#Podcast Review

[tokidokitokyo]

Podcast Review: Let's Talk in Japanese

Podcast Title: Let's Talk in Japanese!

Ease of Listening: ★★★★★

Length of Episodes: ★★★★★

Level of Engagement: ★★★★★

Episode Frequency: ★★★★★

Overall: ★★★★★

Today I will be reviewing the Let's Talk in Japanese! podcast by Tomo-sensei. This podcast is aimed at Japanese learners who want more chances to listen to spoken Japanese but using vocabulary and grammar that they can understand. The podcast is for levels N1 (the highest level) to N5 (the lowest level), but I would say that a majority of the content is focused on level N3 or N4.

Do I currently listen to this podcast?: Yes, I like this podcast a lot and listen to it frequently.

General Overview

Good For Levels: Beginner | Intermediate | Advanced

In this series, Tomo, a Japanese teacher for foreign students, discusses in Japanese only a variety of topics either selected by him or suggested by the audience. These can range from topics about daily life to JLPT related topics. He understandably discusses topics that he has a decent knowledge of, and admits when there are gaps. He is quite faithful to the level of each episode, which he indicates at the end of the episode title, so you can be sure that you will be able to understand the majority of the content or challenge yourself as the case may be.

Length of Episodes ★★★★★

The podcasts are usually around 10-15 minutes long. This is ideal for a quick listen when you are short on time or just want to supplement your studies, but may not be ideal if you are looking for something a bit longer. I usually listen to two or three podcasts in a row during my commute and feel like I've spent my time well. The short length can be useful if you are not interested in a particular topic, because you can make it to the end of the episode without losing interest and a new topic will come up with the next episode.

Level of Engagement ★★★★★

Although this is just one person (Tomo) talking throughout the podcast, he is engaging because he speaks as though he is talking to a small group. I find it engaging because I can, in the privacy of my room or car, reply to him when he poses questions, or make a response if I am surprised by what he says, etc. Even though it's not interactive per se, it can feel interactive because of the way he speaks in his podcast. I find myself engaged in most episodes, and the shorter length means I don't have to work as hard to stay engaged through the entire episode.

Episode Frequency ★★★★★

New podcasts come out about weekly, and sometimes more frequently than that. I have heard that he works very hard to put out the podcasts so frequently, and I think this intense schedule plus the large archive of material means you can listen almost indefinitely to this podcast.

Overall ★★★★★

This podcast is completely in Japanese and designed by a Japanese teacher for foreigners learning Japanese, and has material for everyone from beginners to advanced learners. The shorter episodes mean you can fit it into a busy schedule, and the JLPT labels mean you can pick and choose episodes based on your own level and be confident that you will get what you expect. I highly recommend this for those looking to improve their listening skills.

#日本語 #japanese language #japanese langblr #japanese studyblr #langblr #studyblr #japanese podcast #podcast review #tokidokitokyo

[c-schroed]

Podcasts I Adore - Re: Dracula or This Year, Our Friend Jonathan Has a Podcast!

"I had for dinner, or rather supper, a chicken done up some way with red pepper, which was very good but thirsty. (Memorandum: Get recipe for Mina.)"

I wanted to join "Dracula Daily" ever since I heard of it. To me, this is a stroke of genius; it's just the perfect approach to this book. I mean, not only is Bram Stoker's horror classic an epistolary novel with precise dates given for every journal entry or letter written by one of its protagonists, it also spans quite an ideal amount of time, i.e. roughly half a year. Long enogh to give it a feeling of something interesting and important slowly unraveling, short enough to not feel like too much of a commitment.

So yeah, I really wanted to join "Dracula Daily". Especially because I wanted to read the novel in English for years already (so far I've only read its German translation, because that's my native language). But, alas, I do not find the time so easily to add a book to my to do list, so I ended up not joining this lovely book club last year, fearing I'd miss out on most of the entries sooner or later.

Enter "Regarding Dracula". Right after seeing it for the very first time I knew this will be perfect for me. I already have a habit of listening to audio drama on my daily commute, and preferably in the form of fictional podcasts. So quite literally, @re-dracula had me at hello.

And gosh, they did not disappoint. Although I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed to find out that the format is more that of a classical audio drama, with voice actors speaking every line of their respective character. Originally, I was hoping for a more podcast-like approach, meaning that each actor speaks all of the text of a journal entry or letter, period. As if Jonathan would make a podcast instead of notes in his journal. I simply like it when audio fiction uses the possibilities of podcasts, and "Dracula" felt like something that could profit from this way of storytelling, too. So yes, I admit it: I was a bit disappointed. But not for long.

After hearing just a few sentences of Karim Kronfli as Dracula, I immediately understood the decision to breathe life into each character this way. I mean, I love Ben Galpin's work as Jonathan, but Dracula really, really profits from Kronfli's nonchalant but still breathtakingly powerful and confident take on this charakter.

And Mr. Kromfli is not the only one who makes a redefiningly marvellous job here. So far, all the voice actors go far out of their way to make me fall in love with each and every one of them: Ben Galpin's Jonathan is heartbreakingly relatable, Isabel Adomakoh Young's Mina is capable and charming beyond measure, and Beth Eyre's Lucy is just gorgeous. Yes. I'm in love.

In addition to all that talent of its cast, "Re: Dracula" also has a neat and absolutely on point score and sound design. And, just like the basic idea of "Dracula Daily", it really gives you a feeling of how time passes between the journal entries and letters. Haven't heard anything of Jonathen for a while? One does start to worry a bit. Lucy answering to Mina just two days after the Mina's letter? Wow, that was quick, I guess (not sure how quickly the postal service worked back then, though). Even if one has read "Dracula" again and again, I am sure this form of presentation can grant new insights!

So, if you, like me, are a more eager listener than reader, or if you happen to like close-to-perfection audio drama, then please give this a shot! I bet you, like me, will soon be finding yourself eagerly, yearningly awaiting the next bit of news from your good friend Jonathan, who hopefully soon returns from that terrible business trip of his. 9 out of 10 points.

