#she had such interesting character design and personality for the 5 min she was alive for

[shepcom]

the biggest sin of r//w///b//y// is killing off mommy sienna in the same scene she was introduced

[zatyrlucy]

“Surprise Hazbin Q&A”

Ok, so I listened to +5 hours live stream and oh boy, that was a lot of information. That’s why I decided to divide the list in two parts, the other part I hope to post it around the 6th of January. Btw, there were some moments where viv and the crew gave some advices about different topics and I know there is a lot of people here who want to become animators/artists/story tellers, etc so I put the exact time when viv start talking so you can hear them.

-          Do the main characters had crappy lives when they were human? That’s spoilers

-          Alastor and Angel Dust are the hardest to write for vivziepop because she doesn’t know all the details of the period of time where they come from and because they are based in some complex emotions she has had in her life. She finds this ironic because those two are part of the first characters she created and her two favorites.

-          Husk is the easiest to write because he doesn’t care about anything and he is very grumpy. So his reactions to anything are pretty much the same.

-          Vivzie likes when Hazbin helps to inspire people to create their own stories, characters and/or universes.

-          Can the demons possess a human being? Viv cant answer that yet, but she is thinking in doing a story about how the human world works in the Hazbin universe. Is not in the works, is just an idea in construction she plans to do in the future.

-          Vivzie has already planned how heaven looks like and its hierarchy.

-          Hazbin’s hell is a mix of different religions and mythologies.

-          Believe it or not, Hazbin’s hell is a punishment. It probably doesn’t look like that because there is no flames or constant torture like the typical hell but the continuous chaos of the cities and the fact that the demons can suffer a lot from that chaos is the punishment they have to stand for eternity. 

-          Charlie is the hope of hell, literally, because she is the only one who sees the good in sinners

-          “Reality is gonna hit all the characters at certain point”

-          53:35 for people interested in voice casting for future projects

-          1:08:55 info about what tools viv and the crew use for animation

-          “The way demons look like is the reflection of their souls”. That’s why every sinner has a different design because every being has a different soul. Still, vivzie wanted to draw the classic demon design of red color withd big horns, so that’s why Helluva Boss’ characters look like that.

-          The origins of the eggbois is a joke viv wants to explore in the future

-          Everything related to Charlie’s family is spoilers and cant be answer

-          Episode 2 will start the main conflict of the story. The pilot was just an introduction of the characters.

-          The idea for future episodes is to be as long as the pilot (30 min) but Viv is still figuring that out

-          Angel hates his feet and that’s why he always hide them with big boots (here is a pic of what I think are his canon feet). 

-          Demons born in hell don’t look human at all and have their own species (like Stolas and his family, who seem to be the same kind of “bird-demon” species). Sinners at the contrary are mostly different because of “their appearance reflecting their soul”

-          1:26:10 if you are interested in art school and some advice about college

-          Alastor’s mic is an extension of himself but Viv says that it can also be open to interpretation.  

-          1:45:00 advice at how to write a story

-          Most of the voice records for Hazbin was in home studios, which according to vivzie, is perfect for independed projects, especially when the cast live in different cities.

-          The voice recording for Helluva was different because vivzie got a big studio where all the actors recorded the voice audio at the same time and it was special because they got the opportunity to interact which each other.  

-          Angel’s creation was full of emotions because he helped vivzie going through a toxic relationship.  

-          Alastor is very appreciated by vivzie too because he was created while she was in middle school

-          When a sinner dies in hell they disappear out of existence, forever. But the “dark energy” sinners are made of pass to be part of the pure fabric of hell, that’s why some objects are “alive”, because those have part of that evil energy coming from exterminated sinners.

-          There is a part of hell called wonderland where there a lot of crazy creatures and is really dangerous

-          For every new content of the comic there will be a new questions to answer.

-          After Angels comic there will be another one about the daily life of alastor, but it would be shorter, about 10 pages long

-          Sir pen can hypnotize people with the eyes of his hood. He relays on his machines and minions to fight but if someone got really close to him, (he doesn’t like to be touched) he would use other abilities like hypnosis.

-          Vivzie confirmed what fans talked some time ago. Alastor doesn’t respect the personal space of others, but he ironically hates to be touched.

-          Vivzie would like to do a Hazbin’s holiday special, either a chirstmas or a hallowen special.

-          When the sinners celebrate Christmas, instead of santa, is krampus the one who they like to talk about and want him to visit their houses.

source

[andoqin]

Sisyphus: The Myth Ep 1- A Dissection

Okay, so I’ve had some time to process what I subjected myself to today, so I’ve decided to list everything in episode 1 that is just completely insane and an example of how Not To Do it. 

I’m not an expert on Film Theory, but i’ve watched a shitton of media, plus I watch a lot of Youtube Video essays, so clearly I’m half

The episode starts off okay enough even if we get a weird exposition dump and “tense” parting scene between a father and daughter. 

We start in what presumably is the time travel terminal where people stand around in pyjamas waiting to get through.

Okay, fairly interesting if unspectacular but I’m guessing that’s the point, this is now an industry. We zoom in and get this line that made me laugh, because well...

a) humans are living creatures and b) the amount of microbial organisms on human skin is estimated to be at hundreds of billions, or more. And this kind of time travel/teleportation is always hinky because well if you think about it, how does that even work without getting into The Fly territory. I’m willing to cut this drama some slack here and maybe it’s an awkward translation besides. 

This gets... exceedingly long, but if you want a (too) in-depth summary of what happens in ep 1 and why it doesn’t work (for me) read on :D.

But then the real trouble starts, because PSH’s dad (I’m not bothering to learn the character names) says he’s not going with her and this is apparently very sudden. He then makes her repeat some lines that are supposed to create tension? Be exposition? Idk.

“Don’t trust anyone.” 

“Don’t get involved with [CSW]’s character.”

PSH get’s teary eyed, because her dad is not coming with her, but the problem with scenes like these is: I don’t know either of them and do not have an emotional connection to their parting. Sure, it tells us something about PSH (she likes her dad and is worried about him) but I also don’t know how important her dad is going to be down the line. So when PSH asks about her mom and what if her mom dies and her dad just replies everyone dies at some point I’m a bit weirded out, but not to the point where I necessarily want to know more. 

We then smashcut to PSH waking up in a world that’s more similar to ours and she does what her dad told her to do. She grabs her (very inconvenient) suitcase and runs along the tracks she woke up next to. We see that she is somewhat surprised by the running trains and also hardy enough to track on despite bleeding feet. 

Alas, creepy people in gas-masks with guns and drones are waiting for her, so she runs even harder and after some near misses (they are able to track her by some sort of radiation meter) makes it to safety. 

