General Discussion

I've decided to restructure my lgbtqia+ podcast rec list so it's less....messy.

These recs are based on podcasts I have listened to or am listening to. I am focused on podcasts with lgbtqia+ representation in their main characters and for those depictions to be canon, ideally within the actual frame of the podcast itself.

Fantasy

The Two Princes
Status: Complete

Representation: mlm main characters hints at a wlw at the end

Plot: A cursed forest is engulfing nearby kingdoms and two princes feel compelled to try and fix the forest unwittingly following a prophecy and slowly falling in love along the way.

Notes: This is by far the cutest feel good podcast listed, if you need a happy ending this is the one for you.

The Second Citadel
Status: Ongoing

Representation: Polyamorous relationship, asexual main character, wlw main character

Plot: This series is under the Penumbra Podcast umbrella and is there take on a fantasy narrative. The main cast are knights/want to be knights and their tales of victory against fantastic beasts/monsters. The podcast does blend comedy when possible.

Notes: Still listening to it.

Scifi

The Glass Appeal
Status: Ongoing

Representation: mlm lead character

Plot: Set in the future where bio-hacking has become a medical alternative for those who can't afford standard medical treatments, Jason finds himself in prison for biowarfare that he had nothing to do with. His good intentions have left him to be an escape goat.

Notes: Mentions of pandemics which may be sensitive to listeners. Mentions of medical procedures and body modifications.

The Strange Case of Starship Iris
Status: Ongoing

Representation: wlw lead, enby lead, trans lead

Plot: Violet Liu finds herself stranded in space after a freak accident. She comes to terms with her doom when a call comes through but are her rescuers who they say they are? Is the life she led even her own?

Notes: This is an older podcast and the audio reflects that. The representation in this podcast is excellent as well as the writing.

The Orphans
Status: Ongoing

Representation: Season 3 has a wlw main character

Plot: This is a scifi horror podcast, season one follows a space crew as they try to survive on a hostile planet and in the process learn some dark secrets about themselves.

Notes: byg trope is big, graphic deaths are common, get attached to characters at your own risk. The voice actors are phenomenal, seriously.

Horror

The Magnus Archives
Status: Ongoing

Representation: Asexual main character (has been confirmed by the writers but as far as I know hasn't been confirmed in the podcast itself)

Plot: Horror anthology of strange and paranormal cases as read by Johnathan Sims. There is an overall plot of entities creating these horrific going ons and Johnathan and his fellow archivists are trying to make sense of everything and figure out what to do.

Notes: I haven't caught up with this podcast but I am aware there's a mlm minor character. Further note, while this is a horror podcast I think most would find it not that scary but that's subjective of course.

Alice Isn't Dead
Status: Complete

Reprentation: wlw

Plot: This is a horror story about a woman trying to find her wife who disappeared and in the process finds herself caught in a war between humanity and the unknown. It is set up as an audio journal of the main character.

Notes: I haven't picked this back up since it took it's break to write season 2. I remember this being a very enjoyable and well done podcast however and is still my favorite horror focused one.

Slice of life

Kaleidotrope
Status: Complete

Representation: mlm main characters

Plot: A very cute/wholesome university podcast. The main characters host a university radio show, it's meant to play music but with the new host it quickly becomes a radio advice show. Setting wise is a slightly whimsical/fantastical university where a charm ensures everyone meets their soul mate.

Notes: this is a very trope-centric podcast so it's a predictable plot and easy to listen to if you ever just want a pick me up. Audio quality is dated, the podcast is older and it shows.

Greater Boston
Status: Ongoing

Representation: wlw couple

Plot: Greater Boston is about how one event, one person even someone insignificant, can be the catalyst for so many changes. This podcast mixes interviews, narration, reality and fiction. It explores existentialism and community.

Notes: Personally haven't listened past the second episode, the structure of the podcast just hasn't drawn me in but it might work for someone! Also death is a big thing in this podcast, it starts off discussing death.

Me and AU
Status: Hiatus atm as creator moves

Reprentation: wlw, hints of a wlw romance developing but this is speculation

Plot: A young twenty something college student shares her fangirl passion with the internet and meets other fans, one of whom she grows very attached to as they share theories and fanfics.

