Narrative Podcasts

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whuntva
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Narrative Podcasts

Post by whuntva »

I saw DocBrown post in the Music forum a topic on musical podcasts. For a long time, I have been interested in narrative podcasts. Not just talk shows or news bulletins, but podcasts that tell an overarching story.

I first listened to Welcome to Night Vale in the summer of 2013. And what impressed me the most about it was how the story was presented. It danced around story details and intentionally left plot points blank, allowing the listener to piece together the narrative themselves as it unfolded. The lack of images meant one's imagination could go wild and my mind raced as I listened. As I heard more and more podcasts, I realized this was an older media format (radio) brought forth into a new era. And everything I heard was so clever.

To me, podcasts are the future of storytelling. As an audio-only medium, there is no limit to the scope or ideas expressed and the mind can go anywhere with them.

Do you have any suggestions or would like to discuss certain narrative-based podcasts.

Examples: Welcome to Night Vale, Serial, Within the Wires, Thrilling Adventure Hour, Leviathan, Black Tapes Podcast, Tanis
" Ah, yes! Our meager restitution"
DocBrown
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Re: Narrative Podcasts

Post by DocBrown »

Good thread idea, Wesley.

Just started listening to LifeAfter. This will be my first try at a narrative podcast. I'll let you know how it goes.

I see Welcome to Night Vale is still alive and 100 episodes strong. Can you dive in at any point or should I devote a month of my life to it?
Nick
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Re: Narrative Podcasts

Post by Nick »

I've heard the first season of Serial and some scattered Night Vale episodes. Really liked both. But that's about all I can say in terms of my experiences with podcasts!
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whuntva
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Re: Narrative Podcasts

Post by whuntva »

DocBrown wrote: I see Welcome to Night Vale is still alive and 100 episodes strong. Can you dive in at any point or should I devote a month of my life to it?
Unfortunately, it has gotten very continuity-heavy since at least 2014. You don't have to listen to the first twelve episodes in order, but it does become much more linearized and deep as it goes on. So I would listen to as much as humanly possible.

But if that seems too much, maybe Reddit can help: https://www.reddit.com/r/nightvale/comm ... _for_plot/ (There were several posts like this, but this one was the most up to date.)

I can listen to Night Vale while driving, working, or just sitting down and appreciate it. What impressed me most is this was the first narrative podcast to take full advantage of its medium and tell a new story tailor-made for its format to attract the right audience. For contrast, Leviathan is the oldest podcast on here (c.2008), but that one is more like a traditional audio drama, inspired by LOST and telling a narrative story that could probably also work as a movie or a book.

By contrast, Night Vale is its own world. It dances around descriptions of the story, telling only the bare bones of what is happening. It encourages the listener to get immersed into the world and try to make sense themselves of what is going on, so it will appear different to every listener. The episode most recommended is "A Story about You", as I feel that is the one that reinvented storytelling just for this medium.
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DocBrown
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Re: Narrative Podcasts

Post by DocBrown »

I'm about a quarter of the way through (lots of time off this month). The weather is a good tool for musical exploration, but a lot of the time I feel like an intern...
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