On top of a train car that the TWO DOZEN PEOPLE WITH GUNS AND DRONES are too stupid to check apparently. Clearly if she’s not under the train car, the detecting devices must be mistaken. So she just chills on top of the train car, sitting on her suitcase and those goons trundle off after 5 minutes presumably like they’re Assassin’s Creed Enemy NPCs.

Now we get introduced to CSW in the most insane scene i’ve ever witnessed. Honestly. 

He is just ~chilling in 1st class in an airplane, filming a douche who is rude to the plane staff and epically owning him because he’s So Smart.

First of all, I don’t know what that has to do with soggy noodles(which the other asshole complained about), since by that measure the noodles should be *undercooked* (lower boiling point means longer cooking time after all) and secondly good lord I already hate this guy. He then proceeds to Epically Own (tm) with a convenient Forbes (sorry “Eorbes”) Magazine that he is on the cover of and flirts with the plane hostess. 

So right off the bat, our impressions of CSW are supposed to be: He’s Cool (look at his hoodie and general bearing), he’s Smart (debatable), he’s nice to The Help (I guess???) stands up to bullies, and most importantly he’s fucking rich. I guess we’re also supposed to get the impression that he’s arrogant, maybe a bit of an asshole, but still cool and everything. 

If this had been where the scene had stopped I would have rolled my eyes and then just continued on watching. But no, the writers thought: “Schooling some sexist rich asshole isn’t enough to show off how Cool and Smart and Cocky our main character is. Also he likes the ladies.” Look at him, he’s Tony Stark only from South Korea!!!

So shortly after he sits down, and we have the first moment with CSW where he connected with me emotionally (he sees the ghost of his dead brother and the way he says “because ... you’re dead.” and I thought OOOH this I can work with), the cockpit windshield is hit by what looks to be a suitcase (DUN DUN DUUUN) and something crashes into one of the engines, causing it to explode and catch fire. 

The pilot is knocked out and unconscious and even the co-pilot loses consciousness (after conveniently unlocking the cockpit lock). CSW is the only one who goes to check on the pilots, having grabbed a fanny pack from his onboard luggage and quickly assessing the situation he revives the copilot and welds the hole in the windshield shut with some ducttape out of his fannypack and a plastic notepad. IT’S VERY EFFECTIVE! They did it in WW2, or so CSW tells us so you know it’s true.

I’m not sure that ‘s how plane windshields and duct tape and plastic notepad thingies work, but well the plane is still in freefall we have more important things to worry about :).

The electrics are all on the fritz, the copilot cannot get control of the plane and so CSW takes a seat in the captains chair (having foisted the captain out of it, not even he is so crass to sit on some unconscious dude’s lap i guess) and quickly calculates that they have 3 min and 30 secs for CSW to restart the electronics before the plane crashes. So he hands the co-pilot HIS PHONE with a timer on it for 3.5 minutes so the co-pilot can tell him when 30 seconds have passed. Instead of idk, contacting Air Traffic Control or ANYONE he just sits there and lets his big boy brain work. 

After 30 seconds he has an idea, because he’s Tony Stark-ing it up like crazy now and can just figure out the electronics of a plane cockpit in 30 seconds, but guess what. HIS PHONE RINGS. AND HE ANSWERS IT, because he’s devil-may-care and “haha look at this, friend, i’m in the cockpit of a crashing plane we have 2 minutes before i’m dead.”

Said friend is calling him from the board meeting of CSWs company, bc of course the board is ~unhappy with CSWs antics (I gotta say I can’t blame them) and the friend doesn’t believe it at first, when he says he’s in a crashing plane, but checks on the news to see it’s true. 

I ... I don’t think news work like that, we’ve gone 5 minutes from the initial troubles till now, there won’t be news reports all over the media yet. THEY’RE NOT EVEN TALKING TO AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL YET. Hell he even tells his friend to call 119 or the airport for help. I just... I’m very forgiving of a lot of things in a drama when it comes to writing. I’m willing to ignore obvious blindspots in a narrative, if I think the narrative is strong enough to support whatever it’s trying to say. At this point what could calling the police or the airport do, they have like 90 seconds left...

I don’t know what the writers are trying to tell me with this scene though? It’s so stupid, so unrealistic and CSW is so unpleasant and weird in it, because he tells his friend that he has to confess to taking out the friend’s college girlfriend on a date while they were still together. 

Well since the drama is longer than one ep, they do make it out alive, but the fact that the co-pilot managed to safely LAND the plane (which is insane to me) gets skipped over and we just get news snippets that herald CSW as a hero who singlehandedly saved the planes passengers. 

We then get to see him in his natural habitat “convalescing” in his giant apartment where he is being showered with gifts by worshippers basically. He continues to be an asshole, but his friend tells him, one more stunt and the board will kick him. 

The board will kick the guy who just saved a plane full of lives????? Yeah right, I’m sorry but that’s just fucking stupid from the writers. Why would anyone do that, even if the board hates him, kicking him now, when he’s literally a national hero would be the worst thing they could do for the stock prices. It’s only here so the writers can shoehorn in that CSW is close to OD-ing on pharmaceuticals and that the board wants to monitor his therapy and they have a way of “forcing” him to comply. 

Also he has what looks to be a dental x-ray machine next to his bed. Someone correct me if I’m wrong but lol what’s up with these set design choices. 

His friend tells him to go to fucking therapy or else and the next scene he is actually at a therapist. 

Who’s his ex-girlfriend (they have a whole tangent about that).

Who writes a report about his therapy to the board. 

But hey at least the therapy gets us a flashback of the last time he saw his brother. Big surprise he was an asshole to him as well, so no wonder he’s traumatised by that.

After therapy he *conveniently* runs into the co-pilot who’s incoherent and beaten up and hands CSW a usb-drive. It contains video of the cockpit on the day of the crash and it’s obvious what struck the plane was a suitcase and what crashed into the engine was a human being (DUN DUN DUUUUUUN maybe someone forgot to convert feet to meters when setting up the time travel thingamabob).

As he looks at the (very pixelated) figure of the person about to crash into the engine, he suddenly sees his brother’s face and honestly this scene just made me laugh? I know it’s supposed to be haunting and more evidence of CSW’s deep trauma, but I guess at this point my brain was just completely checked out. 

And that’s what we end our introductory phase of CSW. What the fuck was that plane thing even for. To show us he’s callous in the face of danger? He’s an asshole even when he’s about to die, so he’s got a long way to go? He’s haunted by the spectre of his dead brother and the guilt he feels for not being there when he died? I got a lot of that before we had the insane Plane Adventure!!! There are literally millions of ways they could have gotten this information to the viewers and not made an absurd spectacle of the plot that means that everything afterwards just feels lame, because you already had the insanity that was this plane ride, so it can only go down tension wise.

