The Audio File: Poe Theatre on the Air: Season 1

I am always happy to give reviews to podcasters who ask me, especially if they've enjoyed my previous reviews. I'm glad to do my past to help promote podcasts, and it often leads me to some truly undiscovered gems. That brings us to the podcast we're taking a look at today. We're taking a look at season one of Poe Theatre on the Air. 

Poe Theatre on the Air is a production of the National Edgar Allan Poe Theatre. Each episode is an adaption of a different Edgar Allan Poe short story. While by-and-large faithful to the source material, the writers make sure to put their own spin on the stories. This largely relates to the framing device. The framing device is that you, the listener, are a guest at the asylum of Dr. Maillard. He has developed a radical new treatment to cure the mentally crippled, and he considers all of the inmates his children who have lost their way. Each of the inmates are the protagonist of a different Edgar Allen Poe short story, and they will be sharing their tales with us.

I share The Audio File and The Alt-Hist File over on the Audio Drama Lovers group over on Facebook. If you ever see me over there, feel free to say hi. Not to brag, but my reviews always seem to be reasonably popular with the other members, and I have gained a few fans. One of these fans, named Alex Zavistovich, reach out to me about a podcast he's involved with. Obviously, that podcast is Poe Theatre on the Air. I had a few reviews to take care of, but I agreed to give it a listen and review it later.

I'm glad that I did, because I was pleasantly surprised by what I found. The team is going for the shared universe approach with Poe's short stories. Even Dr. Maillard and his asylum hail from a Poe story. Specifically, he's from "The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether." That was always one of my favorite Poe stories. Poe Theatre on the Air is a fully performed audio drama with actors, music, and sound effects. This gives it a key advantage over a podcast that would just read the stories. The language used in Edgar Allen Poe's writing is a bit archaic by modern standards, and that can be a stumbling block for a lot of people. By contrast, the dialogue and bits of narration Poe Theatre on the Air uses are more modern, while still being a bit formal when needed. This allows the listeners to really focus on, and enjoy, the content of the stories.

Of course, this could not work without a talented team of voice actors. Thankfully, Poe Theatre on the Air has quite the team of voices at its disposal. I should also mention that Poe Theatre on the Air has been featured several times on NPR. Okay, now that we've covered all of that we can delve into the individual stories.

Our first story is "The Tell-Tale Heart." You've probably heard of this one, but if not, it's the one about the person who kills the old man and is then haunted by the sound of his beating heart.

With our first episode, we see what I meant about the writers putting their own spin on the story. The original "Tell-Tale Heart" leaves a lot of quest in unanswered. We don't know the narrator's gender, or their relationship with the old man, or even the motive for the murder, beyond a hated of the old man's eye. As such, it leaves a lot of room for interpretation. So here, the narrator is a woman working at the inn the old man owns. Admittedly, I've never been the biggest fan of "The Tell-Tale Heart." I remembering linking it as a kid because of when I discovered it was used as the basis of that episode of SpongeBob where Mr. Krabs regifts some boots to SpongeBob; but the boots are very squeaky, so he steals them and hides them under the floorboard of the Krusty Krab. Then he is haunted by the squeaking of the boots until he confesses and eats the boots.

It was neat to discover that connection on my own as a kid. I studied the story in English class in middle school and enjoyed it. Then I got older, and the story just didn't hold the same charm for me. I guess it was because I'd seen it parodied and homaged so many times that I just wasn't as effective as it once was. Still, for what it's worth, I think I liked this episode more than the original story.

The second story is "The Black Cat." This story is about a man who's wife loves animals and has turned their home in a menagerie. However, he has never been a lover of animals, and he does not care for the black cat, despite how often it shows him affection. He pokes out the poor cat's eye, and eventually hangs it. He thinks his troubles are at an end, but then he brings home a new black cat for his wife. There's something hauntingly familiar about the new cat, and it drives the man insane.

I had not previously read the story, but I very much enjoyed this episode, and it made me want to seek out the original. I have a beloved orange tabby named Tiger, so I say the protagonist got what he deserved in the end. It is unclear when the stories are set. I assumed the 19th century, just like the originals. Certain details do back this up, such as the police being Irish. I mean, it's not impossible for a modern police officer to be Irish, but that was more of a cliche you tend to see in stories set in the past. Additionally, there's no references to any modern technology, which would back-up my original assumption.

It is interesting to compare and contrast this story with "The Tell-Tale Heart." Both stories feature unarmed narrators, though the podcast gives them names. Both stories involve the protagonists committing heinous acts because of an eye. And both stories have the protagonists thinking they've gotten away with killing, only to be haunted by the deceased. Well, that is, unless they've simply gone crazy. From what I've gathered, the protagonist hating animals was a slight deviation from the original, but I understand he was a bit of an unreliable narrator in the original story. The actor playing the protagonist gave an especially strong performance. All in all, an excellent episode.

The third story is "Morella." This story tells of a man who has married a woman named Morella. He married her for her brilliant and intellectual mind. However, she's developed an obsession with the occult, and he fears this may lead down a dark path.

This one wasn't bad, but it didn't especially blow me away. I could guess where this story was going about a halfway through. That's usually not a problem for me, but it worked against the story here. The part where the main a character is driven to madness and shouts "Morella! Morella!" was supposed to dramatic, as it shows that Morella has triumphed and driven him to despair, but it just came across kind of annoying to me. I will say it did make me wonder about when the series is set. The protagonist takes his daughter to be baptized by a priest, but the service comes across like an Evangelical megachurch service rather than anything from Poe's time. Anyway, moving right along.

The fourth story is "The Cask of Amontillado." This is another one you've probably heard of. It takes place in Carnival in Venice. Montresor is from a noble family, but is constantly picked on by his "friend" Fortunato. So, he lures a very drunk Fortunato into his family's crypt on the grounds that they will be tasting a fine amontillado. Then he bricks up Fortunato and leave him to die.

Like I said, you've probably encountered this story in English class at some point. I think I read this on in high school, but it might have been middle school. Either way, I wasn't terribly impressed, but I grew to like it better when I got older and reexamined it. It helped that William Joyce made a really good animated short film of it that I saw at a screening of his short films. He's the guy who made Rollie Pollie Ollie, A Day with Wilbur Robinson and Rise of the Guardians, among other things. Poe Theatre on the Air gave us an excellent adaption, and I've got no complaints.

The fifth story is "Berenice." First of all, you pronounce that as baron-nice-cee. It follows a bookish man who has a monomania for books. He loves to read books, but also to study the shape of letters, and the arraignments of words. His beloved cousin Berenice always tries to get him to come out and enjoy nature. Then she falls ill to an unspecified disease, that was probably tuberculosis, and dies. Are protagonist remains obsessed with he beloved Berenice, especially her lovely smile. He is determined that not even the grave shall keep them apart.

This was another story I wasn't familiar with, but now I kind of want to seek out the original. This is very much a story about the dangers of obsession and passions run amuck. I said the disease was probably tuberculosis because, nine times out of ten, that's what unspecified illnesses turn out to be in 19th Century stories. Also, I should point out that marriage between first cousins wasn't considered unusual in Poe's day, especially among the wealthy. Sometime else that wasn't considered unusual was premature burial. Many coffins had boards in them that could be pressed with the feet. This would ring a bell on the surface and alerted the cemetery watchman that someone needed digging up. It is also not uncommon to find coffins from that era with scratch marks on the interior of their lids.

The thought of being buried alive has always been something that sends a shiver down my spine. True, Berenice might not have enjoyed having her teeth yanked out by her crazed cousin, but it sure beats suffocating in a coffin six feet under. Well, that's my takeaway. Though, I concede that having teeth pulled without anesthetics is hardly a picnic. All in all, another great episode.

The sixth episode is "A Predicament." It follows a wealth woman named Madam Zenobia and her man sergeant Julius. They're on vacation in an unspecified European country. Madam Zenobia treats Julius quite poorly, but she's about to receive her comeuppance during a trip to a cathedral's bell tower.

This was another story I was unfamiliar with, but made me want to seek out the original. Never pegged Edgar Allen Poe as someone who'd write comedy stories, but I guess I was wrong. I can certainly related to Julius, as I too have a fear heights. Though I've never had to deal with anyone quite so demanding as Madam Zenobia. Really, she only has herself to blame for what happens. Just what was she expecting, sticking her head into the bell tower's inner workings?

This story also deviates a bit from the original story. For example, in the original story, Julius was a black dwarf named Pompey, rather than an old white man. Obviously, that isn't exactly politically correct by modern standard, so I can understand why the team changed that. However, more importantly the ending if different. So if you don't want to know what happens, skip down to episode seven if you don't want to know.

Last chance, turn back now if you don't want to find out. You sure you want to keep going.

Well alright. Here we go.

In the original story, Madam Zenobia got decapitated by the clock's pendulum, but her head remains functioning independent of her body. In this adaption, however, the pendulum knicker her neck, but otherwise leaves her head intact. However, she believes that she has become a body without a head, and thus finds helpful in the asylum. Even without having read the original, I still found it an interesting twist ending. So well done on the part of the writers. Excellent episode all around.

The seventh story is "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar." This story follows a hypnotist who believes it is possible cheat death by hypnotizing someone at the moment before death. His friend Ernest Valdemar agrees to be a test subject. But will Valdemar find himself facing something worse than death?

