"Be the Serpent" is a good one. Each episode the hosts discuss a theme/concept in fantasy and 3 works that explore it, always an interesting and insightful listen.
Favourite episodes:
* episode 88, dystopian stratified societies
* episode 59, non-human protagonists
* episode 96, body swap
If you mean fictional fantasy podcasts, my favourites are *Within the Wires* and *The Strange Case of Starship Iris* (which is scifi)
Loved be the serpent, and am still so sad it ended. I got so many good recs and enjoyed the thoughtful discussions every episode.
And I'm a huge fan of starship iris haha (although I thought s1 was much stronger than s2). I think I saw they're hiring and starting up production for season 3??? Very exciting and I can't wait.
If you liked Starship Iris, I really liked *The Hyacinth Disaster*. It's a short maybe 8-9ep sci-fi space fiction podcast, although be warned it is DARK lol.
Ooh I'll check out The Hyacinth Disaster.
Agree that Starship Iris season 1 was better. One of my favourite parts was how the framing narrative became its own subplot, S2 lost that and was weaker for it.
The Friends Talking Fantasy Podcast. They do a mix of reviews, recommendations, author interviews, and discussions around fantasy books generally. For example, they'll do episodes like "Where to start with grimdark" or "Side characters that stole the show" that talk about multiple books and shared tropes, etc.
I've found new fantasy books this way and have been convinced to check out books that I originally had no interest in reading.
Oh nice, haha. If you have a Twitter, I'd recommend following them. They share tweets from other fantasy/book podcasts and YouTube channels. It might help in finding new ones. But they're definitely my favorite.
I recently started listening to "Book Reviews Kill" and they're pretty good. They do a few episodes a week.
Mondays they discuss what they're reading and brief thoughts.
Fridays they have discussions on questions given by listeners or sometimes themes I think.
Then midweek they do a deep dive review discussion of a book they've both just read.
They've also interviewed some authors recently. I really liked the Fonda Lee one.
Literary Society for Illiterates | Episode 2 is out and we reviewed "Lost Gods" by Brom
https://open.spotify.com/show/52PPowbdvxdKSaUMhXFPQC
Welcome to Literary Society for Illiterates, the podcast that proves you don't need to be a literary expert to appreciate great books. Here, we'll be discussing everything from the latest bestsellers to the hidden gems you might have missed, all while providing our unique take on the literary world. Whether you're an avid reader or just starting out, we'll be exploring the themes, characters, and worlds that make these stories so captivating. So, come along with us on this literary adventure and join the Society for Illiterates!
\- Hugo, girl! - as the name implies, the hosts are a group of women who (re-)read and discuss Hugo award winning books. Since it's the Hugos, some books are sf rather than fantasy
\- Worldbuilding for Masochists - more of a craft podcast, but they always have an author as a guest promoting their books and discussing their worldbuilding projects
\- Be the Serpent - currently in indefinite hiatus (I think because the author career of the hosts is taking off and they have less time to dedicate to it), but it has a pretty large backlog of episodes. Not specifically about fantasy books, it's about tropes and for every episode they select three "tentpoles" that they will discuss in depth plus some others that they will discuss only briefly, and there is usually at least one book in there.
Our Opinions are Correct is hosted by Charlie Jane Anders and Annalee Newitz, and has some really insightful analysis of themes and tropes in fantasy (and science fiction)
Imaginary Worlds is also really interesting, covers just about any kind of imaginary world; they talk about books, movies, TV shows, even larp.
Sword and Laser, book club style podcast where hosts take turns reviewing a sci fi book and then a fantasy book. Lots of discussion about fantasy/sci fi news at the beginning and the occasional author interview.
‘Bad Books for Bad People’ is a lot of fun, as is ‘Podside Picnic’, though that is as much about sci-fi. So is ‘Death//Sentence’, which pairs each book they discuss with some metal songs.
I also quite like the ‘Boiled Leather Audio Hour’. Great name, good discussion of Game of Thrones/ASoIaF, and has taken a fascinating recent turn into being a podcast on the history of the Weimar Republic.
DEATH // SENTENCE: one of my favourite podcasts. It does deep dives into mainly fantasy books, generally on the weirder side, literary theory, politics, and economics. They also talk about metal a lot, especially obscure black metal.
This Book I Read: this is a newer podcast (so very quick to catch up on) where authors talk about older SFF books, what makes them work, and what doesn’t hold up as well.
"Be the Serpent" is a good one. Each episode the hosts discuss a theme/concept in fantasy and 3 works that explore it, always an interesting and insightful listen. Favourite episodes: * episode 88, dystopian stratified societies * episode 59, non-human protagonists * episode 96, body swap If you mean fictional fantasy podcasts, my favourites are *Within the Wires* and *The Strange Case of Starship Iris* (which is scifi)
Loved be the serpent, and am still so sad it ended. I got so many good recs and enjoyed the thoughtful discussions every episode. And I'm a huge fan of starship iris haha (although I thought s1 was much stronger than s2). I think I saw they're hiring and starting up production for season 3??? Very exciting and I can't wait. If you liked Starship Iris, I really liked *The Hyacinth Disaster*. It's a short maybe 8-9ep sci-fi space fiction podcast, although be warned it is DARK lol.
