Welcome to Night Vale

One form of entertainment media I don't consume regularly is the podcast. I guess this is strange for someone who co-hosts a weekly podcast himself, but I'm not a fan of talk radio in general (I have my alarm clock set to NPR because it makes me want to turn it off immediately in terror) and prefer rocking out to Pandora or Spotify while at work. I know there are a bunch of cool podcasts out there because my co-host Noah tells me about them (and he talks them up on "Fallow" episodes of When Harry Met Fatty) but honestly I've never felt a burning urge to tune in. My overall podcast consumption is limited to listening to Fatty (I listen to every episode 2-3 times as a kind of quality control measure), the occasional episode of Sound Opinions (which broadcasts nationally but I listen to only online and might as well be a podcast for my purposes), and You Are Here with Brian Beatty.

But lately, via the wonder of FB sharing and a man named Wick, I've come across Welcome to Night Vale, which describes itself as thus:

"WELCOME TO NIGHT VALE is a twice-monthly podcast in the style of community updates for the small desert town of Night Vale, featuring local weather, news, announcements from the Sheriff's Secret Police, mysterious lights in the night sky, dark hooded figures with unknowable powers, and cultural events.

Turn on your radio and hide."

The writers of Welcome to Night Vale have a nice way of twisting listener expectations-you don't know what's going to be reported next, but you do know it'll be a fresh new horror delivered in an amusing way. It's good fun, well produced, and an entertaining way to pass 12-15 minutes. And I've always had a soft spot for small towns beset by supernatural events!