Now we’re back to PSH, but honestly her parts are kinda boring and bog-standard “UwU I’m unfamiliar with this way of life, I don’t even know how to eat a banana (that looks *nothing* like a banana btw), so I just eat it peel and root and all. Also I’m from the Future, that means I obviously know todays LOTTERY NUMBERS.”

I know kdramas like clichés and tropes, I like them too, that’s why I watch kdramas, but you gotta give me a bit more if you want me to at least invest in PSH, because I’m sure as hell not invested in CSW. 

She gets taken in by some guy, because we can’t have her homeless all the time, and she needs someone to explain this world to her and also how to eat bananas properly and she opens her suitcase. It’s got both future-tech-y looking stuff and a pink notepad that seems to hold specific information on what needs to happen on certain days. 

She also makes this expression and I don’t know if we’re supposed to laugh because she’s not threatening or if we’re supposed to laugh because she’s not threatening, but we know she’s gonna kick ass later, haha you just thought she was harmless. I gotta say it’s the former for me.

Rarrr fierce Elite Warrior PSH coming to get you.

She tries to get in touch with CSW, already breaking one of her dad’s three commandments. Oh, I guess staying with this guy breaks the other two. Welp, so much for that then. What even was the point of that first scene...

Anyway she tries to get in touch with CSW but ofc you cant just call the richest person ever (Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos would get very angry voicemails from me if that were the case), but she manages to get his voicemail. Or a voicemail he spoke for. But oh no, she is just Not Familiar with this world and keeps having a conversation with the voicemail as if it’s CSW himself. 

CSW who has scienced his way to finding the suitcase that crashed the plane and as she begs his voicemail not to open the suitcase, of course he opens it and gasp the combination for the suitcase lock is his birthday!!! Something his brother used to do!!! 

MAYBE THAT MAN WAS HIS BROTHER AFTER ALL!!!! OH NO!! 

But thank fuck the episode is over now.

VERDICT:

Just no. Don’t do this. The latter half of the show is more standard fare, but the first 25 minutes destroy any capability of this show making sense. I can see what the writers are trying to do, but it’s so hamfisted and badly written I’m just not willing to go along.

If you want a show that also has a fantasy action aspect (and this show is all fantasy no matter how much it tries to science it up), watch LUCA instead. That show at least knows how to set a tone, how to get us invested in the characters and does exposition in a way that doesn’t feel obtrusive. 

[cannibalcreeps]

If you could rank the wrong turn movies what would be at the top and what would be last 👀

Oh boyo oh boyo

So! This is personal taste of course 😌

Please know that if you do like one of the movies I talk poorly about, know that this is just my taste, my opinion and it does not mean anything

I am happy that you enjoy them, even if I don’t

-----

But here is my ranks and why:

 1. Wrong Turn  10/10

The first and original, just OMG the designs of the 3 boys 🥰😍

They're rugged and feel so real, like you could actually end up accidentally running into them in the West Virginia mountains! The protagonists are actually amazing too, I liked them, I felt for them when they died, I could feel the fear and tension and that is how these kinds of movies should be.

The axe scene is just, wow! The practical effect they used for it was soooo good!! definitely top one out of the whole list. The best out of the whole series up, just too good.

2. Wrong Turn 2   8/10 

The second of the franchise, I was a little iffy at the idea at first cause as past movies have proven adding new family members to an established antagonist family never ends well, looking at you Texas Chainsaw 3. 

But when I finally watched it, I enjoyed it very much! 

The protagonists were not as great and there were really poorly shot scenes such as the BJ scene between M and Elena, you could see his crotch area and Elena's head was positioned by his leg like? How did you mess that up??

Also the axe scene in that one was not as great, sorry whoever did that it was just poorly done and I know they were proud of it but, it looked very fake. As for the cannibals tho? AMAZING, they stuck with kind realistic but sadly they didn't do well with Three-Fingers, the reason why he now looks like a goddamn goblin 😔

But Brother, Sister, Ma and Pa are just omg yes, perfect family dynamic, I felt for them, I wanted them to survive more than the protagonists, they did amazing with their acting. Perfection 💘

3. Wrong Turn 4  6/10

Now this is where things start to drop in quality, but Wrong Turn 4 was fun and brought more gore and entertainment than it's previous films.The scene with the doctor being pulled apart and eating the man alive like he was some kind of cake, loved it! Also, One-Eye and Saw-Tooth is back!

 And One-Eye looks so cute 😍 like an utter baby, while his two brothers could've looked a bit better but I enjoy their looks and how they act. 

We also get to see them act more like brothers and caring for each other along with seeing them as kids, so that's pretty cool. As for the antagonists? Eh, nothing, don't care for them. Boring, rude and just stupid. Not worth caring about. 

4. Wrong Turn 5   4/10

This is where things start getting worse and the quality is dropping in make-up, design, character, story, camera work and acting. Just hmmm nope, there are not enough shits in the world for me to care for these protagonists.

The three boys save it for being a bit goofy and fun, I just found One-Eye running the blade over his tummy to intimidate the woman at the beginning to be hilarious and then Three-Fingers was just a complete riot with stepping in front of her and licking his lips as she flips him off, hilarious.

The three boys designs dropped in quality real bad here, like I would've put them at 5 had they not been funny purely for the fact they look bad. Saw-Tooth looks too short, One-Eye seemed to have gotten as fat as Saw-Tooth and Three-Fingers looks like he is a damn goblin from Harry Potter! It’s a good thing they’re still goofy enough to entertain. 

Everything else tho, bleh. I did not like Old Man Maynard in this one, complete change of character, bad very bad and boring. 

5. Wrong Turn 3    2/10

Protagonists are stupid as hell and I hate what they did to my sweet boy Three-Toes. 

I love Three-Toes design and how sweet and fatherly Three-Fingers is, annoyed that this film is the reason they got both Three-Toes and Three-Fingers deformities wrong. Their deformities were on the left and then they switched it to the right??? And thus the next films after started doing that like, NO! Three-Fingers messed up hand is on the left not the right 😤

Once again the protagonists are trash, so horrible and not because they're convicts. You can make criminals interesting characters that you can make the audience love, but these guys, the fucking worse in who they are, how they act just ew. Plus not all of then were convicts and only one of them was an actual serial killer neo-n*zi while the others were petty thieves/criminals or just had bad luck, one was an undercover marshal for god's sake.

Yet they had no personalities, bland ass characters. The scene with Three-Toes murder is what gets me, no one protests or feels guilty or anything, just outright murder a child just cause "Oh he's a mutant and trying to kill us" BITCH THAT'S A SMALL ASS CHILD! and they knew he was a kid too! Heck I would've felt for them had they felt anything at all when it happened, not even the chick felt sorry, just looked away cause 'ew gross beheading'

That's when I was hoping Three-Fingers would just go murder ballistic John Wick style on their ass. But no, he gets killed by the lamest of protagonists 🙄😒 

Completely unsatisfying and annoying. Deserved a proper battle to the end. 