#re: dracula #dracula daily #dracula daily deluxe #audio fiction #podcast #podcast review #audiobook #horror #classic #dracula #bram stoker #karim kronfli #isabel adomakoh young #beth eyre #i'm hooked #i'm so very darn hooked #schroed's thoughts

[rise-again-2001]

So I restarted The Magnus Archives a couple weeks ago and had the idea to do a live thought of my second go of it…. And then I forgot to do it.

I’m 58 episodes in now… better late than never tho

#live reaction #magnus archives #tma podcast #podcast review

[gortius-viii]

Flag podcasts reviews

How do you do, fellow flag nerds?

Over on my twitter I've been writing over the seasons a thread of reviews of the many vexillological podcasts to be found on Spotify at least, as that's where I listen to podcasts. And I think that i might as well port it over here so those lucky people without Twitter may read it and enjoy those podcasts too.

Here you'll find the original thread.

And you can listen to everything I mention in this hand-crafted Spotify playlist, enjoy!

As you probably figured out, reviewing a whole-ass podcast in less than 280 characters can be a bit tricky and limiting, but I would say that they are pretty decent nonetheless. I'll expand on any I am not sure about, and be sure to send me some you've found yourself, and I guess that I'll be amending this post if that's the case. Also, the reviews were originally in Spanish, so I'll try my best to translate them as faithfully as possible. Without further ado, let's begin.

Episodes 140, 446 and 447 of 99% Invisible

Very well produced and informative. They share very interesting and not very well known stories relating to flags. I just with there was more of them! The Roman Mars city flags TED talk is a good companion to this podcast.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

2. Vexed Flag Podcast

A entertaining and informative podcast in which two friends talk and discuss the history and meaning of the flag the episode is about. I like the flag selection and the fact that they have a complementary instagram. Well produced.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

3. The Vexillocast

Another podcast in which two friends talk about flags. This one has a few monologues that serve as a sort of introduction to vexillology. The discussions are interesting, but it's a bit too informal and amateur for my taste. Also they're very lefty which was very funny to me.

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

4. Vexillum

In contrast to the other ones reviewed here, this one only has one caster. It is very short and only covers the principles of vexillology and vexillography. Also not as formal as the other ones, and weird things happen to the music and voice sometimes.

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

5. Why the flag?

Another podcast in which flags are monologued about. This one is centred around telling the story of a different flag every episode. Very well produced and even tells things I didn't know about. The definition of a vexillological podcast.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

6. A Kiwi, 2 Brits, & A Yank - Talk Flags

The natural extension of the Instagram account of the creators. The episodes are a bit too long but entertaining until the end. I'd say it's a podcast for the vexillonaire (someone passionate about flags), but not the vexillologist. We'll have to see where it goes.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

7. Banderista

It tells very interesting things that even I didn't know, and it is the only podcast in Spanish, which makes it even better. The only thing I disliked was that I felt like it was all improvised, and the music constantly sounding in the background can be annoying.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

8. Flag Theory

The perfect example of "short & sweet". Episodes less than 20 minutes long, in which the flag is evaluated and it's meaning explained. In the last episodes the people interviewed are really interesting.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

9. Flagged For Content

I don't know how they do it, but the podcast just keeps getting better. Every guest is interesting and special in their own way, and the flag selection and following discussions are also great. Must listen.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

10. Flagged (English version)

Very similar to Flag Theory, it describes the flag, it's meaning, and the changes that it has undergone. There isn't enough content in my opinion. I wish there were more episodes, they're all pretty short, under 10 minutes always. You aren't loosing anything by listening to it.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

11. Passion Project Podcast

Nothing special. It is a short podcast composed of short episodes that talk over the basics of vexillology. Unfortunately it has several editing mistakes, such as the audio repeating and such.

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

12. Unfurled: The story of our flags

SURPRISINGLY good. Well produced, the music, the narrator, and the script are surprisingly good, it also talks about unusual things of vexillology. I just wish there were more episodes.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

13. pride flags / Fun with flags 1 / Fun with flags: Episode 1, Italy, Peru and Kenya / Flags / Fun with flags

Amateur. They're superficial with the meaning of the flags and except some cases it's nothing serious. It is clear that they were school projects. Don't recommend.

⭐️⭐️/5

14. Episode "Vexillology" of Timeless with Julie Hartman

Surprisingly good. Explores the basics of vexillology and it's based on and goes into detail of the contents of the book "Worth dying for" by Tim Marshall. Not too deep and well produced. BUT, I do want to warn you, this programme in general is financed by the Pragers, and the rest of the podcast is very clearly neoconservative and conspiratorial propaganda.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

15. Interview with Silvio Fernández in Pausa café podcast

Doesn't deliver on it's promises. It has nothing to do with vexillology but rather the symbols of two cities: the place where the interviewer and interviewee are from, and a Italian city were a congress was taking place. The audio quality is also dreadful. Not worth it. It is also in Spanish, if that's relevant for you.

⭐️⭐️/5

16. Episode "Vexillology with E. Tory Laitila" of the Ologies podcast

Fantastic. Entertaining from beginning to end, it covers frequent questions and facets of vexillology, while also some obscure ones. My only complain is that the host was just constantly surprised and that was a bit annoying. Recommend a lot.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

17. Episodes 69 (nice), 70 and 71 from the Hágase el mae podcast

It's interesting seeing two people go into the world of vexillology almost from 0. It's not very deep, it boils down to them reviewing flags, but if you have the time, it's fine. Also, it's in Spanish, AND for Spanish speakers this may be a bit hard to listen too (it certainly was for me) because of the costarican accent they've got.

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

18. "Vexilología: La ciencia de las banderas", in the Ciencia del fin del mundo podcast

Imagine you put a flag nerd in front of a micro, well, the result is this podcast. And also the flag nerd in question is the boss of the two hosts. Very funny.

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

And that was my review of every vexillological podcast I have heard yet. Thank you for sticking around if you have and I hope you listen to some the ones that caught you eye. Until next time!

