Seeking stories in mp3!

April 10, 2008 5:14 AM

I've got a new mp3 player (hooray!). I love storytelling. Recommend your favorite storytelling podcasts or free downloadables!

I've seen this post, but it's not quite what I'm looking for. As a point of reference, one of my favorite storytellers is Willy Claflin - so nothing is too juvenile. I have no idea where to start, as this is my very first mp3 player... hope me, Metafilter!

posted by po to media & arts (15 comments total)

The Classic Tales Podcast reads stories now in the public domain, from Poe, Twain, Hawthorne, etc. (That's an iTunes link, but you can likely google it if you don't use iTunes)

The Seanachai is pretty much abandoned now, but it was a pretty good storytelling podcast in the day, and you'll find their archives worthwhile.

Not really what you're looking for, but NPR's This American Life also has fiction from time to time.
posted by John Kenneth Fisher at 5:44 AM on April 10, 2008

I haven’t listened to it in forever, but it looks like there’s a podcast for Selected Shorts.
posted by breaks the guidelines? at 6:01 AM on April 10, 2008

I am obsessed with the Vinyl Cafe podcasts from CBC.
posted by saucysault at 6:11 AM on April 10, 2008

This is just a one-off, but one of my favorite story clips is David Sedaris reading part of the chapter called "A Plague Of Tics" from his book, Naked. It's about his childhood with obsessive-compulsive disorder. It is torturously painful but painfully funny in that special Sedaris way. Laugh laugh (shudder) laugh (sigh) laugh. Free mp3 download on that blurb page.
posted by kookoobirdz at 6:28 AM on April 10, 2008

I really enjoy Escape Pod (science fiction short stories) and Pseudopod (horror shorts). And seconding PRI's Selected Shorts, and This American Life. Also, if you enjoy This American Life, WNYC's Radio Lab is similar and very good.
posted by TochterAusElysium at 7:41 AM on April 10, 2008 [1 favorite]

I am currently listening to the audiobook version of Naked. I would definitely recommend anything by him - it's really great to hear him reading his own stories. I know you wanted free stuff, but if you want to shell out $15 or so, get any of his audiobooks. They're well worth it.
posted by radioamy at 8:26 AM on April 10, 2008

The Moth is extremely entertaining. They even have Storyteller gatherings and CDs available. They have been an organization, in some form, for 20+ years. I highly recommend it.
posted by CreativeJuices at 9:24 AM on April 10, 2008

seconding escape pod and pseudopod.
posted by rmd1023 at 9:30 AM on April 10, 2008

Public domain stories and books are freely available at Librivox. They also like volunteers, so if you're interested in reading for them, dive in.
posted by cereselle at 9:30 AM on April 10, 2008

ThoughtAudio [via]
posted by sciurus at 10:12 AM on April 10, 2008

You might enjoy Jean Shepherd, one of the great raconteurs of 20th-Century radio; he's now on iTunes and the web.
posted by dpcoffin at 11:14 AM on April 10, 2008

StoryCorps is an independent nonprofit project whose mission is to honor and celebrate one another’s lives through listening.
By recording the stories of our lives with the people we care about, we experience our history, hopes, and humanity. Since 2003, tens of thousands of everyday people have interviewed family and friends through StoryCorps. Each conversation is recorded on a free CD to take home and share, and is archived for generations to come at the Library of Congress. Millions listen to our award-winning broadcasts on public radio and the Internet. StoryCorps is one of the largest oral history projects of its kind, creating a growing portrait of who we really are as Americans.

StoryCorps podcasts are here.
They're short, but so worth it.
posted by hulahulagirl at 12:31 PM on April 10, 2008 [1 favorite]

Wiretap is gold. No official podcast, but that link has almost complete archives and an unofficial podcast link.
posted by tomble at 4:47 PM on April 10, 2008

How to Succeed in Evil by same guy behind the Seanachai. Also kinda stagnant (he's working on a novelization of HTSiE).
posted by juv3nal at 3:19 AM on April 11, 2008

Holy crap! You guys are amazing! I'm working 16 hours a night this weekend, so don't have time to go through all this awesomeness in-depth until Sunday evening/Monday morning, but WOW. Thank you to everyone!
posted by po at 12:14 PM on April 11, 2008