We’re midway through 2019, and I’m satisfied that the new normal for fiction podcasts is an inundation of debuts every month. These will become easier and faster to find and discover with Apple Podcast’s recent announcement about adding a fiction category as a top-level option for creators. Attention is turning heavily towards fiction podcasting, from distributors, curators, and advertisers, but we must never lose focus on the independent podcasters that have helped raise this medium to the level we find it at today. These indie creators have sailed us all right into the heavens, so today we welcome another huge selection of fiction debuts from May, ones that will help us investigate all kinds of stars: real, iconic, imagined, and personal.

Kaitlin Statz, Travis Vengroff

From Fool & Scholar Productions (The White Vault, Liberty), VAST Horizon is a dark science fiction about being alone in space when you don’t expect it. Dr. Nolira Eck wakes up suddenly from a medical coma on a spaceship that’s mysteriously empty, and her only companion is an artificial intelligence whose access to parts of the ship is restricted. Creators Kaitlin Statz and Travis Vengroff hit disturbing and worrisome beats with ease, balancing these with the darkly absurd humor often found in deep space and with flashbacks to how Dr. Eck got here in the first place.

RadioPublic embed for VAST Horizon’s episode “Entry 01: Stirred”.

Claire Scherzinger

In the year 2172, Earth has been devastated by catastrophic climate change and humanity is dying. When a small team of scientists discover a new and differently-evolved strain of humanity on an exoplanet, they head into space to discover if these alien humanoids and their world contain the solution to humanity’s survival. Arca-45672 is a gorgeously designed and produced podcast that will sweep you away into space before you even realize what’s happening, and that grapples with such serious subjects as colonization, the destruction of the environment, and humanity’s capacity to do both great and terrible things.

RadioPublic embed for Arca-45672’s episode “Prologue- Last Days on Earth”.

Earth Break: A Few Suggestions For Survival, With Additional Hints and Tips About How to Make Yourself More Comfortable During the Alien Apocalypse

Morgan Ormond

There is an end-of-the-world trope of a pregnant woman who not there really to be anything other than pregnant and vulnerable. Earth Break is the end of the world told from the perspective of that woman, Lynn Gellert, only this time she’s on her own, armed only with courage and a recorder. Jenny Slate is astonishing as Lynn, bringing a strong emotional range to the role that is absolutely crucial when carrying the weight of the narrative.

RadioPublic embed for Earth Break’s episode “Finally Dying”

Elliot Rose

Julian Silver is recently widowed, grieving, and determined to keep his wife’s memory alive by re-launching her radio show, “Works of Love”. On each episode, Julian reads an essay about love — familial, romantic, platonic, of all kinds — and through these words, strives to reconnect with why love is important, even if it ends in grief. These are passionate and impactful essays, ones that will resonate with listeners from all kinds of places, situations, and experiences, read by a respectful, calm voice who wants to share the deepest parts of himself.

RadioPublic embed for Works of Love’s episode

Lee Schneider

When a popular podcaster lands a famous tech journalist on her show, he gives a cryptic, odd interview, deposits a bunch of tapes in her lap, and disappears off the planet. This first episode is a whirlwind — one that drops sharply from excited and awed old friend and colleague to confused and frightened companion uncovering a social media conspiracy.

RadioPublic embed for Privacy Pod’s episode “The Interview”.

Tanner Elrod

This uncomfortably realistic listen follows the secretive and dangerous tug of war between the recently-elected President, Louis Blunt, and four previous presidents, whose only goal is to save America from eating itself. The debates, speeches, and reportage portrayed here hit very close to home and feel familiar in their sleaziness, their shine, and their false promises.

Sean Heyboer

Constants is an eight-part anthology of strange and wonderful stories from across a collapsing omniverse. These monthly episodes, each with a new narrator, are real and unreal at one time. The first episode follows a photographer who gets a mysterious, high-rolling client. Voice actor David Magadan brings a bewildered and horrified tone to every moment. Magadan’s talent cannot be understated, especially noticeably in the adroit handling of dialogue from his character’s wife, for which he does not pitch an irritating falsetto.

RadioPublic embed for Constants’ episode “Terminal C”

Alex Isaac

When The Zetas starts, the narrator is investigating the secretive underbelly of an American sorority. But when a dead body is found in the house, he decides his angle needs to stay fresh and starts the hunt for the killer. The Narrator remains unnamed as he compiles suspects and handles an ever-growing list of complications in a fascinating setting.

Felix Trench, Zachary Fortais-Gomm

One of the best comedic debuts of the year so far, Quid Pro Euro is a satire of workplace information tapes from the 90s, this time informing employees of the European Union what their jobs might entail in the future. Creator Felix Trench is the epitome of a deadpan and subtly disdainful narrator, irresistibly faux cheery in his mannerisms as he regales listeners with absolute absurdity. The absurd is highlighted by sound designer Zachary Fortais-Gomm’s talent at nostalgic and whimsical foley that sounds like it’s pulled from everyone’s educational video cassette.