Alex recommended this as the best of the currently available episodes. I must say, it did not disappoint. This was a Poe story I meant to track down, but never did til now. You've got those elements of gothic horror, as is common in Poe's works. However, I'd also argue that this story is an early example of science fiction. We've got out protagonist trying make discovers and perform experiments using scientific means. Obviously, we now know that even the strongest hypnotism is no match for organ failure and blood loss. Still, remember that this story was written before germ theory caught on, and back when belief in the four humors hadn't quite died out. Poe was working with the information available to him. Gothic horror was important to the development of early science fiction. Just look at Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. In fact, many of Poe stories are just as much science fiction as they are horror.

Even disregarding all of that, it is still nonetheless a very entertaining story. Amusingly, when first published, some people mistook it for an actual account. Poe hadn't specified that it was a work of fiction. There is a strong theme about the dangers of meddling with the natural order, and dabbling in things mankind was never meant to mess with. A very common trait of both gothic and early science fiction stories. An excellent story that certainly lived up to its pedigree.

The eighth story is "The Oval Portrait." This story tells of an artist who fell in love beautiful young maiden whom he eventually married. He decided to immortalize her beauty forever by painting a portrait of her. There more to it, but that would be spoilers.

This is your last chance to turn back. If you don't want any spoilers, skip down three paragraphs to where it says "So that's all the episodes that have been released so far." You sure you want to continue?

Okay then, here we go.

So what's the big twist? Turns out the artist's bride was sitting so perfectly still because she'd died. He was so enraptured by his work, and her beauty, he failed to notice he was painting a corpse. Dr. Maillard really rubs this fact in his face. From this, we begin to see that Dr. Maillard might not be as benevolent as he claims to be. I saw the twist coming, but the story was still effective and well-written, so I still enjoyed the episode. Chalk another one up for great episodes from Poe Theatre on the Air.

The ninth episode is "A Descent Into the Maelstrom." It follows a man who used to work as part of a fishing crew in Norway. A big storm is on the way, and the crew must not stay at sea too late. Unfortunately, time gets away from them, and their boat gets sucked into a massive whirlpool. The story tells of how the man escaped from the maelstrom.

This was another story that surprised me. Didn't expect Poe to be the type to write high seas adventure stories. This is another of Poe's stories that is often considered an early form of science fiction. Not sure if I can quite see that, but again, science fiction was in its infancy during Poe's time. And I suppose the protagonist did use his reasoning skills to get out of his predicament. I will say the way the protagonist escape the maelstrom was pretty ingenious.

About the only deviation from the original is the framing device. In the short story, the protagonist is telling his tale to a mountain climber. Here, he's another patient at the asylum. The man insist that his hair turned white because of the stress of the adventure, and that he's actually thirty-two year old, as in the original story. Dr. Maillard, naturally, thinks the man is simply crazy. All in all, another excellent episode that made me want to seek out the original.

The eleventh episode is "The Raven." This one breaks the trend a bit, as it is adapted from a poem rather than a story. It tells of a man who is mourning the death of his beloved wife. Then, late one night, he is visited by a raven who seems to mock his despair.

This was an unexpected change to pace, but one that worked out quite well. Alex told me that he wanted to keep the show going, despite the Covid-19 pandemic, so that's how we got this episode. He played all of the role, though said roles were limited to the protagonist, the raven, and Dr. Maillard, but he played them quite well. This episode is the exact same quality as all the others. It was certainly a unique angle to turn a poem into an episode. It isn't told in verse, it is a standard episode like all the others, and that's what I love about it. Didn't expect to see poems get adapted, but I think I'd like to see more poems get this same treatment. "Eldorado" was always my favorite of Poe's poems. In fact...ah, but let us put a pin in that for now.

I must admit I always found "The Raven" to be a bit so-so as far as poems go. I've warmed up to it a bit more as the years have gone on. I've especially warmed up to it after listening to this episode of Poe Theatre on the Air. It helped that I'd recently watched a video recreating "The Raven" using characters from Thomas the Tank Engine. It was from The Stories of Sodor, a high-quality Thomas fan series. Anyway, this was another great episode from Poe Theatre on the Air. If they adapt other poems I'd suggest "Annabel Lee" and "The Conquering Worm" as ones that could be fun too. As for "Eldorado" well, you'll see about that in just a bit.

Episode twelve is "The Premature Burial." It follows a woman who suffers from catalepsy. Basically, it's a medical condition that causes her to go into a death-like trance, sometimes for hours on end. Unfortunately, she failed to tell this to her fiancé, and nearly wound-up getting buried alive.

I have previously discussed my own fear of premature burial. Though, unlike in Poe's time, at least the embalming fluids would kill me before I got put in the ground. So, I suppose that's a small comfort. This is another example of a story that deviated from the original out of necessity. For example, in the original the protagonist's gender isn't specified. Also, by the end of the original story, the protagonist gets over his/her fear of being buried alive. Obviously, this was not an option, as the protagonist had to wind up in Dr. Maillard's care. The protagonist also never got buried alive in the original. In fact, based on what I know of the original, it appears that Poe Theatre's adaption was created almost form whole cloth.

I must emphasize here that I haven't read the original story, so I don't know how much material the team had to work with. And none of my above comments are meant as a judgment. Judging the episode purely on its own merits, it quite an effective horror piece. You get a real sense of the dread and terror of being buried alive. We also get to see more of how Dr. Maillard abuses the patients. For example, when the woman goes catatonic, he places her hand on the flame of a candle just for the heck of it. Then, when she awakens, he lies and says that it is several hours later, and that he found her like that.

All things considered, another solid episode from Poe Theatre on the Air.

Episode thirteen is "Eldorado." The patient in this episode traveled to the Wild West in search of fame and riches. While there he met an eccentric cowboy named The Gallant Knight, who offered to take him on a quest to find Eldorado, the mythical lost city of gold. However, after many weeks their journey failed to bear fruit, and they received a visit from a mysterious shadow. But is all really as it seems?

I really enjoyed this episode, especially because I'm responsible for its existence. Remember when I suggested the poem "Eldorado" as a possible candidate for adaption into an episode? Well, Alex listened to that suggestion, and now here we are. I actually got to read the script, and listen to this episode, before it went live. But I waited to review it til you guys could enjoy it as well.

Well, first off, I'm amazed at how well this story lent itself to being adapted into a country music ballad. Our patient begins his story by performing the poem as a song, accompanied by guitar, and what an amazingly well-done song it was. Alex said that this episode was very much inspired by the gold fever genre of westerns. He said that it just popped into his head as soon as he read the poem. It just goes to show how creative Poe Theatre on the Air is with adapting the works of Poe. It is quite the well-written episode.

Of course, it wouldn't be Poe Theatre on the Air without some sort of twist. So this is your last chance to get off before we discuss that.

Last chance, you sure you want to continue?

Well okay, here we go.

You ever get the feeling that the protagonist and the Gallant Knight are the same person? If so, you're absolutely correct. Oh, he went searching for gold, but Gallant Knight and the Shadow were all in his head. Now he's stuck in an endless loop repeating his story. Well, must admit that I did not see that coming. Poe Theatre on the Air certainly knows how to keep the twists coming. And all of this from a relatively short poem.

An excellent episode, and I'm glad I helped make it possible in my own way. I can't wait to see what they come up with if they adapt any of my other suggestions.

This next one isn't actually an episode of Poe Theatre on the Air. It's a two-part guest episode by The Coldharts, aka Katie Hartman and Nick Ryan. It an adaption of one of their plays titled "Edgar Allan." It follows the boarding school days of Edgar Allan Poe himself. He's high-strung, short-tempered, easily excitable, and more than a bit neurotic. Still, he believes that he is destined for greatness. His plans hit a snag when he encounters another boy who also happens to be named Edgar Allan. Despite this, the two manage to strike-up a friendship and even found their own secret society.

I should also add that this special is also an adaption of Poe's short story "William Wilson." This was a bit different, but this is to be expect. Still, different doesn't mean bad. I didn't expect songs accompanied by ukulele to work so well in a musical about Poe, but it did. And just to clarify, all of the songs great. "William Wilson" is semi-autobiographical about Poe's boarding school days in England. As such, it makes perfect sense to cut out the metaphorical middleman and just set the story during Poe's school days. The plot of the episode follows "William Wilson" closely, so I guess that's another story the writers of Poe Theatre on the Air can check off the list. The depiction of young Poe was neurotic, short-tempered, and easily excitable was amusing. Both of the actors did an excellent job.

All in all, a bit unusual, but certainly not unwelcome of a special.

We now return to our regularly scheduled program for a two-part story. Our twelfth story is "Never Bet the Devil Your Head." The inmate who weaves this tale is an obsessive author who constantly scribes away at all hours of the day. He tells of of an old acquaintance of his named Toby Dammit. Dammit is a boorish uncouth man prone to saying "I bet the devil my head..." This proves to be an especially bad habit one fateful night when he and the author travel across a covered bridge.

So, it would seem we have another humorous Poe story. As the saying goes, speak of the devil and he shall appear. So, watch what you say, because you don't know who is listening. When I hear that the author's friend was named Toby Dammit, I immediately thought of those SNL sketches where Eddie Murphy would play Gumby. Specifically, Gumby as a washed-up vaudeville star who would always say "I'm Gumby, damn it!" And yes, Toby did indeed have the last name Dammit in the original short story. I thought that part one ended at the perfect moment. They get to the bridge, and then a fiesta appears out of nowhere. Took me completely by surprise, and was all the more hilarious for it.

