Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Culture

The Manual may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site.

The best fiction podcasts to listen to right now

From thrillers to fantasy, here are some fiction podcasts to binge

Nate Swanner
Mark Stock
By and
Young man sitting on couch at home with headphones and laptop
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Listening to the best fiction podcasts on our list is like a modern-day blast from the past from the budding radio era. The story of radio is a rich one, with a heavy history and plenty of great narratives. After all, kind of like today’s smartphones or flatscreen televisions, the radio was the device we used to huddle around for some gripping stories. With the podcast, that tradition lives on.

Yep, radio is like a good vinyl record — the format is timeless and we’ll always pine for it. If you don’t believe us, just try not to spend more than an hour on this site, a curated musical time machine that shines a light on the beauty of musical radio. But back to the podcast, because we are living in 2023. From great music podcasts to audio series about the best things to eat, it’s a tremendous format, blending old and new. The fiction realm is especially intriguing, stretching our imagination and entertaining us to no end.

Recommended Videos

While winter is on its way, it’s a great time to get cozy and really dive into a podcast series. These are great whether you’re on a road trip, at the gym, chilling around the house, or trying to get some sleep. Here are the best fiction podcasts out there.

Related

Welcome to Night Vale

Welcome to Night Vale.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

No narrative podcast list is complete without one of the originals. Welcome to Night Vale has been around for nearly as long as podcasts have, it seems, and it’s still one of the best around. Presented as a radio show in a fictional town, Cecil Gershwin Palmer takes you through the surreal and sensational happenings of a town somewhere in the Southwestern U.S.

Listen Now

Mabel 

Mabel.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Anna Limón is a nurse in search of Mabel Martin. This audio drama about “ghosts, strange houses, stranger occurrences, and missed connections” reveals a winding, detailed, surprising, and often haunting story. And if you’re having trouble catching up, you can join the thriving online community around their wiki.

Listen Now

Wooden Overcoats

Wooden Overcoats.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Drenched in classic British humor, this podcast follows the Funn siblings as they are left to run their family’s failing funeral parlor. Wooden Overcoats follows them as their new rival, the perfect Eric Chapman, starts to steal all their clients in the dirty business of death.  

Listen Now

Ostium Podcast

Ostium Podcast.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Remember finding a door that you were scared to open? Ostium takes place in a hidden city full of those doors, and a new door opens every episode. The show’s short, digestible episodes make this one easy to binge. 

Listen Now

Within the Wires

Within the Wires.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

From the people who brought you Welcome to Night Vale comes Within the Wires. An epistolary podcast, WtW changes every season but is always investigating the ways in which we communicate with one another and what it means to hear another person. 

Listen Now

Flash Pulp

Flash Pulp.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Flash Pulp revitalizes a rich tradition in fiction in bite-sized episodes. Waiting in line? Taking a shower? Just have 10 minutes to kill? Flash Pulp can give you the full arc of a story filled with plenty of intrigue by the time you’re done. 

Listen Now

Alice Isn’t Dead

Alice Isn't Dead.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The best in the business of narrative podcasting at Night Vale do it again with Alice Isn’t Dead. A truck driver travels across the country to find his presumed-deceased wife and along the way comes into contact with the weird, the abstract, the out-of-time, and more. 

Listen Now

Limetown

Limetown.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Did you enjoy Serial? Of course, you did! Limetown takes the concept and structure of Serial’s classic public radio style and twists it up into a wild and cacophonous universe akin to The X-Files. 

Listen Now

Imaginary Advice

Imaginary Advice.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

A one-man operation, Imaginary Advice is a monthly podcast of audio-fiction experiments. U.K. native Ross Sutherland brings a new short story to the table every month that’s guaranteed to engross. 

Listen Now

King Falls AM

King Falls AM.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Reminiscent of the cult classic play Greater Tuna, King Falls AM takes the loony lens of late-night AM radio and points it at the strange and lonely mountain town of King Falls.

Listen Now

These top fiction podcasts are captivating and immersive, as great narratives tend to be. If you’re long overdue for a good story, this is a great place to land. And it’s especially great because you can just sit there and listen, fully absorbing the content.

Man listens to podcast
Image used with permission by copyright holder

How to find the best fiction podcasts for your interests

Exploring fiction podcasts tailored to your interests is an exciting endeavor. Start by defining your preferred genres, whether it’s mystery, fantasy, romance, or sci-fi. Platforms like Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Podbean offer user-friendly search features. Use keywords related to your interests for more accurate results. Check podcast reviews and ratings to gauge listener satisfaction.

