#lit podcasts

[enbycrip]

I massively recommend Tony Walker’s Classic Ghost Stories podcasts if you enjoy very well-read classic horror literature.

He’s also on YouTube, if you prefer that platform.

There’s so many excellent stories and excellent authors I would never have heard of without it, honestly.

I just listened to him reading Daphne Du Maurier’s absolute *classic*, The Birds, which I *massively* prefer to the film. It’s absolutely beautifully-done.

I have *always* thought Du Maurier was a fucking classic writer and every piece of hers I read confirms it. I read this when I was about 13, I think, when my school librarian said I was allowed to read any book from any shelf as long as I didn’t let anyone else know 😜 She had a soft spot for me because I kept taking out books no one else had taken out since the 1970s.

The only thing that surprised me about it was quite how *patriarchal* it was - that didn’t strike me when I was a kid. It’s still an incredible story, real classic apocalyptic SFF more than horror per se.

I seem to need audio a lot these days because fucking chronic fatigue means I only seem to be able to concentrate on extended reading when the hyperfixation stars align, even when I’m not in the level of chronic pain that my brain is screaming. I’m so bloody lucky that podcasts and Audible Plus exist.

I’m probably off my head for trying to do this masters degree with this level of impairment tbh, but I have managed so far. I hope I can keep managing.

[podcastsagainstapartheid]

We're honored to have Re: Dracula on our list of ⁠Podcasts Against Apartheid.

Want to be added to the AFZ podcast list? Let us know!

[paris-in-space]

The comparison has been made a million times before but I thought it would be funny to draw.

[honeyspotpie]

Hear me out... Dndads season 1 Homer's Odyssey motif dndads season 2 Dante's Divine Comedy motif. Yeah. That's what it would be if the podcast was peak /j

[ceaselessims]

thinking about how jon is a tragic character (in the literary sense) and as such his flaws lead to his downfall.

Saying that Jon was never in control of his actions takes away the tragic agency that yeah, jon did do this mostly to himself. he was Wrong a lot of the time and that had story consequences, to the point where he and his love interest betray each other in the end bc he couldn't be trusted not to go against his promises he made to everyone.

god this show is so GOOD

[vvanillavveins]

On the WTNV finale:

Look, i like Brinknor. They helped me fall back in love with Night Vale when i was feeling particularly uninspired. It's hard to put it into words; i have adhd & i struggle to remember big intricate plots unless something reoccurring has really grabbed hold of my attention, and before Brinknor, i was struggling to sink my teeth into anything attention-holding, so to speak. I guess i was becoming less enthusiastic in Night Vale's storyline as time went on, even though i couldn't really work out why. I just couldn't stop tuning out. But, with Brinknor, there came a bunch of shiny new plotpoints- at a faster pace. The show could actually hold my focus properly, and my wtnv fixation was suddenly up & running again.

All this is to say that i know it's just my impatience talking when i say that i wish that the loose ends of those new, interesting plotpoints had been tied up a little more by episode 250. I adore the way they write about Cecil's childhood and his family, and i want Kevin & The Boy's arc to be given the same amount of love, and attention, and time that the Palmer siblings' arc got. The same goes for Tamika. And Carlos. And Lauren, actually. Yes, i know she was a central figure in the last 2 episodes, and i loved that because she's one of my favourite characters. I fucking adore eldritch Mother Lauren. But still, it was all too vague to really learn anything new about her or the desert otherworld. And, above all else, i can't help but think of how wonderful it would've been if Charles and Donovan were included in the finale- especially Donovan.

When Kevin first came back in 2023, one of my silly little hcs as to why he was apparently in the Smiling God's bad books (and why he didn't mention Charles or Donovan) was that because Charles & Donovan aren't from Desert Bluffs they haven't devoted themselves to the Smiling God like the rest of the townsfolk. They wouldn't "smile" properly. One of my darker ideas at the time was the possibility of Kevin having to choose between making them part of his faith, i.e., making them "smile" like the rest of Desert Bluffs (which i doubt he'd go through with after his mudstone abyss arc), or having Charles & Donovan leave town (which i doubt they'd go through with), or, doing neither & keeping quiet about his life with them to avoid drawing attention. If he chose the latter and then got found out, it would make sense that he'd stop being the Smiling God's favourite. Obviously, i never thought any of that was correct- i was just having fun- and i was excited to find out the real story further down the line.

But that didn't happen, and we still don't really have many answers. Everything to do with Kevin, and Lauren, and The Boy got wrapped up in about 10 minutes flat. We've already had an emotional Fatherhood themed episode with Cecil & Abby; we didn't need another one just for the sake of it.

With the context of what we already know about Kevin's father, the ending of episode 250 was just uncomfortable. Sure, Kevin's talked about his father positively before, but that's always been in contrast with the actual content of his memories. It's always been made clear that the script/the writers disagree with Kevin's sunny outlook, and therefore the listeners should too. Those moments are there to demonstrate just how fucked up Kevin really is, and that his positivity is just a coping mechanism. But this time Cecil spoke for him, so we didn't get Kevin's usual sing-song rambling. It was calm, and collected, and matter-of-factly. And this time there were no sugar-coated descriptions of abuse, only genuine praise. We were actually supposed to agree with him this time, and it made the whole speech (and ending) sound hollow and forced.

