Roy Kaplan, Private Investigator

A post-apocalypse cyberpunk paranormal detective audio drama, launches December 28, 2024. Header image by @emnide.

[roykaplanpod]

Roy Kaplan: Out of Sight is complete (and you should listen to it!)

Just a couple weeks ago, we aired the finale for Roy Kaplan: Out of Sight, which means it's time for a new promo post!

What is Roy Kaplan: Out of Sight?

Roy Kaplan is an original paranormal cyberpunk detective audio drama, inspired by hardboiled 30s-50s crime fiction and old time radio classics like Richard Diamond. It is a mystery-of-the-week format, featuring the titular Roy Kaplan--private investigator, ex-burglar, and psychic--putting his skills (and the occasional assist from his ghost roommate Wes) to the test to solve the strange cases that come across his desk. With the power to talk to ghosts and bypass any lock, Kaplan's dogged pursuit of the truth takes him head-to-head against murders, blackmail, missing persons, and anything in between.

Out of Sight is the first season of Roy Kaplan, consisting of twelve episodes, 30-40 minutes each. Every episode covers a new mystery, and you can generally listen to any episode without needing additional context (except for the finale)--though release order is preferred! It's a full cast audio drama, featuring the talents of thirty-five voice actors as well as an original soundtrack.

All twelve episodes are released now (totaling just under seven hours), so you can listen to the whole season at once if you want!

Why should I listen to Out of Sight?

Roy Kaplan: Out of Sight might be the audio drama for you if you like:

clever and tightly-written mystery stories, especially ones featuring paranormal and/or science fiction elements

detective noir but in a futuristic setting

urban fantasy but with an investigative focus

smart-ass detectives who antagonize murderers and cause problems on purpose

smart-ass detectives who get punched a lot

a variety of mysteries to solve (not just murders!)

a sarcastic ghost from 1940

post-apocalypse seasoning

If any of these appeal to you, consider checking the show out--you won't regret it!

But don't just take my word for it, check out the trailer:

Visit Original Link

Where can I listen to Roy Kaplan?

Roy Kaplan is hosted via Pinecast, so it's available on most common podcast platforms like Spotify (maybe not Apple Podcasts, though I did try) or with your podcast aggregator of choice using the RSS feed directly. You can also listen to it directly on my website (The Pinwheel Lab, which also has the full credits and transcripts) or on YouTube.

How can I support Roy Kaplan?

If you like Roy Kaplan: Out of Sight, consider showing your support! Share the show with your friends, or reach out to let us know what you thought of the series! Our ask box is always open :)

If you really like the show and you want more of it, then please consider supporting us financially so we can go on to produce season 2! There are season end goodies available on itch.io (links in reblog)--an annotated script book, an art book (and poster graphics for printing), and the full season audio download. You can also subscribe to our Patreon! All purchases will go to recouping production costs from Out of Sight and helps make future seasons possible.

If you've got an itch for mysteries and forty minutes to spare, then Roy Kaplan might be the fix for you, so give it a shot :)

[roykaplanpod]

Listen to Roy Kaplan:

Pinecast RSS feed: https://pinecast.com/feed/roy-kaplan

Pinecast app links: https://pnc.st/s/roy-kaplan

Roy Kaplan (episodes, transcripts, and writer's commentary) on The Pinwheel Lab: https://www.thepinwheellab.com/projects/roy-kaplan/

Roy Kaplan on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ThePinwheelLab

Roy Kaplan on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1hhaSg8BPqUyBWoIpXDGrU

Get in touch:

Our ask box! :)

The Pinwheel Lab on Discord: https://discord.gg/vtAfkyjVfs

Jessepinwheel (me!) on Tumblr: @jessepinwheel

Support production:

The Pinwheel Lab on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/jessepinwheel/

Season-end goodies on Patreon shop: https://www.patreon.com/jessepinwheel/shop

Season-end goodies on itch.io: https://jessepinwheel.itch.io/

Tip jar on Pinecast: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/roy-kaplan

Happy listening!

[roykaplanpod]

Hi! I just wanted to say thank you so much for Roy Kaplan. You are truly an auteur. I absolutely loved it and have been so inspired by your storytelling and craft. I love hard boiled detective fiction and noir and the references to classic stories and film are interwoven so nicely into the truly original environment. Your characters are all so unique and tonally perfect and I am so impressed by how you can tie a mystery and world building together in just thirty minutes. I am trying to write more myself and this project will continue to stick with me as motivation and inspiration. I’ve already shared it with a few friends and can’t wait to give it another listen in the future. Congrats and thank you!!

