Mihret’s Podcast Picks: Sci-fi audio dramas to start the new year right
By Mihret Yirgeta, January 19 2022—
Now that we are starting a new semester again, I’m sure people could use something to listen to as they walk back and forth between classes and buildings. Here are some sci-fi podcasts to start the new year right.
EOS 10
This podcast has been described as “Scrubs in space.” It is a medical audio drama set on a medical space station in the distant future. It chronicles the adventures of Dr. Ryan Dalias as he is first stationed on EOS 10 to support Dr. Horace Urvidian who has a drinking problem that has gone too far. There he meets nurse Jane Johns, a unique and lovable weirdo, and the resident hypochondriac Levi, a deposed alien prince living on EOS 10 as a refugee. Together hijinks ensue. EOS 10 is perfect for anyone who loves sitcoms and likes emotional moments in their comedy.
Wolf 359
Another fun podcast set in space, Wolf 359 is told in the form of the audio logs of communications officer Doug Eiffel on board the USS Hephaestus space station, a military ship sent into deep space to look for signs of intelligent life. Along with Doug, we have Lieutenant Commander Renee Minkowski, a by-the-book leader, Dr. Alexander Hilbert, the very definition of a mad scientist, and Hera, the resident sarcastic AI. This dysfunctional crew faces daily life-or-death emergencies as they maintain their search for intelligent life in space. This show starts very fun and lighthearted but gets very emotional and high stakes as it goes on, so be prepared.
The Penumbra Podcast: Juno Steel
The Penumbra Podcast has two separate running storylines from different genres, and Juno Steel is the sci-fi storyline. Juno Steel is a grumpy and brooding private eye living in Hyperion City on Mars. His cases bring him in contact with a wide variety of scenarios as he tangles with an elusive homme fatale, tracks dangerous artifacts of an ancient alien civilization, and deals with a corrupt secret organization that operated outside the laws of any Solar government. Juno Steel is a gripping audio drama and perfect for anyone who is a fan of old-school noir detective stories.
The Strange Case of Starship Iris
In the year 2191 in a distant patch of space, a mysterious explosion kills nearly the entire crew of the science vessel Starship Iris. The only survivor is Violet Liu, an intrepid, sarcastic, terrified biologist. Waking up on the ship The Rumor, Violet meets the crew from the compassionate Captain Sana Tripathy to prickly tech support Arkady Patel, followed by friendly and nerdy translator Brian Jeeter and the lovable alien pilot Krejjh. But as Violet struggles to readjust to life after the Iris, she starts questioning if the explosion really was an accident. Violet and her new allies end up discovering a lot more than they bargained for. This show is amazing for fans of the space opera subgenre and really works with the found family trope.
Steal the Stars
Dakota Prentiss works at a secret military base built around an alien crash site which contains a spaceship and the alien that piloted it, nicknamed “Moss.” Owing to the top-secret nature of the military base and its research, there are very strict rules for all military personnel including no fraternization. This becomes a problem when Matt Salem joins Dakota’s security team and sparks fly between the two. If they are found out they will be thrown into military prison, if they run they will be hunted for what they know. Dakota and Matt decide there’s only one way they could be together without persecution: steal Moss and sell the secret of its existence. Steal the Stars is a very engaging and mesmerizing story of what happens when people get desperate. It’s perfect for anyone who loves shows about military conspiracies, and the audio editing for this show is remarkable.