#the merry writer podcast

[arimeghlen]

Ep 227 | The Merry Writer Podcast

On today’s episode of The Merry Writer Podcast, Rachel and I ask and answer the question: “What Are Your Book Pet Peeves?” Continue reading Ep 227 | The Merry Writer Podcast

[authorajalexander]

The Merry Writer Podcast & Writer's Health

I wrote about the writer’s health problems earlier in ‘Writer’s Treasure Chest’ and decided to spread the word with Ari in the ‘Merry Writer Podcast’ interview. In one of the last 2024 ‘Writer’s Treasure Chest’ blog posts, I would like to remind authors and writers all over the world to keep an eye on their health and self-care routine and make sure they put themselves first. The Merry Writer…

[thatsarap]

It's the last episode of 2024! This week, we're talking about all the new and exciting updates that are coming to the podcast in 2025. Thanks for your support of the year and we wish you a Happy New Year and a Happy Holiday!

In this episode, we cover:

Changes from 2024

New guest format in 2025

The podcast turns 5-years-old in 2025!

As always, thanks for listening. Please let us know your thoughts in the comments below, give the podcast a follow, and share our content!

[theillegalpundealer]

Rating podcast men based on how likely i'd be able to beat them in a fight

Jonathan Sims tma: rat man. he's 90 pounds sopping wet. an angry weasel could easily beat him. i feel like one good punch would do him in he only survived the podcast through sheer stubbornness

Cecil Palmer wtnv: he'd trip on his own feather boa and manage to knock himself out before a single punch was thrown. and if he somehow managed not to do that i feel like he could hold his own for like thirty seconds and then get folded

Arthur Lester malevolent: do you think i have a death wish i would die immediately. it wouldnt even be a fight to the death and i would die within five seconds. this man has killed before and will kill again and i am so so afraid of him

Obituary Writer death by dying: i feel like he could hold his own. like i think it'd genuinely be a pretty equal fight. there is a 50/50 chance id die in some entirely unrelated and mysterious way but he'd write me a great obituary and be a great sport about it

Warren Godby red valley: seeing as warren literally killed a man and went to prison i dont think i could rate my chances all that great here. like he's nice and chill now (mostly) but still. like i dont think id die but he would totally kick my ass

Gordon Porlock red valley: okay i know warrens already there and i might not stand a chance against warren but gordon? he would flake apart like a wet napkin. mans is jon sims levels of pathetic. probably worse. i feel like if you bumped into him too hard he'd disintegrate or something

Sydney Sargent ch&t: i would feel soso bad but sydney is going down. like i would hate it. i would want to give him a piece of bread and butter and send him on his merry way but if i had to fight him there is no way in hell he could win

[ofmdrecaps]

11/23-26/2024 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; David Jenkins; Rhys Darby; Taika Waititi; Con O'Neill; Nathan Foad; Kristian Nairn; Samson Kayo; Brian Gattas & Connor Barrett; Damien Gerard; Articles; Fan Spotlight: TinyCrewBigDonations; NeverLeftPodcast; OFMD Advent Calendar; Love Notes

= David Jenkins =

David was out on Christmas Eve getting a tattoo in honor of his new baby Zosia and Kinga!

Source: David Jenkins Instagram

Also, in case you haven't seen yet, David has been writing some OFMD Fanfiction, or a Christmas Special since Christmas Eve on his Bluesky. Due to it spanning multiple days, and me not knowing when I'll get the next recap out, I'm putting in as much as I can now.

Source: David Jenkins Bluesky

= Rhys Darby =

Rhys spent the holidays in Aotearoa with the family!

Source: Rosie's IG

Another trailer for Badjelly!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Badjelly (@badjellytv)

Source: BadJellyTV

= Taika Waititi =

Taika also happened to be in Aotearoa for the holidays!

Source: VasJMorgan's Instagram / Mariana Vivanco's Instagram

= Con O'Neill =

Con had a beautiful message for everyone <3

Source: Con O'Neill's Instagram

= Nathan Foad =

Nathan's voiceover agents had fun doodling their clients! Can you find Nathan?