Not too much more to add, other than it was an excellent humors story adaption.

Our next adaption is "Hop Frog." Our inmate is a ballerina named Trippetta who suffers from dwarfism. She used to perform in one of the royal courts of Europe. It was here that she met a jester who also had dwarfism named Hop Frog. At least, that's what the nobles chose to call him. After taking year of abuse, Hop Frog decided to give the nobles a taste of their own medicine. He gave them a performance that none of them would forget.

This was a story I had encountered in the past, but I remember not caring very much for it. However, I very much enjoyed Poe Theatre on the Air's adaption, so good on them for that. Of course, I should have expected nothing less, given their excellent track record. There is some element of truth in this story. Many royal courts did indeed use dwarfs as a cruel means of amusement. The Russian court was particularly notorious for this. They often held mock weddings for the dwarfs of the court, among other things.

The episode follows the original story fairly faithfully up until the ending. So, if you don't want that spoiled, turn back now.

Everyone who wants out gone? Then let's get into it.

In the original story, Hop Frog's plan goes off without a hitch, and he and Trippetta escape to their home country. In the episode, however, Hop Frog accidentally gets tangled in the rope which pulls the nobles aloft to the chandelier, and gets set on fire along with them. Trippetta is traumatized, and that's how she come into the care of Dr. Maillard's care. Well, something like that had to happen. The original ending was too happy for either of them to wind-up in the asylum.

All in all, another solid adaptation.

Our next episode is another two-parter. It is "Fall of the House of Usher." Our inmate is a man named Richard who tells of a fateful trip he took to the home of an old university friend named Roderick Usher. The Usher were once a noble and respected family, but they, and their mansion, have seen better days. Still, Roderick and his sister Madeline find ways to stay entertained. But what shall happen when Madeline unexpectedly dies?

This was another story I'd been hoping would be adapted, and it did not disappoint. I encountered this story in my eleventh grade American Literature class. I had a really awesome American Literature teacher, and she helped me appreciated this story. For that matter, she helped me appreciated pretty much everything we studied. For example, one of the details I didn't initially pick up on is why the Ushers are so sickly. It's because their family tree doesn't have many branches. That is to say, they're severely inbreed. "Fall of the House of Usher" is considered a quintessential gothic tale. It is very atmospheric, and there's a strong sense of dread and gloom, as well as death and decay, to everything.

This is the third story Poe Theater on the Air has adapted that involves premature burial. Granted, that was a fairly common theme in Poe stories. As I've mentioned, Poe had a considerable phobia of being buried alive. Still, this story does make "A Premature Burial" feel redundant in hindsight. That's not to say "A Premature Burial" was a bad episode. To the contrary, I quite enjoyed it. Still, perhaps it's slot would have been better suited to a different story?

The ending of "Fall of the House of Usher" slightly deviates from the short story. In the short story, when the house finally falls it kills both Usher siblings. This gives the title a double meaning. It literally refers to the collapse of the house. However, Roderick and Madeline were the last members of their family, so the title also refers to the end of Usher bloodline. In the episode, Madeline survives and becomes an inmate at the asylum. This is interesting, as this marks the first story to result in two people being admitted to the asylum.

All in all, "Fall of the House of Usher" was well worth the wait. Another excellent adaption.

Our final episode for this season is "The System of Doctor Goudron and Professor Plume." It's the moment you've all been waiting for. We finally get to learn more about Dr. Maillard and his staff. How did he come up with his unconventional method to cure the mentally ill? What are the rest of the staff like? Where did the good doctor get his degree from exactly? All these questions, and many more, are finally answered.

Now, there might be some confusion about the title, so let me clarify. This story is indeed an adaption of "The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether." However, in 1903 there was a French play that adapted the short story. Said play was named The System of Doctor Goudron and Professor Plume. This episode draws elements from both the original short story and the play, hence the title. So, with that out of the way, let's talk about the episode itself.

Overall, it was a good episode. I'd suspected for a while that this would be how the season would end. I guesses this episode didn't quite have the punch I thought it would. We've been with Maillard since the first episode, so he's almost like an old friend at this point. I also wonder if perhaps this should have been a two-part episode to give proper closure. The pacing felt a tad rushed. Though, I don't know if there would have been enough material to expand into two episodes. The episode hits pretty much all of the major plot points of the story. I guess, I built this episode up so much in my head, that there was just no way reality could live up to my mental image.

But that all having been said, I still enjoyed the episode. We also get cameos from several characters from previous episodes. Trippetta from "Hop Frog" was one I immediately spotted. I'd also like to explain something that gets lost on modern readers of this story. It is mentioned that a disproportionate number of patients at the asylum are women. In the 19th Century, one way a man could divorce his wife was if she was declared insane and institutionalized. This was considered less embarrassing than if they divorced the usual way. Given how sexist the 19th Century legal system was, this was, this was ridiculously easy to do. The unfortunate women who found themselves in asylums often got gaslighted to the point that they went genuinely insane.

Now we get into the bit about spoilers. So, if you don't want that, turn back now. If everyone who wants out is gone, let's get into it.

If you've read the story, you'll know that the big twist was that the doctors and nurses were all actually inmates who took over the asylum. However, as previously mentioned, many of the inmates we encounter have appeared in past stories. This certainly casts an interesting new light on previous episodes. Maillard is thoroughly convinced that the patients are all genuinely insane. I, however, assumed that, barring a few notable exceptions, they were all more or less telling the truth. Now, I'm beginning to wonder if Maillard might have been onto something after all. Granted, the man we've gotten to know isn't the real Maillard, but that's beside the point.

And so that was season one of Poe Theatre on the Air. It was an excellent first season, and I enjoyed every minute of it. I was very impressed by what I listened to. It will be a bit sad to leave the asylum behind. Alex said that, after nineteen episodes, he felt the show needed to go in a different direction. To that end, season two will adapt Poe's stories about the detective C. Auguste Dupin. I have full confidence in the team behind Poe Theatre on the Air, and I eagerly look forward to season two.

So there you have it. Poe Theatre on the Air is an audio drama that adapts the works of Edgar Allan Poe into a shared universe. It is an excellent podcast, and one that I happily recommend. Check it out today, you'll be glad that you did.

Well, I think that should do it for now. I will see you guys next time.

The Audio File: The Hermes & Hekate Road Show

I've said before that it can be frustrating when a really great podcast ends after only one season. It's frustrating, but that doesn't mean there aren't some true hidden gems waiting to be discovered. Why yes, this does relate to the podcast we're reviewing today. We're taking a look at The Hermes & Hekate Road Show.

The Greek Gods are no mere myth. They're real and very much active in the modern world. Specifically, they're messing around in the modern-day United States of America. Hephaestus' anvil has gone missing, and Zeus has tasked Hermes, god of thieves and travelers (among other things), and Hekate, goddess of witchcraft and crossroads, to retrieve it. However, they'll soon find that's far from the only mythological mishap going on in America. The two gods are about to take a motorcycle road trip of mythic proportions across America.

If you've been following me for a while, you'll know that I love pretty much anything related to Greek Mythology, or mythology in general. You'll also know how much I love Percy Jackson and American Gods. As such, I absolutely loved this podcast. It only lasted for one season of five episodes. There were plans for a season two, but it never materialized. Sometimes life gets in the way, or creators move on to other projects. That's just how it goes. Still, what a season it was.

The series is created by Genevieve Williams and Ray Snyder. The idea started when they were at a festival late at night, and they began musing on what kind of vehicles the Greek Gods would drive. Then they began to ponder what it would be like to set those gods loose on the roads of modern-day America. It when through a few mutations before they settled on the final form.  They cut down the number of characters, and focused on their original idea of Hermes and Hekate on a motorcycle trip. They figured the two gods would be a good fit, as they often appeared together in myths as fellow psychopomps. Psychopomps are those who help guide the dead to the afterlife. 

The original plan was for Genevieve to voice Hekate and Ray to voice Hermes. That first half did happen, but Hermes wound-up being voiced by their good friend Greg Watridge (hope I spelled that correct). Meanwhile, Ray voiced a hobo, who has a bit more to him, but telling more would be spoilers. Really, the whole cast is absolutely phenomenal, and everyone does a great job.

Zeus act as the narrator who introduces each episode and sets the stage for the adventures to come. He makes an on-screen, for want of a better term, in episode three. I appreciated that he portrayed as honorable, noble, and a competent leader rather than a one-not sex joke. That being said, both Hermes and Hekate snark about Zeus' many affairs behind his back. Not that Hermes is one to talk, given how he cheerily remarks about his own escapades at a pride parade in San Francisco. The opening and closing music is rock guitars, and it really adds to the motorcycle trip vibe of the show. It is nice that the show didn't shy away from the fact that many of the gods were, by modern standard, bisexual. It is true to the original mythology.

Our leading deities are both great. Hermes is energetic, easily distracted, and a bit overly flirtatious at times. Meanwhile, Hekate plays the snarky straight woman to Hermes' antics, but occasionally shows that she's not as above it all as she seems. They're also joined by several other members of the Greek Pantheon, and occasionally gods from other pantheons. Yeah, turns out the Olympians aren't the only gods running around modern America. In episode three we get to meet Baron Samedi of the Voodoo Loa, and a Native American goddess at the Grand Canyon, with mention of Anansi from West African mythology.