6. Wrong Turn 6    0/10

WHERE DO I BEGIN!!

Omg a dumpster fire of a movie, I have never been so upset by what they do to the boys!

Their designs are just, NOOOO what did you do to them? They're so nasty looking, so fake, they look like really poorly made statues, i don't know how to explain how much it hurts me as an artist to see the poor make-up work like, make-up artist I just wanna talk! Were you held against your will? Were you only given 30 mins of work??? 

The story is whack, I do not like the antagonists woman and I do not like protagonists at all, they're annoying and stupid.

 The whole cult thing is stupid and just throws you off, I don't accept this part of lore, it's ridiculous.

 I have pushed out the whole movie from my mind as well so I've forgotten a lot about it. Only thing I liked was that one scene where she caresses One-Eyes cheek because I wish I could do that and that is all. 😂

[mind-music-musical]

General plot structure of my musical

Right so this is basically the plot outline i’ve come up with but ofc it’s subject to change as with most things related to this project. 

So the plot is generally structured around the events of Dante’s Purgatorio but will be adapted to explore the themes I’ve laid out in previous posts (mental health, music, etc.). I’m planning for this to be a one act musical at about 70-80 mins because it’s meant to be a song cycle-type show, where the story is based around a list of songs meant to be listened in a specific order (think SiX and 35mm). Plus, I think 2 act musicals can be a little much for some people and shorter, minimalistic shows could resonate more with people who aren’t huge musical nerds/want to get into musicals more. Also, 2 act musicals tend to have a problem with pacing and fetter out near the end once there’s already a climax in the middle IMO.

I’ve planned for about 10 scenes with a song at the end of each scene. 7 of the 10 scenes would be structured around the 7 levels of purgatory and how they relate / can be adapted to Danny’s own personal issues.

scene 1- intro/ ante-purgatory

Here, Danny wakes up confused, meets Virginia who tells him that his soul is trapped and they must journey through his mind in order to resolve his psychological baggage in order for him to escape. Here he also meets the chorus which resembles his school’s choir that he’s part of as well as Beau, who manages to convince him to take on the journey.

(Beau re-appears at the end of each of the next 6 scenes to give Danny words of encouragement as a sort of Guardian angel figure before progressing with the story)

scene 2- pride

Virginia tells Danny to confront his constant need for validation from other people in order to affirm his confidence in all the parts of himself he’s secretly proud of and how this effects his inability to accept his flaws. 

scene 3 - envy

Virginia probes Danny further about his insecurities and concludes that he has an inferiority complex, causing him to double down on his self-doubt when someone else out-performs him in something he thought he was good at.

scene 4 - wrath

Virginia tries to get to the bottom of Danny’s source of insecurity, trying to figure out why he craves external validation and constantly compares himself to other people. Danny starts talking about his relationship to his parents and we find out that they are a major source of why Danny is the way he is now. We learn that he could’ve gone to therapy ages ago and was suggested to get a diagnosis for depression and anxiety, but his parents wouldn’t allow this. Danny admits that he resents his parents and is angry at himself for even thinking that.

scene 5 - sloth

Throughout the previous scenes, it’s revealed that Danny cares a lot about music and singing and that not only is his singing ability one of his biggest insecurities, it’s something he’s been discouraged from doing by his parents. As a result of feeling defeated as well as his depression, he tells Virginia that he’s considering quitting the choir and giving up on his dreams entirely, stating that he’s lost motivation to do any of the things he loves. Virginia attempts to tell him to not accept defeat and that by giving up hope, he’s letting his problems win.

scene 6 - greed

Danny tells Virginia that ever since he lost motivation to pursue his love for music, he’s been obsessing over other interests that could not only bring him happiness and fulfilment but please his parents. It is revealed that he’s been investing an unhealthy amount of time into his schoolwork to the point of stress, causing him to break down every time he fails to meet his own standards of perfection. Virginia tries to tell him that he’s only setting himself up for failure and that success would not bring him happiness if he has to sacrifice all that he loves.

scene 7 - gluttonny 

Here we learn that in order to cope with his stress, Danny has been drinking, smoking, and taking drugs. Virginia asks if he goes to parties and does that stuff there but he reveals that he has his sources. Danny says that socialising stresses him out even more so he does all of this in the comfort of his privacy. We learn that at one point Beau found out and tried to intervene, which eventually drove a wedge between the two of them (Beau is Danny’s best and only friend, idk if I mentioned that). Virginia tells Danny that not only is this stuff hurting himself, but the people who care about him, and that he should consider that.

scene 8 - lust

After Beau shows up at the end of the previous scene, he tells Danny that the next problem he must face is him. So a wall of fire appears in the Divine Comedy which I want to try and emulate here but that really depends on design and production whooomp. Virginia suggests to Danny that Beau’s significance in his journey could be the fact that he is a sort of focal point of Danny’s unresolved issues, which has ultimately led to Danny’s fear of intimacy. Danny craves Beau’s validation, but is envious of him. Danny is angry at himself for liking Beau because of how much it hurts and is slowly putting less energy into maintaining his friendship. He tries to distract himself with schoolwork and drinks + does drugs to try and numb his feelings. Ultimately, he’s trying to distance himself from Beau because he’s scared of hurting him and getting hurt in return. Virginia urges Danny to talk to Beau, who comforts him after Danny finishes his song for the scene. 

scene 9 - paradise

Here, Virginia tells Danny that his soul is finally free and can move on. Danny asks what she means by ‘move on’ thinking that it means he can wake up from this whole ordeal. It is then revealed that Virginia was referring to the afterlife and that Danny had attempted suicide, which is why they’re here in the first place. Danny starts to remember the events leading up to him even being in purgatory in the first place and is now conflicted about moving on. Suddenly, Beau starts frantically calling out for Danny. We learn that this Beau isn’t the one who’s been following Danny throughout his journey, but the real world Beau, who’s trying to get Danny to wake up and stay with him. He sings a song to Danny, thinking that he’s finally dying.

scene 10 - the final choice

After listening to Beau’s song, Danny decides that he doesn’t want to die. Virginia tells him he doesn’t have to pass onto the afterlife if he doesn’t want to. He sings one final song and wakes up in the real world, alive.

Right so that twist in the end???? Not really much of a twist though cuz you’d assume that with purgatory and all death must be involved somehow. Anyway, I didn’t want the story to be just a different problem to face at each stage of purgatory but instead something that has continuity with what was previously explored...so let me explain this a little further

In the divine comedy we learn that the 7 levels of purgatory are split into three parts: corrupted love (pride, envy, wrath) a lack of love (sloth) and excessive love (greed, gluttony, lust). This is structured similarly in the story with Danny’s twisted perspective of himself explored in scenes 2-4, the effects this has on dreams and interests being explored in scene 5, and the way his lack of self-acceptance manifest as harmful obsessions in scenes 6-8.