#Spotify #vexillology #podcast #podcasts #flag #flags #flag podcasts #review #podcast review

[picklepie888]

My Personal Ranking of Every Dracula Adaptation I've Watched/Listened To Since Dracula Daily

(Warning: spoilers under the cut)

So since I've started reading Dracula for the first time via Dracula Daily, I have over the past few months watched three movies and two podcast/audio plays of Dracula. The three films I've watched are the 1931 film starring Bela Logosi, the 1958 film starring Christopher Lee, and the 1979 film. The audio versions were the Mercury Theatre radio play starring Orson Welles, and the podcast Murray Mysteries by Knöve's Storytelling. These five Dracula adaptations had varying degrees of quality, and now having completely finished reading the original story I can now make a definite ranking of them based on book accuracy. Without further ado, let's sink our teeth into the content.

5. Dracula (1979)

Differences from the book

Jonathan's saga at Drac's castle is completely skipped over and the film begins with the Demeter crashing

Lucy and Mina's names are swapped in this film. So the girl who Dracula drains to death is named Mina and Lucy is Jonathan's fiancee. I looked it up later and apparently the director just thought that 'Lucy' was a better name for a leading lady. Really stupid reason if you ask me, but whatever.

This is a very heavy Dracmina adaptation (or Draclucy in this case? IDK the girl he falls for is definetly meant to be Mina but with Lucy's name)

Both Quincey and Arthur are absent in this version

Renfield is sane at the beginning of the film and is shown interacting with the other characters before he descends into madness and ends up at Seward's asylum later

Dracula is a prominent character throughout and the characters interact with him regularly. Obviously Lucy (actually Mina) interacts with him the most (ugh)

Van Helsing and Seward are Mina and Lucy's fathers. And Seward is about the same age as Van Helsing, which I've noticed is pretty common in these adaptations

We never actually see Transylvania in this film

Lucy (Mina) becomes a full vampire at the film's climax

Van Helsing dies in the final confrontation, and Jonathan kills Drac via exposure to sunlight.

What I Liked

Starting with the things I liked about this movie, because there's not many. I like that Van Helsing and Jack Seward are friends in this version. The other two films I've seen didn't have the bond between these two characters which was a core part of the original story. I liked that they shared a good portion of their scenes together and they do act like two men who have known each other for a long time. I'll give this movie credit for getting this one thing right.

The cinematography is exquisite. The muted colors, the way the inside of Dracula's residence at Carfax is framed on camera, the eerie gothic aesthetic throughout the film is masterfully done. But pretty visuals don't make up for poor characterization.

Mr. Swales is in this version. He's only in two scenes, but I was still pleasently surprised to see him in an adaptation.

They did the Lizard Fashion™ scene.

What I Disliked

They absolutely massacred Mina's character. She was so unbearably hateable throughout the film. The narrative made it clear that she didn't give a crap about Jonathan, and she practically threw herself on Dracula the minute she saw him. There was also the scene where she tells all the men (yes including Jonathan) that she hated them for coming between her and Dracula. Can you imagine book!Mina ever saying such a thing to her beloved husband who was willing to damn himself for her?!?! And DO NOT get me started on the Baptism of Blood scene! The part of the story that's supposed to be a horrifying metaphor for rape is instead played out as an act of passion between two lovers. There's also no ambiguity here, Dracula and Mina just straight up have sex. And Mina loved every minute of it. Imagine someone made a film about a rape victim and framed their traumatic experience as a passionate love scene! I almost went into a fit of rage at this scene, it disgusted me to my core!

Jonathan is really bland in this film. The writers clearly decided to set his characterization aside so they could focus more on the spooky vampire vibes and the affair his fiancee has with the vampire. They didn't make him a bad guy, but I didn't feel anything but pity for him in this film. The only scene where he shows any other emotion aside from 'concerned husband' was when he got understandably jealous when Mina was flirting with Dracula and he called her out on it. Other than that, he doesn't show anywhere near as much passion for Mina as he does in the book.

There's a scene where Drac lizard crawls into Lucy's window, and when she sees him, she smiles and shows her neck to him. I didn't like this, because it implied she was giving consent for him to drink her, which again frames the victim on having some blame on what happens to her.

Dracula still brutally kills Renfield like in the book, but I didn't really understand why? I might of missed something when watching, but Renfield doesn't do anything to try to protect Mina in this version. Drac just teleports into the asylum, snaps Renfield like a twig, refused to eleborate, then kidnaps Mina.

Did not like this movie. Terrible adaptation and so many characters, especially the women, got screwed over in favor of framing a stupid 'forbidden love' narrative.

Rating: 0/5

4. Dracula (1931)

Differences from the book

Still no Arthur or Quincey

Lucy is in the film, but she only has maybe two minutes of screen time, and her arc never got a conclusion, she just stays a vampire forever I guess. They could've left her out of the film completely and it wouldn't change anything.

Seward is yet again an old man in this film, and he's Mina's father. He also doesn't have much of a relationship with Van Helsing, they act more like business partners than friends.

Renfield takes Jonathan's place in the beginning of the film as the solicitor who goes to Dracula's castle. The narrative frames his encounter as the reason he went insane.

Mina has nothing to do in this movie but be a passive damsel in distress. About 70% of her dialogue is her screaming her husband's name.

Jonathan is simply called 'John' in this version. Seward is never adressed by his first name, so there's no confusion.

Like in the 1979 movie, the characters regularly interact with Dracula throughout the film, and frame Van Helsing as the one guy who knows he's a vampire and has to prove it to everyone else.

Renfield also has way more scenes in this film than he did in the book.

The final confrontation takes place at Carfax, Drac kidnaps Mina, and he's killed by Van Helsing and Jonathan.

This version is more based off the play from the 20's rather than the actual novel. And you can kinda tell by the way the story is paced, and how the characters come into the sets.

What I Liked

Bela Logosi as Dracula and Dwight Frye as Renfield are both by far the most entertaining aspects of this film. Even though I think they both got more screen time than they should, I have to say they both pulled off their characters spectacularly. Especually Frye as Renfield; the way he was able to portray a mild-mannered solicitor and then a madman is incredible.

There's no musical score through out the film, which really adds to the creepy atmosphere. Especially for the scenes at the begining at Dracula's castle where there isn't much dialogue.

The sets are really cool! Dracula's castle in Transylvania looks enormous and all kinds of creepy, just as it was described in the novel.

There's no Dracmina in this version, and Jonathan and Mina actually care about each other!

