Best Drama Podcasts

“Make your statement, face your fear.” A weekly horror fiction podcast examining what lurks in the archives of the Magnus Institute, an organisation dedicated to researching the esoteric and the weird. Join Jonathan Sims as he explores the archive, but be warned, as he looks into its depths something starts to look back… New episodes every Thursday produced by Rusty Quill, featuring guest actors, short stories, serial plots and more. The Magnus Protocol launches in January 2024. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Life's not easy for Doug Eiffel, the communications officer for the U.S.S. Hephaestus Research Station, currently on Day 448 of its orbit around red dwarf star Wolf 359. He's stuck on a scientific survey mission of indeterminate length, 7.8 light years from Earth. His only company on board the station are stern mission chief Minkowski, insane science officer Hilbert, and Hephaestus Station's sentient, often malfunctioning operating system Hera. He doesn't have much to do for his job other than monitoring static and intercepting the occasional decades-old radio broadcast from Earth, so he spends most of his time creating extensive audio logs about the ordinary, day-to-day happenings within the station. But the Hephaestus is an odd place, and life in extremely isolated, zero gravity conditions has a way of doing funny things to people's minds. Even the simplest of tasks can turn into a gargantuan struggle, and the most ordinary-seeming things have a way of turning into anything but that. Wolf 359 is a radio drama in the tradition of Golden Age of Radio shows. Take one part space-faring adventure, add one part character drama, and mix in one part absurdist sitcom, and you get Wolf 359.

In "Hardcore History" journalist and broadcaster Dan Carlin takes his "Martian", unorthodox way of thinking and applies it to the past. Was Alexander the Great as bad a person as Adolf Hitler? What would Apaches with modern weapons be like? Will our modern civilization ever fall like civilizations from past eras? This isn't academic history (and Carlin isn't a historian) but the podcast's unique blend of high drama, masterful narration and Twilight Zone-style twists has entertained millions of listeners.

SERIES COMPLETE. Start with episode 101. Dr. Bright provides therapy for the strange and unusual; their sessions have been recorded for research purposes. Visit www.thebrightsessions.com for more information and additional content. Created by Lauren Shippen

The Amelia Project is a secret agency that fakes its clients' deaths, then lets them reappear with a brand new identity! A black comedy full of secrets, twists... and cocoa. The series starts as a succession of interviews with clients who want to fake their deaths, then slowly a larger narrative begins to emerge... Each episode tells its own story, but we recommend starting with Season 1.

Imagine your best game of D&D. The shocks, the twists and turns, the moments that can’t be caught because you just had to be there. That’s Dice Shame.With the ability to tell a long form story, starring people who not only share a genuine love for the game—but also love for each other—we’ve managed to bring the feel of being around the table to you.Join our DM Jo, her husband Harlan, their brother Alex & their best friends Rob and Alex as they experience those unmissable, gut-wrenching, heart-aching, joy-filled moments.This legendary AP releases a brand new episode every Thursday morning at 1:20 am! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At the Penumbra, you might follow Juno Steel, a brooding, sharp-witted private eye on Mars, as he tangles with an elusive homme fatale, tracks dangerous artifacts of an ancient alien civilization, and faces his three greatest fears: heights, blood, and relationships. Or you might enter the world of the Second Citadel, where the merciless Sir Caroline must corral a team of emotionally distraught all-male knights to defend their city against mind-manipulating monsters...even the ones they’ve fallen in love with. These audio dramas and more await you in the Penumbra, dear traveler. We hope you enjoy your stay. (Start with "1.01: Juno Steel and the Case of the Murderous Mask" or "1.09: Second Citadel - The Head of the Janus Beast.")The Penumbra is created and produced by Sophie Takagi Kaner and Kevin Vibert. Follow us on Twitter (@thepenumbrapod), Tumblr (@thepenumbrapodcast), or Facebook (The Penumbra Podcast). You can find all of our transcripts here. If you would like to view trigger warnings or SFX attributions, you can scroll to the end of the appropriate episode transcript: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/2/folders/1bnWLw5dTW4l9A0bmOMzEiy6XqqsXHHi_

A mystery drama about the limits of experimental science, confronting your own past, present & future, & trying to remember the level select cheat from Sonic 2. 

Ten years ago, over three hundred men, women and children disappeared from a small town in Tennessee, never to be heard from again. In this podcast, American Public Radio reporter Lia Haddock asks the question once more, "What happened to the people of Limetown?" Limetown is produced by Two-Up, the producers of 36 Questions, The Wilderness and Shipworm.

King Falls AM centers on a lonely little mountain town's late-night AM talk radio show and its paranormal, peculiar happenings and inhabitants.New shows available the 1st and 15th of every month! Be sure to start from Sammy's first show (May 1st, 2015) to stay up to date with all your King Falls favorites.

My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921.  My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more. 

Join parapsychologist and radio broadcaster Dr. Malcolm Ryder as he helps those who suffer the supernatural on his call-in radio show.

Welcome to the world of Liberty – serialized sci-fi tales told audio drama podcasts. For centuries the colony of Atrius has been cut off from humanity and endured generations of civil war. What remains is a gleaming city and beyond its walls, a lawless expanse known as the Fringe.