Source: Nathan's Instagram Stories

= Kristian Nairn =

Kristian is sending some updates on his new Spectrum playlists, Cameo's and orders from his website! Lots of love coming from our beloved Wee John <3

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Kristian Nairn (@kristiannairn)

Source: Kristian's Instagram

= Samson Kayo =

Samson got into the holiday spirit and sent a Merry Christmas to all!

Source: Samson's Instagram Stories

= Brian Gattas & Connor Barrett =

Hornberry and Siegfried wish you a silly Happy Holidays!

Source: Brian Gattas' Instagram Stories

= Damien Gerard =

More updates on where Damien is online now!

Instagram / Bsky

And a sweet holiday message from him!

Source: Damien's Bsky / Damien's bsky

== Articles ==

Thank you to our dear friends over at @adoptourcrew for ore articles featuring OFMD!

Source: Adopt Our Crew Bsky

== Fan Spotlight ==

= OFMD Buys Boats =

Last on the list for the Tiny Crew Big Raffle Donations was: World Central Kitchen - David Jenkins - $US 1,779.07, £278.69, €611.91, CAD$82.81! Well done all! I ran out of images in this recap, but the next will feature all the awesome BTS Lindsey Cantrell shared with the @ofmd-buys-boats and the rest of the crew for everyone's generosity!

Source: OFMD Buys Boats Instagram

= Never Left Podcast =

Never Left Podcast's latest episode is about Fan Fic! Check it out on their linktr.ee!

Source: Never Left Instagram

= OFMD Advent Calendar =

The OFMD Advent Calendar has come to an end, and the kind @tillychmo gave everyone some lovely treats for the last two! Including Cameos from the crew! Thank you so much dear for highlighting so many amazing artists and writers this holiday season, and spreading joy and love from our cast! You're the best!

The 24th Door features @tillychmo's artwork! A very cute piece with the full revenge crew and more!

The 25th Door has cameos from some of our awesome Cast! Damien Gerard, Erroll Shand, Ruibo Qian! Wow! What a surprise! Check it out on Bluesky / AO3!

Source: OFMD Advent Calendar

== Love Notes ==

Well Lovelies, we're coming to the end of the year here. As I write this, it's New Year's Eve. I ended up being really sick for several days so I couldn't finish these on time (so sorry for the jump scare, I legit thought I'd be gone for a long while after two docs told me what they thought it was-- but luckily, no surgery for me). I'll try to be getting the last couple of the year out tomorrow if I can <3 I did want to mention, I know the David Jenkins fanfic/OFMD Christmas special is causing a bit of contention out there. Some folks are worried it's S3, and are either upset because it doesn't meet what they were expecting so far, or worried that because it's there, we're not getting an s3 at all. These are all valid concerns! For me, I like to think of what David's doing as a little gift to keep our hope alive. Whatever reason-- whatever comes of it, David cares so much about us that he's keeping us all engaged this late into the year. How many creators can we say do that for their fandom (let alone with a newborn)? Did you feel that same tingly feeling I did as we got more and more updates? It felt like watching an episode of OFMD again, for the first time, not knowing where it was going. It was a roller coaster ride of emotions, and as usual David is perfect with timing of specific revelations for maximum affect. We get to interact with him and all of our crewmates in the wee hours of 2024, and feel that same love and excitement that brought us together in the first place-- and I really do think that's such a wonderful gift. Seeing so many folks get excited, and brains firing off a mile a minute on new meta and new headcanons has been wonderful to watch. Whatever happens, whatever comes of it, we are getting to feel that unexpected excitement again. That little flutter of uncertainty-- that spark of joy and hope. So don't despair okay? Whatever happens, we still have our S1, and S2, and we still have each other-- and if we get an s3 out of all this too-- great! Whatever happens, we still have this insanely talented, and kind, and breathtakingly creative crew, and I am so very grateful for each and every one of you. OFMD changed my life for the better. You all changed my life for the better. You all changed SO MANY lives for the better, just by being you and sharing your love of this brilliant show. OFMD is the gift that keeps on giving, and I'm grateful David's trying to give us a bit more to play with for now, to do with as we will. Happy Holidays Lovelies and Happy New Year. May you get the rest and love you deserve, and all the things you desire this year.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by @thelatestkate

