If you’re in the middle overlapped portion of a Venn Diagram between audiobook listeners and podcast lovers, this post of recommended fiction podcasts is for you! Though I’m more of the latter, I see fiction podcasts as “audiobook-lite.” They’re often released in more digestible chunks with episodes often being 30-40 minutes, which makes them easier for me to listen to rather than an audiobook.
Because I’m also impatient, most of the podcasts below are completed. You can listen to them all in one go without having to worry too much about cliffhangers.
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A 1950s murder mystery set during a fancy dinner party! This podcast feels very much like a radio play and has a great cast: LeVar Burton, Kristen Bell, and RuPaul to name a few. It’s ten episodes long and finished! You can marathon at your leisure. The cast is really the best part about this podcast and if you gravitate toward audiobooks with many narrators, you’ll enjoy this one.
For fans of: Murder mysteries, dinner parties, and the movie Clue.
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I discussed my love of this podcast with Sarah on the site’s podcast because The Bright Sessions is getting made into a book series! Dr. Bright is a therapist to “atypicals,” people who have extraordinary abilities.
The main run of the podcast is over, I believe. However, they do release bonus content from time to time. There’s also a continuation/spin-off called The AM Archives.
For fans of: Superheroes, the TV show Legion, and Teen Titans.
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It does what it says on the tin. It’s about a girl in space, trapped aboard a dying ship with only the ship’s A.I. to keep her company. The main character is a young scientist and the podcast format is very much an audio diary.
The podcast is still being updated and I can assure you that it becomes much more than a woman talking to herself in space. I don’t want to spoil anything!
For fans of: Epistolary elements, women who love science, and Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
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This was launched as a spin-off to the fiction podcast, Pacific Northwest Stories, though I never listened to that one. You should be able to get by just fine without it. The podcast follows a journalist hoping to debunk the supernatural and particularly the work of paranormal investigator, Dr. Richard Strand.
There are three complete seasons. After a shocking ending, the creators announced in Spring of 2018 that there would be another season. Nothing has launched yet. However, the crew involved have gone on to other similar fiction podcast projects that are definitely worth checking out.
For fans of: The X-Files, Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel, and creepy secrets.
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A journalist for American Public Radio investigates the disappearance for 300 people in a small town near neuroscience lab in Tennessee. This one isn’t as odd as the popular Welcome to Nightvale podcast, but it gives me the same feel of a town where something clearly isn’t right.
It has two complete seasons and has spawned a prequel novel. There’s also supposed to be a web series in the works, starring Stanley Tucci.
For fans of: Unsolved Mysteries, Chernobyl, and the Lost Colony of Roanoke conspiracy theories.
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Out of all the podcasts on this list, this one is probably the lightest and funniest. It’s not eerie or scary. It’s just…really fun. Three lovely brothers and their dad play Dungeons and Dragons (and other tabletop roleplaying) campaigns. The McElroy brothers are also creators of the incredibly popular My Brother, My Brother, and Me “advice” podcast. But I’m sure you knew that.
I think they’re on their fourth campaign. I’m not entirely caught up. But trust me, you will get attached to the characters. That’s all I’m going to say about that.
For fans of: General goofiness, Dungeons and Dragons, and Critical Role.
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From Night Vale Presents, Alice Isn’t Dead is a supernatural mystery where a long haul truck driver searches for her wife, who may or may not be dead. I love this one and in my opinion, I prefer it to Welcome to Nightvale. There’s just something about encountering different strange towns and interesting people (people and places you may never see again) while traveling that appeals to me.
It has three complete seasons and some additional bonus content. There’s also a novel adaptation, if listening to it isn’t your thing. Or you know, you could do both and compare the two experiences.
For fans of: Road trips where weird things happen, potentially unreliable narrators, and the Left/Right Game story on Reddit.
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Those are some of my favorite fiction podcasts! Clearly there’s a bit of theme.
Do you listen to fiction podcasts? Which ones would you recommend?
Oooh, thanks for this great idea! I’ve been meaning to delve into fiction podcasts. I’ll check these out.
Can you recommend any more romance centered podcasts though? I’m not a fan of thrillers and more anxiety-inducing mysteries (I get enough anxiety without feeding into it). I’ve often thought that many romance books would work well as a podcast or audio play.
Thanks! Isi
I would also highly highly recommend “Wooden Overcoats” which is a scripted British sitcom podcast about an oddball pair of undertaker siblings who run a funeral parlor on a small British island. Their lives are disrupted when a charismatic new stranger arrives in town to open a competing funeral home. Three complete seasons performed by a full cast. Very funny. Very British.
