Hello!
An important part of my art creating process is listening to podcasts while I'm inking. I can't listen to music: I find it too distracting and my body can't sit still while there are sweet rhythms beating in my headphones. So this week I want to share with you some of my favourite things to listen to at the moment, with accompanying fanart. (This is just a list of 5 of my current faves; I've got heaps more but I'll share them another time).
I was little late to the Reply All bandwagon. I heard about them when they moved to be part of the Gimlet Media network. It's supposedly just 'a show about the internet' but it's really so much more.
Listening to hosts Alex Goldman and PJ Vogt talk is like listening to your most favourite and most interesting friends tell you cool stories. PJ's laugh makes you feel like there is nothing bad in the world that can't be fixed and the various theme tunes are aces.
Episodes you could start with (but really they are all so good):
#86 - Man of the People
#64-67 - On the Inside (mini-series within the show)
#57 - Milk Wanted
#56 - Zardulu
2. THE ADVENTURE ZONE (Maximum Fun)
I can't remember how I got onto The Adventure Zone (TAZ) originally but I have been listening from pretty early on. I think I was getting into playing D&D (Dungeons and Dragons) myself at the time and googled 'D&D podcasts' and TAZ came up. It's hosted by the three McElroy brothers (of My Brother, My Brother And Me podcast fame) and their father, Clint. Each episode of TAZ is pretty much just them playing D&D for an hour but with much hilarity. Simple but effective. You do not have to play or know anything about D&D to listen along and enjoy the tales that Griffin (The Dungeon Master // Story Teller) weaves.
This podcast is a story-based one so you really need to start from the beginning. But trust me it's worth it, the characters and stories get better and better with each ep. Man, I can't wait to find out what's going to happen next!
A new fiction podcast from Gimlet media. Sort of in the style of 1940s radio plays but with a modern twist. It's about the main character Heidi's (played by Catherine Keener) previous life before she was a waitress, working on the Homecoming project. I don't actually want to tell you too much more about it because I think it's great going in with very little knowledge of the story about to unfold.
Again, this a story-based podcast. So don't listen backwards! Start from episode one and get swept away with the story.
4. MY DAD WROTE A PORNO (Acast)
Quite possibly my favourite podcast at the moment. It's hosted by Jamie and his good friends James and Alice. And as the title suggests, Jamie's dad wrote and self-published an erotic fiction book called "Belinda Blinked". Each episode Jamie reads a chapter of Belinda Blinked to James and Alice and they interject with questions, concerns and discussion about the logistics of the sexual positions written by Rocky Flintstone (Jamie's dad's nom-de-plume).
I haven't laughed so hard for a very long time. The dynamic between the three hosts is magical and Rocky's words bring that je ne sais quoi element.
You can jump in at any point, it's pretty easy to pick up the story partway through, but for full Belinda enjoyment I recommend starting from episode one.
My final recommendation is a sci-fi radio play. Written by (and also starring) Ben Moor, it follows Edna Turner as she moves to London to work for a listings magazine but then she discovers a weirder version of London (called Undone) just beyond normal logic. She meets up with Tankerton Slopes (Ben Moor) and they work together to stop the incursion of weirdness from Undone into London.
The show is super witty and has lots of puns and wordplay (my favourite!). I've listened to it so many times now that I can pretty much quote it word-for-word. Each series gets better and I just fell for this exciting world that Moor has created. I really want to make a comic version of the story.
Unfortunately this radio play was originally heard on BBC radio 4. So it's not always available to listen to on demand but they often replay all 3 series on the listen again website. So if you ever get a chance to listen to it please do!
So that's it. That what I've been listening to for the last little while. These yarns have been getting me through my first few weeks of freelancing. When I've felt like haven't been doing enough or that maybe I've made the wrong decision, I put on a podcast and listen to other people creating great things and know that I can do that too! I just need to go ahead and do it.
I hope you are having a splendid week and hopefully I've enlightened you to a few more fun listens for when you're doing the dishes or walking the dog or drawing.
Gxx