Hello!

Thank you so much for the sweet message! If you're a fan of 30s-50s hardboiled fiction and also science fiction/urban fantasy you are the specific target audience for this story, and I'm glad it's hit the mark! I don't know how many people listening to Roy Kaplan are immediately familiar with stuff like Farewell, My Lovely or Some Like It Hot but if you know you know ;)

I read a bunch of short stories and listened to a bunch of period radio shows before writing Roy Kaplan, partially because I needed to get a sense of the level of complexity I needed to aim for, which took a little while to calibrate--the original draft of Bomber Blackout was something like eight pages too long! Even with that, my episodes are a little longer than the old radio shows--those are usually about 26-28 minutes, to allow for commercials, compared to Roy Kaplan's ~35 minute runtime. But hey, I'm not trying to fill a network time slot so it's fine to go over a bit, right...?

I hope your friends like Roy Kaplan as well, and best of luck in your writing endeavors! Remember that writing is an endurance sport--you've just got to keep moving forward :)

(also, fyi to anyone sending messages to this blog, I don't know if this blog is in tumblr jail or something but when I click on the inbox it shows me no messages so it can be difficult to respond to them)

[roykaplanpod]

Roy Kaplan: Out of Sight soundtrack!

If you liked the music of Out of Sight, then good news, you can listen to it here in full without all that voiceover getting in the way:

I'm not able to offer the soundtrack for purchase or download (I am leaving that to the musician's discretion) but at least you can listen to it and appreciate the full tracks.

Please consider supporting the composer: https://ephemeralephemeral.bandcamp.com/

[roykaplanpod]

Roy Kaplan: Out of Sight is complete (and you should listen to it!)

Just a couple weeks ago, we aired the finale for Roy Kaplan: Out of Sight, which means it's time for a new promo post!

What is Roy Kaplan: Out of Sight?

Roy Kaplan is an original paranormal cyberpunk detective audio drama, inspired by hardboiled 30s-50s crime fiction and old time radio classics like Richard Diamond. It is a mystery-of-the-week format, featuring the titular Roy Kaplan--private investigator, ex-burglar, and psychic--putting his skills (and the occasional assist from his ghost roommate Wes) to the test to solve the strange cases that come across his desk. With the power to talk to ghosts and bypass any lock, Kaplan's dogged pursuit of the truth takes him head-to-head against murders, blackmail, missing persons, and anything in between.

Out of Sight is the first season of Roy Kaplan, consisting of twelve episodes, 30-40 minutes each. Every episode covers a new mystery, and you can generally listen to any episode without needing additional context (except for the finale)--though release order is preferred! It's a full cast audio drama, featuring the talents of thirty-five voice actors as well as an original soundtrack.

All twelve episodes are released now (totaling just under seven hours), so you can listen to the whole season at once if you want!

Why should I listen to Out of Sight?

Roy Kaplan: Out of Sight might be the audio drama for you if you like:

clever and tightly-written mystery stories, especially ones featuring paranormal and/or science fiction elements

detective noir but in a futuristic setting

urban fantasy but with an investigative focus

smart-ass detectives who antagonize murderers and cause problems on purpose

smart-ass detectives who get punched a lot

a variety of mysteries to solve (not just murders!)

a sarcastic ghost from 1940

post-apocalypse seasoning

If any of these appeal to you, consider checking the show out--you won't regret it!

But don't just take my word for it, check out the trailer:

Visit Original Link

Where can I listen to Roy Kaplan?

Roy Kaplan is hosted via Pinecast, so it's available on most common podcast platforms like Spotify (maybe not Apple Podcasts, though I did try) or with your podcast aggregator of choice using the RSS feed directly. You can also listen to it directly on my website (The Pinwheel Lab, which also has the full credits and transcripts) or on YouTube.

How can I support Roy Kaplan?

If you like Roy Kaplan: Out of Sight, consider showing your support! Share the show with your friends, or reach out to let us know what you thought of the series! Our ask box is always open :)

If you really like the show and you want more of it, then please consider supporting us financially so we can go on to produce season 2! There are season end goodies available on itch.io (links in reblog)--an annotated script book, an art book (and poster graphics for printing), and the full season audio download. You can also subscribe to our Patreon! All purchases will go to recouping production costs from Out of Sight and helps make future seasons possible.