Source: The Latest Kate's Instagram

[bitterkarella]

Midnight Pals: The Surgery

James H Longmore: Submitted for the approval of the midnight society, i call this the tale of joe's unwanted penis Longmore: it's a darkly humorous and bizarre parody of the bruce jenner story Poe: you mean Caitlyn jenner? Longmore: Longmore: what? Barker: oh yeah this really bodes well

Barker: she changed her name, she's caitlyn now Longmore: really? Barker: you didn't know? Barker: i mean she's in the news all the time for sucking Poe: clive Barker: what? she's not here Barker: i can say it Barker: just absolutely sucking

Longmore: my story is told from the point of view of the penis Longmore: the unwanted penis is mad because its been rejected like it was an ikea lamp Longmore: so making a lot of comments about Joe and his ruined, mutilated, gross, Frankenstein body Franz Kafka:

Franz Kafka: wow, so her own disembodied dick is misgendering her? Kafka: WOW Kafka: that is VERY Kafka: problematic Longmore: well, in the dick's defense, the dick was really mad at Joe! Kafka: and now its DEAD NAMING her!!!

Longmore: anyway Joe gets a vaginaplasty instead of hrt Kafka: "INSTEAD of?" Longmore: yeah Kafka: Kafka: Kafka: "INSTEAD OF???"

Longmore: anyway Joe has a vaginaplasty, during which they remove Joe's dick, balls, and prostate Kafka: THEY DON'T TAKE YOUR PROSTATE OUT DURING A VAGINAPLASTY!! Longmore: Longmore: are you sure about that? Kafka: YES! Kaka: I'VE DONE A SUSPICIOUS AMOUNT OF READING ABOUT THIS!

Barker: wow, franz, you know so much about trans issues Kafka: huh? oh yeah, i guess Kafka: i mean, it's just this thing I've kinda been into lately Kafka: i mean, trans rights are human rights, right?

Kafka: just seems self-evident Barker: oh yeah? you do? any reason why? Barker: for this recent interest hmmm? Poe: clive, leave her alone Poe: i mean leave him alone Poe: jesus christ you have me doing it now

Poe: clive stop harassing franz Poe: clive you know you don't have to be trans to care about trans rights Barker: ah ha oh edgar don't be so naive Poe: yeah you're probably right

Longmore: so the poor penis has been rejected JK Rowling: hello children Poe: oh great look who it is Poe: look who you brought here Poe: this is just great Poe: great

Rowling: ssso i hear the penissss iss ssad? Rowling: sso i hear that a transss perssson issss ressponsssible for thisss? Rowling: just more proof of their natural masssculine criminality Poe: this is stupid Barker: ah ha ha edgar Poe: no Poe: you're right this is stupid

Longmore: so the penis goes on a merry madcap chase to reunite with his former owner Longmore: who has since regretted transition Rowling: yess!! ha ha… YESSS!!

Rowling: there'sss ssssurgical regret too??? Rowling: a transss persssson feeling BAD??? Rowling: thisss ssstory hasss it all! Rowling: the ressst of you should ssstart telling ssstoriesss like thisss Rowling: way better than the usssual ssstuff you guysss tell!

UNRELATED: If you like our jokes, check out our indiegogo! Just added a tier where you can get all 3 volumes of Midnight Pals electronic books for cheap!

[thefanficwriterscraft]

S3E8. 2024 WRAP-UP (OR, STOP TREATING FANFIC LIKE SOCIAL MEDIA) -- AND AN ANNOUNCEMENT!

Hi all, Happy Holidays! Our new episode is here!

In this episode, we reflect on their 2024 fanfiction journeys and podcast highlights. We discuss notable shifts in fandom dynamics, including the growing conversation around engagement and the impact of binge-reading culture on commenting. We share their favourite reads and writers of the year, personal writing milestones, and thoughts on scenes or lines we especially enjoyed creating. We also highlight some fun podcast statistics and celebrate milestones, like our interview on @mindthetagspod.

