r/nightvale

Ever since I started listening to fiction podcasts, these two have been dear to me. They have a similar quality and following as podcasts, and true to form they are often brought up in the same conversation- but they are nothing alike!

They were released years apart, TMA has wrapped up while WTNV started years earlier and is still going strong. One is about an American Midwest radio show, one is a British man in the basement of an institute. Apart from the trope of ‘guy speaking on his own’, they have basically no overlap. Sure, they’re supernatural horror podcasts, but there are plenty out there!

There is something inherent in the way these two podcasts tackle their themes that makes them feel connected. And I think I now know how to put it into words.

The Magnus Archives makes the mundane horrifying, and Welcome to Nightvale makes the horrifying mundane.

In TMA, the vast bulk of statements are apart normal people going about their normal routine, when an aspect of it suddenly becomes unsettling and mysterious.

In WTNV, unsettling and mysterious events are discussed as normally as what you had for breakfast, or (haha) the weather.

They both connect to the viewer on an intrinsic level, and are masters at their craft.

Been a long while, I listened at the beginning and up until like 2017 but my memory is fuzzy. I remember about Old Woman Josie dying, Tamika Flynn becoming part of the City Council, the whole Strexcorp takeover, etc. Thing is, I kinda want to get into it again. Should I listen from the beginning again?

I'm catching up on nightvale again (im up to around 251) and was thinking abt the quality of the show overall, and that its been feeling a bit bland in the more recent arcs, and one thing i pinpointed is that i feel like theres barely been any guest voices. (deb showing up made me realize it felt like a long time since we'd heard anyone other than cecil) it really stood out in episode 250 (finale of the father kevin arc (i was not a fan of this one)) because they make a whole point of the weather not fixing everything, and the crisis and resolution happening in real time, but cecil was still narrating everything. it felt like the perfect time to bring back all these fan favorite voices to build this supposedly climactic finale, but instead it was just cecil still. it made the entire thing feel lackluster.

has anyone else noticed this/feel like it has impacted their enjoyment of recent episodes? i just feel like it makes the whole world of nightvale feel smaller, less colorful and real. does anyone know the last time carlos was even on the show? i miss him : (