podstash

[podstash]

Song Salad is a fun little indie show where two friends write a song based on a random Wikipedia page in the style of a random genre. Sometimes educational, sometimes funny, but always a sweet and entertaining listen. I sometimes listen at 1.5 speed, slowing down for the musical bits.

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Fireside is "The Irish Storytelling Podcast”. The host tells traditional Irish tales each episode, giving a bit of background on each. One person talking, mostly scripted.

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372 Pages We’ll Never Get Back is a podcast where two MST3000/RiffTrax writers read and discuss books they don’t think they’ll like. Sometimes they’re so-bad-they’re-good (Eye of Argon, Moon People), sometimes they’re excruciating (Bob Honey Who Just Do Stuff). Episodes are long -- 1-2 hours, sometimes more. The hosts break up their discussion with silly dramatized segments, “fanfiction or real”, highlighting dumb sentences of the week, and reader mail.

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These are the voyages of the USS Sisyphus. Improvised Star Trek explores strange new worlds of comedy within the universe of Star Trek, both as a podcast and on the stage. Winner of the Parsec and Audioverse Awards.

Improvised Star Trek is an improvised comedy fancast set in the Star Trek universe. IST episodes are short (20-30 minutes) and are self-contained, although they do build on each other. Ended after a 10-year run, but there’s a long backlog to work through!

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The Cryptid Keeper is one of my favorite podcasts. Addison Peacock and Alex Flannigan (incredibly good names for podcast hosts, no?) are two women my age who make a comedy podcast about cryptids, which is truly a rarity. Their humor is warm-hearted, millennial (in a good way -- this is how my friends talk, although I definitely see how it could grate on older listeners), and their commentary is generally family-friendly. (Certain creatures they cover, however, are not. They're pretty good about disclaimers.) As an added bonus, their Facebook group is a blast. (Here’s a longer review I concur with!)

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Outside/In is an NHPR podcast (hi, home state station!!) "about the natural world and how we use it". It's accessible, interesting, and thoughtful. Host Sam Evans-Brown covers topics from women's outdoor gear to the first game of paintball. Generally kid-appropriate, not overly long, good production.

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The Dream is an anthology show in a style that's gaining popularity -- each season tackles a different long-form story. (See also: Serial.) In the first, currently only, season of The Dream, host Jane Marie brings listeners into the world of Multi Level Marketing companies. I'm sure you know of some -- doTerra, Arbonne, Plexus. Amway. The podcast covers the experiences of people in MLMs, talks to leading advocates and opponents, and dives into the history of why Amway Definitely Isn't A Pyramid Scheme.

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The Tip Off is an excellent little indie podcast about the work investigative journalists do behind the scenes. It’s a well-researched, high-production value look into what happened before big new stories broke.

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In Book Club for Masochists, library staff in Canada and Las Vegas read books in a given genre, regardless of their actual interest in said genre. Recording and editing is a bit below average, but I still recommend it as a fantastic way to learn more about new genres (and maybe a little about how libraries and publishing work). 

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Beach Too Sandy, Water Too Wet is an indie comedy podcast based around dramatic readings of one-star Yelp reviews. Hosted by Christine Schiefer (of "And That's Why We Drink") and her brother Alex Schiefer, the podcast has clean recording, editing that adds to the humor, and the underlying moral of "be nice to retail workers".

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Odyssey Writing Workshop is a collection of recorded lectures from 10+ years of one of the most famous and prestigious speculative fiction writing workshops. Lectures are usually about 20 minutes long and are split into two parts. Fantastic resource if you're past the "show, don't tell" advice and are struggling with, say, how to create an impactful subplot or creating magic systems.

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Grownups Read Things They Wrote As Kids is exactly what it sounds like on the tin. The episodes are well-edited recordings of live shows and are equal parts hilarious, awkward, and heart-wrenching. Sometimes appropriate for kids, and when it's not, the host gives due warning.

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Reply All is Gimlet's podcast about the internet and things that happen there. In the Yes-Yes-No segments, the hosts explain tweets to their confused boss. In another segment, the hosts investigate Craigslist postings. Sometimes they cover internet-related news (happenings on reddit, 4chan, etc), sometimes they investigate scams, sometimes they publish a phone number and promise to talk to anyone who calls for 48 hours straight. A fascinating podcast that really lives by "show, don't tell" when it comes to investigating how the internet and our lives intertwine.

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In Switchblade Sisters ("deep cuts on genre flicks from a female perspective"), film critic April Wolfe interviews women in film about their favorite genre flicks. I listen to very few interview shows, but this definitely stands out as a favorite. The interviews are fascinating looks into classic films (most frequently horror) as well as recent women-fronted projects. You can get a lot out of this show even if you're unfamiliar with all projects discussed, which is nice.

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Full disclosure: I just started listening to this audio documentary podcast, so this post might be premature. HOWEVER. This is a new-ish indie podcast and I was impressed by my first listen, so figured I'd recc now, edit later.

I really enjoy the moody sound production on Southern Gothic, a podcast about exactly what it says on the tin. Topics (so far) aren't over-sensationalized and are well-researched. This may be a good pick for you if other spooky podcasts feel too rambly or chatty.

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A Spanish learning podcast. Coffee Break Spanish is aimed at beginner and intermediate learners, whereas Showtime Spanish is more for upper-intermediate and advanced students. The hosts are good at grading their language, their accents are easy to understand and the recordings are clear, and they teach practical topics. There are paid bonus materials available.

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One of my all-time favorite podcasts, Imaginary Worlds, is about sci-fi, fantasy, imagination, and storytelling. It's fantastically well done -- interesting topics, interesting guests, high production values. If you like spec fic or move in fannish spaces, please give this a listen.