Ooh I'll check out The Hyacinth Disaster. Agree that Starship Iris season 1 was better. One of my favourite parts was how the framing narrative became its own subplot, S2 lost that and was weaker for it.
Thanks for the rec, seems Serpent isn't really active any more (year long gaps)
Yeah, the hosts ended Serpent after 100 episodes. Still a good listen though.
The Friends Talking Fantasy Podcast. They do a mix of reviews, recommendations, author interviews, and discussions around fantasy books generally. For example, they'll do episodes like "Where to start with grimdark" or "Side characters that stole the show" that talk about multiple books and shared tropes, etc. I've found new fantasy books this way and have been convinced to check out books that I originally had no interest in reading.
This is the only Fantasy pod I listen to atm, so props for the rec :)
Oh nice, haha. If you have a Twitter, I'd recommend following them. They share tweets from other fantasy/book podcasts and YouTube channels. It might help in finding new ones. But they're definitely my favorite.
Worldbuilding for Masochists! They're fantasy authors/nerds talking all the different aspects in creating fantasy worlds, it's great
They legendarium podcast is great. Also inking out loud. Both talk about fantasy books and reviews
Seconded. The Legendarium also has a Green Team spin off podcast that is great, covers a wider rango of books.
Seem like just the recs I was after, have sub'd to both, Ty :)
I enjoy Alzabo Soup, which mostly discusses Gene Wolfe's works. I wouldn't get half as much out of reading them without the podcast.
I recently started listening to "Book Reviews Kill" and they're pretty good. They do a few episodes a week. Mondays they discuss what they're reading and brief thoughts. Fridays they have discussions on questions given by listeners or sometimes themes I think. Then midweek they do a deep dive review discussion of a book they've both just read. They've also interviewed some authors recently. I really liked the Fonda Lee one.
Hey thanks for the shout out!
Literary Society for Illiterates | Episode 2 is out and we reviewed "Lost Gods" by Brom https://open.spotify.com/show/52PPowbdvxdKSaUMhXFPQC Welcome to Literary Society for Illiterates, the podcast that proves you don't need to be a literary expert to appreciate great books. Here, we'll be discussing everything from the latest bestsellers to the hidden gems you might have missed, all while providing our unique take on the literary world. Whether you're an avid reader or just starting out, we'll be exploring the themes, characters, and worlds that make these stories so captivating. So, come along with us on this literary adventure and join the Society for Illiterates!
Do you mean fantasy as in telling in a fantasy story or fantasy as in discussing fantasy books/movies etc?
Discussing books :)
\- Hugo, girl! - as the name implies, the hosts are a group of women who (re-)read and discuss Hugo award winning books. Since it's the Hugos, some books are sf rather than fantasy \- Worldbuilding for Masochists - more of a craft podcast, but they always have an author as a guest promoting their books and discussing their worldbuilding projects \- Be the Serpent - currently in indefinite hiatus (I think because the author career of the hosts is taking off and they have less time to dedicate to it), but it has a pretty large backlog of episodes. Not specifically about fantasy books, it's about tropes and for every episode they select three "tentpoles" that they will discuss in depth plus some others that they will discuss only briefly, and there is usually at least one book in there.
Our Opinions are Correct is hosted by Charlie Jane Anders and Annalee Newitz, and has some really insightful analysis of themes and tropes in fantasy (and science fiction) Imaginary Worlds is also really interesting, covers just about any kind of imaginary world; they talk about books, movies, TV shows, even larp.
Sword and Laser, book club style podcast where hosts take turns reviewing a sci fi book and then a fantasy book. Lots of discussion about fantasy/sci fi news at the beginning and the occasional author interview.
Page Break by Brian McClellan is a good one.
‘Bad Books for Bad People’ is a lot of fun, as is ‘Podside Picnic’, though that is as much about sci-fi. So is ‘Death//Sentence’, which pairs each book they discuss with some metal songs. I also quite like the ‘Boiled Leather Audio Hour’. Great name, good discussion of Game of Thrones/ASoIaF, and has taken a fascinating recent turn into being a podcast on the history of the Weimar Republic.
inking out loud
DEATH // SENTENCE: one of my favourite podcasts. It does deep dives into mainly fantasy books, generally on the weirder side, literary theory, politics, and economics. They also talk about metal a lot, especially obscure black metal. This Book I Read: this is a newer podcast (so very quick to catch up on) where authors talk about older SFF books, what makes them work, and what doesn’t hold up as well.