Audio Drama Autumn 2025

Despite the fact that it’s over eighty degrees out where I live, the days are getting shorter. The cool rain yesterday felt like a boon from the gods after the oppression of summer. Today feels like a step back, in preparation for a leap forward into the darkness of fall. 

I love autumn, the last burst of energy before a promise of rest. I love long nights, curled under a blanket listening to a story, reading a book, or crafting in preparation for the holidays. It’s the perfect time for Audio Drama Autumn. 

This year will not be much different than last year. I’m going to listen to fiction podcasts, write about them, and hope I can keep up with my personal expectations. Lower them for yourselves so only one of us is disappointed.

Yeah, there might be a few non-fiction in there – just like I will review audio drama outside of the “season” but right now, I’m pivoting gears to dip into what I feel like is the “other side” of podcasting. 

When I talk about fiction podcasts outside of my podcast-friends: A lot of people question it, or seem overwhelmed. They tend to reach for audiobooks for their fiction-by-ear needs. I’m not opposed, but I am someone whose brain does not like being read to. There is some weirdness about my childhood wrapped up in this, but I can’t afford therapy to tease that out. So I listen to fiction podcasts instead of audiobooks. 

If your first foray into podcasts has been Serial or New Heights – fiction podcasts may be too much. I understand why, because they can be weird. I’m not even saying that in a negative way. I adore how weird fiction podcasts can be – but if you don’t spend time with certain flavors of weird, you’re not going to be jumping into the fiction podcast space. 

As usual, my reviews here are going to be written for as wide an audience as possible. I won’t be digging too hard into theories of storytelling or audio history. You’ll get what the podcast is about, what the performances are like, what the quality of audio is, and then how long episodes are. You’ll always get my thoughts, but we won’t be going into a criticism overload. I let my husband hear those thoughts, not you. 

If you’ve never thought about fiction podcasts as being “for you” – it’s a great time of year to try them. Having a bonfire with you and your partner? Consider throwing on a fiction podcast to listen to. Have a long drive coming up for the holidays? An audio drama can be a great option to keep the family, or just you, entertained.  

Audio dramas take more out of me, so we might be looking at closer to one to two reviews a month, but I’m going to try my best to get us 13-ish weeks of great audio drama content for us. I’m excited, and I hope you are too!

If you want to buy me a coffee to get through these short nights, please head over to Support me. There, you can send me a few bucks for the beans! Remember to support your local roasters, local bookstores, and not local podcast writers. Unless you have one local to you, support them first.