If you've got an itch for mysteries and forty minutes to spare, then Roy Kaplan might be the fix for you, so give it a shot :)

[roykaplanpod]

The end of Roy Kaplan: Out of Sight - goodies and future plans!

Hello, friends!

Roy Kaplan: Out of Sight, your latest paranormal cyberpunk detective audio drama, reached its finale at episode twelve just a couple weeks ago! That means if you want to listen to the entire thing at once, now's your chance :)

If you haven't listened to Roy Kaplan yet (Roy Kaplan, Private Investigator in some places), it's a mystery of the week format audio drama, following the style of old time radio shows like Richard Diamond. Every 30-40 minute episode (there's twelve of them!) features the titular Roy Kaplan putting his wits to the test to solve strange cases that cross his desk with a combination of his ingenuity, his skills as a master ex-burglar and psychic, and the occasional assist from his ghost roommate Wes. You can listen to the show on most podcast distributors!

For people who have listened to all of this first season, Out of Sight, I'm happy to announce that season end goodies are now live and available for purchase! There are three:

Full season download: all 12 episodes in higher audio quality for a single download, along with cover art and PDF transcripts

Art bundle: The Art of Roy Kaplan, a 62-page art book PDF with cover sketches, character art, and commentary not posted elsewhere. Also contains all the full resolution cover art across the season, and a poster graphic for printing featuring all twelve episode covers with three size variants.

Annotated script book: Roy Kaplan: Out of Sight - The Annotated Script Book and Commentaries, a 400+ page PDF or EPUB containing the scripts to all twelve episodes, reformatted for easy reading and annotated with writer's commentary footnotes. Also contains nine essays about the writing and production of Out of Sight not published anywhere else. If you're looking for behind the scenes insights or want to read Roy Kaplan: Out of Sight on the go, this may be the book for you!

All three of these are available on my itch.io or Patreon, and all sales go towards recouping costs of producing season one.

Speaking of, will there be a Season 2?

The plot of Roy Kaplan has many places to go--potentially three more seasons' worth of places, in fact!

But whether I'll be able to make the second season (and onwards) depends on listener support. I will be producing season 2 only if I'm able to make back the costs from season 1--which cost 3300 USD in total. There will be no crowdfunding campaign for season 2, so if you would like season 2 to exist, please consider supporting production by grabbing some of the goodies or pledging to my Patreon.

If you want to support production but don't have money to spend, that's all right too--you can help by sharing the show with your friends, and by reaching out to tell me what you thought of the series! I always like to hear what people think about my work, and getting feedback really helps make the thousand hours of work that's gone into the series feel like it means something. This ask box is always open, and you can also join The Pinwheel Lab's Discord server, which is linked in our pinned post (and every single episode announcement post), to hang out and chat with other people who enjoy the show!

Whatever form it may take, thank you for your support, and thanks for tagging along to the end!

[roykaplanpod]

Happy season end everyone! (or sad, depending?)

In case you missed it, a week or so ago the last episode of Roy Kaplan: Out of Sight went up. You can find Memento Mori (and its transcript) on my website or wherever you listen to podcasts!

If you're curious about what's to come or how you can support the show (especially if you want a second season), stay tuned--I'll be making another post within the week to talk about future plans and also end of season goodies :)

But in the meantime, now that the season is over, I can do this:

What's your favorite Roy Kaplan: Out of Sight episode?

01 Bomber Blackout

02 Murder By Proxy

03 Bait and Stitch

04 Dead Man's Safe

05 Foul Spirits

06 Random Access Memory

07 Family Dysfunctions

08 Sleep Well, My Darling

09 Calling Card

10 Doctor's Orders

11 How to Date Your Dragon

12 Memento Mori

Voting ended onJun 18, 2025

If you have a favorite episode, tell us why you like it in the replies/reblogs! I have my ideas of which episodes people will like best, but you never know...

Obviously no "haven't started listening yet" option because polls have a maximum of 12 options. But if you haven't listened yet, the whole season is out now so it's the best time to listen to the whole thing ;)

[roykaplanpod]

Roy Kaplan: Out of Sight episode 12 is now out! Season finale!

Episode 12, Memento Mori, is out! This week, Roy finally catches hold of the mysterious psychic that's been hunting him down...or is it the other way around?

