a new life for himself, tracing the steps of millions of Black Americans who migrated from the rural South to the urban North in the mid-20th century. Jimmy makes his way to Bronzeville, the legendary Black neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, where he falls in with the Copeland family, the operators of a policy racket—an ...
Nov 04, 2017•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 478
We're celebrating AUDIO DRAMA DAY by featuring some works from 11th Hour Productions, the once-a-year marathon audio drama production festival where dramatists from all the world over come together to create magnificently creepy fiction. We're featuring two pieces this year: Shadows of Halloween, written by Neil Gustin and created by 11th Hour US East, and Ivory Towers, written by Richard Brooks and created by 11th Hour UK. Stick around for the credits for the thrilling conclusion of Radio Drama...
Oct 30, 2017•1 hr 39 min•Ep. 477
New York playwright and audio dramatist Mac Rogers joins me for a discussion about craft, aliens, and influences as we excerpt some of his new thriller, Steal The Stars, a co-production between Tor Books and his own production company, Gideon Media. Steal the Stars is the story of Dakota "Dak" Prentiss, the security chief at Quill Marine, a secretive private military contractor. Quill Marine is built around the biggest secret of all time, and new recruits have to be taken down to see the secret—...
Oct 21, 2017•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 476
It wouldn't be a monster episode without MONSTERS, would it?! Awww yeah it's zombie time! American podcast legend KC Wayland joins me for a chat about craft, zombies, and Force Multipliers of Art. We're gonna play an episode of We're Alive: Lockdown, the miniseries that combines a jailbreak with horror-survival adventure. SPOOPTOBER CONTINUES, as we bring you yet another episode to thrill and perturb!
Oct 14, 2017•1 hr 40 min•Ep. 475
A double-feature this week as we begin our October horror series! First, from Paragon Collective and the makers of Darkest Night, it's Deadly Manners, a new murder mystery show narrated by LeVar Burton (Star Trek, Reading Rainbow) and starring Kristen Bell (Frozen, Veronica Mars) and Anna Chlumsky (Veep). CW: racism, misogyny, and murder! Then, it's a chilling tale of family business in Rites of Autumn, a spooky little tale of tradition, pumpkins, and more murder. That comes to us from John Ball...
Oct 07, 2017•53 min•Ep. 474
This week, I'm joined by Ellen Winter and Chris Littler of Chamber Band to talk about their new podcast for Two-Up Productions, the production company that brought you Limetown. 36 Questions is a fabulous PODCAST MUSICAL starring Jessie Shelton (Hadestown) and Jonathan Groff (Glee, Spring Awakening, Hamilton) and you should go and listen to it right now, before you listen to this interview. Go ahead! I'll wait. You'll love it. Chris, Ellen, and I discuss: The creative process!Snow-shoeing!How J-...
Sep 30, 2017•55 min•Ep. 473
Two foul-mouthed Scottish paranormal investigators travel to the misty island of St. Caillic to uncover the secret of a terrible anniversary--it's A Scottish Podcast, the newest creation of former Audio Drama Production Podcast hosts Robert Cudmore and Matthew McLean. Robert and Matthew play Lee and Dougie, two washed-up, cynical castaways from the music biz who decide to strike out as paranormal podcasters. What you'll hear today is multiple episodes stitched together by Robert and Matthew, and...
Sep 23, 2017•45 min•Ep. 472
Scholar and dramatist Lance Dann joins me as we play the first episode of his techno-thriller, BLOOD CULTURE. It's a trans-media project, consisting of not just a radio drama, but of an AR game that begins with this in-world website (as well as plenty of goofy easter eggs in the credits page). Blood Culture is the story of A'isha, an employee of an enormous biotech firm called Meta. Meta's interns are falling ill and dying at an alarming rate, and it's up to A'isha, and her childhood friend Livy...
Sep 16, 2017•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 471
We're premiering INHALE, the latest miniseries by Rick Coste, the unstoppable, unbelievably prolific audio drama producer from New England. Tracy Tanner is an unassuming librarian in the small town of Hemlock, Massachusetts—but Tracy isn't her real name, and she isn't just a librarian. Tracy is a superhero—and she's not supering anymore. Join me as we dive into Tracy's secrets in this exciting new miniseries! Rick Coste Productions
Sep 02, 2017•26 min•Ep. 470
This week, we explore EOS 10, a medical comedy in space. Dr Ryan Dalias is a young doctor, recently assigned to a posting on EOS 10, a station in deep space. Dalias's job, ostensibly, is to manage his alcoholic superior, Dr. Horace Urvidian—a brilliant but curmudgeonly xenobiologist. Together with Nurse Johns and Levi, a disgraced prince-turned-chef, the four of them have numerous wacky hijinks. This episode, "Up, Up, Up," contains adult situations and themes of, well, boners. Links: EOS 10's we...