Molly Mabray

Molly of Denali is an eight-part children’s podcast that acts as a prequel to the PBS Kids show of the same name. Molly goes on an adventure with her best friend Tooey and her family to unravel the mystery of who stole her very special birthday cake. Forefronting the voices and stories of Alaskan Native peoples, Molly of Denali is a sweet, fun mystery for young ages to enjoy with family. And check out that seriously catchy theme song!

Sarah McIlwraith

If you’ve ever felt haunted by your Ph.D. work, this is the podcast for you. Sarah McIlwraith records the unfortunately haunted, disastrous paranormal phenomena study she was involved in, and the ghosts she has always been able to see. This quietly desolate narration will appeal to fans of podcasts like Ghost in the Burbs. Its minimal but highly effective use of foley encapsulates moments of tension or fear.

Elle Elsea

Harper is a Deputy about to be Sheriff in a new world rebuilt from the shambles of a world that buckled under global warming and the popular eco-religion of Gara. When Harper finds herself hip-deep in a murder case that quickly spirals out of control, she and Kane must contend with their own awkward relationship while keeping the peace. The narrator’s husky tone is perfect for the material and the environment, and Harper’s world is just unbelievable enough to feel out of reach and alien, but not impossible.

Shade Oyemakinwa

What better time to release a mermaid-focused anthology debuted than #mermay? Through poetry and story snippets, creator and narrator Shade Oyemakinwa weaves quietly magical universes. The first season tells the story of someone (via a subdued second-person perspective, the “you”) who, after buying a shell from a woman on the seashore, grows a tail, a need to be in water, and a feeling of power deep inside.

Kyle K., Alex Schantz, Bianca Zelda, Ethan Schaff

The Facades of Gods is a fascinating actual-play and audio drama hybrid podcast, an Accelerated Fate system game set in the seedy and illogical noir world of Elysium. The actual play episodes go at a quick clip, with everyone thoroughly enthused by their characters and the secrets they uncover under the rocks they kick. The scripted fiction episodes are fully soundscaped, fun bridges between actual play episodes, and bring the best of both worlds — scripted and improvised — to bear on a complicated, squirrelly story.

David Cumming, Clem Garritty, Natasha Hodgson, Ollie Jones, Zoe Roberts

Comedy troupe Kill the Beast bring their best sarcastic and dramatic selves to the tale of Vivien Stone, a horror star who dies rather explosively in front of a fascinated tour group in 1937. It seems that her current employer, Fourslice Film Studios, suffers from a mysterious curse, and the story is now smeared all over the news. A serial killer is on the loose, but the studio decides to continue the movie. Kill the Beast leans into the ridiculous without losing the track of the winding, anarchic plot.

RadioPublic embed for Who Exploded Vivien Stone?’s episode “Rosemary’s Toddler”

James Harvey Freetly, Tina Arfee, Nathan Kaplin, C.J. Tuor

This improvised occult noir follows a three-person detective team that includes Sassy, a criminal cat turned human; Vince, a detective who looks suspiciously similar to the golden-age movie actor on the posters on his wall; and Abe, Vince’s crotchety magical partner. Between them and their DM, James Harvey Freely, this is a universe truly jointly built (using the Freeform/Universal RP system), with players freely given the opportunity to decide what artifacts are named and do. Their vibrant chemistry immediately swept me into their world.

RadioPublic embed for Lakeshore & Limbo’s episode “Wolves at the Door — Part 1”

Alex Stabler

This four-part fiction follows the entangled destruction of five different worlds, and the fate of two women who end up right in the cross-fire. There’s a hidden city under the ocean, populated by inhabitants who are angry and yet no one knows that they are, and a slew of crimes gone unnoticed and unreported. It’s a wonderfully spooky and tense atmosphere, full of yearning and danger.

RadioPublic embed for The End of Their World’s episode “Shattered Glass”

Alex Genty-Waksberg

Lindsay is a darkly humorous look at fame and the dangers it brings, via the security guard Marzipan who is investigating sinister incidents on the set of The Parent Trap, a movie starring twins Lindsay and Sydney Lohan. It’s a noirish comedy, somewhat offbeat and oddball, where every next line is sure to surprise you.

RadioPublic embed for Lindsay’s episode “One Goddam Name”

Ami Rae, Amoretta Noel, Robert Spradlin, Sai Slettvold

D.R.E.A.M. is an experiment testing the human body’s ability to withstand prolonged exposure to virtual reality. The four participants are interviewed and tested extensively when they enter a six-month study and after each time they return from a trip into virtual reality. This is a nightmarish exploration of reality blurring and dream leakage, heightened by the shady corporation that refuses to let participants out of their contracts.