I know you say you can listen to the episodes of this series in any order, but maybe don't listen to this one until after you've listened to the rest of the series.

You can listen to Memento Mori anywhere you get podcasts, including here on YouTube:

Now that the season's over, it's the best possible time for you to catch up! If you missed it, you can listen to/read transcripts for the previous episode, How to Date Your Dragon, on my website (or your favored podcast aggregator of choice). I also wrote a short commentary blog post about it if you like that sort of thing! You can find the full episode listing on the Out of Sight page.

If you've enjoyed Roy Kaplan: Out of Sight and want a second season, then consider supporting production! Very soon (in the next week) I'll be getting the Out of Sight art book, full season download, and annotated script book available for purchase, all of which will help me recoup the costs of season 1 and make a season 2 possible. Expect to see another Tumblr post when that happens.

And as always, if you want to chat about Roy Kaplan, feel free to comment on YouTube, send asks, or come join us on Discord!

[roykaplanpod]

Roy Kaplan: Out of Sight episode 11 premiere!

Episode 11, How to Date Your Dragon, drops tomorrow, Saturday at 6PM CST! Only the finale left after this one, where did the time go? This week, Roy goes to the club.

If you want to listen to How to Date Your Dragon and chat live with other listeners, come join us for the premiere:

If you missed it, you can listen to/read transcripts for the previous episode, Doctor's Orders, on my website (or your favored podcast aggregator of choice). I also wrote a short commentary blog post about it if you like that sort of thing! You can find the full episode listing on the Out of Sight page.

And as always, if you want to chat about Roy Kaplan, feel free to comment on YouTube, send asks, or come join us on Discord!

[roykaplanpod]

We're rapidly approaching the end of Roy Kaplan: Out of Sight! (Only two episodes left!)

For the end of the season, I'm putting together the script book for Out of Sight. It'll be available for purchase to help make a second season possible, and it includes all 12 scripts in a reading-friendly format with writer's (my) commentary annotated in, as well as essays talking about different behind-the-scenes aspects of writing and producing Out of Sight. These essays cover stuff like the history of me working on the show, the inspirations for the series, and my experience with voice acting and production.

Which brings me to why I'm making this post: I've still got space between a few of the scripts for more essays. If there are any topics you'd like to have covered in the script book, now is your chance to pitch it! This is time sensitive--I need to have the script book finished by the time the finale goes up (May 31), so if there's anything you're interested in, don't delay!

If you have any ideas/requests, you can send them via ask, or in the replies, or in the reblogs--just any way that I'll see it.

[roykaplanpod]

Roy Kaplan: Out of Sight episode 10 premiere!

Episode 10, Doctor's Orders, drops tomorrow, Saturday at 6PM CST! This week, Roy gets into a spot of trouble while investigating a missing person...

If you want to listen to Doctor's Orders and chat live with other listeners, come join us for the premiere:

If you missed it, you can listen to/read transcripts for the previous episode, Calling Card, on my website (or your favored podcast aggregator of choice). I also wrote a short commentary blog post about it if you like that sort of thing! You can find the full episode listing on the Out of Sight page.

And as always, if you want to chat about Roy Kaplan, feel free to comment on YouTube, send asks, or come join us on Discord!

[roykaplanpod]

Roy Kaplan: Out of Sight episode 9 premiere!

Episode 9, Calling Card, drops tomorrow (or today, depending on what time zone you're in), Saturday at 6PM CST! This week, Fletcher needs some help, and unfortunately our local private-investigator-slash-burglar is the best man for the job...

If you want to listen to Calling Card and chat live with other listeners, come join us:

If you missed it, you can listen to/read transcripts for the previous episode, Sleep Well, My Darling, on my website (or your favored podcast aggregator of choice). I also wrote a short commentary blog post about it if you like that sort of thing! You can find the full episode listing on the Out of Sight page.

And as always, if you want to chat about Roy Kaplan, feel free to comment on YouTube, send asks, or come join us on Discord!

[roykaplanpod]

Roy Kaplan: Out of Sight episode 8 is out!

Episode 8, Sleep Well, My Darling, is now up! (I forgot to make a post yesterday). This time, Roy tries to find a client's long-lost fiance and ends up uncovering something a little more sinister...

If you want to listen to Sleep Well, My Darling, you can check it out on YouTube now:

If you missed last week's episode, you can listen to/read transcripts for Family Dysfunctions on my website (or your favored podcast aggregator of choice). I also wrote a short commentary blog post about it if you like that sort of thing! You can find the full episode listing on the Out of Sight page.

