TOP 10 PODCASTS ON AO3 BASED ON NUMBER OF FANWORKS (2013-2022)
YEAR = November 6 (or closest date to it if unavailable) of that year
To make this bar chart race, all series titles in the Other Media Category on November 6 (or the closest date to it) of every year were copy-pasted from Wayback Machine to Google Sheets, rearranged according to number of fanworks, and manually filtered since not all podcasts were marked as such. Then I inputted all the top 10 data to Flourish to turn into a bar chart race.
Some web series like Critical Role and Dimensions 20 released audio-only versions of their works too, but I left them out since they were listed was a web series on ao3 and more known as one too.
Similarly, radio shows which only had podcasts years after they started are not included. That means Cabin Pressure, which I accidentally added in the 2022 Top 20 ranking last week, is not included here because it was only rereleased as a podcast in 2019, and 90% of the fanworks it has now are from before 2019.
All nonfiction podcasts have also been excluded (Not that there were many), because with RPFs, it’s hard to tell if the fic in question is just based on the podcast or because of the things the person has done outside of it.
The bar race starts on 2013 because there were no podcasts in the Other Media category before that year.
The first podcast fandom to post on Ao3 was We’re Alive on January 1, 2013, followed by The Thrilling Adventure Hour on January 27, 2013, and then Welcome to Night Vale at June 2013.
In 2014-2016, Sparks Nevada Marshal on Mars, a segment from The Thrilling Adventure Hour, was also in the top 10, but I didn’t included it since it’s not its own podcast.
TOTAL = the total fanworks of all the top 10 over the years, not the whole podcast fandom itself
Thanks for understanding and hopefully I didn’t miss anything! Apologies for any mistakes, I’m still a podcast noob.🙏
ETA: Locked fanworks aren't included in the count because Wayback Machine can’t view those, only Ao3 users can.
I know, i know. the podcast tags are filled to the brim with recommendation requests (rec-reqs!) and im about to add mine to the pile. but bear with me bc its a bit different-- I want FINSIHED podcasts please !!! i dont mind if its long or short and sweet, I want completed stories with completed character arcs and closed endings pretty pretty please
I am consuming podcasts at a worrying rate and I've resorted to relistening to my old favorites bc my current favorites are still ongoing. and i want to binge!! i hate having the story live in my brain for months/years while waiting for the ending.
more info under the cut
for context, my fav podcasts:
wolf 359 (!!!), wtnv, tma, red valley (just caught up), woe.begone, mabel, time:bombs, alice isnt dead
--
ive also listened to (but havent finished):
eos 10, within the wires, malevolent, the black tapes, wooden overcoats, the bright sessions, old gods of appalachia, kaleidotrope, the penumbra pod, the orbitting human circus, the strange case of starship iris
--
some pods im aware of but havent seen/looked up yet:
ars paradoxica, zero hours, i am in eskew, limetown, archive 81, camp here and there, hello from the hallowoods, stellar firma, find us alive, the white vault, the sheridan tapes, the silt verses, the amelia project
--
PS. as a rule, please dont recommend me any actual play or rpg like adventure zone, rqgaming, etc... and dont rec anything ONLY because it has queer rep. dont get me wrong i love the rep! but i want a good story first and foremost!
I HATE WHEN I START LISTENING TO A PODCAST AND IM LIKE "oh I wanna draw fanart" SO I LOOK UP FANART BUT THEN BOOM MASSIVE SPOILER LIKE BDNRNFJKWKWHGGRRRRRRRRR
(also I'll gladly take recommendations for podcasts (I really like the ones with gay people in space))
I have been writing a masters thesis for the last few months about the arrival of bigger companies (QCODE, Gimlet, & co) in audio drama, monetisation of AD, and its potential consequences on independent producers.
I have recently realised that an important part of this subject is about the audience -what they listen to, what their role is... Therefore I come to you with a favour and a link: could you please reply to this form?
For my fellow fiction podcast listeners, do you ever hear a specific voice actor in multiple shows and picture all their characters looking the same but not like them? As though all of them are played by the same actor but it's not the actor they're actually played by?
Sexiest Podcast Character — Scripted Bracket — Round 1
Propaganda
Antigone Funn (Wooden Overcoats):
An extremely agoraphobic mortician of a local funeral home who has every disease. Nervous wreck. Makes noises when stressed. An artist at heart (her embalming fluid is imbued with the fragrance of cinnamon).
she's the goth gf of your dreams. she's an undertaker, a romance novelist, a hot air balloon pilot, and she has interiority for days
Hello!! It's time for our next Podcast Hottie of the Week poll! This week's face-off features: Akmazian of EOS 10, Cheri of Fuck Humans, Medea of Khôra Podcast, and The Interviewer of The Amelia Project!
i think I should be able to live in a purgatory where all time stops for as long as I want so I can listen/relisten to all the silly little podcasts I deserve to hear