Podcasts I’ve Listened to Recently, ft. Four New Favorites

Hello friends! It’s Vera here today, and after a long time, I’m back with a post where I talk about podcasts. As some of you are aware, I discovered the wonderful world of fictional podcasts towards the beginning of 2020, and I’ve been an avid listener of podcasts since then. After my favorite podcast – The Magnus Archives – ended in 2021, I took a bit of a break from podcasts. However, I’m back to consuming this form of media, and I can’t wait to share my latest adventures with you.

If you are looking for more podcast content, check out my other posts on this topic:

• Recommending My Favorite Podcasts
• Podcasts I’ve Recently Listened To, Ft. Disappointments and Recommendations
• Four Fantastic Podcasts I’ve Recently Listened To

Love and Luck

I couldn’t tell you how I heard about Love and Luck – maybe spotify recommended it? There recommendations are relatively spot on. Long story short, I honestly don’t know how I found Love and Luck – but I’m so happy I discovered this podcast! It follows two men who, shortly after getting together, decide to open a bar, which is meant to serve as a safe place for the LGBTQ+ community. Besides being a contemporary podcast, Love and Luck also has some magical elements thrown in as our main characters realize they may have some type of magical power.

I flew right through this podcast, as it gave me such comfort at a time when I really needed it. Having said that, the podcast delves into topics like homophobia and transphobia at parts, so be mindful of that going into it. Through the hate, however, the characters always have each others back, which was beautiful to see. I loved the romance between our main characters, but my favorite part of the podcast was the found family the cast of characters formed. This is the first podcast I’ve listened to that has a vast variety of LGBTQ+ rep, including gay, bisexual, lesbian, transgender, and poly-amorous rep. The only issue with the podcast is that, sadly, due to the covid-19 pandemic, they had to stop making it and so we are not very likely to get another season. That being said, the last existing season of the podcast gives us a satisfying enough ending, so I highly recommend checking Love and Luck out despite this.

Enthusigasm

Enthusigasm is a Rusty Quill production, so I was excited to listen to it out despite not being a big fan of nonfiction podcasts. What I like about this podcast is that it covers a wide variety of topics that are discussed by people that are genuinely enthusiastic and interested in them. As a Rusty Quill fan, I also like that the podcast doesn’t have a permanent cast – besides Helen Gould, the host – as it allows me to briefly get to know a variety of people.

At the same time, the strength(s) of the podcast can also be interpreted as its weaknesses. The wide variety of specific topics means that I haven’t listened to all of the episodes – and I don’t think I ever will – because some of the topics don’t interest me. I also feel like many nonfiction podcasts’ strength lies in the hosts being likable or enjoyable to listen to, which are the things that can make people keep listening and even listen to episodes about topics they don’t care about. Don’t get me wrong, Helen of Enthusigasm is a great host, but with the cast constantly changing, I don’t think the cast is what’s going to make people interested in the podcast. Nonetheless, I hope RQ will keep producing this podcasts as it’s really lovely to listen to it.

How It Ends

How It Ends is an independent podcast that is now distributed / promoted by Rusty Quill, which is how I first heard about it. The podcast follows Micah, a young woman who has been suffering from recurring dreams since she can remember. Having had enough of her nightmares, Micah is ready to dive deep into the meaning behind them as well as into her own past.

From the get-go, I really enjoyed this podcast. Micah is joined by her close friends in her investigation, who are there to be a sort of sounding board for her. I think the actors have done a reasonably good job, even though this isn’t my favorite voice acting ever, and I’m really fascinated by this story so far. I have four more episodes left of S2, after which the wait for S3 will start. That’s a bit daunting, but I definitely think that this is a story worth waiting for.

Dua Lipa: At Your Service

I love Dua Lipa’s music, but nonetheless I wasn’t sure what to expect from this podcast, as I’m not a big fan of celebrities gravitating towards podcasting. Nonetheless, I was ready to give it a fair try, as I really like Dua’s personality in interviews and I was looking forward to seeing (hearing) her take on the role of the interviewer.

After only a couple of episodes, I’m really-really happy I gave this podcast a chance! I love how enthusiastic Dua sounds when she talks about this podcast and to me it seems quite clear that she handpicked the people she invited onto the podcast so far. I’m not a big fan of interview-style podcasts but Dua Lipa: At Your Service is worth trying if you’re interested in it at all.

Let’s chat!

Do you enjoy listening to podcasts? Do you gravitate towards fiction or non-fiction? What are your favorite podcasts? Have you listened / are you planning on listening to any of these?