Overall i’m quite happy with how i’ve structured the story. I know it seems extremely sad, especially near the end, but it’s also meant to be a comedy, but that is also dependant on how i write the characters. I want the story to be funny and heart-wrenching...but I don’t want it to be tragic. I want it to be hopeful, which is why Danny decides he’s going to live. It’s meant to symbolise a message of hope, that things will get better with help and self-care.

[riichardwilson]

Is Your Personality Permanent? New Research Says ‘No.’

June 11, 2020 11 min read

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

I caught up this week with a longtime friend, Dr. Benjamin Hardy, an organizational psychologist whose newest book, “Personality Isn’t Permanent” will be appearing in June. 

Hardy is young — a thirty-something husband and the father of five. He and his wife Lauren adopted three children (with great difficulty) from the foster system, and also have year-old twins. He’s very accomplished as a scholar, speaker, organizational psychologist and author, but is surprisingly low-key in conversation.

In the five or so years I’ve known him we’ve had fascinating exchanges on a number of topics: habits, self-discipline, communication — and most recently, personality.

Unlike traditional experts, Hardy maintains our personalities are not fixed. He maintains and demonstrates through research that our lifestyles, preferences, attitudes and character traits are surprisingly fluid. At every stage our personalities are the result of the decisions and pivotal experiences along with non-decisions and habits we accumulate on the way.

The Personality Tests are wrong

We ask, “Are you a ‘red’ or a ‘white’?” or, “Are you INFJ or ESTP?” Hardy points to a recently published study of 1,208 fourteen-year-olds in Scotland. Teachers ranked these students in the 1950s on six characteristics: self-confidence, perseverance, stability of mood, conscientiousness, originality and desire to learn. Sixty-three years later researchers retested 674 of the original participants. Each person, now in their 70s, rated themselves on the six traits and nominated a relative or close friend or relative to rate them as well. The results: There was almost no overlap. 

According to Harvard psychologist Dr. Daniel Gilbert, over even a ten-year period of time, you are not the same person. In his own research, Gilbert asked people how much their interests, goals, and values had changed over the previous decade. Respondents reported significant changes. He then asked how much they expected their interests, goals, and values to change over the ten years to come. Most anticipated little change.

Gilbert’s observation: “Human beings are works in progress that mistakenly think they’re finished.” Therein lies the problem, Hardy maintains.

How does the assumption that your personality is permanent hold you back?

The myth holds you back in two ways: 

You are held back by your propensity to pre-judge others based on their past. When we meet someone we’re considering for a key hire, or a partnership, for example, what do we do? We typically ask questions about their past experience as we look at their track record and ask the opinions of others who’ve worked with the person before. Like the Shakespeare quote, we assume:  “What’s past is prologue.” We assume their prior behavior indicates where their weaknesses could derail them again. Granted, past actions are a data point and potentially very important. But suppose we were to test and evaluate a person on present attitudes or the hypothetical decisions they’d make going forward? If you ask about a past experience, for example, ask what they did and why in one of their most difficult situations, and what they’d do now if they had the chance to do it again? Listen for their attitudes, the rigidity of their opinions, and the thinking or feeling process that guides their decisions today. If you evaluate, test for emotional maturity and “EQ” to determine the person’s flexibility and willingness to learn and improve or whether they’re likely to be mired in prior habits and ego.  

You are held back by the assumption that you’re unlikely to change. Many years ago, advisors told my prior business partner that he was extremely difficult to work with and was intimidating to the company’s employees. His response was a shrug. “I’m in my forties, so it isn’t likely to change.” I don’t know the current prognosis as this was some 25 years ago. But for years after my own departure, the company he led, while it met with some successes, continued to be centered around what I privately observed to be “a set of symbiotic relationships.” 

As an outsider no longer affected by the stresses, a part of me inwardly cheered, as the success seemingly proved that companies don’t have to follow a single model or a specific formula to succeed. But with a desire to improve or a flexible attitude toward positive changes, what could be possible then?

When we assume we aren’t capable of changing or aren’t likely to do so, we almost ensure that barring traumatic events (such as loss of health or nearly losing a marriage) we won’t change, or won’t change by much. Sadly, this also means the negative addictions and habits that tend to rule our existence remain largely the same.

Related: Personality Tests: Helpful Tool or Lazy Shortcut?

You can change any habit, or addiction, in an instant

Hardy talks about the principle of addictions at length, as this is a giant component of the material he teaches. I have also learned this principle poignantly from listening to Tony Robbins speak. Robbins maintains that three conditions must exist to successfully end a deeply-held addiction: 

The fervent desire to end the addiction.

A traumatic or pivotal experience that signals you must change. This could be something like a young daughter lamenting that her father’s smoking addiction means he won’t be alive to walk her down the aisle at her wedding, or the doctor informing a heart attack victim he or she will not survive unless their diet and exercise habits can change.

The ability to substitute a less objectionable habit for the one you are trying to break.

I have tested this theory and proven it true. For more than two decades I had a Diet Coke addiction so bad it was the constant topic of jokes among the people who know me. At its peak I was unable to function without a minimum of six bottles a day. I made valiant efforts to quit and even made it for an entire six months one time until a particularly bad stressor pushed me off the wagon again. 

Later in life — much later — I realized how often I was getting sick from plane travel, lack of sleep and exposure to children with colds. So I took an herbal immunity supplement. The friend who gave me the supplement warned me the drops could occasionally bring on a detox rash reaction in people who are a little older, who drink, or who eat a poor diet. Since none of that pertained to me, I believed I’d be fine.

A week later, in Phoenix to give a keynote address, I woke up in the hotel entirely covered in rash. It itched horribly and it even covered my scalp. I knew immediately it was due to the massive load of chemical toxins in the Diet Coke, since I actually ate pretty well. But enduring the rash made me suddenly repulsed at the thought of ever engaging with something so clearly detrimental to my health and body again.

That experienced occurred three years ago, on April 26 of 2017. I replaced the habit with several bottles of Kombucha a day and will never touched a glass of soda or artificial sweetener again.

Related: The 5 Personality Traits All Entrepreneurs Must Have

Who will you be tomorrow? Today’s the day to decide

Hardy points out that every one of us has the capability to change long-held beliefs and traits with consistent effort, and for the most part, at will. For example, he talks in his book about a 13-year-old girl who was profoundly struck by the words of a teacher who assured his students they could do and be anything if they had a deeply held desire to grow and change.

She took his words to heart as she thought about her painful shyness and reticence to speak up or get acquainted with anyone new. So she consciously fought the tendency from that minute forward. She spoke up, and actively forced herself to be more visible and vocal from that moment on. By the time she graduated from high school, she had an entirely different personality, by her own desire and design.