Athena and Ares join in the fun starting with episodes four and five, though Athena also briefly appeared in episode two and three. Athena takes the form of a butch-looking cop. She does her best to remain calm and level-headed, but there are times her temper gets the better of her. Again, not inconsistent with how she is in Greek Mythology. Ares appears as a Hell's Angels biker and tries his best to put on a though guy persona. He tries, but all the other gods never let him forget the time he was captured by giants and held hostage for months. Athena and Ares don't like each other and constantly make passive aggressive swipes, which kind of makes sense. Athena was the patron goddess of Athens, and Ares was the patron god of Sparta. Both city-states were bitter rivals, and this eventually lead to the Peloponnesian War.

It is explained that the gods don't need worship or sacrifices per se, but they do feel strong when they're around things related to them. For example, Hermes feels best when he's at the Caesar's Palace Casino in Las Vegas. Well, he is a god associated with gambling, and the casino does have a Greco-Roman theme. I'd imagine Athena probably loves to visit the full-scale Parthenon replica in Nashville; especially since it looks just like the Parthenon did in Ancient Athens, giant statue of her and all. The gods are perfectly capable of influencing the modern world. For example, the main plot of the season involves having to track down four items used in the judgment of the dead. Not having them around is causing the natural balance to be thrown out of whack. This is causing unusual weather events. So yeah, apparently the real cause of global warming isn't fossil fuels, but missing items from the Ancient Greek underworld.

I loved the way the podcast juxtaposes Greek Mythology and Americana. For example, at one point Hermes and Hekate have to take down a cyclopes at a roadside attraction claiming to be built on top of a dimensional riff. Though technically this turned out to be true, just not in the way the owners claimed. That's what I've always loved about urban fantasy. With urban fantasy you don't have to go to some far-off fantasy land like Narnia, Middle-Earth, or Britain to have an adventure. You can find adventure right in your own backyard. It's why I always preferred to Percy Jackson to Harry Potter. Yeah, technically Harry Potter is urban fantasy, but the Wizarding World might as well be some far-off high fantasy world. With Percy Jackson it was like "Hey, that could actually happen!" Well, I didn't literally think that it could happen, but it felt more real and relatable to me.

There is a certain kind of magic that can be found in the mundane world if you know where to look for it. I've always been of the opinion that America has a certain magical quality to it that could easily rival and fantasy book. That's very much a connection The Hermes & Hekate Road Show shares with American Gods.

There were plans for a season two, but it sadly never materialized. The plans was not necessarily to feature Hermes and Hekate, but perhaps another set of Greek deities who wouldn't get along. The first season came out in 2013, which is obvious because Athena uses an iPhone 5S, and there have been Facebook posts from 2015 and 2016 indicating the creators are still working on the show. Perhaps there is hope that more seasons will appear someday, but I wouldn't get those hopes up to high. Thankfully, all of the major plot threads are wrapped up by the end of the first season, so it doesn't end on a cliffhanger or anything. I desperately wish that we'd gotten more seasons, because the show is so good, but we should be thankful for what we do have.

So there you have it. The Hermes & Hekate Road Show is a podcast about Ancient Greek Gods on a motorcycle trip of mythic proportions across modern day America. I can't recommend it enough. Check it out today, you'll be glad that you did.

Well, I think that should do it for now. I will see you guys next time.

The Audio File: Lights Out

It is a sad but true fact that many great podcasts go defunct after one season and a handful of episodes. It's frustrating, but sometimes creators lose their passion, move on to other projects, or life gets in the way. Still, that doesn't mean we can't enjoy what we do have. Where am I going with this? Why, to the podcast we're going to review! We're taking a look at the podcast Lights Out.

Lights Out follows two female fruit bats named Mallory and Spencer. They get into plenty of wacky adventures and good times at the zoo they live in. However, Malory is about to be moved to another zoo, so they've got to make the most of the time they still have together.

Just a brief note, Lights Out should not be confused with the old time radio horror show of the same name. You might remember that one from the Chicken Heart routine Bill Cosby did before everyone learned of his dark secrets. So, obviously, pretty big difference between that Lights Out and the Lights Out we're reviewing.

What can I say? Lights Out is cute, funny, and I love it. It's very much a sitcom in an unusual setting. It is written by Helen Burak, who also voices Spencer, with Mallory voiced by Megan Goldman. They're joined by a team of several more talented voice actors, who all do a fantastic job. The theme music is called "Colourful Spots" by Nicolai Heidlas, and is an absolute joy to listen to. I should say upfront that Lights Out, despite featuring talking animals, is not a kids show. There is swearing in the first episode, including an f-bomb or two, but otherwise there isn't anything too inappropriate for kids. My guess is that the creators didn't want to get mistaken and/or pigeonholed as a kids show, so they put in the swearing to dissuade listeners of that notions.

There are only six episodes, so I guess we can go through them all individually. There were plans for a second season, but it never materialized. Anyway, let's into it.

Episode one is titled "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlebats." Spencer is miffed that the spiders, rather than bats, are being featured as the mascots for the zoo's Halloween webpage. So she decides to create her own bat-centric holiday no matter what it takes.

So, this episode set up the basic premise and let us get to know our leads. Spencer is the eccentric one who comes up with wacky schemes, while Mallory acts as the straight woman, or straight bat, as the case may be, and voice of reason. We also get to learn that bats are one of the only mammals, besides humans, that menstruate. That is indeed a real bat fact. This comes up when Spencer tries to create a holiday about menstruation called Bat Mitzvah. Oh, now that I write in down, I see that it's a pun on multiple levels. Before that, Spencer tried to make a bat-themed version of Christmas called Batmas. This episode also sets up the main conflict of Mallory being moved to another zoo. All in all, a good first episode.

Episode two is titled "Quarantine." The flu is in the air, and Spencer discovers that Mallory hasn't been vaccinated. So she does the rational thing: puts the exhibit under quarantine. To get those vaccinations, Spencer and Malory are going to face their greatest foe yet: The American Health Insurance Industry!

Wow, I picked a really bad time to review this podcast. For those of you reading this in the future, I'm writing in the middle of the COVID-19 Pandemic. It started in China because...of a bat someone ate. Well, let's ignore that for a moment. It is funny how Spencer overreacts to Mallory potentially having the flu, but given the rise of the anti-vaxxer movement, I can't help but feel she had a right to be paranoid. Hmm, nah, I'm probably overthinking it.

Let's leave the dreariness behind, shall we? The part where Mallory and Spencer call the insurance agency was pretty funny. It reminds me of the stuff my parents went through when they got the insurance agency to pay for my jaw surgery. It was to correct faulty orthodontics, if you're wondering. Anyway, we also learn that Mallory and Spencer's enclosure has a kitchen, a computer, and a telephone. How is this possible? Don't think to hard about it, it's not that kind of show. I also liked when they finally confronted the insurance agent, and Spencer forced Mallory to wear a hazmat suit. Another solid episode.

Episode three is titled "S.C.R.E.A.M." Spencer is trying to help Mallory prepare for her new life by teaching her fun acronyms. Acronyms for things like how to eat fruit without choking, or what to do if your friend has rabies. She also recommends Mallory get to know her new enclosuremate Hazel. Mallory and Hazel hit it off, but this makes Spencer jealous.

We've all been through that time when your best friend get a new friend, and you feel left out. I had a feeling that the acronyms were gonna turn-out to be useful, but I wasn't expecting Spencer to be one who needed saving. And wouldn't you know it, turns out Hazel is just like Spencer. Mallory is gonna be okay after all. That's three in a row for great episodes.

Episode four is titled "Stop Looking at Us, Kid." A little human boy is lost at the bat enclosure. Spencer will have to babysit him, while Mallory and friends go look for the kid's parents.

This was a live episode recorded at iO West in Hollywood as part of the 4th Annual Scripted Comedy Festival. Live episodes are always a bit of a gamble, but this one turned out pretty well. It didn't sound too different than a typical episode. From this episode, we see that Mallory and Spencer aren't as different as they seem. In fact, their usual roles are reversed. Mallory is freaking out because her horoscope says that her friendship with Spencer won't last. Meanwhile, Spencer has to be the voice of reason and calm Mallory down. So yeah, Mallory believes in astrology and aroma therapy, among other things. We also learn that Mallory and Spencer have been friends for two and a half years. I do kind of wish we'd gotten to know a bit more about their pasts at some point. It could have been interesting.

We also learn that Mallory and Spencer can come and go from their enclosure as they please. Again, don't think too hard about it. All in all, anther great episode.

The fifth episode is titled "Kindness Debt." Mallory's departure is immanent, and Spencer is struggling to find a farewell gift. She soon settles on the idea of paying back all the kindness that Mallory has given her and the other zoo animals. Naturally, she ropes the rest of the zoo into her scheme. They can just get it all out the way in one go. How hard can it be?

I have been in a very similar situation as this. I always stress about what to get my family for Christmas. I stress, but I always seem to do pretty well. It was especially funny when the snakes suggest a scented candle as a gift, but Spencer shoots it down. Then, wouldn't you know it, Mallory would have like a scented candle. Something similar has happened to me. But what she really wanted was to spend time with everyone, especially Spencer, so they give her a surprise party. The surprise is that they weren't planning on throwing a party when Mallory "found out." What else can I say? Another great episode that I loved.

