Intro to Speculative Fiction Audio Dramas

Audio dramas? Don’t you mean audiobooks? Hold that thought.

Several members of the Fantasy Inn team love audiobooks. They’re convenient to listen to on the go, and the right narrator can elevate a good book to new heights. The only downside for those of us who enjoy listening to our books is that the audio format tends to be expensive.

Fortunately, there’s audio drama! These fictional podcasts are all free to listen to, with the option to support your favorite shows through sites like Patreon.

For similar flowcharts with different focuses, check out these:

Some housekeeping:

  1. This flowchart is by no means comprehensive, nor do we claim that these are “objectively” the best that audio drama has to offer.
  2. The audio dramas listed are limited to speculative fiction, with a few exceptions.
  3. We tried to provide enough variety that seasoned and novice audio drama fans alike can discover new stories to love.
  4. When possible, we tried to highlight indie audio dramas.

The final flowchart has 109 entries, and we could’ve included many more if we had room. Feel strongly about an audio drama we left out? Let us know in a comment!

Here’s the chart:

Audio Drama Flowchart.png

High resolution image here.

If any of these audio dramas strike your fancy, here they are in list form with links to the show websites. Enjoy!

Classic

Radio Dramas

  • A Canticle for Leibowitz | Website
  • The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy | Website
  • The War of the Worlds | Website
  • Star Wars | Website
  • Relic Radio: Classic Radio Drama | Website

Fantasy

Actual Play

Adventure

Famous Characters Reimagined

  • Mount Olympus University | Website
  • Public Domain Universe | Website

Folktales

Interviews

Left of Reality

Magical Realism

Political Epic

Romance

Tolkien Fantasy

Urban Fantasy

  • Kalila Stormfire’s Economical Magickal Services | Website
  • The Magical History of Knox County | Website

Young Adult

Science Fiction / Fantasy

Science Fantasy

Superpowers

Science Fiction

Alien Planet

Artificial Intelligence

Cyber Punk

Drama

Dystopian

Space Horror

Space Opera

Steampunk

Time Travel

Mystery

Investigative Reporting

Isolation Mystery

Murder Mystery

Noir

Horror

Archive Horror

Arctic Isolation

Horror

Slow Build Creepy

Southern Gothic

  • Judgement Night Radio Hour | Website
  • The Ghost Radio Project | Website

Spooky

Zombies

Comedy

Comedic Fantasy

Crime Comedy

Monster Comedy

Space Comedy

Weird

Musical

  • Fall of the House of Sunshine | Website

Radio Broadcast

Trippy

Weird and Folksy

Anthologies

Anthology

Horror Anthology

Short Stories

Author: Travis

Lover of all things fantasy, science fiction, and generally geeky. Forever at war with an endless TBR and loving every moment. Host of the Fantasy Inn podcast.

18 thoughts on “Intro to Speculative Fiction Audio Dramas

  1. Broken Sea
    Darker Projects
    Chatterbox Audio
    Final Rune Productions
    Icebox Radio
    Harry Strange
    LEAP Audio
    Deck the Halls
    Midnight Radio Theatre
    Campfire Theatre
    Audioblivious Productions
    Decoder Ring Theatre
    Dry Smoke & Whispers
    AfterHell
    Hadron Gospel Hour
    Knights of Devonshire
    Rude Alchemy
    It’s About Time Travel Agency
    Ollin Productions
    Crazy Dog Audio
    Colonial Radio Theatre
    Narada Radio (Pulp-Pourri Theatre)
    Squadron Leader Jack Steel
    Epic Audio
    Wormwood
    Wireless Radio Theatre
    Voices in the Wind Theatre
    Texas Radio Theatre
    The Chronicles of Oz
    The Table Round

    not to mention my own
    The Sonic Society
    Electric Vicuna Production Podcast

    How are none of these on the list?
    J

  2. Would be awesome if you could add an alien invasion category/body snatchers. Loved The Phenomenon and End of All Hope. Also Immunities.

  3. this post might just be long over due but I have just recently joined the fantasy Inn family and I must say this was quite a fantastic read. I will be sure to make the time and many more post as they are plenty to choose from.

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