Hardy himself, with a doctorate degree, five children, two books and hundreds of thousands of followers points out that his wife had nearly sent him packing based on his earlier personality scores. The oldest son of divorced parents, he’d spent much of his youth and childhood adrift. He had no goals or ambitions and missed so many classes in high school he was required to plant a tree on the school property in order to receive his diploma. But a two-year church mission became a pivotal experience for Hardy, and set him on a course of discipline and purpose that has influenced his path and accomplishments since.

In my own case, a bad experience around a personality test contributed to my decision to leave the first firm I co-founded. It was the mid-1980s and the Myers-Briggs test had recently come into vogue. The other founder and I (the one with the rigid personality) had been butting heads, and our COO suggested taking the test. My result: ENFJ, with the “E” (for Extrovert) only a hair’s breadth away from “I (for Introvert). His result: ESTP. On paper, we were polar opposites. This explained a lot. Then it got worse.

“No, this can’t be right,” he said as he surveyed my results. “Ruled by imagination? Dreamer? Head in the clouds? That’s not you. Take it again. As a matter of fact, I’d make sure nobody like this would ever get into our business.” 

I was dumbfounded. The desire and need to innovate actually was me, 100 percent. But it seemed clear that those abilities would never be valued in the place I was sitting, and potentially not even allowed. I attempted to forge onward, but within two years the burnout was intolerable, and I made the difficult choice to move on.

I’ve been a co-founder and now founder of three businesses since. I innovate programs regularly and find my greatest strengths in the development of new solutions, sometimes even on the fly and in the midst of a storm. I still work long hours but find far more fulfillment as I have the freedom to evolve as I please. Leaving my first company was painful beyond belief. But many things are far better for me now as I and those around me have gained the room to develop new strengths.

Hardy stresses the dangers in taking personality tests too seriously. In evaluating our tendencies, he advises giving more credence to programs such as the Enneagram that identifies tendencies within a range of characteristics instead of a color or a four-letter score (although in a recent column for Psychology Today he suggested doing neither). 

Recently, I retook the Myers-Briggs test. I was curious, and believe I’ve progressed immensely over the 25 years since the fateful testing: My evaluation today: INFJ. The only perceptible difference in my score from 25 years ago was that the Introvert tendencies I’d considered less predominant became more so.

By many measures, I’m now established as a leader in business. Regardless of the score, I can attest that my head, then and now, continues firmly entrenched in the clouds, ever imaginative. All these years later, the scenario that terrified me so badly has left me with a different conclusion: If I hadn’t moved on, imagine everything I’d have missed. As I recall that fateful experience, my overwhelming feeling is not fear. It is gratitude.

You hopefully have decades of additional business decisions ahead. Yes, your personality will change in the ways you choose and allow it to. So what will you choose?

Related: 11 Bad Personality Traits Costing You Business

Website Design & SEO Delray Beach by DBL07.co

Delray Beach SEO

source http://www.scpie.org/is-your-personality-permanent-new-research-says-no/ source https://scpie.tumblr.com/post/620677969057382400

[scpie]

Is Your Personality Permanent? New Research Says ‘No.’

June 11, 2020 11 min read

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

I caught up this week with a longtime friend, Dr. Benjamin Hardy, an organizational psychologist whose newest book, “Personality Isn’t Permanent” will be appearing in June. 

Hardy is young — a thirty-something husband and the father of five. He and his wife Lauren adopted three children (with great difficulty) from the foster system, and also have year-old twins. He’s very accomplished as a scholar, speaker, organizational psychologist and author, but is surprisingly low-key in conversation.

In the five or so years I’ve known him we’ve had fascinating exchanges on a number of topics: habits, self-discipline, communication — and most recently, personality.

Unlike traditional experts, Hardy maintains our personalities are not fixed. He maintains and demonstrates through research that our lifestyles, preferences, attitudes and character traits are surprisingly fluid. At every stage our personalities are the result of the decisions and pivotal experiences along with non-decisions and habits we accumulate on the way.

The Personality Tests are wrong

We ask, “Are you a ‘red’ or a ‘white’?” or, “Are you INFJ or ESTP?” Hardy points to a recently published study of 1,208 fourteen-year-olds in Scotland. Teachers ranked these students in the 1950s on six characteristics: self-confidence, perseverance, stability of mood, conscientiousness, originality and desire to learn. Sixty-three years later researchers retested 674 of the original participants. Each person, now in their 70s, rated themselves on the six traits and nominated a relative or close friend or relative to rate them as well. The results: There was almost no overlap. 

According to Harvard psychologist Dr. Daniel Gilbert, over even a ten-year period of time, you are not the same person. In his own research, Gilbert asked people how much their interests, goals, and values had changed over the previous decade. Respondents reported significant changes. He then asked how much they expected their interests, goals, and values to change over the ten years to come. Most anticipated little change.

Gilbert’s observation: “Human beings are works in progress that mistakenly think they’re finished.” Therein lies the problem, Hardy maintains.

How does the assumption that your personality is permanent hold you back?

The myth holds you back in two ways: 

You are held back by your propensity to pre-judge others based on their past. When we meet someone we’re considering for a key hire, or a partnership, for example, what do we do? We typically ask questions about their past experience as we look at their track record and ask the opinions of others who’ve worked with the person before. Like the Shakespeare quote, we assume:  “What’s past is prologue.” We assume their prior behavior indicates where their weaknesses could derail them again. Granted, past actions are a data point and potentially very important. But suppose we were to test and evaluate a person on present attitudes or the hypothetical decisions they’d make going forward? If you ask about a past experience, for example, ask what they did and why in one of their most difficult situations, and what they’d do now if they had the chance to do it again? Listen for their attitudes, the rigidity of their opinions, and the thinking or feeling process that guides their decisions today. If you evaluate, test for emotional maturity and “EQ” to determine the person’s flexibility and willingness to learn and improve or whether they’re likely to be mired in prior habits and ego.  

You are held back by the assumption that you’re unlikely to change. Many years ago, advisors told my prior business partner that he was extremely difficult to work with and was intimidating to the company’s employees. His response was a shrug. “I’m in my forties, so it isn’t likely to change.” I don’t know the current prognosis as this was some 25 years ago. But for years after my own departure, the company he led, while it met with some successes, continued to be centered around what I privately observed to be “a set of symbiotic relationships.” 

As an outsider no longer affected by the stresses, a part of me inwardly cheered, as the success seemingly proved that companies don’t have to follow a single model or a specific formula to succeed. But with a desire to improve or a flexible attitude toward positive changes, what could be possible then?

When we assume we aren’t capable of changing or aren’t likely to do so, we almost ensure that barring traumatic events (such as loss of health or nearly losing a marriage) we won’t change, or won’t change by much. Sadly, this also means the negative addictions and habits that tend to rule our existence remain largely the same.