Aug 26, 2017•31 min•Ep. 469
It's a spine-tingler this week, as we dive into the twisted world of Darkest Night with a little story called "Horns Limo Service". Darkest Night is a horror anthology series from the Paragon Collective, and what makes it special is its binaural recording setup. It's similar to what Campfire Radio does: it puts you inside the action. Not a lot of audio drama companies do this, and it's really neat! After the feature, I have a chat with Alex Aldea, the director and producer of Darkest Night. We t...
Aug 19, 2017•59 min•Ep. 468
Why do we climb? Why do people look at the tallest mountains in the world -- vast, inhospitable places -- and say, "I want to climb to its summit"? When you're up there, what do you become? What do you give up? We're exploring those questions today in a new drama by JJ Wang from Netizen Playhouse: The Embrace: Nights on Killer Mountain The story follows an Australian mountaineer, Zoe, who wants to be the first woman to summit Nanga Parbat, one of the deadliest mountains in the world, in winter. ...
Aug 13, 2017•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 467
This week, it's the Stories of Mahabharata, retold by Sudipta Bhawmik, a multitalented playwright, storyteller, and engineer. With music and immersive sound design by Avi Ziv, Bhawmik animates this ancient Indian epic, rendering it in English to delight those that have never heard it before as well as those who were raised on the stories. The Mahabharata is thousands of years old, and originally in Sanskrit. It tells the story of two groups of warring cousins -- the Pandava brothers and the Kaur...
Aug 05, 2017•41 min•Ep. 466
This week, we dive into the fabulous world of The Axe and Crown -- (our very own) Eli McIlveen's spinoff miniseries from Alba Salix, Royal Physician. It's a fantasy world where the most immediate dangers aren't dragons or wizards, but yuppies threatening to gentrify your neighborhood. Gubbin is a salty old troll who runs a tavern called The Axe and Crown. It's a dive bar on the bad side of the river. Stan is a human, and the naive new landlord who thinks he can renovate the place. What we've got...
Jul 29, 2017•39 min•Ep. 465
Writer/director/producer Jessica Best joins me to talk about her new science-fiction mystery adventure, THE STRANGE CASE OF STARSHIP IRIS. Best is part of the recently-formed Procyon Network, a podcast network whose mission is to create inclusive fiction. All of them are fabulous people. We're going to play Episode 2 of Starship Iris, which is a sometimes-funny, sometimes-tragic, deeply thoughtful adventure in space. Imagine FIREFLY with a mostly-female cast and a badass Hufflepuff for a ship's ...
Jul 22, 2017•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 464
This week, we play an episode of an experimental podcast called PODCAST MEANDER, which kind of skirts the border between autobiography and fiction. Dan Leone plays/is a character, also named Dan, who has thrown away his old life (or attempted to). After secretly saving for years, Dan quits his job in Connecticut and heads west, unsure of what he wants to do with his life. In the episode you'll hear today, Dan comes to suddenly on a train, unaware of where it's going, why he's aboard, or where he...
Jul 16, 2017•54 min•Ep. 463
This week, line producer Matthew Boudreau hooks us up with some binaural horror from the Wireless Theatre Company with The Autopsy. For more great audio from the Wireless Theatre Company, including the stunning Springheel'd Jack Saga, visit their website at http://www.wirelesstheatre.co.uk A couple of notes: Binaural sound attempts to authentically recreate how we hear. Listening to this episode with headphones is highly recommended. The Autopsy contains some visceral and graphic audio material....
Jul 01, 2017•25 min•Ep. 462
This week Matthew continues hosting for David as we feature B.I.L.I. from London's own O'Neill and Freeman. For more O'Neill and Freeman https://soundcloud.com/oneillandfreeman Check out James O'Neill's terrific sculpture work: http://aplaceforclay.wixsite.com/sculptor
Jun 24, 2017•32 min•Ep. 461