Episode six is titled "Leaf Hobble." Mallory has officially been moved to the other zoo. Spencer is left despondent and mopey without her best friend around. Maybe Ginger the spider can help lift her spirits.

And so we have reached the season one finale, which unfortunately also became the series finale. At some point or another, we all have to deal with our friends moving away. Sometimes we're the ones who move away. Still, the time we spend with them is meaningful and can never be taken from us. Even after they're gone, we always carry them in our hearts. With technologies like Facebook and Skype, it is easier than ever to keep in touch with friends that no longer live near you.

I don't think they ever said what kind of spider Ginger is, but I always figured tarantula. She's milktoast, soft-spoken, and makes a good foil for Spencer without feeling too much like Mallory. I think she'll be a good friend to Spencer. If nothing else, at least this episode wraps up the plot threads of the season, so the series doesn't end on a cliffhanger or anything. But it still leaves open the possibility of future episodes...which probably won't be coming, but still.

What more can I say? I absolutely love Lights Out, and I desperately wish there were more seasons. Still, we should be thankful for what we do have, and enjoy it to bits. Lights Out only lasted one season, but what a season it was. So there you have it. Lights Out is a cute and funny comedy about two female fruit bats and the wacky adventures they get into. Check it out today, you'll be glad that you did.

Well, that should do it from me for now. I will see you guys next time.

The Alt-Hist File: The Phone Booth: Season 1

We're doing something a little different today. Usually, when I review a show, I prefer to have it complete or close to complete so I can take the whole experience into account. But we're shaking up the old formula. In fact, this new way of reviewing just might become a staple part of Th Alt-Hist File and The Audio File. We're taking the look at the first season of an exciting newcomer to the audio drama world. We're taking a look at season one of The Phone Booth. 

The Phone Booth takes place in a world where ninety-nine percent of humanity has developed superpowers. It all started on a seemingly unremarkable day in 2004. Then a teenage girl named Beca Orlofsky floated into the skies above New York City and exploded into pink dust. This day would forever be known as B-Day. The dust traveled across the world, and by the time it settled, almost the entire human race had developed superpowers of some sort. Fifteen years later, investigative podcaster Joe Pollard is traveling the world interviewing people about the ways B-Day has impacted their lives. For these people entered the phone booth as regular people, but they exited it as something more. 

I'll give some general thoughts before we get into the individual episodes. I became aware of The Phone Booth one I was scrolling though the Apple podcast app one day. It was one of those "people who listened to this show also listened to..." sort of things. Then I was over on the audio drama subreddit when I saw a post from The Phone Booth's creator, Keenan Ellis, asking if anyone would review his show. I said yes, but I had to take care of a few other projects first, but now here we are. 

I must say, I was very impressed with what I listened to. The Phone Booth can best be described as World War Z (book, not movie) with superheroes rather than zombies. This is no accident, as Keenan has admitted World War Z was a big inspiration. The Phone Booth was originally going to be a book, but then Keenan decided to turn it into an audio drama. How hard could it be? Well, a lot harder than he anticipated, but I'm glad he stuck with it and produced an amazing show. He even founded his own podcasting company called The Fool's Gallery. 

Besides being a great writer, Keenan is a great voice actor. In fact, all of the voice actors and actresses featured in the series do an outstanding job. It is top of the line voice acting, which I always appreciate that in an audio drama. The title refers to how Superman enters a phone booth as Clark Kent, but comes out as The Man of Steel. It's a metaphor for what happened on B-Day. 

So, with all of that out of the way, let's get into the individual episodes. 

There is an episode zero, but it sets up the premise, and we already talked about that. Well, one interesting thing we learned is that there were superheroes prior to B-Day. I hope that gets expanded on in future episodes, and we get to see how those heroes are adjusting to then post B-Day world. I will say that it kind of reminded me of the opening of the Wild Cards series, edited by George R.R. Martin. I wonder if that was an influence. 

Episode one is titled "Sunshine Girl." Fire chief Lynn Knox always dreamed about being a superhero when she was young. She even made her own costume and called herself Sunshine Girl. When B-Day happened, it seemed like a dream come true. But a dream come true was a bit more than she bargained for.

The first full episode of The Phone Booth starts out strong. At one point or another, we've all fantasized about getting superpowers, and what we might do with them. Of course, a bunch of people who suddenly find themselves with superpowers, and no idea how to control them, will mean a lot of collateral damage. Still, despite the chaos Knox rose to the occasion and helped save people. She even saved her father. He got the power to breathe underwater, but at the cost of being able to breath air. He's living in the Great Lakes now, but at least he's joined a nice school of fellow water-breathers. 

There's a strong theme of "well, now what?" throughout this episode. Indeed, that's a recurring theme throughout much of The Phone Booth. The Phone Booth is a story about ordinary people making their way through and extraordinary world. All in all, a solid first episode. 

Episode two is titled "h2o." It tells of a former anthropologist named Taylor Browning who is the leading voice of the anti-superpowers movement. She tells of what happened when she and her wife were on a remote island, studying and isolated tribe, during B-Day. 

This episode has two things I hope we see expanded upon in future episodes. It shows the effects of B-Day outside of America, and it is told from the perspective of a non-powered individual. Taylor and the tribe were part of the one percent of humanity that didn't get any superpowers. However, her wife got the power to turn into water, and more importantly, to produce water. This was pretty handy, given that the dust from B-Day screwed with the weather. However, the water she could produce was finite. That was a nice subversion of how elemental powers tend to be unlimited. A reasonably solid second episode. 

Episode three is titled "The Book of Beca." Joe interviews two brothers who have created a religion based around Beca Orlofsky. I know that's not much of a discretion, but there's more too it. 

The brothers grew up in an orphanage following B-Day. As you can imagine, there were a lot of orphans after B-Day. There were also plenty of kids abandoned by their parents, who couldn't care for them anymore. Oh, they promised to come back for them, but most didn't keep that promise. The older brother has the power of flight, and describes flying in almost religious terms. The little brother gained the power to play any musical instrument. I liked how he showed that not all of the superpowers are flashy or combat oriented. 

Towards the end of the interview, the masks slip, and the brothers hint that they're aware their religion is probably bunk. They're aware, but they also believe people need something to guide them and give them purpose and meaning in their brave new world. More importantly, they themselves need something to help keep going. If you've followed this blog for a while, you know I don't have much love for religion. Thus, it is a testament to Keenan's skill as a writer that I was able to sympathize with the brothers. That, and the voice actors did and exceptional job. The Phone Booth bowls a turkey for great episodes. 

Episode four is titled "Joe in Minor Key." Joe has booked a private performance with a musician named Rosalind Ria. She has the power to call-forth memories using her music. As in, the music creates visions of your past before you. As such, we get insights into Joe and his past. 

Well first off, this episode really shines thanks to special musical guest Audri Cole. The singing and guitar work were great. This episode confirmed something I'd suspected from the start: Joe doesn't have any superpowers. Or to put it another way, he's just an Average Joe. We also get to learn about his personal experiences with B-Day, and his relationship with his parents. I really enjoyed this episode; more podcasts and audio dramas need to start doing musical episodes. It's a great use of the medium. 

Episode five is titled "Amalgamation." Following B-Day, America fragmented into seven nations. They've all reunited by the present day. Well, all except for Los Angles, that is. Los Angles is home to a hive-mind entity known as The Union, and it has agreed to have an interview with Joe. 

This is easily one of my favorite episodes of the bunch. A hive-mind, as best I can explain it, is one mind split among many bodies. Think of it sort of like an ant colony or a bee hive. They're made of individual members who have their own functions, but they're also working towards a shared goal as though they were one organism. Hive-minds are incredibly difficult to write well, especially when given a sympathetic treatment. It is a testament to Keenan's writing abilities that he manages to make The Union sympathetic and relatable, but also feels not quite human. The Union was first awakened during B-Day when it emerged from the mind of a man named Robert. I can best explain it as a psychic subconscious we all have, but few truly awaken. 

It was ravenous, constantly needing to consume other minds and consciousnesses. It consumed just about everyone in Los Angles. Then, for reasons even The Union can't say, it stop short of devouring the minds. Instead, keeping the, within itself, and hearing them screaming to be free. So, slowly, but surely, it is returning the minds to their original bodies. This will, of course, not end well for The Union. It needs minds to sustain itself, and without them it will die. Still, for whatever reason, it is choosing to do good and free them. 

It was an interesting twist to make The Union sympathetic and even noble and benevolent. Usually, hive-minds are villainous, almost Lovecraftian monstrosities. And to make it so relatable as well; now that's some creative writing. When I finish this episode, I viewed it as The Phone Booth's best work yet. How could Keenan possibly top this one?

Episode six is titled "What I Know." Joe receives a phone call early in the morning. It's from a fourteen-year-old, named Cedric Appleton, who has just gotten his powers. Specifically, his power is omniscience, and he's calling to give an interview before he kills himself. 

Well, would you look at that, he was able to top the last episode. Truly omniscient characters are some of the hardest to write, but Keenan pulls it off. Apparently, fourteen is the age at which superpowers manifest for the children, including those born after B-Day. There doesn't appear to be any rhyme or reason when it comes to powers. It's totally random, no relation to genetics or anything like that. Cedric knows everything, but that means life holds no surprises for him. This drives him into despair. We're all puppets, but he can see the strings...or can he? 