As you will see, this episode comes with a bittersweet announcement: Lani (@copper_dust) will be stepping back as a regular co-host in 2025. While this was a tough decision for her mostly due to IRL circumstances, I (@pebblysand) want to express my deepest gratitude for Lani’s incredible contributions to the podcast. Lani, thank you for your hard work, your insights, and the amazing conversations we've shared—on and off the mic. I will miss you so dearly! 💛

But for me, this isn’t goodbye! I (@pebblysand) am thrilled to share that the podcast will continue with a new co-host: @btelling, aka Nargles15 on AO3! 🎙️ You may know her for her brilliant dystopian fanfiction The Squib or her guest episode from season one (check it out here!). We’re already hard at work brainstorming fresh ideas for the new season, which will launch in late January 2025. Have suggestions? Let us know—we’d love your input!

Thank you all for an amazing 2024. Your support, comments, and enthusiasm mean the world to us. Here’s to more creativity, connection, and fandom fun in 2025. Wishing you a joyful end to the holiday season! 🎄✨

This week, we mention: 

Books: Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan ; Normal People by Sally Rooney ; Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt ; The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien

Fandoms: Harry Potter ; The Good Wife ; Spooks ; Peaky Blinders ; The Song of Achilles

Fics: castles by pebblysand ; Merry Men by copper_dust ; Check the Spindle by copper_dust

Films: Small Things Like These (2024 adaptation)

Podcasts: [Mind The Tags] Interview with Lani and Jo ; [The Fanfic Writers' Craft] S3E5. Motifs & Symbolism ; [The Fanfic Writers' Craft] S3E6. Money, Business & Economics ; [The Fanfic Writers' Craft] S3E1. Audience ; [The Fanfic Writers' Craft] S3E4. Use of Time in Narrative ; [The Fanfic Writers' Craft] S2E4. Writing Dystopian Hellscapes with @Nargles15

TV: The Good Wife ; 

Other: Sally Rooney Is Irish (essay)

Our inspirations this year were: 

Lani: Baejax and Johaerys (writers in the Song of Achilles fandom)

Jo: Sundew (fic) and the podfic version of castles by josnail

Your recommendations for this week are:

Intermezzo by Sally Rooney

Wicked (2024 film)

And the Band Played On by Randy Shilts 

The Boys in the Band (original 1970 film)

You can find us online at:

The Fanfic Writer’s Craft: tumblr ; spotify ; ko-fi

Lani (@copper-dust): tumblr ; AO3

Jo (@pebblysand): tumblr ; AO3

[octofaewrites]

Octofae’s Fic List™️

All of my works can be find here:

I write for a variety of fandoms, so here we go - fandoms include: Bleach, Pokémon, Winx Club, and a few others!

Bleach - IchiRuki

Series

Masaki Lives! AU

Bleach, but Masaki was the parent who lived instead of Isshin.

The Noodle Saga

Crack Series involving Ichigo pining away for Rukia while Renji is trying to protect his captain’s dignity. (He is terrible at it.)

The Mystery of the Rukongai Crater

Paranormal Investigators, but make it Hallmark!AU

Conversations with the Future In-Laws

Hypothetical scenarios where Ichigo & Rukia talk to their future in-laws.

IchiRuki Month

Collection of works for IchiRuki Month

IchiRuki Week

Collection of works for IchiRuki Week

Stand Alone Stories

Performance Review

Three Casual Acquaintances™️ start a podcast as they try to solve the mystery of the sudden death of a neighbor in their swanky apartment complex.

Operation Christmas Play

Ichigo is trying to be romantic and Urahara has the connections.

Bleach - Others

Ready, Set, Caw….?

Renji/Orihime - jokefic written for a friend! Two dingdongs try to make cookies and a random crow keeps trolling them.

Through space and time, my love belongs to you (Chapter 1)

GrimmIchiRuki - Rukia is getting married to Grimmjow and Ichigo is sad because he’s hopelessly in love with them both - his life is surely over… or is it?

This story is a multi-author, round-robin project for GIR weekend!

Other Writers: kleinegirl87, AiTsuki97, Mako_After_Dark, AriadneKurosaki

Pokémon -

Pokémon: Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl

Merry Mishaps

Dawn, Lucas and Berry decided to exchange presents. Their starters do a bad job of being helpful.

No pairings - Written for the Pokémon Winter Wonderland Zine 2023

Pokémon: Legends Arceus / Diamond/Pearl/Platinum - VoloKari

Series

Somewhere over the Sea

The Pirate AU that no one needed or asked for.

