The Penumbra Podcast S1 | Old-timey Radio Theater with a Post-Modern Twist

"Depending on who you ask The Penumbra is either the grandest hotel this side of nowhere or a twice monthly series of radio plays. Here we specialize in stories you recognize told in ways you won't expect. Your Femme Fatale might be a Homme Fatale, You might find that not every haunting needs a ghost, The criminal underworld may advertise on billboards 10 miles tall and when push comes to shove sometimes your home might have a bit more heart than your comfortable with. At the Penumbra its never just a western, an adventure, a courtly romance its the parts we think are still fresh about those genres along with some of what we keep locked behind our doors. What is behind those doors you ask? Well, See for Yourself."  - 0: Trailer

The Penumbra Podcast is a Bi-monthly Radio Theater Podcast telling familiar stories with a twist. It is written and produced by Sophie Takagi Kaner and Kevin Vibert and stars the voice talents of Joshua Ilon(Juno Steel), Kate Jones(Rita), Noah Simes(Peter Nureyev), Leslie Drescher(Sir Caroline), Matthew Zahnzinger(Sir Damien), Kat Buckingham(Alessandra Strong), and Simon Moody(Vivien). For a full list of cast and crew.

Radio Theater and Crime Noir Fiction reached its height in the early 1940's. Prohibition had created a black market for liquor and this caused a vacuum to be filled with the rise of Organized Crime. Large Metropolitan areas, diverse ethnic neighborhoods, and the rising crime rates gave birth to a genre filled with gangsters, intrigue, and a titular Private Eye trying to make sense in these cities of vice. Compared to the lustful hellscapes of these sin cities is the prudish conservative structure of media during the period. Where precode creators had much more lee-way in telling stories, the Hays Code heavily change the way stories were told both on air and on screen. Unfortunately during this period of moral grandstanding, films still reflected the biases and bigotry of the time whether it the depictions of Fu-Manchu and yellow faced Charlie Chan in the midst of the Yellow Peril, or the drastic censorship of The Maltese Falcon(1931, 1941) and the supposed homophobia of Raymond Chandler's "The Big Sleep". Many of the films and stories from this era can have scenes that we now see as problematic just as movies from the 1980s can make us uncomfortable due to our better recognition of sexual assault. That being said, it doesn't mean that there aren't parts of these genres that are unique, interesting, or valuable and that is the philosophy that The Penumbra Podcast touts. TPP aims to tell genres that we are familiar with "a western, an adventure, or a courtly romance" but in a way that not only appeals to a modern audience but is fluid with the mores and values of our hopefully more inclusive society.

The majority of the focus of TPP is focused on the life of Juno Steel, a hard boiled P.I, who deals with crime, corruption, and the occasional Homme/Femme Fatal but ON MARS. Juno Steel's cases except for the finale are broken up into two parts emulating the serial style of old and also keeping me invested in the longer form story. Between Juno Steel cases, TPP treats us with one-offs and "BONUS" episodes some of which I absolutely loved such as S1 E6 "The Coyote of Painted Plains" and "The Rita Minute". These one-offs dabble in other genres including some fantastic horror pieces "Shaken" and "Home". Season One also premieres the beginning of the Second Citadel, a High Fantasy series, " where the merciless Sir Caroline must corral a team of emotionally distraught all-male knights to defend their city against mind-manipulating monsters...even the ones they’ve fallen in love with" Juno Steel's progress in the first season is excellent with each of his cases being stand-alone stories while also providing progress to the climax with the arc villain. The one-offs and bonus episodes provide breathers for the content and help flesh-out the style of Kaner and Vibert while showing their range.

Kaner and Vibert have put an emphasis on diversity and inclusion in the characterization,(much like TSHS). As they say on their Website:

"We started to notice that a lot of the stories we consumed were the same ones over and over again, and we got tired of it. 

Why did every boy and girl who adventured together have to end up romantically involved? Why couldn't a woman be tough and fierce without also being sexy? Why did every gay relationship end in tragedy? And where were all the people who didn't fit into the gender binary? 

And one day, we realized that we couldn't wait any more for the stories we wanted. So we decided to write them ourselves."

Unlike other shows where diversity is a gimmick, (*cough* Modern Family) TPP uses its diversity to tell stories that everyone can relate to. Juno Steel is a Bixexual POC while Sir Marc of Second Citadel struggles with ableism as a paraplegic knight. Their focus on inclusion helps provide a new take especially for more heteronormative genres. 

TPP uses a ensemble class, (Much like AHS or Slasher), which brings many a familiar voice to the different episodes. Of the many fantastic voice actors who appear in the season I feel I would be amiss not to mention the acting talents of Kate Jones, (who not only voices Steel's assistant Rita, but plays Mary Anne(The Coyote of Painted Plains), and Lily (Home)), appearing in every episode of Season One. Besides the fantastic cast, TPP also features a high level of production when it comes to the sound design and foley work being one of the best produced audio dramas that I have heard. 

The Penumbra Podcast is an Audio Drama that holds the lofty goal of a diverse and inclusive world of Radio Theater and they succeed. TPP is fantastically produced radio theater giving old genres new life. With excellent writing, a great cast of voice actors and a emphases on inclusive storytelling The Penumbra Podcast provides a listening experience that is not only enjoyable but imaginative.