3 for the ask game, please!
Multiple requests for this one! The question is:
3. What are some audio dramas that inspire you? Both in general and for your podcast.
This is such a massive question. I've previously talked about Limetown being a massive influence, and frankly Season 1 is still the absolute peak of the 'fake true crime' subgenre. They caught lightning in a bottle with this one.
I always have to shout out @roguemaker for being an incredible production to be involved with - that show regularly inspires me to do better as a producer, and to experiment more with form and character dynamics as a writer!
Similarly, @sditepod has been an inspiration for me since day 1 of making my own stuff, just in terms of "here's how you completely commit to one idea and stick with it." One of my big pet peeves across media is anything that gives up on its framing device or central 'gimmick', and Someone Dies In This Elevator shows how you can do 10,000 variations on a very simple theme.
I of course have to mention my two first obsessions in podcasting, Pseudopod and Knifepoint Horror, which are both very much going strong. These are shows that really inspire me to approach my writing as literature, and to keep my craft going regardless of the chaos of life. These shows are like sharks, in an evolutionary sense: perfectly suited to exactly what they do and damn near as old as the water they swim in.
I always shout out In Strange Woods for making me cry repeatedly and often. This one is also one of the only things I listened to while hiking the 200 miles of Camino Primativo with my wife last summer, as a "break in case of emergencies" motivational rally.
In terms of more recent productions, @whatsthefrequencypodcast, @what-happened-in-skinner, and @thegospelofhaven are some of my favorites that I've devoured in the last year or so!
And I could go on! But here's the thing, right? I got into podcasting because podcasts have gotten me through some really tough times. The Adventure Zone: Balance was my lonely summer companion walking up and down a 1.5 mile hill from a terrible mall summer job in like 2016. The Black Tapes and Tanis were there with me in the hellish depths of high school. Even now, podcasts are what I reach for when I need an escape. So in that way, the whole medium is an inspiration for me - these things can be so powerful, and if I'm a devotee of anything it's the beautiful tradition of aural storytelling. I love podcasts in a very real way, and I love the people who make them.