Notes: It's a very new podcast so we'll see where it goes. The fanfics the main characters share depict a mlm relationship.

Comedy

Dark Ages
Status: Ongoing, taking a break to prepare for next season.

Representation: asexual main character, pansexual main character, bi main character

Plot: This podcast is very much a high fantasy meets the office set up. The premise is colleagues trying to tackle every day magical problems in a museum plus the resurrection of the dark lord. There's an overarching simple plot as each episode explores different characters stories. There is a wlw romantic subplot that is realistically written, realistic doesn't mean healthy just to be clear.

Notes: Great production quality and lovable characters.

Axe and Crown
Status: On a break to prepare for season 4

Representation: mlm main character, wlw main character

Plot summary: A sheltered nobleman (Stan) inherits a property his father owned that is being rented out to a troll named Gubbin who's running it as a bar. Shenanigans ensue and slowly Stan starts wisening up to what life is like outside of the bubble he grew up in.

Notes: This is a high fantasy comedy podcast and is part of an extended universe of podcasts. The characters are fun and pretty limited. Episodes are 10-15 minutes long and there's an ad at the end of each episode. Stan's character growth is written very well and the podcast is an easy listen with a simplistic plot.

Audio Diary of a Superhero
Status: Dropped/Hiatus last update in 2015

Representation: wlw lead character

Plot: Adira is a young creative struggling with EDS as it strips her of the ability to do the one thing she loves, write. She seeks the help of a goddess hoping to be healed but finds herself thrown into the Superhero spotlight instead.

Notes: Last word on any progress for this podcast was in 2017 via their Twitter. Audio quality is good despite the age of the podcast. I appreciate the writer avoiding the trope of disabled character representation magically getting healed.

Tabletop Rpgs (deaths are up to dice so just a warning there)

The Adventure Zone and related works
Status: TAZ is complete but they have new games going.

Representation: TAZ has a mlm main character and later a transfemme main character, amnesty had a bi lead with a wlw romance subplot that was very cute. I haven't gotten far enough into graduation to make a call. TAZ graduation has an ace lead and is ongoing.

Plot: Three brothers and their father play tabletop rpgs. TAZ itself was a long winding dnd story that was a joy to listen to. Since these are table top rpgs there is some plot holes that are best to be ignored especially with TAZ as it was a first for them. Amnesty was a delight to listen to and I preferred it to TAZ tbh. The brothers seem dedicated to giving listeners diverse characters in every way they can.

Notes: There is problematic elements in TAZ but since then they've made a big effort to not repeat those mistakes. They do a good job of trying to add diversity with their main and background characters.

Critical Role
Status: Vox Machina has ended,.M9 are ongoing

Representation: bisexual main characters, wlw main characters

Plot: This is a dungeons and dragons podcast, personally I prefer watching it as opposed to listening to it. This is obviously a high fantasy setting that is honestly too vast to really describe. The players and dm, especially later on, are invested in creating a rich and diverse world in every way possible. The supporting characters round out the representation but I'm only looking at main characters.

Notes: Accidental byg trope, character deaths. Phenomenal voice acting and fun players.

Crime noir/mystery

Juno Steele
Status: Ongoing

Representation: bi nonbinary main characters

Plot: Gritty crime noir with a scifi twist. This podcast is set in a scifi futuristic world where Juno Steele investigates various cases and ends up meeting Peter Nureyev a criminal mastermind. The overarching plot is the cat and mouse romance between Juno and Peter.

Notes: This is an amazing podcast with fantastic secondary characters that are highly diverse. There are stand alone episode or smaller series sprinkled in the mix that are fun to listen to with diverse characters. Further note this podcast is part of The Penumbra podcasts lineups

Supernatural

Welcome to Nightvale
Status: ongoing!

Lgbt rep: Cecil is the main character in the podcast and is mlm. Supporting cast works to round out reprentations.

Plot summary: WTNV is a podcast show set in a town called Night Vale where strange and indescribable things occur! The overall plot is connected with some unconnected points through out. The set up is Cecil a radio show host giving us the news.

Kingfalls AM
Status: Hiatus but very likely to return.

Representation: Revealed later on mlm main character and wlw main character.

