Escape Pod (podcast)

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For other uses of the term, see Escape pod (disambiguation).
Escape Pod

The official Escape Pod logo
Hosting Steve Eley
 RSS http://feeds.escapepod.org/EscapePod
Updates Weekly
Debut May 16, 2005
Genre Sci-fi Short Stories
Website http://www.escapepod.org/

Escape Pod is a magazine-style podcast launched on 12 May, 2005 which presents stories in the science fiction, fantasy, and horror genres. It has been called "the world's leading science fiction podcast"[1] and the "second largest market for short science fiction" [2]. The podcast is edited by Steve Eley, who also provides short introduction and closing comments for each story. Escape Pod is produced by Escape Artists Inc., a company started by Steve Eley for the purpose of supporting and continuing the podcast.

Escape Pod features several different types of content. The magazine offers a weekly story, usually between 2000 and 6000 words in length. It also releases flash fiction pieces less than 2000 words in length on an irregular schedule. Occasionally, the podcast airs reviews of mainstream science fiction and fantasy media, most of which are presented by Jonathon Sullivan, Escape Pod's reviews editor. In both 2006 and 2007 Escape Pod published audio presentations that year's Hugo Award nominees in the short story category. On rare occasions, other types of content have been made available on Escape Pod, such as metacasts (episodes discussing the achievements and future plans of the show itself), an interview, and a poem.

Escape Pod has a policy against allowing authors to read their own works. Many stories are read by people associated with Escape Pod (Steve Eley, Mur Lafferty, Jonathon Sullivan, and Anna Eley) as well as other members of the podcasting community.

Escape Pod's music is provided by surf rock band Daikaiju with the band's permission. The opening theme is the instrumental song "The Final Phase," and the closing theme is "Choujikuu Mitsukai" ("Super-Dimensional Angels"). Both are from the album The Phasing Spider Menace, which will be brought back into print as a joint venture between Daikaiju and Escape Pod in late 2006.

Short fiction audio podcast magazines like Escape Pod and its sister publications, Pseudopod and Pod Castle, have caught the interest and imagination of fiction enthusiasts, and doing a wonderful job at reviving awareness in both new short fiction and classic works

—Eugie Foster, The UK SF Book News Network[3]

Contents

[edit] Distribution and rights

Escape Pod is distributed under the Creative Commons attribution non-commercial no-derivatives license. This means that Escape Pod episodes are available at no cost and can be redistributed but not sold or modified. Any of the show's episodes may be downloaded individually from Escape Pod's website or received via a podcatcher.

The fiction itself remains copyrighted by its respective authors. Escape Pod contracts with the authors for non-exclusive audio rights, paying semi-professional rates.

Escapepod now sells collections of their podcasts at PodDisc. There are currently five discs available. Disc one contains episodes 1 through 26. Disc two contains contains 27 through 52. Disc three contains episodes 53 through 78. Disc four contains episodes 79 through 104. Disc five contains episodes 105 through 130.

[edit] Comment Line

Escapepod has a phone line for anybody to leave a message, some of which are broadcast at the end of episodes. 1-206-666-EPOD (3763)

[edit] Sister Podcasts

  • Pseudopod is Escape Pod's younger sibling podcast dedicated to horror fiction.
  • PodCastle is Escape Pod's sister podcast dedicated to fantasy fiction.

[edit] List of Escape Pod episodes

[edit] References

  1. ^ TNC New Media, Inc. Speaker Bio: Stephen Eley. TNC New Media, Inc. Retrieved on 2007-11-13.
  2. ^ Steve Eley. Escape Pod Metacast 3. Escape Artists, Inc. Retrieved on 3008-03-27.
  3. ^ Eugie Foster. The Fix - short fiction website launches today!. The UK SF Book News Network. Retrieved on 2007-11-13.

[edit] External links