I like podcasts. (For the uninitiated, podcasts be like on-demand radio shows.) There’s a whole smattering of my favorites available on the Writing page, because stories for your ears are as good as ones for your eyes. I try a lot of podcasts, because there’s so much great content out there.

Sidebar: We are really living in the Renaissance for entertainment content. The rise of on-demand video venues like Netflix, Hulu Plus, HBO Now, Amazon Video and many others have left us awash serialized storytelling that would have been impossible just ten years ago. Plus, a competitive marketplace has driven ever more interesting and inventive content. At this year’s Golden Globes, online-only venues grabbed 3 of the 11 possible awards.

Number won by the major, old-standard broadcast studios (CBS / ABC / NBC)? 0.

The same thing is happening in the audio entertainment world, with the likes of Spotify and Pandora for music and literally thousands of podcasts available on news, sports, current events, fiction and more. In literature, the rise of on-demand, e-book publishing and e-zines have made smaller, less known authors (like yours truly) more available to the masses.

I love living in The Future. What a time to be alive.

But I digress. Occasionally I happen upon a podcast that bears inclusion in my favorites list. To that end, you guys should all check out:

In short, a young woman’s boyfriend is killed, supposedly by a mythical creature that haunts the small town of Stoney Creek. This is her story to find the truth about her killer, and about the creature, whatever it may be.

I like Stoney Creek because it is well-written with superb voice acting, and because supernatural-creature-haunts-a-small-town is one of my absolute favorite story tropes.

Sidebar #2: OMG Stranger Things. Sooooo psyched for Season 2.

Digress again. I will admit that I found the Finale Episode of Stoney Creek a bit of a letdown, but there’s a trailer for Season 2 at the end that makes it worthwhile. If you give the series a listen, let me know what you think!

Podcasts I Am Most Stoked For In 2017

Being a podcast geek, here are the shows or seasons I am most anticipating in 2017.

1. The Black Tapes Podcast, Season 3. What’s the story with Richard and Coralee Strand? Has Richard been hiding something from Alex all this time? Will Alex make it out alive?
2. Untitled PNWS Project. Nic Silver has been teasing a new podcast coming from the makers of Black Tapes and TANIS in the last few TANIS bonus episodes. What will it be about? We’ll have to wait and see, but judging by the excellent content they’re producing already, I’m sure it will soon be on my Best Of list.
3. Welcome to Night Vale. (The show doesn’t really do “Seasons” so much as year-round content with repeats in January and July.) Personally, I’m hoping to hear more from Kevin in Desert Bluffs.
4. Homecoming, Season 1. – I’ve only heard that first episode of this so far, but Season 1 is on my to-be-binged list. It’s a psychological sci-fi thriller with the voice talents of David Schwimmer (Friends), Catherine Keener (Being John Malkovich, Capote), and Oscar Isaac (Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Ex Machina, X-Men Apocalypse). Gimlet Media has spent some dough to recruit such talented voices, and the writing is pretty slick thus far too.
5. Limetown, Season 2. The long-anticipated but as-yet-unannounced Season 2 of Limetown feels perpetually shelved, but I have a feeling 2017 will be our year. I will say the Limetown guys are the biggest tease in all of podcasting for producing such an excellent Season 1 (and in just six episodes!), with a tremendous cliffhanger, and then … continuing to leave us hanging for over a year!

What shows, podcasts or other entertainment are you most anticipating in 2017?

-CM