The Coode Street Podcast, presented by Jonathan Strahan and Gary K. Wolfe
Ditch Diggers, presented by Mur Lafferty and Matt Wallace
Fangirl Happy Hour, presented by Ana Grilo and Renay Williams
Galactic Suburbia, presented by Alisa Krasnostein, Alexandra Pierce and Tansy Rayner Roberts; produced by Andrew Finch
Sword and Laser, presented by Veronica Belmont and Tom Merritt
Verity!, presented by Deborah Stanish, Erika Ensign, Katrina Griffiths, L.M. Myles, Lynne M. Thomas, and Tansy Rayner Roberts
I'll admit I didn't nominate any of these, because I only nominated the two podcasts in which I frequently participate: The Skiffy and Fanty Show, which reviews books and movies, interviews creators and editors, and occasionally comments on fan issues, and the Supergirl Supercast, a part of The Incomparable's family of podcasts, which reviews episodes of the CW's TV show. I didn't think the Supercast had much of a chance, but Skiffy and Fanty came close to being a finalist once, according to that year's Hugos longlist.
Most of this year's finalists have been on the list before, but I listened to at least three 2017 episodes from each show. That was a lot harder for some nominees than others, but I tried to ignore that and judge them on the basis of the podcasts as one would normally listen, not the faultiness of the links they submitted for the Hugo packets.
The Coode Street Podcast, however, once again had technical issues (echoes, reverb) with one of their suggested episodes. It features some very interesting interviews and discussions, but I'm not voting for it to win until they can submit at least three trouble-free episodes in one year's packet.
Ditch Diggers provides fascinating discussions about the craft and business of writing and other forms of creation.
Fangirl Happy Hour is a very pleasant listening experience. I really enjoyed their discussions about fandom and about books/media.
Galactic Suburbia has some very interesting discussions about books/media and fandom, but all the stuff about the hosts' personal lives and careers is only interesting if you're interested in those personal lives and careers.
If I were a regular watcher of Dr. Who, I would have voted for Verity. It's a great discussion of the show with deep analyses of the episodes and their implications, and the fandom, interesting even to an infrequent watcher like me.
Sword and Laser is my favorite this year. It starts out with "Quick Burns," news about new/upcoming releases, and then the hosts talk about a book. The discussions are thoroughly engaging. This is the one podcast on the list that I'm adding to my regular listening.
In case you're interested, here are the podcasts I've already been following:
Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me: The NPR quiz show, one of the few I'm compelled to listen to as soon as it comes out, because it's highly topical and highly amusing.
Cryptic Canticles Dracula RadioPlay Experience: A full-cast narration of Dracula by Bram Stoker, which releases an episode every day that the book has a diary entry, letter, telegram etc. Another I listen to every day it's released.
Coastline, a regional topic-focused newsmagazine produced by my local public radio station, WHQR.
Ken Rudin's Political Junkie: Topical politics with a lot of historical context. I usually either listen that day or skip it.
Revolutions, because Mike Duncan does a great job of bringing history alive.
In Our Time from BBC has great scholarly discussions about a variety of historical and sometimes scientific topic.
Ask Me Another has fun pop-culture quizzes.
Storium Arc has great discussions about Storium, a collaborative storytelling site, sort of like roleplaying games by bulletin board.
The Incomparable has great discussions about books, media, and culture, plus game shows, roleplaying games, radio plays, etc.
Tea and Jeopardy has interviews by Emma Newman of various writers and other creators, set in a very entertaining framework with an evil butler.
Finally, what brought me to start listening to podcasts in the first place: audio fiction!
There are a great many fiction podcasts out there. Many are magazines with self-contained stories:
The Escape Artist family is what I started listening to long ago. I'd be hard-pressed to choose between Escape Pod (science fiction) and Podcastle (fantasy), but I also listen to Pseudopod (horror -- it has great, thoughtful intros and outros by the host, although I can't always bear to listen all the way through) and Cast of Wonders (children's/YA speculative fiction).
Uncanny Magazine has great stories and poems, although there's quite a lot of chatter from the co-editors about their personal/professional lives chatter before the fiction starts. But they're very enthusiastic!
I also listen to Lightspeed, Clarkesworld, Strange Horizons, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, and Apex, although I tend to get backlogged on all of them. I used to have a long commute and don't now, so I tend to catch up while doing housework, exercising or going on long trips.
I also listen to some serial fiction podcasts.
Welcome to Night Vale is sort of like listening to public/underground radio in a very weird town. Many episodes are self-contained, but there are long ongoing arcs.
SAYER (I am Sayer) is sort of like a cross between Night Vale and a game of Paranoia, narrated by the computer. It's nearly always creepy, always interesting, and occasionally heartbreaking. I nearly had to pull over my car and cry at the finale ... but after a break, the show resumed with Kickstartered seasons, which I am enthusiastically supporting.
Metamor City (well, actually, it's The Raven and the Writing Desk now, but I'm old-school) is secondary-world urban fantasy with magic, vampires, shapeshifters, telepaths, cops... some short stories and some book narrations. Fantastic worldbuilding and characterizations.
This Kaiju Life: What's it like to work in a kaiju containment facility? Funny and wry.
Done but not forgotten:
The Drabblecast: Extremely interesting weird stories with a great host/narrator. Please check out the archive! This contains my favorite two-part podcast ever, Mongoose, by Sarah Monette and Elizabeth Bear, about a guy and his cheshire, hunting toves and raths on a space station, trying to prevent a bandersnatch incursion.
We're Alive: Incredibly well-done full-cast zombie apocalypse tale. The story is over, although the creator has done/is doing a few supplemental projects, so if you're a completionist, try this.
The Mask of Inanna: Won the 2012 Parsec award. Combines a fictional old radio drama with modern intrigue. Amazing 10-part story!
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