What I Disliked

The pacing was really wonky. As I mentioned before, Lucy's whole story arc was just glossed over, she was dead almost as soon as she was introduced. And then they brought up that a woman that looks like her is going around kidnapping children, and then that issue's just...never brought up again for the rest of the film. So is she still a vampire? Did she die after Drac was killed? And her death had very little impact on the main characters, even Mina who is supposed to be her friend. The whole ordeal with Renfield at the castle and the Demeter was also over with within the first five minutes of the movie. I get that they could only fit so much of the story in an hour and a half film, but come on!

All of Mina's intelligence and agency she had in the novel is completely thrown out the window, and she's replaced by a sexist archetype that was shown in every horror movie in the thirties. She spends the majority of the movie screaming and crying and being under Drac's control. This version of Mina is still better than the 1979 on though. At least this one loves Jonathan.

Jonathan is still pretty bland. His whole personality is just 'concerned husband', and that's about the extent of it. We don't get to see his arc from a gentle Englishman to vengeful gremlin on the name of his wife like the og story. All of his feminine aspects is taken away too, and he basically just acts like the generic male hero with no moments of self doubt. I do appreciate that they kept the dedication to his wife though.

Van Helsing and Seward don't act like friends. In fact most of their interactions involve Van Helsing proposing an idea that vampires could exist and then Seward tells him he's full of crap. This goes back and forth until Mina starts to turn.

Several of the plot points happen offscreen and then is brought up later through dialogue by the characters. Namely Dracula's assualt on Mina.

Renfield died like a bitch in this version. He was crying and begging Dracula to spare his life, unlike in the novel, when he grabbed Dracula in his mist form and wrecked him in order to protect Mina. He still helps the heroes in this version, but it doesn't feel as genuine when he chickens out the minute Dracula threatens him.

Overall, not a great adaptation, but a decent movie on its own. It would have worked better if it had been a series of films, so that way they could have all the story arcs with more proper pacing. They still did Lucy and Mina dirty, and there's no justice for Arthur and Quincey.

Rating: 2/5

3. Dracula (AKA Horror of Dracula) (1958)

Differences from the book

Still no Quincey! Seriously, what does Hollywood have against the cowboy?? No Renfield either.

Jonathan dies at the beginning at Dracula's castle.

There's only one vampire bride, and Jonathan kills her at the start.

Arthur and Lucy are siblings in this version.

Mina and Lucy have also swapped fiancee's, but unlike in the 1979 version, they still have the same roles they had in the book. So Mina is married to Arthur, but Lucy still gets drained/turned into a vampire.

Both Jonathan and Seward are minor characters in this movie. Jonathan dies at the castle at the beginning, and Seward only appears in the scenes where Lucy is ill. For the most part, Arthur fills in the roles of all four men who aren't Van Helsing. So if you thought Arthur didn't have enough to do in the og story, he does literally everything in this version. Except one thing, which I'll get to in a moment.

Two new characters were made for this movie. Arthur and Mina's maid, who basically takes the role of Mrs. Westenra from the book, and the maid's daughter who becomes a victim of vampire Lucy.

Van Helsing is the one to kill vampire Lucy rather than Arthur.

Arthur kills Dracula in a physical showdown.

What I Liked

This was the first movie adaptation I saw with Arthur in it, and I liked that he has more of a role here, even more so than he had in the book. I just wish we didn't have to sacrifice the other male characters sans Van Helsing for it.

The scene where Bloofer Lady Lucy lures the maid's daughter away to the graveyard was legitametly disturbing. The way she talked to the girl reminded me of how adult predators tend to talk to children to get them to follow them. Really scary stuff.

Dracula himself shows up sparingly in this movie! Finally a film adaptation that understood that a part of the horror of Dracula is that he only shows himself when he wants to.

The Baptism of Blood scene is actually portrayed as a traumatic moment for Mina. She's terrified and clearly doesn't want what the Count does to her.

Christopher Lee made a pretty awesome Dracula, with the few scenes he's in. He nailed the mystery and creep vibes the Count had in the og story.

What I Disliked

This movie had Van Helsing stake vampire!Lucy while Arthur stood there and covered his eyes. I didn't like the direction they took with this scene, because Arthur killing Lucy was a pivotal part of his character arc in the book. At the very least, movie!Arthur makes up for it a bit when he kills Dracula in the ending.

I think making Arthur and Lucy siblings was a weird choice. Especially since they kept the scene from the book where vampire!Lucy tries to seduce Arthur with a kiss before Van Helsing stops them!! So there's some icky incenst undertones there because of that. I really don't get why so many Dracula films insist on making the characters related when none of them were in the book.

The main cast felt pretty empty without Jonathan, Jack, and Quincey. Again, since Arthur fills up all the other men's roles it felt like the cast was lacking, with the focus mostly being on just the two men (Art and Van Helsing).

Mina didn't have much to do in this film, although I did appreciate her devotion to both Arthur and Lucy. It was clear that she cares about them both. And there's no Dracmina thank God! Aside from that, she just kinda played the role of 'emotional support.'

There's a scene where after Van Helsing places the garlic flowers all over Lucy's room, she throws a fit and smashes one of the vases. She then has Arthur's maid get rid of all the flowers and open her windows, the very things Van Helsing instructed not to do. I get that this was probably because Drac hypnotized her, but again the narrative is kinda blaming Lucy for what happens to her. Plus the maid was kinda an idiot to listen to her and not the doctor who instructed her to keep the flowers there.

They made the final confrontation with Drac a big showdown, unlike how it was in the book. On the one hand, its much more dramatic, but Arthur was the only one who was really involved, as in the book where all the main characters had to defeat the Count via teamwork.

This was one of the better Dracula films I've seen so far. This one was more focused on the human characters (even though they got rid of half the cast), and they allowed Drac to be a mysterious monster rather than a typical villain. Again, I really liked Christopher Lee's take on the Count. I just wish they had at least kept Jonathan for the rest of the film.

Rating: 3/5

2. Mercury Theatre's Dracula (1938)

Differences from the book

No Quincey (again!)

Arthur and Jack are combined into one character (literally named Arthur Seward).

It's implied that Seward is the one who put all the journal entries together rather than Mina.

