Introducing Bingeworthy! A newsletter all about narrative storytelling podcasts
And my starter playlist for what built this genre
If you already love narrative storytelling podcasts, this list is likely not (all) new to you.
After listening to hundreds of hours of *just* narrative storytelling podcasts over the last decade I’ve condensed what I think this genre was built on to 12 different series.
They’re all non-fiction. They’re all original. They’re all serialized. They’re all driven by a singular, spectacular, narrator.
Put them together and they are what I consider to be the Foundational Building Blocks for what I see as the newest publication genre to emerge: narrative storytelling podcasts.
All of these titles are here for unique reasons…one day I hope to fully explain why each and every podcast is listed here.
It’s certainly NOT an exhaustive list. There are many, many others that aren’t here.
But I would say this: Each of them are all trailblazers….from highly produced, to basically winging it (when you could still wing it and make a splash on iTunes, the predecessor to the Podcast app).
All of these series have contributed to the language that built this genre.
Each of them has inspired multiple new versions, new ideas, and new projects, new stories, new innovations, since then.
Entire companies, some of them now empires, were built upon these shows, and the methods they used to make them.
For me, it’s hard not to see how this emergent genre has shaken up the media landscape. Very few other novel storytelling concepts have had this level of impact, at least in this century.
However, there’s still not even a comprehensive term for this genre that we can all agree on for what this genre is called.
Recently, I posted a poll on Twitter to try and create some cohesion and agreement around the term. There were basically more comments than there were votes to the poll.
So I think it’s time to put a spotlight on this genre, and spend some more time thinking about it.
Let’s study it, build a language around it, agree on some terms and definitions.
And, more importantly, let’s celebrate it, and talk about it.
And not just talk about podcasts the way everyone does…but actually really discuss the bits and bolts that have made, and are making right now, the genre a thing.
This is us doing our part to help make sure it actually becomes its own thing, perhaps even before their death is prematurely forecasted.
I want the same thing for narrative podcasts that indie films, small film festivals, installation art….and pickleball...all have.
They each became a thing, which is separate and distinct from other things that are just like it (blockbuster film, high art, badminton….you get my drift).
When you say, “That was a great indie film,” there’s a cultural language to understand what that means.
When you ask yourself: How did the world begin to learn about pickleball? You realize it’s because when people started talking about, sharing it, organizing tournaments about it, printing team t-shirts…and having fun with it.
I want the same thing for narrative podcasts.
For the world to begin to appreciate them, and understand them, for what they are:
A genre within and unto itself.
About the Playlist…I’ve only included the first episode for the series…if you haven’t listened to them already, you know how to find the rest. The exception to this is the mini-series “No” by The Heart. It’s buried in their feed from back in 2017, which makes it not so easy to go follow in order. The four parts are listed here in order to allow for a full listen.
That’s my list. What’s yours?
What would you add, and why?
Comment away down below…
The first *official* newsletter will feature Mother Country Radicals, and it will ALSO include a Q + A from producer Zayd Ayres Dohrn. Woot! Very excited to share this with you.
Bingeworthy is designed to be a community to raise discussion, and a newsletter to celebrate and critically discuss narrative podcasts.
Please subscribe, so you can comment, and let’s get this thing started.
And when you’ve done that, for the love of podcasting, share it with your podcast listening buddy.
Hi Arjan, nice to see you in these comments ; )
I love all of the podcasts you refer to here ... Phoebe Judge was my first podcast crush. I saw her do a live show in 2016 or 2017, and that cemented it. Her voice, just awesome! And as for the Bon Apetit Replyall, I lose my appetite around all of that so have chosen to avoid it.
But moreover, while I love these podcasts, they aren’t exactly the kind I want to focus on here in Bingeworthy. They have a lot to teach and share (this gives me an idea for a post...) but to my mind they fall into a different category.
Yes Heavyweight, and Criminal ... and heaps of others...use a similar storytelling method (and they are awesome!)
But I want to shed light here on the ones that serialize the story. The ones that are publishing stories more like books, or movies...except they are for your ear.
And where possible, I’m going to lean away from the giants of industry here to talk about productions that have found the grist to publish without the backing of Spotify, etc....it’s a very tough road to follow and if Bingeworthy can help the industry in some way here, it’s to recognize the hard work of putting together a production, with multiple funding sources done with risk in order to gain reward, that’s the goal.
Not saying I wouldn’t choose one from one of the giants (NYT, Gimlet, NPR, etc) but more saying that I also want to make sure I’m helping listeners find those shows that DON’t have a giant ad spend on them to be heard and appreciated by wider audiences.
This is the model of the Indie Film industry, and it has worked, in time, and with sustained focus, for that industry. I hope these conversations do the same for narrative podcasts.
Please jump in here, anyone, if you have something to add - or subtract - from this line of reasoning.
Thanks for opening this conversation wider Arjan. Pleased to have you in this community!
Very interesting. Found you via the substack shoutout thread. I like your list. I would like to add, for now, three suggestions to this thread. The first two are from the Gimlet universe; Reply All and Heavyweight. I think Reply All, even though it has now imploded, was a wonderful show that specialised in always finding a unique angle to look at internet culture in the broadest sense. They always found a good story to tell. It was different, and started before they were Reply All and part of Gimlet.
Heavyweight is just insanely sweet and awkward humanity at its most beautiful. Jonathan has a great way of showing us the tender side of humanity. I love this show. Love it.
The third suggestion is Criminal by Phoebe Judge. Her voice alone is worth listening to, but the show's take on the overpopular theme of 'crime' is so unique, and the stories they tell from that angle are so beautiful, she deserves a spot on your list. I like it when a podcast makes you think and reflect and see things from an unusual perspective. That is what she does with the true crime craze.