Conversations at the Company Water Cooler

Idiot coworkers in a situationship and too dumb to admit they’re dating.

Sweet Like Honey

Friends with Benefits™️ who are benefiting across Hisui.

As the World Falls Down

Angsty Soulmate AU, where I don’t let them be together.

Volokari Week

Collection of stories I did for Volokari Week 2023

Stand Alone Stories

Déjà Vu - I’ve just been in this Place Before

I want to be cool and do a reimagining of PL:A; I’m just not cool.

Time Won’t Fly (Dead Dove - MIND THE TAGS)

Akari not in a good place.

Doll (Dead Dove - MIND THE TAGS)

Akari is not having a good time. Set in BumbleTee’s Cop AU

When My World Shakes, I Feel Alive

Sweet conversation between Dawn/Volo after getting her drunk idiot roommates to bed.

Shopping is Serious Business

Crackfic. Volo’s real punishment for trying to subjugate Arceus is having to go shopping with his daughter and her equally high maintenance friend.

Pokémon: Scarlet & Violet - Arviana

Safe & Sound

Juliana is tired from her near death experiences and meeting ghosts and gets a much needed Arven-hug.

Sucker.

Arven can’t tell Ogerpon no.

Treasure

Arven reflects on how his family is his treasure

Paradise is Nothing but a Smile

Arviana Picnic Date!

And, maybe it was ego swinging

The AU where Turo pulled his head out of his ass and was a parent to Arven.

Home is Where the Heart Is

Juliana made it back from Blueberry Academy and is beyond glad to be reunited with Arven

Pokémon: Scarlet & Violet - Draymine

I created a Discord Server for Draymine, Arviana, and Kiercey - Other ships are welcome! It can be joined HERE - (18+ Please!)

Series

You are in Love

An on-going series featuring snapshots through Drayton and Carmine’s relationship.

Stand Alone Stories

Well, this is a choice

Jokefic - Kieran sees that Crispin has awful dragon claws for feet and Drayton and Carmine’s alone time keeps getting interrupted.

Elevator Woes, Smash Bros, and Mistletoe

Jokefic - Crispin is the only single guy in his friend group and the elevator rides of Blueberry Academy are long ones. Established Draymine and Kiercey in the background.

a lot to live without

Sometimes, life doesn't go the way one wants it to. TW: Major Character Death.

Pokémon: Scarlet & Violet - Kiercey

Kieran & Lacey.

Building a Home

Just a moment in a post-canon setting in which Kieran and Lacey are quite silly.

[malby]

when it comes to jayvik being canon and the statements of mr. lock & key, i simply could not give a shit!!!

the fact is if i were a viewer that was completely uninvolved in fandom spaces (like most casual viewers!!!) i would have watched the end of the show and gone "oh wow, so they're in love? thats great", done & dusted.

if you can watch a show and draw certain conclusions about the characters and their relationships and the only thing that would suggest a concrete finale for their dynamic is not the show itself, but the words of one guy on an unofficial podcast you would have never known about if not actively searching for it? alright.

yeah sure, it could be interpreted as romantic or platonic but most obviously its a mix of both, given there are dozens of writers, animators and other staff all with their own opinions they bring to the table (and that people don't love each other in just one way..)

but what we do see is that these two characters have a deep care for each other across all realities, and they make the ultimate sacrifice to be together in their final moments, locked in a continuous cycle of saving one another and being happy to do so.

peace and love i do not care and a very merry i love you in every universe jayvik nation <3

[dreamergirlatpaddock]

FAVS 16 CHARLES LECLERC 2.0

Some of my favorite stories, writers you are amazing split & never really over & begin again daughter blues at home date choose a lane hearts day in his eyes podcast confessions new season total swiftie red vs. red you're losing me patient grid love night of nights wrong wolff secret trip & the days after say cheese all mine tour guide no.1 fan three words, eight letters down the aisle princesses lover hearty meals the other side no way anything and everything unbelievable merry and bright Silence Definitely not a blind date: Charles Leclerc Five times? Part 1(the crush) 0.1 2.1 2.2 3.1 3.2 4.1 4.2 5.1 5.2 Favourite Gift Night after Night & One man Army My Home Overprotective SUNSET Too Much* sexy appeal* SERIES MASTERLIST: princess of monaco series i love my wife if he wanted to safety first good for her

[curls-cat]

Writer goal asks!

