Game music only goes so far.
At some point, whether you’re playing Wildstar, Guild Wars, World of Warcraft, League of Legends, Hearthstone, or any game with a ton of game time and/or leveling… you’re gunna need something to listen to besides just the game music. Now, Netflix and Pandora are great, but let’s not forget about the massive world of excellent podcasts that exist out there too!
Here are nine of our favorite podcasts – what are yours? Tell us in the comments below.
Welcome to Night Vale
Possibly the funniest and creepiest podcast to ever exist. Follow the public radio news and headlines from the fictional desert town, Night Vale. Everything from strange PSA meetings, to mysterious hooded figures in the dog park, to the mayoral campaign trail of The Invisible Old Woman Who Lives In Your House. All hail the Glow Cloud and beware the librarians.
Suggested Episode: Start at the beginning and just soak it all in chronologically. For a good feel, check out the Night Vale Twitter account.
Links: iTunes | Website | Twitter
H.P. Lovecraft Literary Podcast
H. P. Lovecraft is more than just Cthulhu, way more. Chad Fifer and Chris Lackey take you through every single HPL story and collaboration and beyond, fully exploring everything this famous author has to offer. With solid editing and voice-acted readings, this is an awesome time sink and a great way to experience Lovecraft.
Suggested Episode: Start at the beginning, the show follows HPL’s work chronologically and things will make more sense. If you want a little taste, check out the early episodes about “The Temple” and “The Music of Erich Zann.”
Links: iTunes | Website | Twitter
Edumacation
Kevin Smith (Clerks, Dogma, Mallrats, etc) and his friend Andy McElfresh make you smart. Kinda. This show is hilarious and is equal parts educational information and crude dick jokes. Both hosts are flawlessly entertaining and if you like Kevin Smith, you shouldn’t miss it. Smith has a ton of other great podcasts all over his website.
Suggested Episode: Any will do, but I’d recommend jumping into the most recent episode and then, if you like it, start from the beginning.
Links: iTunes | Website | Twitter
Cox n’ Crendor in the Morning
Internet gaming personalities Jesse Cox and Crendor branch out from gaming content for a news-based half hour of comedy. Designed to parody typical morning-show shock-jockey radio shows, Cox n’ Crendor are self aware and poke-fun of their own format. The show is just re-starting with Patreon funding and hopefully will be putting out plenty of more episodes soon.
Suggested Episode: Most recent episode. There are plenty of gems and funny bits in every episode, but because it is news-based the most recent will be the most relevant.
Links: iTunes | Website | Twitter
The Moth
Imagine sitting at a bar with the most interesting people in the world telling the most interesting stories in the world. Then someone records it. That is basically what The Moth is – a story slam recorded. Every story is awesome and The Moth has attracted well known storytellers and writers to join slams (check out Neil Gaiman’s story if you can). There is something for everyone in each episode.
Suggested Episode: Literally every episode is golden, so jump in wherever. I started on Episode 1409 and was hooked immediately after the first story. The website is better for episodes than iTunes.
Links: iTunes | Website | Twitter
StarTalk with Neil Degrasse Tyson
If you like science and space and space science… you’re gunna love this. Headlined by Neil Degrasse Tyson, hosts discuss news, science topics, and answer questions about physics and space among other things. It’s pretty much exactly what you think it is and that’s a good thing.
Suggested Episode: Most recent episode. You can jump in wherever, but the attention to news makes current episodes more interesting.
Links: iTunes | Website | Twitter
Alton Browncast
FoodNetwork famous-person Alton Brown has his own food podcast. It’s pretty great. Alton Brown talks about food, interviews celebrities about food, talks about food news, tells food stories, tells you how to make food, and answers food questions.
Suggested Episode: Jump in either at the most recent or at any episode that looks interesting. There are plenty of guest hosts and interviewees that make each episode different.
Links: iTunes | Website | Twitter
Manic Mondays
A weekly comedy show by nerdcore song-writer Devo Spice, designed to make your Mondays suck a bit less… or whatever day you end up listening in. Songs are brought in from comic musicians the world over and are often inspired by news and current pop-culture references. If you grew up listening to Dr. Demento or Weird Al, this is the show for you.
Suggested Episode: Most recent episode because of the relevant news. Really though, it’s a comedy show and older episodes will always give you something to laugh about.
Links: iTunes | Website | Twitter
KEXP Seattle: Song of the Day
Song of the Day is less of a podcast and more of giant RSS feed playlist. Everyday is a new song. That’s it. No intro, no outro, no hosts, no commercials – just the one song per episode. This is a great way to discover new bands and listen to music that you likely have never heard of before.
Suggested Episode: Whichever the hell you want. Use the RSS feed as a giant playlist and play whatever songs sound interesting.
Links: iTunes | Website | Twitter
