Radio Drama Revival

Blood Culture - Episode 1 & Interview with Lance Dann

Scholar and dramatist Lance Dann joins me as we play the first episode of his techno-thriller, BLOOD CULTURE. It's a trans-media project, consisting of not just a radio drama, but of an AR game that begins with this in-world website (as well as plenty of goofy easter eggs in the credits page). Blood Culture is the story of A'isha, an employee of an enormous biotech firm called Meta. Meta's interns are falling ill and dying at an alarming rate, and it's up to A'isha, and her childhood friend Livy, to investigate. After the feature, Lance and I discuss tech culture, the research that went into this production, and seeking a diverse set of creative partners.

Inhale - Chapters 1, 2, and 3

We're premiering INHALE, the latest miniseries by Rick Coste, the unstoppable, unbelievably prolific audio drama producer from New England. Tracy Tanner is an unassuming librarian in the small town of Hemlock, Massachusetts—but Tracy isn't her real name, and she isn't just a librarian. Tracy is a superhero—and she's not supering anymore. Join me as we dive into Tracy's secrets in this exciting new miniseries! Rick Coste Productions

EOS 10 - Justin McLachlan

This week, we explore EOS 10, a medical comedy in space. Dr Ryan Dalias is a young doctor, recently assigned to a posting on EOS 10, a station in deep space. Dalias's job, ostensibly, is to manage his alcoholic superior, Dr. Horace Urvidian—a brilliant but curmudgeonly xenobiologist. Together with Nurse Johns and Levi, a disgraced prince-turned-chef, the four of them have numerous wacky hijinks. This episode, "Up, Up, Up," contains adult situations and themes of, well, boners. Links: EOS 10's website EOS 10 on Twitter Neil Verma's article that mentions this episode of EOS 10

Darkest Night - 'Horns Limo Service' & Interview with Alex Aldea

It's a spine-tingler this week, as we dive into the twisted world of Darkest Night with a little story called "Horns Limo Service". Darkest Night is a horror anthology series from the Paragon Collective, and what makes it special is its binaural recording setup. It's similar to what Campfire Radio does: it puts you inside the action. Not a lot of audio drama companies do this, and it's really neat! After the feature, I have a chat with Alex Aldea, the director and producer of Darkest Night. We talk origins, horror, sound design, and all kinds of spoopy junk. Enjoy!

The Embrace - 'Nights on Killer Mountain'

Why do we climb? Why do people look at the tallest mountains in the world -- vast, inhospitable places -- and say, "I want to climb to its summit"? When you're up there, what do you become? What do you give up? We're exploring those questions today in a new drama by JJ Wang from Netizen Playhouse: The Embrace: Nights on Killer Mountain The story follows an Australian mountaineer, Zoe, who wants to be the first woman to summit Nanga Parbat, one of the deadliest mountains in the world, in winter. Follow JJ Wang and Netizen Playhouse on twitter Or check out their Bandcamp page!

Stories of Mahabharata - 'Bhima and Hanuman' & 'Nahusha's Curse'

This week, it's the Stories of Mahabharata, retold by Sudipta Bhawmik, a multitalented playwright, storyteller, and engineer. With music and immersive sound design by Avi Ziv, Bhawmik animates this ancient Indian epic, rendering it in English to delight those that have never heard it before as well as those who were raised on the stories. The Mahabharata is thousands of years old, and originally in Sanskrit. It tells the story of two groups of warring cousins -- the Pandava brothers and the Kaurava brothers -- who fight over the throne. But it's more than just a war story; it's a story of love and curses, righteousness and evil, tricksters, poisons, and monkeys. We're featuring episodes 30 and 31 of Bhawmik's retold Mahabharata: first, Bheema (a Pandava brother with enormous strength) encounters Hanuman. Then, a story of Arjuna (another Pandava, and the greatest archer in the world). Stories of Mahabharata @MahabharatAudio

The Axe and Crown - Episode 2, 3, and 4

This week, we dive into the fabulous world of The Axe and Crown -- (our very own) Eli McIlveen's spinoff miniseries from Alba Salix, Royal Physician. It's a fantasy world where the most immediate dangers aren't dragons or wizards, but yuppies threatening to gentrify your neighborhood. Gubbin is a salty old troll who runs a tavern called The Axe and Crown. It's a dive bar on the bad side of the river. Stan is a human, and the naive new landlord who thinks he can renovate the place. What we've got today is a little sampler that Eli threw together of episodes 2, 3, and 4: it'll be enough to whet your appetite, I reckon! The Axe and Crown Alba Salix Check out the interview I did with Eli when we first ran Alba Salix on RDR.

Starship Iris - Episode 2 & Interview with Jessica Best