💖 What is your primary writing goal for this year?

✨What's one area of your writing that you think needs the least amount of improvement? (please brag a little Kat u deserve it)

💥Is there a chapter, scene, or WIP you're most excited to write? Share a snippet or tell us about it! (👀👀👀👀👀👀)

💖

well i have two! technically one is an editing goal--i want to clean up/rewrite Chester Street so I can start shopping it out, and my sibling and I are working on a joint script for a fiction podcast don't @ me that I'd like to finish arc 1 of!

✨ ok i've said this before but I write a DAMN good panic spiral. where the thoughts start swirling and just keep going and going until you've reached the worst conclusions and you can't breathe and the characters are suffering inside their own heads and you think it's over but it just. keeps. going.

Like that.

💥 well from the eyeball emojis and the fact that we've talked about chester street imma talk to you about the editing plans i've got for it! because see part of the story involves one of the characters sorta having her connection to the world stripped away, and i'm excited to work out how to write that in a way that WORKS. because i know i can. the draft i have now is pretty sketchy, but I'm looking forward to turning it into something that balances 'merry isn't herself anymore' with the idea of like. linear storytelling.

[arimeghlen]

Ep 179 | The Merry Writer Podcast

Today we are talking about a plotting system, specifically the one that I have found the most useful. We may look at getting guests on the show who use other methods to discuss them and give an overview.  But in this episode, we ask and answer the question: “What Is The 7-Point Plot System?” Continue reading Untitled

[beneaththetangles]

Beneath the Tangles Prayer Group | December 22 - 28 Prayer Requests

Merry Christmas, everyone! Here are our prayer items for the week:

22 - Pray for wisdom and strength for Mecahawk, MDMRN, Lenlenkai, @kchris_10, and Twwk, the admins for the Beneath the Tangles Discord server, as they seek to develop community and model Christ to the members, and for our mods, Dragonrose and Archie. May they carry out their role with wisdom, and with compassion and character befitting of our faith.

23 - Pray for the writers of Beneath the Tangles. May they write with a focused and prayerful heart, using their skills and guided by the Holy Spirit to develop articles that draw people to the site, to godly community, and ultimately, to God.

24 - Advent: Please pray and reflect on the beauty of our God, who would come to us as a baby to serve his beloved and die for his enemies, and that we, too, would live with such love, humility, and service.

25 - Merry Christmas! Pray for a joyful and grateful heart as we celebrate Emmanuel, God with us, and the day Jesus came to give us life.

26 - Pray for our team of editors. May God grant Claire, Dr. Steve, and Annalyn wisdom and may they be diligent as they mold our articles into excellent pieces that communicate God’s love through the writers’ analysis but also by demonstrating excellence in our craft.

27 - Pray for clarity and guidance for our staff as we share Christ.

28 - Pray for Mike and Dennis as they produce The Power of God and Anime. May this podcast engage listeners and encourage them to seek out and form relationships with Christ.

Prayer Warriors: @moezy-chan​ @bearypangolinelephants​ @gasexplosionatthescalpelfactory @christian-otaku @tomodachi-to-koibito

If you’re interested in participating, please do the following:

1. Follow @beneaththetangles 2. Message me, reply to this post, in some other way let me know that you want in

[thatsarap]

Have you ever struggled to finish your manuscript? Do you have several writing projects languishing unfinished? This week, we share our experiences and advice on getting to the finish line.

In this episode, we cover:

Schedules

Sacrifice

Small time

Deep in the minutiae

Curb the Editor

As always, thanks for listening. Please let us know your thoughts in the comments below, give the podcast a follow, and share our content!

[burningthrucelluloid]

Christmas Carol-cember, Day 24

A very Merry Christmas to you all as we finally reach the last day of this Christmas Carol challenge.