Mina and Lucy don't interact in this version, and Mina isn't introduced until after Lucy's death.

No Renfield or vampire brides.

There is minimal Dracmina, but it's all on Drac's side, and Mina doesn't reciprocate at all (thank God!)

Mina kills Dracula in the end!

What I Liked

Orson Welles might just be my favorite Dracula so far! He has such an incredible voice that is both mesmerizing and spinechilling. His take on Dracula will keep you awake for several nights.

Despite being the shortest adaptation I've seen so far (it's under an hour long), they somehow managed to get all the important plot points of the story, and it doesn't feel rushed or poorly paced.

The main focus is on the human characters, and the found family aspects from the original story are still there! Seward is still hopelessly devoted to his old professor, and Jonathan and Mina are in love and bound to each other.

There was no victim blaming for the female characters!

Mina got to kill the Count! After all these terrible film versions where she's been reduced to a screaming damsel or a promiscuous bitch, Mina finally got the justice she deserves!! I'm so glad Welles and his team understood that Mina's role in defeating the Count was just as important as the men's! I just wish later adaptations knew this!

What I Disliked

Mina and Lucy's friendship was left out of the narrative. I know this was probably to cut time to fit the hour-long timeslot, but their friendship was so important to the story.

It felt too short?! Again, I know they only had an hour to broadcast the story, but I felt like it could've gone on another thirty minutes at least. It was really good though, so that hour went by too fast for me.

As good as this version was, it still really could've used some vampire-hunting cowboy action.

This radio play came out in 1938, and somehow it understood the female characters better than most modern Dracula adaptations. The voice acting is great, the sound design is great, and Orson Welles nailed it as Dracula!

Rating: 4/5

1. Knöve's Storytelling's Murray Mysteries (2021)

Differences from the book

The characters have canon queer identities.

Jonathan is ace.

Mina is bi.

Lucy is pan.

Seward is a lesbian.

Art is nonbinary.

Van Helsing is implied to be aroace.

Seward and Van Helsing have both been genderswapped, and their first names have been changed to Jane and Abigail respectfully.

Arthur strictly goes by 'Art' and uses they/them pronouns.

Renfield is only refered by the initial 'R.'

The story takes place in the modern day, and the characters use modern technology and slang. Most of the characters use audio recordings rather than written diary entries.

Drac vapes and owns a cat.

The story starts with Mina and Lucy at Whitby, and we the audience don't get to know about Jonathan's encounter in Transylvania until Mina does, when she listens to Jonathan's audio diary.

Holmward becomes canon by the end.

Jonathan and Mina's roles are swapped in the final act, so Jonathan is the one Drac violates and is slowly turning into a vampire, and Mina is the one who goes feral for her hubby.

Jonathan and Mina have a dog in the epilogue rather than a son.

Quincey gets to live!!!

What I Liked

This is the most faithful adaptation I've seen by far! All the important story beats are there, as are the character dynamics! This is the first adaptation I've seen that has all the main cast, and they work wonderfully together!

This one has Quincey!!! And he has the best lines in the whole show! Seriously, they took his himboness from the book and dialed it up to 11! It's magnificent! And they included the iconic bat shooting scene!

The idea to have Dracula as a podcast spread out through multiple episodes was a brilliant idea! They were able to pace the story the way it should, we get to spend time with every character and really get to know each of them, and the whole 'found footage' aspect this podcast has was a stroke of genius!

All the voice actors have amazing chemistry together. If you watch any of the BTS videos, you'll see that almost all of them are friends IRL, which adds to their performance here. I especially love Mina and Lucy's interactions, they really do feel like they've been best friends forever.

The team makes the decision to leave Jonathan out of the vampire hunt due to his trauma, unlike the og story where they left out Mina because she was a woman. This makes more sense considering the changed time period, and it's less misogyny BS we have to deal with. It also gave us unhinged vengeful Mina, which I greatly appreciate.

The scene where Jonathan tries to get Mina to promise she'll kill him if he turns is so heartwrenching! I swear, the VAs got me screaming crying and throwing up at how regretful, angry, desperate, and terrified they both sounded at the same time! God all the emotions were on point!

Dracula himself only appears for about three episodes in this series, which was all we really needed of him. Almost all the focus was on the human characters, which was as it should be.

What I Disliked

Dracula and Van Helsing don't have accents. I know this is supposed to be a more serious adaptation, and the VAs attempting to do accents that aren't natural to them may come off as unintentionally goofy, but still it didn't feel quite as authentic to the characters. Van Helsing was already pretty goofy enough as a character, it wouldn't have felt out of place if they had kept her Dutchness. Dracula also sounds like Just Some Guy, which is actually kinda hilarious after all these adaptations that try so hard to be over the top villains with foreign accents.

There are some areas in the story where I thought they were a little *too* faithful to the book. Namely the relationship between Seward and Renfield. Granted, it's not quite as bad as it was in the book, but it's still not great either.

This was definetly the best Dracula adaptation, and I don't know how anything else could top it! Maybe if we get a fully fledged TV series some day that's faithful to the book, but for now this podcast is just the best! Great writing! Great voice acting! The whole series is on YouTube, please go listen to it!

Rating: 5/5

#dracula daily #dracula #dracula adaptations #murray mysteries #mercury theatre's dracula #dracula 1979 #dracula 1931 #bela logosi #christopher lee #orson welles #horror of dracula #dracula 1958 #movie review #podcast review #long post #jonathan harker #mina harker #lucy westenra #abraham van helsing #jack seward #arthur holmwood #quincey morris

[twigsandhearts]

Audio Drama Sunday

Subtitle: Cry goes slightly off-topic

For a while, I didn't get much of a chance to do anything but edit and write so listening to other shows was off the cards. Recently I've been trying to get back into it and it's given me the chance to get back in touch with some people and see what they've been up to creative-wise. So, here's my list of recent shows:

DO YOU COPY?

I haven't seen many people talk about this show outside of the creators but with season one out, it's an easy binge. It follows the audio logs of several different groups of people who stayed behind after a National Park's closure. The cast is small and easy to follow and the voices are distinguishable. It's set in a more supernatural America with a mystery void that seems to distort reality and contain cryptid-like creatures. Though some themes are familiar, the story feels original and I've enjoyed listening.