He claims that he saw himself and his crush getting married and having a happy life together, but given what happens at the end of the episode, that seems a bit unlikely. I think he actually see things that could be, not things that will be. Remember, we only have Cedric's word for how his powers work. So maybe it isn't that they will occur, but he gives into his supposed fate, and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. 

It is often said that there is a difference between knowledge and wisdom. Knowledge is accumulating information, but wisdom is knowing how to use that accumulated information. Even Cedric admits that he often knows, but doesn't understand until later. Plus, I'm hoping he turns out to be wrong that there is no life more advanced than bacteria on other planets. Hey, aliens could make for interesting story material. Then, at the end of the episode, a bombshell drops that changes everything. What is it? Well, you're gonna have to find that out for yourself. It does without say that this episodes earned its place as my other favorite of the bunch. 

Do I have any complaints or criticism? You mean apart from wishing I had more episodes to listen to, because these six were so good? I got nothing. I'm eagerly awaiting season two of The Phone Booth. There's so much potential for stories. There's lot of superpowers that could make for interesting stories.

What would I like to see in the next season? Well, it is mentioned that some people became human-animal hybrids, so learning more about that would be nice. Getting the perspective of people without powers would be good. Seeing how B-Day effected the world outside of America would be good. That said, there's still a lot of places in America to explore. For example, how might B-Day effect a Native American reservation, or the lives of people in the inner city? The Phone Booth is an alternate history, so how have historical events that happened between 2004 and now been effected? We've touched on religion, but how did pre-existing ones react to B-Day? Also, how did those pre-existing superheroes react, and how are they doing these days? What's it like to be someone who can breathe water, but not air? 

Mind you, I'm not demanding that any of these things have to be included in season two. The point I'm trying to make is that there is a ton of potential for new stories. From what I've seen in the first season, I have full confidence in Keenan's writing abilities, and I eagerly await to see what he comes up with. 

So there you have it. Season one of The Phone Booth is an anthology show, of sorts, about ordinary people finding their way in a world of superpowers. Check it out today, you'll be glad that you did. 

Well, I think that's enough from me for now. I will see you guys next time. 

The Audio File: The Program: Part 1

Usually, when I am searching for new audio fiction to review, I find shows on my own via sifting through the Apple podcast app or reading posts on the Audio Drama subreddit. However, every now and again I will be approached by a podcast creator asking me to checkout their show and possibly give it a review. In fact, today we're going to review the first podcast I was specifically asked to review. We're taking a look at The Program.

The Program is an anthology show of sorts, but the stories all take place in the same world. It takes place in the near-ish future. No definitive dates have been given, but it's at least a few decades down the road. The Singularity has come to pass. The world has been completely transformed by an app known as The Program. It has combined money, government, and religion into a single entity. Each episode follows one or more ordinary people making their way through the extraordinary world of the future.

I was first made aware of The Program when I was contacted by series creator Ivan Mirko S over on Reddit. I frequently post and comment in r/audiodrama. Whenever anyone ask for recommendations, I chime in with ever larger lists of various audio dramas I enjoy. Ivan noticed that I'm quite the connoisseur audio fiction, and recommended his own show. He also asked if I might give it a review.

We'll take a look at each episode individually, but I'll give some overall thoughts first. Well, first off, just what is The Singularity? Well, that depends on who you ask. The best answer I can give is like this: imagine time traveling back to the Middle Ages and trying to explain what the Internet is. The Singularity would revolutionize society in such a way as to be almost totally incomprehensible to modern day people.

So, overall thoughts. On the technical side of things, The Program is top of the line. The acting, music, and sound effects are some of the best I've encountered thus far. However, the first three or so episodes are a bit rough. Obviously, they have the job of setting up the world of The Program, but I just couldn't connect with the characters. After that, after the three-part episode came out, there was an improvement in this regard. In fact, the episode from the time travel episode onward were a marked improvement. The Program itself, while still important, is less front and center to the episodes. These latter episodes were greatly enjoyable and easily the best work in the series thus far. All of the episodes are told either as an interview or as people recounting past events. I've often described The Program as World War Z (book, not movie) with The Singularity rather than zombies. Now let's dive into the individual episodes.

The first episode is titled “You had me at 'Hello World.” It is told in the form of an interview with an older man and woman who both recall what it was like during the days when The Program was first implemented. More importantly, they recall their summer of young love, and how The Program effected it.

Like I said, this episode has the job of introducing us to the world of The Program. For that it does a reasonably good job. There's a lot of really nice little touches, like how the interviewer are unfamiliar with things that are ubiquitous in our present day such as Facebook and Twitter. And as I've previously said, the technical aspects were spot on. Still, I just couldn't bring myself to connect with the main characters. Can't quite say why, it just never clicked for me.

The second episode is titled "White hat, black hat." Not everyone was happy with the changes The Program brought to society. Many resistance movements pop up during the days of The Update, when The Program really took hold of society. This episode tells of one particular militia group, known as the Davy Crocketts, who rose up to, ultimately unsuccessfully, resist The Program.

This episode started off reasonably well, but I felt it ran out of steam halfway through. We do get some interesting insights into the early days of The Update. Apparently, America fought tooth and nail to maintain sovereignty. Meanwhile, Canada peacefully disassembled into a collection of communities united by a love of hockey, and presumably Tim Horton's as well. Why yes, this series is made by a Canadian, why ever do you ask? Joking aside, I just couldn't bring myself to care much for this episode after about halfway through. Again, can't say why, I just didn't.

The third episode is titled "Four ways to stop your system from freezing." Our heroine is from...somewhere that is not America. It was never mentioned where specifically, and she has no discernible accent. My money is on somewhere in Latin America given that she had a boyfriend named Carlos. They dreamed of coming to America and making it big. Life, and their finances, had other plans. She's tells not only of her own struggles as an immigrant, but also what it was like during Karmageddon.

I'll explain what Karmageddon is in a minute. For now, let's examine our protagonist. I found her utterly unsympathetic, and at times almost a sociopath. Now it is certainly true that a lot of bad things happen to her and Carlos. They get kicked out of their apartment for failing to pay rent, get locked out of their bank accounts due to not having a home anymore, have to leave the homeless shelter after a fight breaks out, and then Carlos freezes when they try to survive on the street during the cold winter night. I won't deny any of that

However, our protagonist is quick to point the finger at just about everyone but the most important person of all: herself. She and Carlos should have been more careful with their money. She worked at a clothing store, and he was a cab driver. It was specifically mentioned this was kind of precarious even before the cab company went out of business. Moreover, she admitted to blowing her money on fancy clothes and the ingredients for homemade sushi. Even relatively cheap sushi fish will set you back quite a bit if you're on a budget. So it came across less as her being a victim of society, and more that her bad habits finally caught up with her. Also, nobody forced her to move to America. Her life in the old country sounded less than ideal, but it wasn't like she was starving or anything.

Now let's talk Karmageddon. In the world of The Program, everyone has a social credit score not unlike what China is trying to implement. Everyone can up-vote or down-vote anyone else, and The Program also rewards or penalizes you based on your behavior. There are safeguards to prevent abuse and mass down-vote, but those didn't exist during Karmageddon. Oh, and if your score hits zero, The Program declares you must be removed from society, and puts a warrant out for your assassination. Karmageddon saw mass down-voting, often fueled by old rivalries and grievances, that resulted in seven billion deaths. Pre-Karmageddon world population was about eight billion; afterwards, it was slightly below one billion.

So how does our heroine react to all of this. Oh, her response is basically "well I guess it sucks, but at least society got what it deserved!" Oh, and she mentions watching her ex-landlord, himself a struggling immigrant from East Asia, being murdered. She describes this coldly and almost gleefully. I was half-expecting her to start shouting "what do you get when you cross a mentally ill loner with a society that abandons her and treats her like trash?!"

Then she says something very interesting. She's says that there is no way that the planet would be able to support to old society long-term, and that's another reasons she likes Karmageddon. Well, that cast an interesting light on things. What if The Program could have prevented Karmageddon, but chose not to as a twisted way of reversing/managing environmental damage? One of the recurring themes of the series is that nobody truly understands The Program. It's not even known if it's run by humans or an AI. Thought, after this, I'm thinking Thanos is a good candidate for The Program's true identity. It does seem to have a sense of morality, but not one that necessarily makes sense to humans. So, what if The Program used Karmageddon as a means to thin-out the population so that Earth would recover from environmental damage and not threaten humans. Perhaps, in its own twisted way, it was like a battlefield medic. It knew it couldn't save everyone, so it picked the humans with the strongest odds of survival, or who would most benefit the world. Hmm, that kind of sounds like genocide.

This gets more interesting as we learn in future episodes that The Program outlawed eating meat. So billions of humans slaughtered is okay, but meat is murder? Maybe, in The Program's logic, there is no difference between the life of a human and an animal, and humans can survive on a vegetarian diet, though how well is up for debate. And I suppose, to The Program, Karmageddon served a greater good and all, but it still seems like very skewed morality. The early episode also have a bit of an anti-capitalist message, and it certainly shines strong here. We are told that The Program replaced the economy with a series of credits...somehow. I'm just saying, capitalism might not be perfect, but if there was a better alternative, we'd have invented it by now. The main problem with communism is that, much like anarchism, it fails to take human nature into account. It would seem that The Program is a version of communism that magically works because The Program's algorithm takes human nature into account.

