I love listening to podcasts. I think they are a great way to pass time on a long road trip or a tedious laundry session. There are a lot of podcasts out there that are very informative; NPR has several ongoing podcasts that are focused around science, current events, politics, and history. I think that when people generally have a mental image of a podcast, they think of a forty minute conversation or oratory piece. However, what might be less known is that there are many extremely entertaining fictional podcasts; these podcasts are similar to audio books as their content is generally focused on fictional characters in imagined up scenarios. A lot of podcasts take on a pseudo-documentary angle, so although a narrator may portray certain events as factual, remember that it is all made up! Here are some of my favorite fictional podcasts:
- TANIS
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In this podcast, the narrator, Nic Silver, takes a deep dive into the investigation of Tanis, an ambiguous person or location that is seen once every three hundred years. Join Nic as he navigates through deep web conspiracies and convoluted theories on his journey to uncover one of the greatest mysteries on Earth. If you enjoy treasure hunting novels or films (such as Nicolas Cage’s National Treasure), try TANIS out!
- The Black Tapes
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Produced by the same creators of TANIS, The Black Tapes follows Alex Reagan on her investigation of supernatural events. Each episode is a separate ‘tape’ that contains different paranormal activity; think ghosts, demons, spirits, possessed, dolls, pentagrams, etc. If you love horror movies, this podcast is the perfect one for you.
- Rabbits
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This podcast was actually introduced to me by my highschool debate coach. Although the name may lead first viewers to assume that the podcast is about animal rights or woodland creatures, the show is actually about a centuries old game called Rabbits (think The Amazing Race). Players from around the world compete against each other for an ultimate, unknown prize. Rabbits is filled with references to old video and arcade games. Anyone who enjoys mysteries or classic video games will love this show.