Each Summer, as part of my change in routine, I go through the list of podcasts that I listen to and swap out a few old ones for something new. I might go back to the old ones in September, but to keep things fresh I like to try out new shows during the Summer when my news and politics podcasts tend to fall prey to the Summer doldrums.
One recent podcast I’ve begun listening to is the Flashpulp Podcast, written by fellow Ontarian JRD Skinner and produced by his partners in crime. For those who don’t know, The Pulps were magazines and books named for the cheap pulp paper they were printed on and filled with genre stories like detective stories, horror stories, romance, westerns, and whatever else people wanted to read. These were simple stories that focussed more on action and lurid details than any attempt at art or style, and they were churned out by an army of writers who were paid by the story and wrote fast and forumulaic. Characters like Doc Savage, Conan the Barbarian and John Carter of Mars were all pulp heroes from this period. The other half of the name, Flash, comes from Flash Fiction, which as a general rule are short stories under 1000 words in length.
So the Flashpulp Podcast is twice-weekly stories of (very) short fiction in a pulp-style genre and written by JRD Skinner, who has so far written and produced 337 of these little tales covering pretty much every genre you can name- detective, zombie horror, sci-fi, urban fantasy, he does them all. Each story stands on its own, but is part of a larger set of stories about a huge cast of characters in different places in time and space who may or may not be connected to each other in some way.
Having listened to some, I have to say I’ve enjoyed what I’ve heard so far. He keeps the stories short and punchy because of their length, and not a word is wasted as he tries to pack everything into his limited time. Of course, I do have a few quibbles with his definition of a story (I’d describe some of them as scenes rather than stories) but since he’s limited for time I can forgive him. Also, his music is almost all period 1930’s and 1940’s music, but the stories are set in many time periods, which I find disconcerting since it can be a bit jarring to have what feels like a 40’s gumshoe story where the lead suddenly mentions his mobile phone!
That said, Flashpulp has developed quite a following, and now I understand why. If you’re looking for a few (hundred) fun, quick listens for your Summer commutes, then check it out! You might find yourself carried away into a world of two-fisted adventure you never expected to find!
Rob