UNIVERSE 9/5

It's your alternate universe people switch out tropes, made queer sci-fi. The posting schedule feels a little random and the discord server seems to have already created its own community around art and animation but it's hard to tell where it's going quite yet with only 2 episodes out. It's a change of pace to all the horror shows I'm used to with being very much not horror and quite light hearted but I am enjoying it all the same.

YET ANOTHER DATING APP

It talks of a new dating app that more specific than ever before. It gives casual banter with a sci-fi twist in a similar vibe to LIFE WITH LEO(H) which I enjoyed. Yet again with only 2 episodes out it's hard to get the whole picture. It's a small cast with good chemistry and the sound design has been nice so far. I'm interested to see where it leads.

#audio drama #audio drama sunday #audio fiction sunday #podcast #queer horror #indie podcast #lgbtq #lgbt fiction #audio fiction #indie #fiction podcast #podcast recommendation #podcast episode #podcast recommendations #podcast review #podcasting #do you copy #do you copy pod #do you copy podcast #do you copy? #universe 9/5 #universe 9 to 5 #yata podcast #yet another dating app #delaney sutton #spoken realms

[tarotkillerpodcast]

At last, the first audio file for Tarot Killer! Enjoy this interview with Detective Diego Muerte with your host, John Brixley on the show, 'Tonight at Santa Muerte'! I'd love to hear what people think of it~

#podcast #murder mystery #tarot killer #please support #radio drama #audio drama #podcast recommendations #podcast review #Spotify

[judgybitch]

Podcast: Ghost Wax

Episode Count: 49 (45 numbered episodes, 1 episode that's not numbered, 2 episodes that seem to be part of a patreon series, and 2 Q&A's, I have not subscribed to the patreon)

Last update: Season 1 finished on Halloween and the the last Q&A followed soon after. The most recent update to the podcast in general was on December 6th to notify listeners of a kickstarter for a kickstarter from the creator that is unrelated to the podcast.

Brief synopsis taken directly from apple podcasts is: Ghost Wax is a horror fiction podcast following the work of the last "reclaimer", investigating a series of unnatural killings by raising the dead and committing their final statements to wax cylinder. The synopsis from their official squarespace website though is: Ghost Wax is a Fantasy Horror Podcast: Owen Voncid is the last Reclaimer. The last person able to wake the dead and hear their tales. To combat the darkness of the realms beyond, even the black art of necromancy is a line worth crossing.

I'm personally not sure why the synopsis is different across platforms and am unsure if there are any further changes on other locations but this does kind of annoy me. Not enough to change my rating, but enough to make me side eye the creators a bit.

Star Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

TL;DR: Even with the length of the show, I'd love to recommend it to people, but I can't without caveats. And most of those caveats have nothing to do with the script writing, sound design, the voice acting, or even the character design. My worries are for its worldbuilding, which is already at a level where I'm worried about them being able to maintain it as time goes on, and I am deeply concerned that this show isn't exactly accessible. Most don't have trigger warnings which can be okay since it's a horror show so approach with caution, but there's also a severe lack of transcripts available on their website. Less than half have them in fact. So there's a group of people I would recommend this to, but many where I can't.

Full review after read more.

Ghost Wax was another horror podcast that I went into knowing literally nothing about it. The cover art intrigued me, as did the first episode I was recommended by another podcast. And instantly I was intrigued. The idea of creating something that gives the dead a way to tell their last moments isn't new, it's something people have been dreaming up in fiction and searching for in real life for an extremely long time. Some versions of this fictionalized idea can be grotesque, dragging a long suffering soul from a pit of despair just to wring out their last moments for something unseemly, or they can go the Ghost Wax route.

Voncid, despite being a curmudgeonly creature (and I do mean creature in a more literal sense since while I don't fully understand what he is, he's not 'human'), is compassionate to the dead. He cares extremely deeply about the dead's comfort and how they feel. He wants answers about how they died, but he also wants them to know they can tell their story at their own pace. Combine that with a warm old man voice and you've got a recipe for moments that can be achingly beautiful amidst the horrors around them.

And so despite having no skin in the game going in, I ended up feeling extremely excited about the show just within a few episodes. I wanted to know more about Voncid, Luca, Pip, Charlie, and Jinx the cat. I cared about how they were doing and I looked forward to each new story from the deceased. That's not to say every episode was a banger. V.ideo H.orror S.tory has kind of a goofy ending for my taste. Not enough to make it bad, but enough to make it nowhere near my favorite episode. Hilariously enough though, according to the Q&A part 2, an episode a lot of people hated was The Final Countdown. And honestly, I know this is gonna sound ridiculous, but I think the campiness of the episode actually works with the premise of a traveling New Year's party that consumes its guests to be in an eternal party.

The reason I believe the episodes mostly work is a credit to the writers, the soundscaping, and the performers. The writing usually had a good flow to it and when there needed to be strong characterization, there would be. Parts of their personality and aspects of who they are, including their queerness, feel seemlessly woven in instead of an afterthought or a case of tokenism. This is both because of the main writer and the performers (who I believe are either predominantly or entirely queer) treating their characters like avatars that they could fiddle with and make into whole people. Even Jinx the cat feels like it has a tangible personality within the story. We get enough of the characters, actually, that most are going to pick up on Charlie's duplicitous nature at some point before the reveal when he finally turns on the others.

This isn't a failing of the show though. I love the dramatic irony and I love that people had different moments where they realized he was the traitor. My moment was how he treated the more gruesome aspects of the Ardent, as if they were toys he could play with instead of aspects to be treated seriously. Others just thought he was too damn chipper, which is also valid. He was extremely chipper.

The other characters not picking up on it though, despite being shown to the audience in a myriad of ways, doesn't ring false. After all, there's been dozens of murders and their lives have been overturned and they just have their own shit going on. So it's understandable when Voncid and Pip do not pick up on anything beyond 'Charlie's a little weird, oh well, got shit to do today', because really, that's kind of like how most of us are in situations like that. Hindsight and being on the outside looking in are two powerful tools in noticing duplicity.

