This Week in Podcasts: 5/26/19 – 6/2/19

This Week in Podcasts is a weekly roundup of the goings-on in podcasting, from highlights to pitfalls to updates and more. Have updates or crowdfunding campaigns you want listed? Check here for directions on how to get in touch.

Highlights

The Adventure Zone
“Amnesty – Episode 28”
Release date: 5/31/19
Runtime: 1 hour, 57 minutes
No transcript available

While The Adventure Zone has recently faltered, this two-hour episode feels a return not just to the best of the “Amnesty” arc, but to some of what made its predecessor, the highly-acclaimed “Balance” arc, so beautiful. “Episode 28” is the culmination of each storyline swirling about in “Amnesty” so far. The political tensions finally burst. Friendships and alliances are tested. Backstory details are revealed–and then opened up to even more questions. And the party faces shocking events that change everything from here on out. While a nearly two-hour runtime isn’t necessarily unheard of within the greater sphere of actual play podcasts, it is a rarity for The Adventure Zone. Surprisingly, the pacing never drags, and it never feels like the episode should have been cut earlier. The pacing is precise and expert while still not feeling too manufactured.

CARAVAN
“1.9 The Man Comes Around”
Release date: 5/31/19
Runtime: 42 minutes
Transcript

CARAVAN shifts focus for “1.9 The Man Comes Around” to investigate what’s been happening to Carlyle since Samir fell into the canyon in the first episode. Played expertly by Briggon Snow, Carlyle is given a beautiful monologue that anchors the episode. Snow’s ability to carry a monologue has been displayed in both The Bright Sessions and, of course, The Big Loop, but the piece in CARAVAN still feels different thanks to both the high genre framing of the dialogue and the people to whom Carlyle is speaking. The episode isn’t just a beautiful monologue, though–it’s also filled with surprising reveals about the complicated relationships between the story’s perceived antagonists, a look into more of how the world operates, the introduction of some fantastic new characters, and a score by Travis Reaves of 20 Sided Stories that absolute slaps.

Updates

**Announcing Hug House Productions and Scoring Magic!**

hug_house

I’m excited to announce Hug House Productions, a podcast production collective of myself, Anne Baird, and Katie Youmans. Our first podcast will be Scoring Magic, a documentary about the making of an audio drama, and that audio drama itself. Scoring Magic‘s trailer will be available soon.

Apple is Killing iTunes, and It Does Not Matter

Apple is killing off iTunes. Don’t panic. It genuinely does not matter in the world of podcasts.

https://twitter.com/wilw_writes/status/1134872951449214978

PodX Closes to Positive Reviews

PodX, a new podcast convention based in Nashville, closed on June 2nd with overall positive reviews. With a blend of panels and live shows, it seems a fitting successor to the discontinued PodCon. Several panels were live tweeted by podcast journalist Gavin Gaddis of The Pod Report:

https://twitter.com/ThePodReport/status/1135238835368017921

https://twitter.com/ThePodReport/status/1134899097834594306

Audiocraft Lets Australian Podcasters Look Under the Hood

The 2019 Audiocraft Festival also closed on June 2nd in Sydney, Australia. Podcaster Lee Davis-Thalbourne of Passer Vulpes Productions (Love and Luck, Nym’s Nebulous Notions) live-tweeted several panels, including “Under the Hood” sessions:

Listening to @chrismagilton talk about his goals for the @AmongStarsBones theme: He wanted to build a sense of isolation into the theme, a slow build of tension. #audiocraft19

— Lee Davis-Thalbourne | @passerkirbius.bsky.social (@passerkirbius) May 31, 2019

Actually pretty pleased to be at the Under The Hood session for Radical Fashionism. An interesting look in building sound design that's meant to be noticed. #audiocraft19

— Lee Davis-Thalbourne | @passerkirbius.bsky.social (@passerkirbius) June 1, 2019

Final session, and it's Under The Hood with @AllusionistShow, with @HelenZaltzman! #audiocraft19

— Lee Davis-Thalbourne | @passerkirbius.bsky.social (@passerkirbius) June 1, 2019

We're back! We're at The Calyx In The Sydney Royal Botanical Gardens for "The Future of Podcasting" at #Audiocraft19! I'm looking forward to some great podcasters imagining their podcasts 50 years on! pic.twitter.com/3eqBiNpyT4

— Lee Davis-Thalbourne | @passerkirbius.bsky.social (@passerkirbius) June 2, 2019

REI Launches Wildfire

Outdoor supplies retailer REI has launched a new investigative journalism podcast researching the state of wildfires through the perspective of the Eagle Creek Wildfire in 2017.

The 6-episode investigative series follows hosts Graham Zimmerman and Jim Aikman, podcasters with backgrounds in non-fiction storytelling, science, outdoor sports and a deep appreciation for natural spaces, as they explore the intricacies of the Eagle Creek Fire, which affected them both directly at their homes in Oregon. The hosts will bring unique perspectives to wildfire: Graham grew up in the Pacific Northwest where he was exposed to wildfires from an early age, while Jim grew up in the Midwest where fire is primarily seen only in the news.

A RadioPublic embed of the episode, which can also be found here

Vox Launches Nice Try! Utopian

Vox has launched its new podcast, Nice Try! Utopian, in 99% Invisible veteran Avery Trufelman “reexamines some of history’s most fascinating attempts to build more perfect communities, including the capital city for a newly democratic India, an integrated midcentury suburb outside Philadelphia, and a self-sustaining closed ecosystem in the Arizona desert.”

A RadioPublic embed of the episode, which can also be found here

Passer Vulpes Launches Nym’s Nebulous Notions

Passer Vulpes Productions has launched Nym’s Nebulous Notions, “a quirky SciFi audio drama podcast about conspiracies, context, and jumping to conclusions.” The entire season is available for marathon-listening.

A RadioPublic embed of the episode, which can also be found here

Campaigns

ENDING TODAY!: Australia-based IndiePodFest crowdfunding its 2019 event

IndiePodFest is crowdfunding its 2019 event, to be be held from July 12th – 14th, 2019, at the Brunswick Mechanics Institute in Melbourne. The campaign has a goal of $19500 AUS (~$13600 USD) and will run until June 3rd, 2019, via Pozible. One reward for backing the campaign is a “Podcasting 101” workshop.

ENDING SOON: Art history podcast Accession crowdfunding its second season

Accession‘s second season will be a road trip themed around the concept of “home,” travelling across the United States to examine different works of art that give commentary on what home means. The IndieGogo campaign has a flexible goal of $2500 USD and will be running until June 10th, 2019.

Childish: A Podcast Musical crowdfunding its first season

Podcast production house Whale Bus (The Van, Story Blocks, Looking Back at Tomorrow) is crowdfunding the first season of their upcoming musical audio drama, Childish: A Podcast Musical via IndieGogo. The campaign has a flexible goal of $2000 USD and will be running until June 28th, 2019. The podcast will be about “A college student wants to be the world’s most famous rapper [Childish Gambino], so he becomes an RA.”

Wil Williams Writes