Speaking of algorithms, let's move on to the next episode. It is a three-part episode called "White algorithm's burden (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3)." It is told in the style of a true crime podcast, such as Serial. It takes place in a small town located somewhere in the American Southwest called Neumat. It's actually a series of stories that all eventually intersect and intertwine. It is the story of two researchers trying to uncover how The Program works. It is the story of missing children, and what happened to them. It is the story of people trying to gain the system. It is the story of a misunderstood artist. Most of all, it is the story of the secrets and lies that a small community wove into a web of deceit, and how it all snapped

This is the point where the series began to show signs of improvement. Well, first off, they absolutely nailed the true crime style. What I liked about this episode is that it focuses on the human drama. The Program is still important to the plot, but it isn't as front-and-center as in the previous episodes. Speaking of, we do learn some new information. The Program abolished inheritance, as this is viewed as an unearned advantage. Convexly, those born with physical or mental disabilities, or who receive physical injuries later in life, are compensated by being given more credits. As you can imagining, some people didn't particularly like this state of affairs. Many began to mutilate themselves and their children in small ways; cut off a pinky here, poke out and eye there. This isn't as out there as it might seem. During the Spanish colonization of South America, many Inca deliberately crippled their children so they wouldn't be sent to the silver mines. Besides the grueling and often brutal work, many mine workers died of mercury poisoning, as it was often used in silver mining at the time.

We also need to discuss what the White Algorithm is. It protects people from being unjustly down-voted, especially if it was for a crime they didn't commit. In those cases, warrants for assassination aren't put out. This ties into that thread about the artist. He was an autistic fellow, but also an incredibly gifted artist. Comic books have seen a major boom in popularity, since apparently blockbusters, and more importantly superhero movies, aren't made anymore. He worked on his crowd pleaser during the day, and on his passion project at night. I should have mentioned this before, but all jobs have been broken into smaller and smaller segments called gigs to ensure everyone has employment. It's all rather similar to how jobs work in Sir Thomas Moore's Utopia.

Okay, we're going to get into some pretty big spoilers for this next bit. So if you don't want that skip down to the part that begins with "The next episode is titled."

This is your last chance, you sure you want to continue?

Well, okay, here we go then.

What is the passion project? Well, it involves children being put in brutal, often sexual, torture. Worse, the children look like the ones around town who have been mysteriously disappearing. Naturally, this leads to a mass down-vote, but not warrant for an assassination. The townsfolk assume The Program is malfunctioning, form a lynch mob, and hang the artist from the tree in the middle of town. Well, damn, that's brutal. I mean, I know billions of people died last episode, but as the saying goes, a million is a statistic, one is a tragedy. Oh, but we aren't done. For the children are back, unharmed and with clean clothes. They speak of how they were taken care of by people with blue skin.

Remember those people who tried to game the system? They tried to poison themselves just a little, but not too seriously. Unfortunately, the recipe was in Old English units, and apparently The Program forced America, and presumably Liberia and Myanmar, to finally convert to the Metric System. As a result, they overshot the mark and killed themselves. Well, most of them were killed. A lucky few survived, but the poison turned their skin blue. The artist was making his own version of "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omalas" and used the kids in town as references.

And thus an innocent man was put to death for a crime he didn't commit. There's certainly a commentary on the dangers of mob/vigilante justice. I did enjoy how all the different story lines eventually converged, though at times I had trouble keeping the threads straight. Overall, a powerful three-part episode. However, I only got to it because I decided I should give The Program as much of a chance to impress me as possible. Had I discovered it on my own, rather than being asked to review it, I probably would have tapped-out after the first few episodes.

There also seems to be a strong feeling that The Program is infallible and should never be questioned. Call me a cynic, but when something seems too good to be true, I immediately try to poke holes in it. Everyone seems to just blindly trust in The Program, and those who question it often pay the price. It is often said we shouldn't just people of the past, and perhaps the same is true for people of the future, but the whole set up just feels wrong to me.

It's like this, suppose you were to bring someone from Medieval Europe to the modern day. They'd probably be appalled a to how secular everything is, and they'd probably barely be able to comprehend what democracy is. Similarly, a samurai from 16th Century Japan might view the way present day Japan has become so Westernized as dystopian. Robert J Sawyer's WWW trilogy has a somewhat similar premise, with an AI emerging from the Internet. Said AI is eventually named WebMind, and we really get to know him over the course of the trilogy. He's actually a pretty nice guys, and he's warm, friendly and personable. By contrast, The Program is cold, faceless, and unknowable. This put me on guard, and makes me suspicious of its true motives. I really need to review some of the Robert J. Sawyer books I've read, but that's for another day.

The next episode is titled "Move past and break things." It is about a man who has been dealt a pretty bad hand in life. He's unmarried, alone, and just feels dissatisfied with his life. He'd give anything to change the past. Then one day, he discovers a new feature of The Program: the ability to send messages to the past. He begins conversing with his past self, but how far, and at what cost, will eh go to rewrite his history?

This episode is where The Program truly hit its stride and found its voice. I was not expecting to get a time travel episode. This one truly blew me away. The story, the acting, the music, it was all just so perfect. The first hurtle our protagonist must overcome is that The Program has declared that English shall be spell phonetically. Given how many accents and dialects of English there are, I'm a little skeptical of this. Anyway, he give his younger self advice for how to have a good time a summer camp. Unfortunately, having a bad time is what gave him a love of books, and lead him to be a librarian. So in the new timeline he's not a librarian. Okay, makes sense. Then he gives some kind words when his younger self was dealing with cancer. Good news, he's a librarian again; bad news, his beloved house cats Rick and Morty are gone.

I know it was probably the butterfly effect and all, but it still seems odd. Though it does hammer home the point that you can't always predict what's going to happen when you alter the past. Eventually, he realizes that what his younger self really needs is someone to talk to and someone to listen to him. We learn that he used to be involved in Men's Rights Activist forums, and I did appreciate that the episode took a subtle and nuanced approach to MRAs. Rather than painting them as one-dimensional villains, the episodes does examine, if only briefly, why people might join such forums. For him, they were some of the only people willing to hear him out, even if they ultimately turned out to be wrongheaded on a good many subjects. Mind you, I say this as someone who generally disagrees with the MRA movement.

So he changes the timeline enough that's he's married, has a nice house, and a reasonably good life. Still, he decides that what he really needs is kids to be his legacy. He will live on through them. And to do this, he needs to give his younger self winning lottery numbers to afford fertility treatment. He still has no cats, but he does mention having dogs, so I guess that kind of balances out. Hey, I thought that was important. This episode was still absolutely amazing and a joy to listen to. I'm told this episode was recently featured on the CBC radio, and that The Program was named one of Canada's top podcasts. After listening to this episode I excited to see if the next episode could top it.

Speaking of, the next episode is titled "Parent-child processing." It is told in the form of an interview at a psychological counseling center. We learn of a girl named Luna Josephson who has discovered that her father is not all that he seems. Apparently, he was an actor hired by The Program to act as her father figure. Erland took the job because he was a struggling actor, but in time his love for Luna became far more than just an act. He wore the mask of fatherhood for many years, but now the mask has become his face.

Well, what do you know, The Program could top the previous episode. This episode does pose an interesting philosophical question. On the surface it seems simple; a father is someone who loves and is there for a child, not a blood relative, or at least not always. However, the episode adds the additional wrinkle that Erland was an actor looking for work, and simple took a gig The Program offered. All of the good times, all the spontaneous moments, it was all carefully orchestrated by The Program, with a little help from Luna's mom, to give Luna the best possible childhood. For example, one time Erland and Luna snuck into a hotel pool by pretending to be Italian tourist in a big wacky adventure. However, everything about their little adventure was tailor-made by The Program.

Even Luna discovering that it was all an act was something The Program planned. Erland might have started as an actor, but he's feelings for Luna are now genuine. Granted all the good times they shared together we're just an act, but now they can bond for real. Maybe it won't be as perfect as before, but I've got a good feeling that it will all work out. I can't help but wonder if The Program was planning this all along. This is an example of what I meant about The Program being important to the episode, but not front and center. Well, that's two great episodes in a row, let's see if we can bowl a turkey.

Next up we have "Right align, justify." A domestic terrorist has run-over several people with a truck. However, rather than assassination, The Program has assigned him to therapy. Specially, his therapist is the fiancée of one of his victims. In a parallel story, a nuclear power plant near a small town has had an accident at its nuclear power plant. Thankfully, there's enough potassium pills for everyone to have one, but some people worry that they might need two, despite what The Program claims.

And with that we have bowled a turkey; that means three bowling strike in a row. There are a lot of layers to this episode. Well, first off, I certainly see parallel to that incel guy from Canada who ran-over those people with his van. There's also a strong theme about whether retribution or rehabilitation is the best way to ensure that justice is served. The episode really delves into just what would bring a person to commit such an act. I did appreciate the nuanced and sympathetic take it took towards incels, rather than just dismissing them as one-note villains. Like I said, it really explores what bring someone to take such a drastic action. You get the sense that, had the terrorist been shown even the tiniest bit of kindness and compassion, he would have turned out differently. It also ask if it is truly possible to forgive those who have seriously harmed us. I'll leave that for you to discover.

