The Menagerie

Some quotes I like.

Wolf 359

4 seasons, complete | Sci-Fi | Drama

Four crewmembers have been aboard a research station circling the red dwarf star known as Wolf 359 for over a year, with little apparent to show for it. It's told at first via audio logs from the ship's communications officer, whose job is to search for signs of alien life, but mostly spends his time goofing off to stave off boredom, until the crew begins to realize their mission may be more than they expected. To be honest, it's a little silly at times, especially near the start, but it's absolutely worth sticking with and is much funnier and more intelligent than I initially gave it credit for, with great story, atmosphere, and cast of characters.

The Bright Sessions

4 seasons, complete | Sci-Fi | Drama

A story told through therapy sessions with superpowered people (though in a world without superheroes or villains). Explores some interesting concepts and some of the mundane side effects of superpowers, though ultimately I felt like the story and characters could've been stronger.

The Deca Tapes

1 season | Mystery

The Deca Tapes is a weird one, because, ideally, you'd go into it knowing absolutely nothing. Since obviously that's a tough sell, I'll add that it's a mystery about ten people who are trapped and have no memories, with each of the eight episodes being narrated by a different character. Give it a whirl.

Zero Hours

7 episodes, complete | Anthology

An anthology in which each episode focuses on an apocalypse, be it worldwide or personal, with 99 years passing between each episode. It's beautiful, atmospheric, and haunting.

We Fix Space Junk

1 season | Sci-fi | Comedy

A smuggler and a fugitive travel the galaxy as international repairwomen doing odd jobs for Automnicon, the obligatory evil corporation who owns everything. It's a funny, silly dystopian sitcom with loveable characters and fun character dynamics.

Brimstone Valley Mall

1 season | Comedy

In the year 1999, several demons in disguise find that they'd rather spend their time slumming around in the mall rather than hell. Their band has landed the gig of the millenia, as the opening act for Hell's Y2K concert, but their lead singer has gone missing, giving them two weeks to find him lest they face the wrath of Satan herself.

The Strange Case of Starship Iris

2 seasons | Sci-fi

The sole survivor of an exploded research vessel struggles to readjust to life and discover the mysteries of the attack. I'm gonna be honest, I'm due for a re-listen on this one, because while I remember thinking it was pretty nifty I barely remember anything about it. Oops.

Within The Wires

8 seasons | Anthology

Within the Wires is a fascinating podcast in which context is picked up in interesting ways. For example, the first season is told via relaxational cassettes. I feel like I'd be doing it a disservice to explain too much about the genre or plot, and highly suggest diving in for yourself. I love the way the story is built and woven together.

Time:Bombs

1 season | Comedy

A short podcast about a bomb disposal group on the busiest night of the year. It's a short 3 episodes, but it's funny and entertaining.

The Magnus Archives

5 seasons, complete | Horror

Jonathan Sims is the newly appointed head archivist at the Magnus Institute, which investigates the paranormal, and is told via statements recorded for internal research use. Main character Jon is himself a skeptic, but as the statements go along common threads start to appear between seemingly unrelated stories. Ultimately I felt like the series was overall stronger at the start and began to fall apart, but I know that's probably an unpopular opinion. There's definitely some solid horror and interesting characters.

Stellar Firma

3 seasons, complete | Sci-fi | Comedy

A very, very silly, partially-improv sci-fi about a planetary designer and his hapless clone assistant, who try to take listener suggestions and craft concepts for planets. Charming and funny if you like the humor, though, again: it's silly as all hell.

Caravan

1 season | Fantasy | Western

Two men on a camping trip to the Canyon get trapped in a thunderstorm, with one of them falling into the Canyon, becoming trapped in the magical weird west world contained by the barrier. He joins a traveling caravan of vigilante supernatural bounty hunters to find their way out of hell. Great characters and dynamics, though unfortunately season 2 is still in development.

Dreamboy

1 season, cancelled | Surreal | 18+

"Someone is changing all the streetlights in Pepper Heights, Cleveland. The color of nighttime is shifting. Everyone thinks they know what happened at the Pepper Heights Zoo… But do they, really?

Dane, a spun-out musician spending the winter in Cleveland, Ohio, has two main goals: keeping his job at the Pepper Heights Zoo and trying not to waste all his time on Grindr. What he doesn’t expect is to get swept into a story about dreams, about forevers, about flickering lights, about unexplained deaths, about relentless change, and about the parts of ourselves that we wish other people knew to look for. Oh, and also a murderous zebra."

Dreamboy is an odd show. Surreal, almost horror-adjacent, yet weirdly cozy, it's a beautiful, atmospheric, and poignant. Even though it was originally intended to be longer than one season, I still absolutely recommend experiencing it as-is anyway. Though it's worth noting that this one is definitely for adults, with quite a lot of sexual content.

A Ninth World Journal

5 seasons | Fantasy

The story of Januae, a man who randomly teleports with no ability to control it. Based on the roleplaying game Numenera, though not an actual play podcast, there's a lot of excellent worldbuilding on top of the storytelling itself. The writer and narrator, who appears in several of the podcasts mentioned on this page, has a lovely, soothing voice. Also I have the honor of having my fanart used as the PFP for the show's twitter account, so check that out!

Oz 9

5 seasons | Sci-fi | Comedy

A large number of rich people have been fleeced of their money by a terraforming space tourism scam, and don't realize that the plan was for them to never wake up from their cryosleep at all. The equally oblivious and hapless crew of the Oz 9 attempt to understand and control the situation as things very rapidly start falling apart. A very silly show about a bunch of idiots on a spaceship.

Old Gods of Appalachia

4 seasons | Horror | Alternate history

A horror podcast set in an alternative Appalachia, pulling from history and folklore of the region (from which the creators and cast are from) to tell stories of the beings that have slumbered beneath the mountains that were never meant to be inhabited.

The Penumbra Podcast

4 seasons | Sci-fi | Fantasy

Technically two podcasts: Juno Steel, a noir thriller about a private detective on Mars, and Second Citadel, about a city-fortress surrounded by monsters. Neither podcast is directly related to the other, though they share a lot of voice actors.

Among the Stars and Bones

2 seasons | Sci-fi

A story about xenoarchaeologists investigating alien ruins, told through the perspectives of various different departments in the crew sending status reports on their mission.

The Silt Verses

2 seasons | Horror

Two worshippers of an outlawed god go on a pilgrimage in search of holy revelations.