Mihret’s Podcast Picks: Audio media magic to kick-start the summer
By Mihret Yirgeta, July 16 2024—
Now that we’ve made it through the academic year and recovered from final exams, let’s kick off the summer with some podcasts that have cool and unique formats to keep you entertained.
Within the Wires
From the team that brought you Welcome to Night Vale, Within the Wires is an anthology podcast with stories set in the same dystopian universe at different times in its history. Each season focuses on a completely different set of characters, and a whole new format of storytelling, which slowly reveals different aspects of their world. The first season is a set of relaxation tapes, the second season is a guided audio museum tour, the third season is a series of voicemails from a city council member to his assistant, and so on. If you like psychological thriller-type stories and dystopian fiction and want to see how boundaries can be pushed in the audio medium, I cannot recommend this show enough.
Re: Dracula
In 2021, a Substack subscription released Bram Stoker’s Dracula in parts. By 2022, it gained huge popularity on Tumblr as Dracula Daily, where thousands read and discussed it together. In 2023 we got a new adaptation, Re: Dracula, which serialized the novel in audio format. With incredible voice acting, sound design and original music, Re: Dracula is by far the most accurate adaptation of the original Dracula. Episodes came out based on the dates of the entries in the book, running from May to November 2023, and it was as gripping as Dracula Daily was. The team has started releasing episodes again as of May of this year so if you love gothic horror, amazing sound design, and a whole internet community to discuss your new obsession with, then look no further.
Greenhouse
Greenhouse is a love story told entirely through letters between two people: Rose Green, a reclusive writer who just wants to be left alone, and Abigail Adams a very lonely bookworm and florist. Due to a strange clause in Rose’s father’s will that requires that she write regular letters to his favourite local florist, the two women begin a correspondence and slowly learn that the world is much brighter when you have someone to share it with. It is a concise podcast, twenty episodes of around five minutes each, so if you are looking for something short and sweet then definitely check out Greenhouse.
SAYER
SAYER is a sci-fi horror audio drama that grapples with themes of identity, humanity, mortality, and AI. The show’s premise is that in the near future, an asteroid will destroy the Pacific Northwest. In the chaos, a big corporation called Ærolith Dynamics salvaged the asteroid and made it Earth’s second moon, Typhon. Now, Ærolith conducts ethically dubious research on Typhon, beyond government control. The story is told in the form of communications from SAYER, a highly intelligent and self-aware AI with barely disguised contempt for humans, as he guides you through your daily – usually almost fatal – duties as an Ærolith Dynamics employee. If you want to explore the perils of capitalism through a malevolent and sarcastic AI actively gaslighting you into endangering yourself, then this show is perfect.
Modern Love
The only non-fiction entry in this list, Modern Love is based on the popular New York Times column of the same name, giving us a glimpse into the complicated love lives of real people. Host Anna Martin brings a story from the column each week and a discussion into the messy and beautiful nature of love and life. This show is great for romantics and people who read memoirs for fun. If you are like me and love hearing stories about real people then I highly recommend this podcast. Bonus recommendation: the TV show of the same name and premise is also incredible and has featured actors such as Anne Hathaway, Kit Harrington, Dev Patel and more!