The soundscape especially adds to all of this to create moments that range from intensely creepy to hilarious to truly fucking heartbreaking. Voncid unleashing untold horror because he doesn't want to let go of his lover's soul, and that lover reminding him that this isn't the way he's supposed to be, did actually make me sob at my desk. I could feel the ache of hundreds of years, that desperation to keep that last bit of someone so precious. I could hear the betrayal in Pip's voice after Charlie takes her eyes. I could feel the cold dread in the soundscaping of In the Snow. These moments all stuck with me and I truly adored them.

That being said, I must be honest and say there was exactly 1 moment in the show that has stuck to me as a 'you should have probably redone that', and that's unfortunately in the season finale part 2. In that episode, Charlie has turned on everyone and caused absolute mayhem and destruction in the Ardent. And because of this, we get a lot of named and unnamed characters dying in the episode. Like a lot. A lot. And so we get a lot of screams in the background. Some of those screams are funny. Like as in they come across less 'horrifying death wail' and more 'wilhelm scream'. Also, while I like the episode The Final Countdown and am fine with the voice actress doing an annoying drunk girl voice since she is an annoying drunk girl, it's very obviously not a performance everyone's going to adore.

Having that few negative moments in a 46 episode season with dozens of voiced characters involved though is, in itself, an achievement. I know shows with a small percentage of that and they've failed way more. There were times though, especially when I had to take breaks in listening due to personal issues, that it became hard to differentiate between the the extended cast and to remember who everyone was. It wasn't egregious enough for me to deduct a ton from my rating, but it is something to keep an eye on. An easy way they could have helped this out is transcripts.

There was no commentary on it in either Q&A, so I have no way of knowing but the missing transcripts are something they intend to fix as time goes on or if that's dead in the water, but currently less than half of the episodes have transcripts on their squarespace website. That's a problem for me, both in terms of consistency but also accessibility. I know plenty of people who require transcripts. I myself have trouble with audio sometimes and have to double check what I heard against a written version, which is why subtitles are always on in my household. So right off the back, not doing this means I can't recommend this show to some people I know. There not being trigger warnings consistently on episodes is also an issue, but not nearly as bad as the transcripts is for me. Especially because I think it will hinder them in the future with how big the story is.

This world is huge. The creators themselves have stated both out of character and through Voncid that everything is real in this world. Everything. And while that's fun and it's okay that not everything gets answered in season one since that's typically how season 1 of any show works, I am truly worried about the future. While these writers are good, they are running a real risk of making it both hard to write and hard to follow with how much is in there. Transcripts of every episode would at least help the audience refer back to things a bit easier as well as follow along with the number of characters involved. At the end of the day though, the writers just have to pinky promise me they won't pull a George R R Martin and fall off the face of the earth with their main project because tying together 32893472 loose threads is actually a bitch and a half to do.

I'm giving this show 4 stars out of 5 stars as it currently is. I'm extremely worried about the future of this podcast, but am also excited to see where it goes. Hopefully they get better about making it a little easier to tell extended cast apart, do better about death screams, and are better about accessibility in general. And I really struggled with if those reasons should rank this a 3.5, but at the end of the day, I really loved the characters, the main performances, and the hidden world yet to come. I looked forward to every single episode. And I'm terrified of Dottie Jean Barlowe and her weird taxidermy henchmen. If I don't review season 2, it's because it either never came out or because she thought I was a judgy bitch and killed me for my skin. Both seem like really sad options.

#podcast #podcast review #ghost wax #4 stars #ghostwax podcast

[disasterdrow]

people who like podcasts where are you at - I need help!

does anyone have good recommendations for a good science fiction podcast? I'm looking for something along the lines of Juno Steel Penumbra.

I really like - Magnus Archives, Night Vale, space/sci-fi/far future, space opera/space travel, cyberpunk. I like horror/action/adventure more than romance, and I'm really big on world building.

Tried and can't get into at the moment - modern or historical fantasy, cryptid/old gods/faerie etc (I'm on a real sci-fi kick atm and my brain will not be derailed.)

#podcasts #podcast lovers #podcast #recommendations #podcast recommendations #podcast review #trouble talks

[yumyumpod]

We release our conversations about The Expanse on Patreon first and so if you're wanting to hear episodes ahead of time you should come on over and support the podcast.

patreon.com/yumyumpod

#Science Fiction #Sci-Fi #Sci Fi #Sci Fi TV #Sci-Fi TV #TV #TV Podcast #Podcast #Podcast Review #Commentary #Review #TV Review #Discussion #Comedy #Television Review #Yum Yum Pod #The Expanse #The Expanse Podcast #Expanse #Expanse Podcast #First Time Watch #The Expanse Review #James S. A. Corey #Mark Fergus #Hawk Ostby #Daniel Abraham #Ty Franck #Patreon

[normalaboutitpod]

Lit By Moonlight Podcast-> Normal About It Podcast

new name. same girls who are insane about shows and things. see y'all in october for ofmd :)

#podcast #normal about it pod #podcast review #ofmd #it just makes more sense teehee

[tokidokitokyo]

Podcast Review: ことのは

Podcast Title: 日本語の会話のpodcast −ことのは−

(にほんごのかいわのpodcast −ことのは−)

Available On: Spotify, YouTube

Ease of Listening: ★★★★★

Length of Episodes: ★★★★★

Level of Engagement: ★★★★★

Episode Frequency: ★★★★★

Overall: ★★★★★

Today I will be reviewing the Japanese conversation podcast ことのは (Kotonoha) by Yamamo-sensei and Kibi-sensei. They have episodes for all levels, separated by JLPT level N5-N1 and labeled so you can determine which episodes best suit your level or challenge yourself with a higher level.

Do I currently listen to this podcast?: Yes, I like this podcast a lot and listen to it frequently.

General Overview

Good For Levels: Beginner | Intermediate | Advanced

In this series, Yamamo and Kibi, two Japanese language teachers based in Japan, speak on a variety of topics in a conversation style of podcast. The conversation-style format is good for training your ear to listen to questions and responses, and every day banter between two speakers. They talk about Japanese culture and their own personal experiences which gives listeners an insight to the particulars of daily life in Japan.

