Hello hello!
I’m here with another list! This week I’m featuring my favorite podcasts that I listened to in 2020. Some of these I’ve been listening to for longer than this year but I really binged a lot of backlog content, especially taking my daughter to her appointments or when we go for our drives. I’ll easily get in 2 episodes on a round trip.
Next Level Authors: I mentioned this podcast in my YouTube post last week but they’re worth mentioning again. Sacha and Daniel are fantastic. I love listening to their discussions about being full time authors and how they’re trying to improve. And, keeping each other accountable during a year like this has got to be crucial.
Rebel Author Podcast: Sacha Black’s other podcast. She has an interview format show and it’s really interesting. She tries to get people with all kinds of backgrounds and experiences and I look forward to every Wednesday.
Pontifacts: Ranking the Popeyest Pope that ever Poped! Bry and Fry are two very lovely ladies I will actually have the pleasure of interviewing in January so that’s exciting. Basically, they go through the biography of the Popes from Peter to Francis. They rank them in different categories- their impact on the Church, impact on the secular world, scandal, what they think of their official portraits. I never knew how many popes there were! And, we won’t even mention Anti-Popes. If you enjoy Catholic Church history and irreverent humor, this is a show you would enjoy.
Rex Factor: Rex Factor has been going on for ages. They actually started the ranking format that Pontifacts and Totalus Rankium also took as their inspiration. They’re currently on season 3 of their show. Season 1- they ranked the kings and queens of England. Season 2- Kings and queens of Scotland. Season 3- Queen and prince consorts. At the time I’m writing this, their most recent episode was Eleanor of Aquitaine. I’m looking forward to Henry VIII’s wives to get their episodes. Their categories are Battleyness (battlefield leadership or lack of), Scandal (did they kill their nephews? sex with nuns?), Subjectivity (how would it be as a subject during this time), Longevity (how long they ruled), Dynasty (legitimate surviving children)
Totalus Rankium- American Presidents: Similar format to the prior two except ranking the Presidents. It’s different since Rob and Jamie are British so they’re coming into some of these completely blind. Also, points because Rob’s voice sounds like Christopher Eccleston. Their next episodes will be FDR. They normally do 2 episodes. Pre-Presidency life and then when they become President. Their categories: Statesmanship (how good of a statesman were they), Disgracegate (scandal), Silver Screen (would their lives make a good movie or tv show), Canvasability (rating their portraits), Bonus points for terms served, if they were elected in a landslide, and assassination attempts.
Girl In Space: This is a sci-fi audio drama by my friend, Sarah. Full cast and sound effects. It’s really good. I’m only a couple episodes in so I, honestly, can’t say much more than that.
Write Now: Also a podcast by Sarah, this is a regular discussion podcast. She talks about the ups and downs of life as a creative business owner. She also hosts create along streams on Twitch on Wednesdays and Fridays.
History That Doesn’t Suck: So, you know all the stuff they left out of history class in school? No? Well, there is a LOT that gets glossed over. This podcast goes into *detail.* They spent over a year just on events of the build up and the Civil War. There are episodes that will make you cry. Plenty to make you laugh. Greg Jackson, the host, really presents it in a way that’s not dull and dry. I’ll actually let a few episodes accumulate in my feed and then binge when I go for a drive.
Buffy and the Art of Story: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and writing. What could be better? Lisa M. Lilly breaks down the story beats of every episode of Buffy. She’s on season 3 right now, which is my favorite. I love listening to this show and reliving all my favorite moments. I’ve even listened to the ones about the episodes I always skip during my rewatches. I’ve learned a lot about story structure. I kind of want to start listening from the start and rewatch the show while taking notes. But, I have to wait until we finally get other streaming services. It’s no longer on Netflix T_T
1865: Another audio drama! This story focuses on Edwin Stanton who was the Secretary of War for Abraham Lincoln and then Andrew Johnson. It starts when Lincoln is killed and goes through Johnson’s Impeachment. (Spoiler: Johnson is a horrible person and there are many parallels between him and someone else recently impeached but I’ll leave it at that.) Full cast, sound effects, and then there is a discussion after each segment of the story where the creators go into the history and the slight liberties taken to fill in the gaps. I binged this in about 2 weeks and I want to listen again. I also am on the hunt for more audio drama podcasts, especially history ones, so if anyone has a recommendation let me know!
So, that’s it! Next week, I’m talking about the challenges and joys looking back on 2020. The week after, there will be no blog or any sort of social media for Christmas, and then I’m back in 2021 for my yearly goals!