A Few Words on the New Podcast List

I'm a big podcast listener, and I initially had a few podcasts mixed in with the links off to the right, but I decided the other day to make a separate list for them, as I've found a bunch of new ones that were fitting.

So, there's various sub-categories...

OLD TIME RADIO

I'm a sucker for old time audio drama, and there's some good sources out there. Old Time Radio Suspense and Old Time Radio Thrillers are pretty self-explanatory. Relic Radio Thrillers, Strange Tales, and The Horror! are all from the same fellow, and he does a bang-up job.

STORYTELLING AND FOLKLORE

The Celtic Myth Podshow hasn't been active lately (one of the hosts has been battling health problems), but they hope to be back up and at it soon, so check out their back catalog of mythic tales. Dale Gilbert Jarvis also hasn't updated his feed in a while, but his telling of various folktales is great fun. Hometown Tales is a very popular show chronicling modern folklore. The Moonlit Road is very irregular but does well-produced versions of eerie Southern tales.

AUDIO BOOKS & STORIES

The Cthulhu Podcast is a great show. They usually do a bit about history of the 1920s, some 20s music, and then a reading of a Lovecraft tale...or a tales from related authors, or original tales that are Lovecraft-related. CraftLit may seem odd; it's meant for knitters and other crafters who want something to listen to while their hands are busy. But while you may have to deal with some nattering about knitting or weaving or the like, host Heather Ordover does good intros to the books they do in installments (taken from Librivox) and they've done some good classics in our genre, including THE TURN OF THE SCREW, FRANKENSTEIN, and DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE. And she got me to stick with A TALE OF TWO CITIES, quite a feat when I dislike Dickens as much as I do. Forgotten Classics is a related podcast; host Julie doesn't talk about crafting and isn't as academic, just enjoying a good story. She does all the reading herself and has done two books in the D&C vein, Agatha Christie's THE SECRET ADVERSARY and Dorothy Macardle's THE UNINVITED, as well as excerpts from Shirley Jackson, but check 'em all out. I started from the beginning and am surprised at how much I'm enjoying Georgette Heyer's THE BLACK MOTH. Ghost & Horror Stories also draws from Librivox but does a good selection; right now they're serializing THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. Pulp Daily is along the same lines; they started with a serialization of Haggard's KING SOLOMON'S MINES and are currently in the middle of 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA. Pseudopod and The Dark Verse both feature original modern horror fiction. The Mystery Man appears to be defunct (the host promised to "be back soon" back in July), but the two stories available on iTunes are well done and I can only hope he'll return. Finally, The Pinkwater Podcast kinda stands out, the accent being more on humor and absurdism. It features readings of works by children's author Daniel Pinkwater, or commentaries, and lots of humor. And if you haven't read THE SNARKOUT BOYS AND THE AVOCADO OF DEATH, you need to. Now.

LIT CRIT

Classic Mysteries does brief reviews of classic mystery novels, from Victorian times to the 60s, and the main site is worth a look. The H. P. Lovecraft Literary Podcast analyzes one Lovecraft story a week, with generous doses of humor. Read It and Weep is a bit of a push; it's more humor, but fun. These guys read recent bad bestsellers (well, listen to audio versions) and give them the mocking they deserve. And listening to them tear into Stephanie Meyer and Dan Brown is simply hilarious.

NONE OF THE ABOVE

And there's an assortment of others. Sasha's Den of Iniquity is all about cocktails, so you can go mix yourself some good ones. Ballycast reflects my fondness for sideshow culture, and it's featured interviews with friends of mine. And The Clockwork Cabaret is a great music show, an internet version of a radio show from NC that features steampunk music. I may put in a few more music shows, mostly classical; people expect me to be into goth music, but aside from dark cabaret stuff like Jill Tracy, I'm really not.

So that just about covers it. I'll probably put in a few others as time goes on. And one of the regular links, Zittaw Press, had a podcast for a while but is defunct (I think it's still in iTunes, look for "Reading the Gothic.") While they had good information, the hosts never seemed truly comfortable doing it, which was unfortunate.

And hopefully, before too long, I'll start a Dust & Corruption podcast...so stay tuned.