And as always, if you want to chat about Roy Kaplan, feel free to comment on YouTube, send asks, or come join us on Discord!

[roykaplanpod]

Roy Kaplan: Out of Sight episode 7 premiere!

Episode 7, Family Dysfunctions, drops tomorrow, Saturday at 6PM CST! This marks the halfway point of the season! A ghost needs Roy's help to get justice for their death...

If you want to listen to Family Dysfunctions and chat live with other listeners, come join us:

If you missed it, you can listen to/read transcripts for the previous episode, Random Access Memory, on my website (or your favored podcast aggregator of choice). I also wrote a short commentary blog post about it if you like that sort of thing! You can find the full episode listing on the Out of Sight page.

And as always, if you want to chat about Roy Kaplan, feel free to comment on YouTube, send asks, or come join us on Discord!

[roykaplanpod]

We're halfway through season 1!

Hello, friends!

We just released episode 6 last week, which means we are now halfway through the season! Hopefully, you are enjoying Roy's many adventures in future crimes and also getting punched (which I have been informed is a selling point). For those of you listening, here's a quick poll:

Favorite Roy Kaplan episode? (first half)

E01: Bomber Blackout

E02: Murder By Proxy

E03: Bait and Stitch

E04: Dead Man's Safe

E05: Foul Spirits

E06: Random Access Memory

Haven't listened to Roy Kaplan yet, but I will!

Not planning to listen to Roy Kaplan (but I care about these results?)

Voting ended onMar 23, 2025

Mostly because I'm curious :) I have my own ideas of which episodes people might like best but you really never know until you actually hear it from people.

For those of you not listening to Roy Kaplan: Out of Sight, it's an original paranormal cyberpunk detective audio drama heavily inspired by old-time radio detective shows like Richard Diamond as well as 30s-50s hardboiled detective fiction. It's episodic mystery-of-the-week format and features our private investigator Roy Kaplan, who talks to ghosts, loves to steal, and gets a lot of people angry at him in the meantime, as well as Roy's ghost roommate Wes.

You can find links to all the episodes released so far on this Tumblr, or on my website, which also has writer commentary blog posts if you're into that sort of thing!

I'll catch you on the other side, and as always, if you're enjoying the show, say something! I always like to hear what people think :)

[roykaplanpod]

Roy Kaplan: Out of Sight episode 6 premiere!

Episode 6, Random Access Memory, drops tomorrow, Saturday at 6PM CST! This marks the halfway point of the season! This time, Roy's friend Notion has some amnesia-related trouble...

If you want to listen to Random Access Memory and chat live with other listeners, come join us:

If you missed it, you can listen to/read transcripts for the previous episode, Foul Spirits, on my website (or your favored podcast aggregator of choice). I also wrote a short commentary blog post about it if you like that sort of thing! You can find the full episode listing on the Out of Sight page.

And as always, if you want to chat about Roy Kaplan, feel free to comment on YouTube, send asks, or come join us on Discord!

[roykaplanpod]

Roy Kaplan: Out of Sight episode 5 premiere!

Episode 5, Foul Spirits, drops tomorrow, Saturday at 6PM CST! This episode, Roy meets...another psychic?

If you want to listen to Foul Spirits and chat live with other listeners, come join us:

If you missed it, you can listen to/read transcripts for the previous episode, Dead Man's Safe, on my website (or your favored podcast aggregator of choice). I also wrote a short commentary blog post about it if you like that sort of thing! You can find the full episode listing on the Out of Sight page.

And as always, if you want to chat about Roy Kaplan, feel free to comment on YouTube, send asks, or come join us on Discord!

[roykaplanpod]

Roy Kaplan: Out of Sight episode 4 premiere!

Episode 4, Dead Man's Safe, drops tomorrow, Saturday at 6PM CST! This episode, things get a little retro :)

If you want to listen to Dead Man's Safe and chat live with other listeners, come join us:

If you missed it, you can listen to/read transcripts for the previous episode, Bait and Stitch, on my website (or your favored podcast aggregator of choice). I also wrote a short commentary blog post about it if you like that sort of thing! You can find the full episode listing on the Out of Sight page.

And as always, if you want to chat about Roy Kaplan, feel free to comment on YouTube, send asks, or come join us on Discord!