And the winner is!
December 2nd marked the 1st anniversary of me launching this blog. In a rather preemptive strike on the traditional end of year lists that will invariably clog up all your timelines in a few weeks, I thought I’d get in with my rather unofficial awards celebrating the best (in my opinion) podcasts you can get. So, ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce the first annual podcastgeek awards ceremony!
Some shows I will have reviewed, and I’ll be adding links to the reviews where available. Others will be reviewed as soon as I get round to it. Each category will have a shortlist of five entries in no special order apart from how they spring to mind. At the end of each shortlist we will have the winners. I hope you have the patience to read all the way through. It shouldn’t take too long!
Now, there may well be some glaring omissions, especially if you’ve been following this blog for a while, but seeing as this will be an annual event, there is always next year, and I promise no series will win more than once.
The drinks are flowing here at the podcastgeek enormodome and the guests are waiting with bated breath to see who takes the gongs home. So without further ado, I’ll roll out the red carpet as the spotlights rake the night sky, put on my best bib and tucker and heap praise on a multitude of shows. DRUMROLL PLEASE!
Best fiction podcast
This was a tough one, because the entire shortlist is excellent, ultimately though, the result will come as no surprise to anyone who’s read my reviews.
The winner is THE MAGNUS ARCHIVES!
Best true crime podcast
- Hunting Warhead
- The Lazarus Heist
- Death In Ice Valley
- Deep Cover
- The World’s Greatest Con
Another tough one. Another 5 incredible shows, but there’s only one winner tonight. This podcast won just for the fact that there is some resolution to the crimes, and the fact that there are no real trigger warnings.
The winner is THE WORLD’S GREATEST CON!
Best gaming/geek culture podcast
- The Good Friends Of Jackson Elias
- The Lovecraft Tapes
- Hypnogoria
- Ain’t Slayed Nobody
- The Apocalypse Players
I had originally intended to spend a month or so only reviewing this rather niche area of the podcastverse, but I didn’t want to lose either of my regular subscribers, so I decided against it. Anyway, these are five very worthy podcasts, but for the sheer range of subject matter there can be only one (as the highlander would say).
The winner is HYPNOGORIA.
Best science podcast
- Big Picture Science
- Monster Talk
- 13 Minutes To The Moon
- Stephen Fry’s Great Leap Years
- The Tetrapod Zoology Podcast
Originally I avoided science podcasts, thinking they would be stuffy and boring (despite having an interest in science). How wrong I was. The podcasts here are all very accessible and very entertaining.
The winner is BIG PICTURE SCIENCE.
Best comedy podcast
- A Scottish Podcast
- Penn’s Sunday School
- It’s Always Sunny Podcast
- Two Flat Earthers Kidnap A Freemason
- Dark Air With Terry Carnation
Over the years, I have listened to plenty of “comedy” podcasts that are as funny as standing on a plug. The shortlist here though are all very, very funny indeed. That said, in much the same way the The Magnus Archives was a rather predictable win, so is this. This one is a very sweary win “fae Dougie, Lee and John the dug”.
The winner is A SCOTTISH PODCAST.
Best paranormal/folklore podcast
I could have happily had four of Danny Robins’ podcasts and one other to make up the numbers, but that wouldn’t be fair, especially with so many interesting paranormal and folklore podcasts out there. The winner of this category really takes top spot, like hypnogoria, for the sheer breadth of subject matter. This really is a great series.
The winner is BONE AND SICKLE.
Best factual podcast
- Londongrad
- Revisionist History
- Death In The Afternoon
- How To Burn A Million Quid
- Brainwashed
Possibly the hardest category to judge, due to the catch-all nature of the title. Again, the shortlist entries are all worthy of your time, and I recommend you check them all out. The contrarian in me has decided though that it has to be heroic.
The winner is HOW TO BURN A MILLION QUID.
Phew, that’s a lot of podcasts isn’t it? And I’ve obviously done a load of listening. That is only a small selection of the podcasts that I’ve pumped into my brain over the last few years. If the best idea is to “write about what you know”, you can see why I started writing about podcasts can’t you?
“Ha! Mr podcastgeek” I hear you scoff. “Why don’t you get a life?”
In response I will click my fingers and out of the shadows a group of no-necked toughs in suits will have these hecklers ejected from the venue.
We have had some great shows mentioned this year, and despite missing out on a win, I really need to give an honourable mention to The Good Friends Of Jackson Elias. When I posted my review of that podcast, it had so many shares and comments, it is BY FAR the most popular post I’ve written. So thank you to all the Call Of Cthulhu and Chaosium fans who took the time to help grow my blog. It is greatly appreciated.