@Isi: I would love more romance-focused fiction podcasts, too! There was one I really liked, Jules & James, but it ended without a resolution (I am STILL steamed about it) and I haven’t found another that measures up. If I find any, believe me, I’ll be hollering about it! I completely agree, romance fiction podcasts or audio plays would be brilliant.
I love The Strange Case of Starship Iris. Season 1 is all online now, has a satisfying ending, but season 2 is in the works.
It’s a sci-fi podcast but there’s an adorable romance that’s pretty central. The premise is–what happens when a government scientist gets rescued by some smugglers and is pulled into the fight for the truth? (And one of those smugglers has trouble with feeeeelingss)
There’s also a SUPER adorable pre-existing relationship between two members of the crew, so you have that cuteness as you wait for the slowburn of the other pair to heat up. 🙂
If you like TAZ, or other actual play podcasts, give Friends at the Table a try too. The players are great and it’s an inclusive space.
Deadly Manners was so good!
The Penumbra Podcast (two serials – Juno Steel is queer scifi noir and The Second Citadel is fantasy adventure with an m/m/f relationship at the heart of most of the season) and The Magnus Archives (supernatural horror) are my two favorite podcasts that are currently running. Definitely recommended.
I would like to recommend the Magnus Archives. It is intelligent and creepy, which I enjoy. There is also Levar Burton Reads, which is just Levar Burton reading a short story in every episode. Any recommendations for romance podcasts would be very welcome.
For light hearted & funny I loooove Mission to Zyxx. Kind of Galaxy Quest/ Hitchhiker’s Guide, episodic, totally delightful and great. Also the most accurate fictional depiction of pregnancy I’ve come across this season even if the pregnant entity has rather more flaps and orifices than I do…
I loved Bubble, by Maximum Fun. It is an 8-epsiode sci fi about people who live in a Portland-type town under a bubble that fight monsters (from outside the bubble). It is great and funny and stars two women.
Thanks so much for this post! Did NOT want to go to the gym today, but bribed myself by saying I couldn’t try out “Girl In Space” unless I went. My workout flew by, and now I have a whole bunch of new content to motivate me for upcoming gym sessions!
Just wanted to say thanks to Amanda for recommending the Bright Sessions. It came up on the SB podcast and I started listening to the Bright Sessions pretty much the next day. Binging it ended up being the highlight in what became a really bad work week for me. So THANK YOU!
Thanks for the heads up on some of these! I LOVE creepy fiction podcasts! “Alice Isn’t Dead” is probably my all-time favorite. I second the suggestion of “Magnus Archives,” which is ongoing, but currently on a short hiatus, so there’s plenty of time to catch up. Also, “The White Vault” is good. It’s complete. “Rabbits” is excellent–it reminds me of “Limetown.” “Tanis,” “The Last Movie,” and “We’re Alive” (zombies). “Small Town Horror” was pretty freaky, but good. But, again, I am into dark and creepy. 🙂 “Welcome to Nightvale” is meant to be funny, thoughtful, weird rather than scary, in my opinion. It’s up there in my top three. The first season was probably the best, although there was a three-episode arc involving baristas that had my barista daughter cracking up. I could talk podcasts all day, so I’ll shut up now. 😉
Thanks for this list! I love listening to fiction podcasts to wind down before bed. I’ve been listening to a lot of sci-fi/fantasy short stories. I recommend: Clarkesworld, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, PodCastle, EscapePod, PseudoPod (horror), and The Twenty Percent True Podcast (fantastic retellings!).
If you like Deadly Manners above, the movie Clue, or old time radio shows, try The Thrilling Adventure Hour. It’s updated less often now, but there is a 200+ archive to enjoy. Live show audio recordings of modern scripts in the style of old radio shows. Recurring shows include Sparks Nevada Marshall on Mars (Marc Evan Jackson of Brooklyn 9-9 and The Good Place), And Beyond Belief, with Paul F Tompkins and Paget Brewster as “those married mediums Frank and Sadie Doyle”. They’re the Nick and Nora Charles of the supernatural. They are all incredibly funny and there’s plenty of romance, too!
I SECOND THE THRILLING ADVENTURE HOUR! It’s fabulous- the two best segments (in my opinion) are Beyond Belief and Sparks Nevada. Captain Laserbeam is the only other one I’ve listened to in full, and it’s also charming.
I would also recommend Hello From The Magic Tavern. It’s an improve comedy story about a man who falls through a dimensional portal behind a Burger King in Chicago into a magical land called Foon. FYI, it’s definitely an adult podcast.
I’ve now listened to the first 3 episodes of Deadly Manners – Love it! I adore WTNV and I have seen two of their live shows. I haven’t gotten into Alice isn’t Dead, but since I need to clean out the garage, now might be a good time.
I’m loving Girl in Space, I will be looking into the other recommendations!