Well, to talk about the second story, and the end of the first, we've got to have some spoilers. So turn back now if you don't want that.

Last chance, I mean it. You sure you want to go forward?

Well okay, here we go.

It turns out there was no nuclear accident. Also, those pills weren't potassium, they were poison. One pill makes people sick, but won't kill them. Two pills, however, will kill them. And the moral of the story is never question The Program. So The Program is willing to kill to make its points and keep its grip on power? Oh, what am I saying, it killed seven billion in Karmageddon. And no, I'm not about to let that one go. It can create time travel, but it couldn't create some technological solution to environmental damage? The Program still seems pretty shady to me.

Speaking of, the episode ends with our terrorist reformed, and then a warrant for his assassination is put out. In a great twist of irony, a truck takes him out. I mean, wow, that puts the whole episode in a new light. Here's a thought, he talked about how he did it, but not why he did it. What if The Program told him to kill those people with the truck as one of its schemes? There's certainly food for thought there.

The next episode is titled "My Turing-complete life." It is presented as a recently discovered radio interview that may, or may not, explain the origins of The Program. The interviewee is a college student who claims to have discovered a naturally occurring algorithm. He claims this algorithm can be used to predict absolutely anything about the future. But is that really such a good idea?

This episode premiered on April Fool's Day, so I was on guard when I listened. However, there wasn't anything that obviously pointed to this episode being a trick or a joke. Everything seems to be in order for a typical episode of The Program. And so we have a possible origin for The Program. Of course, that still doesn't answer who is the one running The Program. Even if it is a naturally occurring algorithm, the things we've seen up to this point require it to be either self-aware, or to have someone utilizing it to call the shots. 

When I listened to this episode, I was reminded of a podcast I once listened to that discussed the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. The host compared Victor Frankenstein to the founders of social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Like Victor, they were just college students who want to change the world. Also like Victor, they focused on if they could do something, rather than if they should. For the third parallel, their inventions turned out to have some unforeseen consequences. I'm not knocking social media, I use it to promote my writings, and it does have the power to bring people together. However, I think we can all agree that it also came with certain problems nobody anticipated. 

Knowing the future isn't always for the best. Just ask Oedipus of Thebes. I will say that I did enjoy the talk show format. I also enjoyed the musings on the nature of free will, predestination, and the nature of reality. What does it mean if we're all puppets, but you can see the strings? All in all, another excellent episode. 

Next up we have "Motherboard." It follows a woman who is reminiscing about her deceased son Niro and his interactions with a manifestation of The Program. This manifestation took the form of a digital assistant known as IRIS, and it almost seemed to love Niro as much as he loved it. 

I appreciated that this episode didn’t fall into the pitfalls you tend to see in a lot of sick kid stories. It was touching and poignant without devolving into saccharine sentimentality. I also appreciated that Niro was smart for his age, but in a believable way, rather than the little professor dialogue that often results from adult writers not having a good grasp on how to write kids.

The circumstances of Niro’s conception and birth reminded me a bit of David the Bubble Boy. For those who don’t know, he had a condition that caused him to be born without an immune system, so had to live in a specially built air-tight bubble for most his life, which was tragically cut short at the age of twelve following a botched bone marrow transplant. David has since become one of those key cases in the study of bioethics. Some say it was cruel to let him live if he was doomed to such a limited existence, while others argue that the doctors were duty-bound to try to prolong his life as much as possible.

More broadly, it brings to mind the abortion debate, where cases such as Niro’s are on of the many points of contention. It seems the debate has been settled on the pro-choice side in the world of The Program. Though, with the artificial wombs, I do wonder if there are more couples who might choose to put their children up for adoption. Also, I wonder if they were made before or after The Program took over. Though I do wonder what all the religions think of this state of affairs, assuming any of them are left.

Hey, there’s an idea for a future episode. We’ve seen how The Program effected government and money, but what about religion? How did they react, and are any of them still around, even in a reduced capacity?

Though with all that The Program can do, surely it would know how to cure Niro’s condition? Or here’s a thought, it can cure certain disorders, but deliberately chooses not to in order to keep the population in check. Which brings me to my next point: the ending note of “oh, the AI does love us” sure rings a bit hallow considering how many people died on Karamgedon. Once again, I’m not letting those 7 billion deaths just slide that easily. And how do we know Iris really loved Niro and his mother? Might it just have been giving the illusion so that it could better provide for their happiness, per its programming.

It’s the Chinese Box thought experiment. Basically, you have this box that contains a person who can’t speak Chinese. They are getting Chinese phrases sent to them on strips of paper. They have a big book to provide translations, and the appropriate responses. It looks like the people sending the paper are having a conversation, but the person inside is just following what the book says. Basically, proponents of this thought experiment use it to propose that we can never know if we have truly created a self-aware AI, as we wouldn’t know if it was just following its programming or really thinking for itself.

Another excellent episode of The Program.

Our next episode is titled "Jakob's notebook: Quit without saving." This episode is presented as a short story recovered from the notebook of Jakob, the young artist tragically slain in "White algorithm's burden." The story was found incomplete, and it isn't known which of the three endings Jakob intended to be canon. As such all three are presented in full. The stories all start out the same until about halfway through. The basic premise being that Earth has received evidence of an alien spacecraft about to land in the South Pacific. The nations of the world wait with baited breath to discover who these extraterrestrial visitors are, what they want, and what, if anything, they can contribute to Earth.

There really is no way to discuss this episode without getting into spoilers. So, consider this your one and only warning. With that having been said, let's dive into the three different endings.

Well, actually, one quick thing. All three endings used to be available, but now only the first one is. You can access the other two by donating money to The Program. Hmm, I should probably only discuss the free one, so that way you'll spend money on the other two.

Okay, so what happens in ending number one is...absolutely nothing. Well, let me be more specific. The aliens look human and speak perfect English, but don't have any of the knowledge of art, culture, and science to contribute to humanity. They were trained to be bold explorers, but those skill don't translate into any great revelations for humanity. They become minor celebrities, fade into obscurity, and die peacefully, having contributed nothing of value to the human race.

I liked how this story was a subversion of the typical first contact narrative. I'd probably be same boat as these aliens. I'm sure I could regale my captors with certain details about Earth's history and culture. At the same time, I can't recreate the works of Mozart or Einstein. It's one thing to understand the idea of how a television works, but quite another to build a fully functioning television. It's a short, but fun episode.

The next episode is titled "This AI not to be used for fabricating paperclips." It features a possible origin for The Program. It tells of two guys who founded a start-up in Silicon Valley. They created a program called Reffy to act as an artificial referee. Refi was designed to ensure that games are fair, but what will happen as it grows more advanced?

The name of this episode is a reference to this thought experiment about how AI could potentially go awry. Say you task an AI to create paperclips, but you don't set any boundaries for. It is possible, so the thought experiment goes, that given enough time the AI will try to turn the whole world into paperclips. As it relates to this episode, Reffy was design to ensure sports were fair, but it grows to ensure that all human interactions are fair.

And so we have another potential origin for The Program. It poses many philosophical questions, including several about The Program itself.

The part where Reffy makes changes to make sports more fair reminded me a bit of the short story “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut. It takes place in a dystopian future United States where everyone is given various handicaps to make everyone equal. The strong wear weights, the beautiful wear masks, the smart wear earpieces that make loud noises if they think too much. The only person immune from this is the Handicaper General, who oversees all of this. Of course, there’s also the titular Harrison Bergeron, who has cast off his handicaps in hopes to leading a revolution against the Handicaper General. The implication is that is is fairly easy to remove the handicaps, it’s just that most people lack the will to do so. It also tackles the question of if fairness and justice are the same thing or not.

Of course, with all this emphasis on fairness it does make me wonder why The Program doesn’t just genetically engineer humans to all be the same. From previous episodes, we know that The Program allows certain genetic defects to exist, even though it could probably cure them, so it does seem to be opposed for some reason. Of course, this is all assuming that this actually is the origin of The Program.

Of course, if sports are forced to make things fair, then does that apply other things that might have elements of competition. Are works of art and literature censored so that no one created can be said to be better than others? I did like the bit at the end about how science fiction often envision the future as now, but more so. I’d add that this is also true of social mores and issues. For example, The Jetsons (first cartoon anyway) might be set in the 2060s, but the way the characters talk and act is straight out of the 1960s, when the show as made, but with random astronomical terms thrown into the slang.

Well, all things considered, another excellent episode of The Program.

Okay, this list is getting a bit too long, and I'm going to split it up for ease of reading. But what are my overall thoughts? If there's one word I'd use to describe The Program, it's potential. The first three or so episodes are pretty rough, but the three-part middle episode shows a move in the right direction, and every episode from the time travel episode onward has completely blown me away. The Program has potential to do a lot of thing, and tell a lot of stories, and it keeps tapping into that wealth of potential with each new episode. 

So, million dollar question, do I recommend it?  If you had asked me when we first started out, I'd have given a tentative yes, but I'm changing my answer to a hard yes now. So there you have it. The Program is a tale of ordinary people making their way through the extraordinary world of The Singularity. Check it out today. 

And don't for get to check out part two of this review. 

Well, I think that should do it for now. I've got a few other podcasts I promised reviews to, so I should probably get on that. I will see you guys next time.