I really didn't like this episode. It felt rushed. It tried to cover far too much far too quickly, and it failed. But, despite all that, i am hoping that future episodes will bring some sort of clarity about what happened. And hopefully some closure about Kevin and his family, too. I want loose ends to get tied up properly and i believe that maybe, with time, the important ones will be. Slow burning subplots are kinda quintessential to Night Vale's writing at this point anyway. Brinknor definitely missed the mark with this one, but they're still incredibly talented writers and i'm not ready to give up on them like some of the other fans on here.

Besides, i think that some of Night Vale's worst episodes are still incredible pieces of writing in their own right. The bad episodes are only bad in comparison to the dozens upon dozens of absolutely phenomenal episodes that make up the rest of a show that is, for the most part, a joy to listen to. So, here's to some hopefully better episodes in the future, i guess.

[write-the-room]

the Picture of Dorian Gray modern au where Basil makes tiktok edits of Dorian

[chillyweirdoinacoffin]

Another new (old) Tamsyn Muir podcast interview - Lit Service October 2022

She discusses her writing process, terrible women characters, Kiwi humor, and MEMES.

[starlitartworks]

Laura and Carmilla

[communistkenobi]

does anyone have listening recommendations for like contemporary coverage of the far-right in north america. kind of like Knowledge Fight/Qanon Anonymous but less online-irony-jokey style and more informative. Or at least more theoretically grounded

[roseforthethorns]

My listening to @re-dracula has been a fascinating experience. Initially, I kept up pretty well, basically through the first main arc of the story.

Then I didn’t listen to any podcasts for about 2 months. Dunno why, just took a break. (And possibly was far more emotionally distraught with my good friend Jonathan’s cliffhanger that, even knowing the story, I couldn’t bring myself to continue right away).

So I spent 2 separate chunks of time this month getting caught up: first right before Lucy’s final rally, and the second today, so that I’m current and can celebrate “Vamp Team Unite” Day.

The absolute horror of the story is so much more powerful in chronological order. And then adding in the voices- my heart utterly broke for Arthur in a way it hadn’t in previous readings of the text (I also had the privilege to teach it for 2 years at my last school). It puts the speed of everything in perspective when you have the daily sense of it in your own life.

And knowing what comes in just a few days… I dunno if I’m ready or if any of us is.

I’ve said in my discussions about Dracula that it’s no coincidence that Arthur inherits his title before Lucy’s demise. Lord Godalming- so close to “God Almighty.” It’s very fitting for someone who has to then go up against the undead, the only one who can put his true love’s soul to rest. It fits too with Seward’s description of Arthur in the moment of the staking.

Mina’s importance can’t be overstated. She figures out so much, and helps facilitate their plans because she realizes how important even the smallest details are in this story, how clearly the evidence lines up and corroborates Van Helsing’s accounts and knowledge of Dracula. I dunno if I’ve ever felt this terrified approaching the next major story beat before. For all their talk of keeping each other in the light, they immediately begin to hide knowledge that could prevent even more pain. Tho, I suppose that’s part of the horror, isn’t it?

Also, can I just say, the sound design and the dialogue editing and every single performance: absofuckinglutely bravo to every single person working on this project.

[acespirit]

you don't understand tumblrinas I wasn't joking about juno steel I'm never joking about juno steel once again I lie there for an hour listening to and thinking about juno steel and again I am overtaken it is midnight thirty I put on my fire safe leather jacket I stand forlornly alone on empty bridges I clandestinely avoid cars and human interaction staring into the night sky in a place that should be full of life yet I am always alone and I AM STILL FEELING THINGS ABOUT JUNO MOTHERFUCKING STEEL--

[mrhyde-mrseek]

He’s covered in fresh blood and coming for you next

I think y’all can tell I’m hyperfixating on the tablet

[cewyll]

INDEPENDENT / SELECTIVE / PRIVATE ELIZABETH COMSTOCK FROM BIOSHOCK INFINITE. TORN BY RAINE.

do you ever get used to it? she once asked a man, the killing, the killing, the killing. faster than you can imagine, he had said, and ( she knows, she knows, she knows. )

HEAVILY CANON DIVERGENT / CROSSOVER & OC FRIENDLY FEATURED VERSES: DRAGON AGE, THE MAGNUS ARCHIVES.

[poeticsandaliens]

I want to go to a con dressed as the Archivist solely so that I can meet another person cosplaying as the Archivist and we can stare each other down and have a high noon standoff there on the gum-covered space-themed carpeted floors and hold out broken tape recorders at each other's faces like flintlock pistols.

[themostdearofspaghettis]

Finished Down (insanity! capitalism really is the villain always! my favorite genre of podcast!) now on to Camlann wish me luck I have a feeling it will destroy me! Can’t wait!