Radio Drama Revival

Sunny Moraine joins me to discuss their horror podcast, Gone, their stream-of-consciousness writing/performing style, their terrifying-but-fascinating doctoral dissertation, and so much more!We discuss:Sunny's origins in podcastingLARPing?The balance between mystery-box plots and Explaining EverythingFoucault's heterotopia, and spaces outside of normal rulesMental illness and apocalypse (where did they all go?!)Poetry!Sunny's other fiction, particularly eyes I dare not meet in dreams

It's morning, and something's different. Everything's different. Everyone's gone. No commotion, no explanation. Suddenly the world is emptied of people. Except for you.This is Sunny Moraine's GONE, a taut, claustrophobic horror podcast about waking up and realizing you're entirely alone in the world. It's kind of the horror-counterpart to Michelle Nickolaisen's UNPLACED, at least superficially -- but while those two shows twine around similar themes, their execution couldn't be more different.We play episode 1 of Gone, "Awakening". Stay tuned for next week's show, when show creator Sunny and I sit down for a chat about their creative process, their dissertation in sociology, and makin' scary fiction.

This week, I sit down with Faith McQuinn, the director and creator of Boom: A Serial Drama Podcast.And what a delight she is! We talk about Faith's history with radio drama, her filmmaker's background, Rovee the cleaning robot, and the long road to making Boom.Boom is a show about denial and fury, masculinity and repression. It's perpetually relevant, and very smart—and Faith herself is no different! I'm excited to see what else this creator has up her sleeves.

IT'S OUR 500TH EPISODE!And to ring it in, we're celebrating by playing a new old favorite, Faith McQuinn's BOOM.I talk about the I Love Lucy Show Syndrome, and how it plays into the way I feel about this excellent show.Hey: This episode contains major spoilers for Season 1 of Boom, so if you don't wanna get spoiled, head on back to the website and listen from the beginning before starting this episode. This is the first episode of Season Two, "Everything I Could".Stay tuned for next week, when you'll hear me interview Faith McQuinn, the director and creator of Boom.CW: murder, a loud explosion, trauma throughout

This week, we're playing the first episode of Onion Public Media's A Very Fatal Murder—it's a spot-on parody of all the true-crime programs you love to binge, from Serial to S-Town to The Staircase.I got to talk to series directors Ryan Natoli and Fran Hoepfner, and writers Louisa Kellogg and David Sidorov. Sidorov plays David Pascall, the host and protagonist of A Very Fatal Murder. We talk about the Onion pitching process, translating the techniques of short-form video to audio fiction, and Fran's Discarded Teens (a show I wish existed).Our Patreon is live! Throw us some dollars, please. a satirical news agency, for those of you outside the United States

We're playing Michelle Nickolaisen's Unplaced, a show about a woman who finds herself suddenly invisible. It's skilfully written and acted, and it's got a fantastic soundtrack. We play the first three episodes, and wonder—what's it like to be slowly but surely erased from your own life?Have a wonderful Passover and Easter, y'all!

This week on, we're playing The Bright Sessions, episode 50: "Rose", a surprise musical episode! Later, show creator Lauren Shippen joins me for a chat about the creative work that went into making this special episode -- it's a can't-miss for musical fans!

Linguist, critic, and Bello Collective reviewer Elana Fernández Collins joins me to present Love and Luck, a magical epistolary romance from Australia. It's here, it's queer; it's DELIGHTFUL, and nobody dies. So settle in to a warm and happy bubble bath of a show in which two people fall in love and slowly discover they have magic powers. Then they open a cafe. Like, c'mon! How sweet is that?!You can find Ely's writing on the Bello Collective, or at her new audio drama newsletter, Audiodramatic. Check it out at Tinyletter.com/audiodramatic

Do you want to hear a story? Of course you do! On this week's show, we're rejoined by Host-Alumnus Fred Greenhalgh to introduce his new show, The Mayan Crystal... a tale of adventure, sisterhood, anticolonialism, and magic, all taking place in modern-day Belize.Join us for an episode of the new show, and a chat with Fred wherein we discuss the mythic origins of this story, the need to expand representation in media, and the way in which we have redecorated our pretend RDR headquarters.

Today, I'm joined by Wil Williams of the blog Podcast Problems to discuss how some audio fiction blurs the lines between fiction and nonfiction journalism. We're GOING DEEP this week, on: The War of the Worlds! The Polybius Conspiracy! Limetown! S-Town! Point Mystic! and many more! Like what you hear? Us too. You can support Wil Williams on Patreon. About Radio Drama Revival: Support Radio Drama Revival on Patreon Find David Rheinstrom on Twitter Support Eli McIlveen on Patreon Find Fred Greenhalgh on his website Heather Cohen: Researcher Monique Boudreau: Researcher Matthew Boudreau: Line Producer Radio Drama Revival is recorded in Washington, DC, which is the unceded territory of the Piscataway Indian Nation and the Piscataway Conoy Tribe.

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!

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 successful and compelling one. Join the Party uses collaborative storytelling and imaginative game mechanics to help produce something new, interesting, and exciting.More Join The Party links:- patreon: patreon.com/jointhepartypod- twitter: twitter.com/jointhepartypod- facebook: facebook.com/jointhepartypod- instagram: instagram.com/jointhepartypod- tumblr: jointhepartypod.tumblr.com- merch: jointhepartypod.com/merchCast & Crew- Dungeon Master: Eric Silver- TR8c (Tracey): Brandon Grugle- Inara Harthorn: Amanda McLoughlin-

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".

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 communicate "in-person", and it's the connection forged via those surrogates that might just save the universe.

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?

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 interviews and fiction segments, but presented in such a way that each supports the other, which isn't as common as you'd think.

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.

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!

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 realism, and dope space news.Donate to the paypal link on our website!

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 instrument.Neil's book, Theater of the MindOur Paypal link (set up a sustaining donation today!)