Engage with online communities or social media groups to discuss the best podcasts to listen to that are fiction. Many creators have websites or social media accounts where they share updates and recommendations. By aligning your interests with available options and engaging with fellow enthusiasts, you’ll uncover the best podcasts that are captivating and that resonate with your personal tastes in the fiction arena.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Nate Swanner
Nate Swanner
General Manager
Nate is General Manager for all not-Digital-Trends properties at DTMG, including The Manual, Digital Trends en Espanol…
What If? season 2 Disney Plus release suggests that Marvel is burning off shows
This latest move from Marvel and Disney Plus is a head-scratcher
An unlikely team of Avengers in What If? season 2.

After a two-year gap between seasons, Marvel has announced that What If? season 2 will premiere on Disney+ on Friday, December 22. Although the first season of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's first animated series was serialized weekly in 2021, What If? season 2 will be releasing an episode per day until the ninth episode (which serves as the season finale) arrives on December 30. That would be strange in of itself, but Marvel is also dropping every episode of its next MCU live-action series, Echo, on January 10 on both Disney+ and Hulu. That's also a first for a Marvel Studios show.

What's behind this sudden shift in strategy? The writers' and actors' strikes kept Hollywood on hold for over six months this year, and that means new shows and movies are facing severe delays in 2024. Surely Disney+ could have used those Marvel TV shows to shore up some of the driest periods ahead. Instead, Marvel and Disney are burning them off as if they have no confidence in them.

Read more
Apple TV Plus’ Masters of the Air: Everything we know about Austin Butler, Steven Spielberg’s follow-up to Band of Brothers
This WW2 epic may be the best one yet
Austin Butler in Masters of the Air.

In addition to being one of the greatest directors in movie history, Steven Spielberg has also had an illustrious career as a producer. One of the director's favorite subjects, both in his own work and in the work he produces, has always been World War 2. Now, the director is set to produce another WW2 series to go right alongside The Pacific and Band of Brothers, two of the most acclaimed miniseries in history. Just as he did for Band of Brothers, Spielberg is reteaming with producers Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman for Masters of the Air, which will take a more aviation-oriented perspective to the war. Unlike those projects, though, this miniseries is headed for a streaming service: Apple TV Plus.

Now that the new miniseries is only a couple of months away, many are understandably curious about the details behind the series, including who's in the cast, when the series is set to start streaming, and what the story is about.
Who is in the cast of Masters of the Air?
Masters of the Air is set to be led by Austin Butler, who has had a meteoric rise to stardom after earning an Oscar nomination for his work in last year's Elvis. Butler already has several more movies in the hopper, including Dune: Part 2 and The Bikeriders, and now he's teaming up with Spielberg to lead this miniseries.

Read more
Everything we know about Netflix’s Squid Game: The Challenge
A reality series based on Squid Game is coming soon
Squid Game: The Challenge cast

Following the shocking success of the first season of Squid Game, Netflix was naturally looking for ways to capitalize on the show's immense popularity. In addition to giving the show a second season, the streamer also announced that it would be creating a reality competition series based on the rules of the show. The difference, of course, is that no one will die in Netflix's version of the competition. Now, while we wait for Squid Game season 2, here's everything we know about the real reality series based on a much more lethal, fictional competition.
What is Squid Game: The Challenge about?
Squid Game: The Challenge is a reality competition series that features the largest cast and the largest cash prize in the history of reality TV. There are 456 contestants who will all be forced to compete for a cash prize worth $4.56 million. Here's a snippet of Netflix's official description of the show: "As they compete through a series of games inspired by the original show -- plus surprising new additions -- their strategies, alliances, and character will be put to the test while competitors are eliminated around them. The stakes are high, but in this game the worst fate is going home empty-handed."

Netflix's vice president of unscripted and documentary series also weighed in, saying: "Squid Game took the world by storm with Director Hwang’s captivating story and iconic imagery. We’re grateful for his support as we turn the fictional world into reality in this massive competition and social experiment. Fans of the drama series are in for a fascinating and unpredictable journey as our 456 real-world contestants navigate the biggest competition series ever, full of tension and twists, with the biggest ever cash prize at the end."
What is the release date for Squid Game: The Challenge?
Squid Game: The Challenge will make its premiere on November 22, 2023.

Read more