TroytlePower

I’ve talked before about podcasts about video games and Star Trek and the Animorphs… but let’s talk about some more!

These podcasts all function as digital book clubs (like the Animorphs podcasts), in that they look for both the hosts and the listeners to have read the same content before each episode in order to have a discussion about that content. I don’t think I’ve ever been in a book club in real life, but I love finding podcast versions of book clubs because they give me the motivation to stick with stories, and sometimes help me find new ones.

The Real Weird Sisters

This was actually the podcast that inspired this post, as I just found it earlier today! I was listening to another Harry Potter podcast up through the fourth book in the series, but that show came to an unceremonious end, which left with me without a guide through a reread of the fifth book. I’ve tried jumping into a few different Harry Potter podcasts since then, and Alice and Martha’s chapter-by-chapter breakdowns have been the best I’ve found! Even in the few episodes, I’ve listened to so far, it’s clear that these two have an intense passion for the stories the Harry Potter books tell, but they also don’t take them too seriously and have plenty of goofs to keep the show fun. They are actually around the end of book five right now, so I’m looking forward to alternating between listening to Jim Dale and this show to get caught up, and then might go back to listen to their journey through the first four books.

Superhero University

This is another new one for me. Host Joshua Unruh goes through comic book runs issue by issue, analyzing the storytelling through both the art and the writing. I’ve only listened to his run through Batman and Son so far, but it was fantastic. This show brings a real literary eye to the comics discussed, going so far as to look at the symbolism and themes of things like the title of each issue, or how the “camera” is framed in a particular shot, or even the two-word mouth noises that Bruce and Damien Wayne make. I’m really looking forward to listening to more of this show since it seems like he likes to cover a variety of different books, and I’m excited to see what new stories it will help me uncover!

Bendis Assembled

From the Talking Comics family of shows, Brian and Matt are going through Brian Michael Bendis’ entire run of Avengers comics. I started listening to this show as a guide/companion to learning more of recent Marvel comics lore, and have really, really enjoyed it. The hosts are super knowledgeable about comics, but make discussing super minute details fun and interesting, instead of it coming off like gatekeeping. I’m way behind on this show, because while they only discuss books written by Bendis I’ve been reading a lot of crossover books as I go, but I think they are just about to come back from a hiatus. If you have any interest in modern Marvel mythos, this is a great guide to the world!

That’s it for now, but I’d love to find more! What are your favorite book club podcasts? Let me know below or over on Twitter, because I always need new shows and new stories!