Related: Personality Tests: Helpful Tool or Lazy Shortcut?

You can change any habit, or addiction, in an instant

Hardy talks about the principle of addictions at length, as this is a giant component of the material he teaches. I have also learned this principle poignantly from listening to Tony Robbins speak. Robbins maintains that three conditions must exist to successfully end a deeply-held addiction: 

The fervent desire to end the addiction.

A traumatic or pivotal experience that signals you must change. This could be something like a young daughter lamenting that her father’s smoking addiction means he won’t be alive to walk her down the aisle at her wedding, or the doctor informing a heart attack victim he or she will not survive unless their diet and exercise habits can change.

The ability to substitute a less objectionable habit for the one you are trying to break.

I have tested this theory and proven it true. For more than two decades I had a Diet Coke addiction so bad it was the constant topic of jokes among the people who know me. At its peak I was unable to function without a minimum of six bottles a day. I made valiant efforts to quit and even made it for an entire six months one time until a particularly bad stressor pushed me off the wagon again. 

Later in life — much later — I realized how often I was getting sick from plane travel, lack of sleep and exposure to children with colds. So I took an herbal immunity supplement. The friend who gave me the supplement warned me the drops could occasionally bring on a detox rash reaction in people who are a little older, who drink, or who eat a poor diet. Since none of that pertained to me, I believed I’d be fine.

A week later, in Phoenix to give a keynote address, I woke up in the hotel entirely covered in rash. It itched horribly and it even covered my scalp. I knew immediately it was due to the massive load of chemical toxins in the Diet Coke, since I actually ate pretty well. But enduring the rash made me suddenly repulsed at the thought of ever engaging with something so clearly detrimental to my health and body again.

That experienced occurred three years ago, on April 26 of 2017. I replaced the habit with several bottles of Kombucha a day and will never touched a glass of soda or artificial sweetener again.

Related: The 5 Personality Traits All Entrepreneurs Must Have

Who will you be tomorrow? Today’s the day to decide

Hardy points out that every one of us has the capability to change long-held beliefs and traits with consistent effort, and for the most part, at will. For example, he talks in his book about a 13-year-old girl who was profoundly struck by the words of a teacher who assured his students they could do and be anything if they had a deeply held desire to grow and change.

She took his words to heart as she thought about her painful shyness and reticence to speak up or get acquainted with anyone new. So she consciously fought the tendency from that minute forward. She spoke up, and actively forced herself to be more visible and vocal from that moment on. By the time she graduated from high school, she had an entirely different personality, by her own desire and design.

Hardy himself, with a doctorate degree, five children, two books and hundreds of thousands of followers points out that his wife had nearly sent him packing based on his earlier personality scores. The oldest son of divorced parents, he’d spent much of his youth and childhood adrift. He had no goals or ambitions and missed so many classes in high school he was required to plant a tree on the school property in order to receive his diploma. But a two-year church mission became a pivotal experience for Hardy, and set him on a course of discipline and purpose that has influenced his path and accomplishments since.

In my own case, a bad experience around a personality test contributed to my decision to leave the first firm I co-founded. It was the mid-1980s and the Myers-Briggs test had recently come into vogue. The other founder and I (the one with the rigid personality) had been butting heads, and our COO suggested taking the test. My result: ENFJ, with the “E” (for Extrovert) only a hair’s breadth away from “I (for Introvert). His result: ESTP. On paper, we were polar opposites. This explained a lot. Then it got worse.

“No, this can’t be right,” he said as he surveyed my results. “Ruled by imagination? Dreamer? Head in the clouds? That’s not you. Take it again. As a matter of fact, I’d make sure nobody like this would ever get into our business.” 

I was dumbfounded. The desire and need to innovate actually was me, 100 percent. But it seemed clear that those abilities would never be valued in the place I was sitting, and potentially not even allowed. I attempted to forge onward, but within two years the burnout was intolerable, and I made the difficult choice to move on.

I’ve been a co-founder and now founder of three businesses since. I innovate programs regularly and find my greatest strengths in the development of new solutions, sometimes even on the fly and in the midst of a storm. I still work long hours but find far more fulfillment as I have the freedom to evolve as I please. Leaving my first company was painful beyond belief. But many things are far better for me now as I and those around me have gained the room to develop new strengths.

Hardy stresses the dangers in taking personality tests too seriously. In evaluating our tendencies, he advises giving more credence to programs such as the Enneagram that identifies tendencies within a range of characteristics instead of a color or a four-letter score (although in a recent column for Psychology Today he suggested doing neither). 

Recently, I retook the Myers-Briggs test. I was curious, and believe I’ve progressed immensely over the 25 years since the fateful testing: My evaluation today: INFJ. The only perceptible difference in my score from 25 years ago was that the Introvert tendencies I’d considered less predominant became more so.

By many measures, I’m now established as a leader in business. Regardless of the score, I can attest that my head, then and now, continues firmly entrenched in the clouds, ever imaginative. All these years later, the scenario that terrified me so badly has left me with a different conclusion: If I hadn’t moved on, imagine everything I’d have missed. As I recall that fateful experience, my overwhelming feeling is not fear. It is gratitude.

You hopefully have decades of additional business decisions ahead. Yes, your personality will change in the ways you choose and allow it to. So what will you choose?

Related: 11 Bad Personality Traits Costing You Business

Website Design & SEO Delray Beach by DBL07.co

Delray Beach SEO

source http://www.scpie.org/is-your-personality-permanent-new-research-says-no/

[news-mashable-yahoopartner-blog]

15 podcasts guaranteed to tell you a fantastic story

What's the magic ingredient of a really great podcast, the thing that makes people tune in time after time? It's simple in theory: Have a really good story. But how? 

There are all sorts of ways. Take Serial, the investigative journalism podcast that launched with the true story of the unsolved murder of high school senior Hae Min Lee. It's been downloaded more than 350 million times as of 2018. Come September 20, it will debut its third season. Or, consider This American Life, where producers have been sharing good stories since 1995. 

SEE ALSO: This is the most important thing you need to start your own podcast

However they do it, one thing is for sure: You won't want to stop listening. These 15 podcasts deliver on story-telling like no others. 

1. Serial

Image: Serial/facebook

Serial's first season earned its popularity with its strategically timed narrative, quality production, and a dogged attempt to get as close as possible to the 15-year-old murder of Hae Min Lee, for which her ex-boyfriend was convicted — don't worry, this isn't a spoiler: It's merely where the story begins before delving deeper into the case.  

In Serial's second season, the podcast focuses on the true story of U.S. soldier Bowe Bergdah, who returns home from Afghanistan in 2014 after being held prisoner by the Taliban for five years. Bergdah's celebratory homecoming is cut short when the public suddenly denounces his hero status, calling him a deserter and traitor. Bergdah shares the events that lead up to the public's general disapproval of his actions in Afghanistan.