Plot: Similarly to WTNV the podcast is set up as two radio hosts giving the small community of Kingfalls the news and talking about the paranormal going ons. If I were to compare this podcast to anything it would be Gravity Falls. The plot is more connected than WTNV's plot is and has a gradual build up. Slow burn of a series, starts off seeming more episodic but with time it becomes clear that there is a lot of interact storytelling and hints throughout the series.

Point of warning for some: There is a point in King Falls that gets political. Personally I thought it was well done and am happy with how they handled it. This podcast doesn't start off as horror but where it currently is I feel this is the best category for it though over all it's hard to place. Might move this in the future.

Return Home
Status: Ongoing

Reprentation: Mlm main character

Plot: This is a darker mystery podcast set in a NE town where the strange and unusual happens. The main character receives calls telling him to return home and finds that the town has gotten even creepier.

Notes: I'm in the middle of listening to this one, overall I'm conflicted listing it. The main cast is a trio trying to tackle the mysterious surreal going ons but the overall love story is the two straight leads and the mlm representation is more the comedic character (he has a love story but it's quick).

Harbor
Status: Hiatus but has been activity on Twitter this month so hopefully we get more.

Representation: wlw main character, bi lead

Plot: Sam (Samson) returns to his small town home and learns about his sisters real job, fighting and containing cryptids who step out of line. With this new knowledge Sam must decide how to cope with his new view on his hometown.

Notes: Hints of Sam having a romantic subplot that I'm invested in lol.

Kalila Stormfire's Economical Magick Services
Status: Ongoing

Representation: pansexual lead, nonbinary lead

Plot: Kalila is a witch trying to earn a living by using her craft to assist people in the modern world. While this podcast does have supernatural elements to it remains pretty grounded and tackles modern issues that the pagan (specifically Wiccan) practices face and moral judgments that they need to make from time to time.

Notes: I haven't gotten far into this one yet, I tend to listen to it before I sleep.
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Too Hard to place

The Orbiting Human Circus
Status: Ongoing (kind of vague)

Representation: mlm main characters

Plot: Julian is a rambunctious janitor who wishes to be on the air so he sabotages a Paris radio program to achieve his goals. The overarching story is tucked between episodic curios.

Notes: This podcast has a lot twists and is very surreal. The focus of the podcast and how it's formatted is meant to be an experience. It is written and performed by the lead singer of Neutral Milk Hotel.

Honorable mentions

Wooden Overcoats
Status: Hiatus

Representstion: Mlm minor characters, bisexual minor characters

Plot: Comedy set on a British Island town where a one sided feud takes central stage between the old undertaker and the one who recently moved in.

Note: The writers regard most of the characters to be bisexual but I rather see representation within the work.

Station Arcadia
Status: Ongoing

Representation: Nonbinary minor character

Plot: There’s a sort of sentient quality to Station Arcadia as it gives it's host clips and excerpts to play for the listeners of the radio station. These stories blend together to create a larger picture. Other times when it's slow the host will read a story, or attempt to at least till Arcadia throws a new sound clip at them.

Notes: This is a very new podcast, only 2 proper episodes so I'm remaining hopeful for major character representation. It should also be noted, where I listened to the episodes, they've been uploaded incorrectly by which I mean they weren't separated right. Further note, the voice acting is on the novice end but I can over look that.

Death by Dying
Status: Hiatus?

Representation: Bi main character, bi minor character according to writer.

Plot: The obituary writer delights in sharing his tales about the wacky town of Crestfall Idaho.

Notes: This podcast is a blend of horror and comedy, I found it a charming listen though I wish there was more outright representation in the series. The Twitter account for this podcast has been active lately so hopefully a season 2 will be added soon.

Currently listening to

Harbor
Juno Steele
Old Gods of Appalachia
Crossing Wires
Far Meridian
The Magnus Archives [season 3]
Welcome to Nightvale
Alice Isn't Dead
The Once and Future Nerd
Kalila Stormfire
The Bright Sessions
Rusty Quill Gaming
TAZ Graduation
Critical Role
The Second Citadel
Starship Iris

Future listens:
White Vault
Mount Olympus University
Dining in the Void
The Far Meridian
Mabel