Throughout this month, I’ve covered many various takes on the Charles Dickens novel and the adaptations that came with them. From the classic films with Alistair Sim to musical adaptations with the Muppets to ponies to Ryan Reynolds to Mega Man, this is a story that finds footings with everyone in every genre or media.

So to end this properly, I wanted to dip into the historical with what might perhaps might signal the new form of storytelling that harkens back to old school practice: the podcast.

After Charles Dickens published “A Christmas Carol,” he began to go on tours where he would read the book aloud to listeners as well as discuss his book to eager listeners. With the advent of radio, it became a tradition of radio broadcasting to perform the tale much in the vein of radio dramas, with the most beloved and iconic being CBS’ “The Campbell Playhouse” which was directed and starred Orson Welles in multiple roles, but produced two different versions of Dickens’ story, one of them starring Lionel Barrymore in the lead role in the 1940 broadcast.

While film and television overtook the radio, radioplays never exactly went away as they evolved into the modern variety of audiobooks that would be recorded and allow for people to listen to them on vinyls them cassette tapes then to CDs before becoming digital. In that sense, the tradition of radio performers using the voice to play the characters in the story has evolved to the point you can go online and find fans recording their own performances to share to the world.

If radios are the spiritual successor to speaking tours then perhaps podcasts are just as vital to that evolution, for good and for bad. Luckily today we turn to a podcast that has no Rogans or hate speech but is a format to educate and entertain in a way that does not diminish or dismiss education. The award-winning history podcast, “The Rest Is History” by historians Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook.

This podcast episode, recorded in December 2021, takes a unique approach where the two historians are not sitting down in a coffee shop or a studio but taking to the Covid-19 lockdown streets of London where they seek to track down the actual locations Charles Dickens used for his 1843 novella.

They begin in Newman’s Court just off of Cornhill Street to try and guess where Scrooge’s counting house might have been situated as the two establish the history behind this street for London’s financial history as well as establish how much of the original London was lost in the Great Fire of London. They also take the time to explore Charles Dickens’ early life having to work in dangerous jobs as a child before making a living as a writer for his publishers, often using elements of the times around him to inspire his novels, much like “Oliver Twist.” They also point out the same time Dickens published this book was the same year Christmas Cards were established during this era.

The duo comment on how far Bob Cratchit must live as they detail Bob lived on Camden Town (which, according to Google, is not anything to laugh at as the walking distance between Camden and Cornell is over 3 miles) before they move on to Bengal Court where they go about looking at several historic inns (all closed because of the Pandemic) where they consider taverns like Simpsons and the Old Jamaica as possible locations before they land on the George and Vulture Inn as a bust of Dickens resides outside and it being used by Dickens’ descendants as a meeting spot every year.

As the two arrive at White Lion Court, admiring the historic homes around while discussing the parallels between Dickens’ novel and the Bible. 

Scrooge is met by the ghostly Jacob Marley to herald the arrival of 3 ghosts, Mary is met by the archangel Gabriel to herald the coming of her Son which will result in 3 Wise Men to come. A parallel I had never truly considered before listening to this which shows these two have done their homework, even when it’s clear from their podcast they are pretty skeptical of the Bible but are not mean spirited or hard on any Christian listeners. They just take issue with how the word of Jesus has been misappropriated for untold cruelties across history, but that’s for their other podcast episodes.

After discussing the Ghost of Christmas Past, Dominic makes a joke about Tom being alone on Christmas as well as debating the emotional connection people have with Scrooge’s past of feeling alone on Christmas. They then discuss the Ghost of Christmas Present, recognize that A Christmas Carol is kind of a horror story before they move onto the Ghost of Christmas Future. After a commercial break, they arrive at St Peter upon Cornhill and to the Cemetery behind it to discuss Scrooge’s discovery of his gravestone, they reveal Dickens got the name of his character from a gravestone in Edinburgh from a party animal of a man named “Ebenezer Scrogugie” to the best I can spell out.

The duo then to Leadenhall Market, which was, again, mostly empty during recording, as the location where Scrooge got the Prize Turkey he sends to Bob Crotchet’s house. Dominic pokes fun at Tom for the year he bought a goose and left it in his car where someone broke in and stole it until the two finally get the main reason I wanted to spotlight this podcast as well as the episode.