What makes Serial so captivating, whatever the season, is host Sarah Koenig's dedication to uncovering the truth behind each story, and delivering key findings, research, and conversations with the people involved. 

2. Longform

The Longform podcast is made alongside Longform.org, which curates some of the best longform journalism, like Atlas Obscura's overview of Britain's secret nuclear bunkers and the New Yorker's speculation of whether or not Facebook has had a direct impact on democracy. 

Each episode features an interview with journalists about their most hard-hitting stories, their methods, and their connection to their subjects. Well-known interviewees have included Gay Talese, Malcolm Gladwell, and Michael Lewis. Learning what happens in the making of a story gives listeners a better understanding and appreciation of journalism as a whole.

3. The Moth

The Moth has been around for about as long as This American Life, though not necessarily in audio form. The New York City-based nonprofit started with live storytelling events and contests (StorySLAMs with themes like "Saved," "Scars" and "Gratitude"), and now has a podcast featuring these short stories. 

What makes the podcast so great is its simple format: people sharing their stories. The tales are heartfelt, humorous, original, and sincere, and they're  told by everyone, from comedians to professional storytellers, like Hari Kondabolu and Elna Baker. You'll hear of exotic dancing, heartbreaking high school rejections, and experiences with Australian wild life that will make you laugh, cry, and everything between.

4. Strangers

Strangers comes from Peabody award-winner Lea Thau, former director of The Moth. The podcast's ethos is the notion that you can create a connection to someone despite their being a complete stranger just by hearing their story. 

Thau explores heartbreak, the connections we make, and what happens when you realize you're not the person you thought you were. You'll hear about a person whose parents control their dating profile, what happened when a Somali refugee family moved to Vermont, and learn of the enduring career of a bank robber. 

But what really makes this a great storytelling podcast is when Thau shares her own stories. In the three-part episode "Love Hurts," she delves into the difficulty she faces dating. Her vulnerability and openness is emblematic of the series' ability to evoke your deepest emotions. 

5. Uncivil

Image: uncivil/gimlet

History buffs keen to learn more about the Civil War should listen to Uncivil. The 2017 Peabody Award-winning podcast delves deep into lesser-known Civil War history. You'll hear stories about everything from political uprisings to corruption scandals, and wonder why, or how, these stories were left out of the textbooks. 

The podcast connects abolitionists' stories to the world we live in today, making the past thrilling, and revelatory, for today's listeners.

6. Snap Judgment

Snap Judgment, like The Moth, is based off a live storytelling show. The difference is that Snap Judgment, which is produced by NPR and hosted by Glynn Washington, adds musical accompaniment to stories, usually making for an experience more along the lines of slam poetry. Public listening risks public tears, thanks to Snap Judgement's moving and affecting stories.

7. Backstory

The aim of Backstory is to take the headlines of history, both banal and historic, and make them into stories. It's hosted by three American history scholars, so you'll get both accuracy and fun — thanks to the hosts' undeniable chemistry and interactions.

Sure, you could just read a history book or google events you're yearning to learn more about, but then you'd miss out on all the links being made to current events, not to mention the hosts' witticisms. Learn about the history of college sports, utopia, and extinction in America, among many other things.

8. Radiolab from WNYC

Radiolab makes human interest stories out of science and philosophy's most difficult questions, interweaving these mysteries with music. Popular recommendations include "Falling," "Numbers" and "Limits" — episodes exemplary of Radiolab's ability to tackle big themes.

9. The Truth

Image: the truth/facebook

The Truth offers short stories — frightening, funny and heartwarming — woven through with audio elements, like narration and sound effects, to make them come alive. Subjects include everything from co-ops to mall Santas. Then there's the episode "Brain Chemistry," in which a cryogenically frozen man returns to life and finds it is not what he expected. 

10. Welcome to Night Vale

If you like your stories creepy and soothing at the same time, you'll love Welcome to Night Vale. This podcast blew up with the help of a Tumblr fan base, and has been spinning tales of the weirdest supernatural fictional desert town in America ever since. 

The podcast is formatted as if it were a traditional local radio news program, giving its community updates on things like mysterious hooded figures, a sentient glowing cloud, and an old women who lives just outside of town with a bunch of angels. 

Watch out for now-renowned one-liners like, "Weird at last, weird at last! God almighty, weird at last!"

11. The Thrilling Adventure Hour

The Thrilling Adventure Hour is based on a live production staged in Los Angeles, and it has the nostalgic charm of old radio. Each episode features three unique stories, along with fictional sponsored ads and songs, lending the show an eclectic and whimsical vibe. 

With a collection of well-known guest stars and an expanding universe of story arcs, you might want to start at the beginning — and listen to them all.

12. We're Alive

While many of these podcasts are trying to keep the radio form alive, We're Alive has been focusing on keeping it undead. It's a serial podcast that tells the story of one group of people surviving the zombie apocalypse in Los Angeles. 

Tune in for vivid and dark descriptions of the apocalyptic landscape, the creatures that inhabit it, and the close bonds formed among the main characters. The characters reveal their hardships, fears, and hopes for survival in this emotional drama.

13. The Leviathan Chronicles

Leviathan is a science-fiction audio drama with high quality audio effects and an original soundtrack. The premise might seem too stuffed — a secret race of immortals in a city called Leviathan underneath the Pacific Ocean in the midst of war —but it gets a human face with Macallan Orsel, a genetic scientist in New York, who becomes embroiled in a war when she finds out she's descended from the people of Leviathan.

14. The Habitat

Image: The Habitat/gimlet

Ever wonder what it would be like to live on Mars? Well, so did the six people who signed up to reside in a concealed, imitation Mars habitat in Hawaii for a year. This podcast documents the true story of what occurred during this NASA-organized project.

The goal of the project was to help NASA gauge what they could expect upon visiting Mars, and the results of the project are fascinating. The Habitat recounts the experiences of the volunteers, and what life is like on Mars, well, fake Mars, anyway. You'll learn everything about the mission, from the freeze-dried food ingested to the meticulously monitored and curated "Mars" landscape.

15. Dirty John

Dirt John tells the true story of interior designer Debra Newell, who meets and becomes entangled with John Meehan, a handsome doctor who seems to fulfill all of Newell's needs. But something's not quite right with Meehan. Eventually, he's revealed to be a con-artist, and he becomes the menacing center of the story — terrifying not only Newell, but also the people who surround her. L.A. Times' Christopher Goffard, who reported the story, also hosts the podcast.

WATCH: In honor of 'Solo' hitting theaters, we talked about what makes Star Wars so magical

The story was originally published in 2014 and updated in 2018.