Podcast News Roundup | Newstalk Launches New Audio Drama & More!
Welcome back to HeadStuff’s Podcast News Roundup, your go-to place for podcast news and recommendations. This week’s roundup features HeadStuff’s Podcast Of The Week and also looks at Newstalk’s new audio drama, a cast announcement for C13Feature’s feature-length podcast and a new podcast by stand-up comedian Ginny Hogan.
As always if you host a podcast and want it featured as our podcast of the week, email us at [email protected] and we’ll be sure to check it out!
Podcast of the Week
Like any Dungeons & Dragons gameplay podcast, Romancing the Dungeon follows a group of heroes on a dangerous and life altering quest. But this party of adventurers set out on a different kind of quest than we are used to – these characters are in the search of love.
The podcast follows four heroes, Thane, Fia, Nate and Hephaesta and the trials and tribulations of looking for that special someone within the tumultuous fantasy world of Dungeons and Dragons. With a great Dungeon Master guiding the characters on their path to love, there is plenty of comedy and drama in equal parts. In a genre that is dominated by American-led podcasters, it is refreshing to hear an entertaining D&D podcast with a cast of Irish players.
Although the recording quality might not be top notch, there is plenty of music and sound effects included that raises the production value. This is bolstered by the fantastic roleplaying between the cast, the fun stories, enjoyable characters and heartfelt moments.
The first season of Romancing the Dungeon ended in April this year, but they have released some special episodes to tide us over and have announced the second season of Romancing the Dungeon will be coming soon.
Newstalk launches new audio drama – Two Thieves
This weekend, Newstalk launches a brand new darkly-comic audio drama written by Hugh Hick and produced by Heather MacLeod, as part of “Drama on Newstalk.” The podcast is set in a dystopian society, in which two criminals are setup up for the public vote on a Government-sponsored radio programme. The catch? Only one of them can be saved. Featuring Mary Murray, Matthew Malone, Michael James Ford and Margaret McCauliffe, with original music composed by Justin McCann.
Hugh Hick is a Dublin-based writer, director and producer for theatre, radio and film with several awards under his name. He has worked on radio dramas such as Killing Time and Crossing The Red Line, the latter of which was awarded Silver in the New York Festivals Radio Awards in the “Best Digital Drama” category. Heather MacLeod is an award-winning independent radio producer who has worked on several radio productions, including Accents and Prestige and Camille O’Sullivan – The Dark Angel.
The podcast was recorded at The Podcast Studios and was made with the support of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland. Two Thieves first airs this Sunday, September 5th at 8am, and will be repeated on Saturday, September 10th at 9pm. After that, you will be able to find the podcast on the Newstalk website.
Kiernan Shipka to star in new feature-length project by C13Features
C13Features, a new division of the Audacy-owned Cadence13 focusing on scripted audio dramas which launched in 2020, recently announced that award-winning actress Kiernan Shipka will star in Treat. Treat is the first feature-length podcast to be produced by the studio and is currently in production.
Treat is a supernatural thriller written by Nathan Ballingrud and tells the story of an apparently idealistic American town that hires a mysterious outsider with supernatural powers to help it recover from social turmoil. Shipka will be playing the main protagonist and narrator, Allie West.
“I’m thrilled to be playing Allie – she’s a strong-willed, complex young girl with a true weight on her shoulders,” Shipka said in a statement. “Treat is a one-of-a-kind thrilling audio movie and story, and I’m so excited to be part of this experience with C13Features.”
Shipka is perhaps best known for her role as Sabrina Spellman in Netflix’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, and as Sally Draper in Mad Men.
Treat will premiere just in time for Halloween, on Monday October 25th across all podcast platforms.
New satirical podcast by Ginny Hogan, Yes We Mustard, launches on Audible
Yes We Mustard is a scripted, fictional Audible Originals series about a corrupt condiment company written by comedian Ginny Hogan.
Ginny Hogan is a stand-up comedian and author whose work has featured in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Cosmopolitan and much more, and she has performed her stand-up at The Westside Showdown, The Boston Women in Comedy Festival, San Francisco Sketchfest and the Chicago Women’s Funny Festival, among others. Her sketches have also featured on Comedy Central’s digital platform.
Yes We Mustard follows Emery, the first female engineer to work in the condiment startup Yes We Mustard. But when a jealous coworker takes a dislike to her and negative news stories circulate around the company, Emery must do what she can to succeed. The podcast is a workplace satire that explores the evils of Silicon Valley, the bizarre way the tech industry talks about women, big egos and Bad Mustard.
The podcast went live yesterday, September 2nd, and is available exclusively on Audible.
