Opinion: For unique stories, listen to podcasts
In the Internet age, the number of options for entertainment have exploded. Social networking sites like Instagram, video services like TikTok and Youtube, and countless niche sites and forums create spaces that cater to every possible interest.
The way we spend our free time has radically changed, and there are infinite options when it comes to the media we consume. One of the most inventive forms of modern entertainment, though, is fiction podcasts.
Stories told in an audio-only medium are far from new. Radio plays date back to 1924, with perhaps the most famous example being the 1938 broadcast of H.G. Wells’ “War of the Worlds,” which listeners believed to be a real news report and panicked at the description of aliens invading Earth.
With the invention of television, radio became less relevant. However, with the internet came the invention of podcasts, and it didn’t take long for creators to adapt them for storytelling.
In 2012, writers Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor began releasing “Welcome to Night Vale,” the first long-form serial fiction podcast. Within the next few years, the podcast exploded, primarily on Tumblr. Other podcasts followed, and soon audio dramas became a small but significant niche of the internet. Today, anyone can find literally hundreds of shows, the vast majority of them completely free to listen to.
One of the things that sets podcasts apart as a medium is that they’re relatively easy to create. A television show needs actors, cameras, sets, costumes, and the support of a studio to run. An individual with a decent microphone and a laptop can make and distribute a podcast.
Many podcasts are also independent creations, with very small budgets behind them. A large TV studio might hesitate to create an improvised comedy show about an incompetent planet designer and his clone assistant, or superheroes going to therapy, but the podcasting medium gives creators the resources to produce the shows themselves.
This lack of gatekeeping also means that people in podcasting are incredibly diverse— both creators and characters. It’s uncommon to find a show without at least one or two LGBTQ+ characters, and many have casts with identities from all over the community. They also tend to be racially diverse and mental-health focused.
“The Strange Case of Starship Iris” and “This Planet Needs a Name” have large, multiracial casts, and “The Penumbra Podcast” realistically and optimistically portrays characters who struggle with depression, anxiety, PTSD, addictions, and psychosis. Most members of the podcasting community– fans and creators– care deeply about representation, and visibility for every marginalized group is rising. Autistic characters, fat characters, and disabled characters are all on the rise.
All of these characters can be found in compelling, well-written stories, and there’s something for everyone. Horror fans may enjoy “The Magnus Archives,” which begins as an anthology of supernatural encounters before the narrator begins to put the pieces of the mystery together. People who love fantasy will love “Back Again, Back Again,” in which a chosen one records her entire portal fantasy experience after she’s unwillingly sent back to the modern world.
Podcasts range from hilarious to tragic, from nostalgic and familiar to deeply weird, and across all genres. While they’re far from mainstream, fiction podcasts provide accessible, high-quality entertainment of a kind that can’t be found anywhere else. Today, anyone with a smartphone or a computer can access hundreds of hours of entertainment for free.
There has never been a time when content has been so abundant, and in fiction podcasts, that content is guaranteed to be a wholly unique experience.
Katelyn Allred is an opinion writer in her junior year of college. She’s studying English with an emphasis in creative writing and enjoys reading, listening to podcasts, and baking.
katelyn.allred@usu.edu