After having spent the past hour sharing historical knowledge, making goofy jokes that show off that British wit and using references to current day events to are not difficult to understand, they get to the heart of the episode by asking just who is this story for?

As Dominic points out, “A Christmas Carol is a conservative book. The argument is there are tremendous inequalities in the world that affect the lower class but the answer to these is individual philanthropy. It’s intended for a middle class literate audience. It’s not a politically radical book, just give a little bit more at Christmas.” 

They even acknowledge that Vladimir Lenin saw a production of A Christmas Carol and took such offense to the bourgeois undertones he straight up walked out. 

That middle class appeal truly gets to the heart of why it remains the most adapted of Dickens work.

Dominic and Tom acknowledge the Muppet version, the Scrooge McDuck version, the Bill Murray version. A testament to the story being infinitely malleable and parodied as, from Dickens’ time to the present day, it’s a Victorian Era tradition that has remained as everyone goes out of their ways to uphold these ideals without truly considering where they come from and from the social cues they derive from.

I bring this up because every time I hear people complain about some “culture war against Christmas,” it shows a failure to understand that it’s not about trying to deny the significance of the holiday, but to recognize it’s commercialized traditions and give space to people who may not welcome Christmas into their homes but care enough about you to still extend in the same themes of compassion and generosity.

You can have your cake and eat it too.

It’s because of that insight and ability to connect it to the past to reveal our present and future is why this podcast episode of “The Rest Is History" feels like the perfect way to end this challenge of spotlighting A Christmas Carol for the past 24 days. We began looking over the various performances of Ebenezer Scrooge to see what different performers bring to the table, how the musical genre can be used to explore the themes of Dickens and how it can show the characters in a new light, a week focusing on the meta-narrative of people who know the story and still find ways to make it relevant and ended this challenge by exploring what will be the media of the future that will keep this story going for all the years ahead of us. If they are as informative, fun and engaging as how Dominic and Tom presented it, I’m certainly optimistic there’s a place for this story that will still appeal to us all.

“The Rest Is History: A Christmas Carol” is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, Overcast, Pocket Casts, iTunes, and Podcast Addict.

And with that, my Christmas Carol-cember challenge finally comes to an end.

I hope I educated and inspired everyone who followed these goofy little reviews to check them out and give them a chance to go outside your comfort zones to find these tales. If there’s a favorite version you have that I didn’t describe, share it below. Who knows, perhaps you might inspire someone else to find their next favorite Christmas special to watch next year.

Merry Christmas to you all and God bless us, everyone!

[akajustmerry]

Hi Merry! I am the anon who studied your story in class. Staying on anon to Not Doxx Myself but I go to the University of Sydney and the class was called Global Literatures in English (would highly recommend anyone who goes to USyd and has the opportunity to take that class does so, even just as an elective). Every week-fortnight we would study a different work or set of works written in English from a particular country, with a focus on African and South Asian literatures. Lots of questions on what globalisation means for storytelling and culture, what it means to write a story in English as opposed to your native language (really great articles from Chinua Achebe and Ngũgĩ wa Thiongʼo arguing opposite points for the merits/disadvantages of writing African literature in English), how literatures fit into the canon and history of their respective countries and what that might mean for representing those countries to the world, that sort of thing. The week before we looked at your story we studied NoViolet Bulawayo's "Glory", our final essay is a comparative between "Glory" and any of the other texts we've looked at in the last few weeks. It's a great class, I've been exposed to so much fantastic literature because of it, but also kind of annoying, because it's only one or two weeks per work, which means we only get a really quick overview of the country/culture/history/context/literary predecessors of whatever work and writer we're looking at, which was something that annoyed me particularly in the week on Speculative Australias having read the whole "This All Come Back Now" anthology last year, because I KNEW there was a lot more to go into than what we were able to talk about. Anyway you only asked what uni I went to and this anon is long enough as it is, I just got very excited when I saw your name on the reading list bc I was like "!!!!!! I listen to their gayass podcast!!!!!! I follow them on Tumblr!!!! I know this one!!!!!".

omg this is just so cool and this class sounds awesome! thank you so much for telling me and for gassing up gayv club to your class 🥺💕 I truly hope you stay well and wish you all the very best for your studies. xx