Length of Episodes ★★★★★

The podcasts are usually around 20-30 minutes long. This is ideal for a commute or when you have some down time. They cover 2-3 subtopics within each topic they pick, so the conversations are very interesting and catch my attention and they don't seem too short or too long. They plan out each conversation topic carefully and keep it interesting and informative.

Level of Engagement ★★★★★

The conversation format is very engaging because they cover 2-3 subtopics within the main topic and structure the conversation to focus on each point of the topic. They keep the listener engaged with carefully planned-out topics and conversations, and there is obviously a lot of work that goes into their podcast. They match the vocabulary and pace of speaking with the level they are targeting, but even in the higher level podcasts I believe beginners would be able to catch the general flow of the conversation and challenge themselves to understand the content.

Episode Frequency ★★★★★

New podcasts come out once a week, and with the planning that goes into each episode it's a very good pace. There is also a lot of episodes already produced so you can go through them fairly quickly without running out of material.

Overall ★★★★★

This podcast is designed by two Japanese language teachers to convey information about Japanese culture completely in Japanese. The episodes are labeled by JLPT difficulty and I find the label system to be very accurate. It is a good podcast with which to practice your listening skills for every day conversation and to learn a bit more about Japanese culture.

#日本語 #japanese language #japanese langblr #japanese studyblr #langblr #studyblr #japanese podcast #podcast review #tokidokitokyo

[c-schroed]

Podcasts I Adore - Within the Wires, Season Four: The Cradle

Sigrid, I don't tell you this enough. I love you.

You're my daughter. Of course I love you with all my heart and I am proud of you, Sigrid.

You have a lot of responsibility, a lot of stress, managing the daily needs of The Cradle as your mother travels the world, learning everything she can about how to better our little commune. How to restore the innate love of mother and child to the Society.

Season four is so darn well written. And gosh, I really  h a t e  this season. I hate it from the bottom of my heart. Because season four excels at presenting us a true cornucopia of a thing that other seasons also gave us, but only in small doses: Frustration.

Meet Freya Brigettesdotter, wannabe-leader of "The Cradle" a commune living out of reach for mainstream society in what in our world would be Sweden. In the world of Within the Wires, however, there is no Sweden, as nations have been dissolved in this alternate history after what would have been our world's World War 2 (only much, much mor catastrophic). And more importantly even, families have been forbidden as a fertile ground for triblism and nationalism, to prevent any new catastrophies like this. Of course, not everyone agrees with the ideas of this New Society, and thus communes like the Cradle exist, where children still grow up together with their parents instead of being raised in governmental facilities.

However, the Cradle is unfortunately lead by Freya, who one day had to go undercover because the government found out about her missing IDs. But seemingly, Freya's understanding of "undercover" is more one of "Live, Laugh, Love", and so she travels the world on a trip of self-discovery that eventually will turn into an ego-trip of classical "Gaslight, Gatekeep, Girlboss" qualities.

Of course, Freya stays in contact with her poor flock of followers, by cassettes sent to the Cradle from wherever she resides currently. These cassettes always have two parts: One personal letter to Sigrid, Freya's daughter, and one public part, with inspirational tales or sermons for her followers at the Cradle. And as both parts perfectly document Freya's journey into egotism and recklessness while in return giving us just a few hints about the reactions of the people addressed by her, we as audience are left very, very helpless.

Of course, one is always quite helpless when listening to a narrative podcast. The story will be told either way, and the listener seldomly can influence how it progresses. But no podcasts can make you really feel this helplessness as intensely as Within the Wires, and no other season focuses that much on this feeling as season four.

So yeah, I hate season four. Not because it happens to be bad, but because it's designed to be bad. Because voice actress Mona Grenne does an outstanding job in playing this self-bedazzled villainess, and because the production of the podcast is above any suspicion of cheapness. But still. It took me a while to really appreciate this season for what it is: Nothing more and nothing less than a perfect little lesson in frustration. 8 out of 10 points.

< My review of the Black Box bonus season

My review of season five>

#within the wires #wtw #within the wires season 4 #podcast #podcast review #podcast recommendation #science fiction #alternate history #drama #psychological thriller #schroed's thoughts

[rireviews]

Malevolent Podcast Review

Summary: The horror we expected Venom to be, combined with the dark-comedy that it actually was. 

Genre/Tags: Horror, dark comedy

I’d like to start by saying that the sound effects and music in this podcast were the best I’ve ever come across. Do not listen to this while high, you will freak yourself out. I was stone cold sober and I let my ramen boiling over while staring at it because I was too absorbed in the story. That whole “a watched pot never boils” thing? Not true, apparently. 

I introduced this podcast to a friend and she had to be the one to to tell me that there was just one voice actor playing the two protagonists, because I’d just assumed otherwise. 

The protagonists take turns making wild decisions, which is very convenient because whenever you want to grab and shake one, he is already being yelled at. 

Audio dramas also have to look for reasons to be describing their surroundings and events, say a protagonist having an audio diary or something, and I loved how this one just went “yeah there’s a demon in your head and also you’re blind”. A+ narrative choice that made amazing use of its format. 

The fantasy world-building is a little confusing at first, which makes sense since neither of our narrators know what’s going on either, but the pace at which their knowledge and partnership grows is perfect. This podcast was on my list of favorites after the first episode, and it’s there to stay.

#fiction podcast #podcast review #malevolent podcast #podcast recommendations #horror comedy podcast #malevolent

[piscesbxnny]

After a few months my podcast is finally streaming on both Spotify and Apple Podcasts! The intro trailer is up as of yesterday and an episode will be out shortly.

Happy Spring, the season to get cozy during a storm, find an episode to listen to, then slay your day 🌧️

spotify link 🔗

apple 🍏 🔗

#fyp #college student #college #uni #university #spotify #apple #podcasts #podcaster #podcasting #smallpodcast #small podcast #woman podcaster #podcast host #podcast of tumblr #episode #podcast recommendations #podcast review #podcast #design #communications #journalism #student #rants #rant #yapping #audio #apple podcasts #spotify podcast #first episode

[beatlepaul4ever]

McCartney: A Life in Lyrics podcast is another hit for the ex-Beatle — review | Financial Times

#paul mccartney #podcast review