CARAVAN is a story about getting through Hell with the people you love. When Samir and his best friend Carlyle take a camping trip to the Canyon, they don't plan on getting caught in a thunderstorm. Even worse, they don't plan on Samir falling into the Canyon. When he wakes up, Samir finds himself in a new world, where ghosts, demons, vampires, and other monsters terrorize the locals like any villains in a western. Samir joins up with a caravan—a vigilante train of supernatural bounty hunters—to delve deep into the Canyon depths, and find a way out of Hell once and for all.

The Orphans is a cinematic sci-fi audio drama about survival in a harsh universe: castaways on a hostile world, A.I.s with unprecedented emotions, strangers who share faces, love and loss in a far-flung future. Each season explores a new vantage point in an ever-expanding and inter-connected galaxy!

A down-to-Earth sci-fi road trip, The Book of Constellations is a story about Rael, who claims to be the sole survivor of an alien race, as told by Simon, the man who went with him. On a quest to save humanity from the same malevolent force that destroyed his own people, Rael believes this “Darkness” resides in the Governor of the state. Rael makes his way west to the Capitol armed with nothing but his uncanny perception and empathy. He gathers allies along the way from the forgotten and lost of America. Rael’s obsession won’t allow him to mourn another world, but how far is he willing to go to save us?

Created, written, recorded, produced, and released in just one week, Time:Bombs is a new audio drama podcast about the hilarious world of bomb disposal. From the team behind the Webby Award nominated sci-fi audio drama Wolf 359, ride along with EOD technician Simon Teller on the busiest night of the year for him and his team - when business is, quite literally, booming. Learn more at http://timebombs.show & more about this and other creative experiments at http://fearofpublicshame.com

Hear what The New York Times calls "the future of musicals"... 36 Questions, a three-part podcast musical starring Jonathan Groff and Jessie Shelton.36 Questions is produced by Two-Up, the producers of Limetown and The Wilderness. Thank you for listening.

Bridget’s life is a series of dropped calls. With a gift for gab, an ex-husband in rehab, and down to her last dollar, Bridget’s life takes a desperate turn when she starts vishing over the phone for a shady identity theft ring in order to support her family. Motherhacker is written by Sandi Farkas and executive produced and directed by Amanda Lipitz. The series stars Carrie Coon, Pedro Pascal, Alan Cumming, Lucas Hedges, Tavi Gevinson, Rupert Friend, Alex Goldman and more.

What dark deeds unfold on the streets of Arkham? And which unwitting souls will succumb to the maddening call... OF CTHULHU?Cosmic horror and black comedy meld in this award-winning audio drama that explores Lovecraftian lore in queer and uncanny ways. Meet unlikely heroes from all walks of life who'll risk their sanity to keep the world spinning as they face down eldritch nightmares, unholy rituals, kindly creatures, and monstrous humans. Each season is a standalone tale where our cast lives the terror, uncovering the edge-of-your-seat mysteries, in this unholy fusion of live tabletop roleplaying and cinematic audio fiction.

Dr. Edison Tucker is having a very weird life. Not being able to die tends to color things that way. Lucille Kensington is the literary scene’s biggest enigma. That’s just the way she likes it. When the pair find themselves sharing a cabin in the strangest town in America— Jerusalem, OR— they’re prepared for a housemate situation from hell. What they’re not expecting is tidings of a stranger sort: Ed is the antichrist, Lucy her guardian angel, and if they can’t find a way to work together soon, the rapture is set to take first the town, then the world… but neither of them know that yet. Welcome to Jerusalem, OR, where what doesn’t kill you is just another mystery.

When a relic from his past is rediscovered, folklore professor Jeremy Bradshaw puts his life on hold to solve the mystery. Along the way, he’s helped by people who challenge everything he believes in, and ultimately tries to answer the question: can the past be rewritten? A supernatural thriller for your ears, starring Misha Collins, Melissa Ponzio, and Alan Tudyk. Created by Aaron Mahnke and written by Lauren Shippen.

A storytelling podcast, with first-hand amazing stories presented by Scott Johnson and Meredith Hackwith Edwards. Each storyteller tells their own personal true story, with all the details of what happened. Animal attacks, plane crashes, mass shootings, and more – you'll hear what happened directly from the person who experienced it, and the inspirational outcome of how they came out on the other side. 

A new podcast musical from the producer of The Bright Sessions and creators Jeff Luppino-Esposito, Brett Ryback, and Matt Sav. After a tragedy in the Whitetail National Forest, 18-year-old Peregrine Wells seeks out survivalist skills from an enigmatic old recluse. In this fictional documentary musical with an original folk-pop score, listeners will follow producer Brett Ryback as he explores themes of grief, adolescence, and our precarious relationship to the wilderness - all set against a sleepy northern Minnesota town reeling from a loss of innocence it will never get back. In Strange Woods is a production of Atypical Artists. It is created and executive produced by Jeff Luppino-Esposito, Brett Ryback, and Matt Sav.