Listen As One May [STUD]

It seems like I'll never run out of podcasts to talk about on this blog!  I did a roundup of them back in 2017 and had a big ol' list of them this summer.  And here I am again talking about them!  I know podcasts aren't for everyone, but here we are, seven months into Covid and still separated from most of our Sherlockian friends.  It won't completely fill the hole left by cancelled conferences and no more in-person meetings, but a good podcast can go a long way to scratch that itch we have to talk about the Canon.

The first one didn't know better and had me on as a guest in their latest episode.  From Adler to Amberley is a recap/discussion style show that's working their way through the short stories of the Canon in publication order (hence Adler to Amberley).  It's hosted by Karl Coppack with rotating guests and Jon Rees filling in any needed factual information.  

From Adler to Amberley is part of the Rippercast podcast, which is a blessing and a curse for it.  The production of the show is phenomenal, and Karl and Jon are old hands at running a show so this definitely doesn't suffer from new podcast syndrome, where the hosts are finding their way.  These guys have done thousands of different shows, obviously on Jack the Ripper, but they also do another show on European football.  The curse of it is that From Adler to Amberley is under the Rippercast banner, so it's not easy to find on Itunes or whatever podcatcher you use.  

But it's definitely worth hunting down.  First of all, these guys are British!  And we all know that the British accent makes everything 82% more enjoyable.  Karl has a relaxed and enjoyable approach to the show where it's a conversation, but he definitely wants to get the guest's opinion on the story of the week.  Past guests have included Les Klinger and Bonnie MacBird from this side of the pond, and a slew of fun and interesting Brits that I was unfamiliar with, but immediately enjoyed.  

One of the strong points here is Karl's interaction with the guests.  It's not a direct dive into the story, there's plenty of getting-to-know-you chit chat that is actually pretty fascinating.  Listening to Karl and and Trevor Downey talk about literature and short stories before getting down to discussing The Noble Bachelor was a specific highlight.

Plus, they always end the show with what story the guest does NOT like, and I think I was the first one to actually not say The Mazarin Stone.  I will fight anyone who says there's a story worse than The Veiled Lodger!

Another new podcast is However Improbable, which is brand new.  You can listen now and get in on the ground floor, so when everyone else is coming around to this delightful show in a year or two, you can be a Sherlockian hipster and say, "I was listening before everyone else knew about it."

A couple things about However Improbable make it an interesting addition to the Sherlockian podcast world.  First of all, they are doing the stories in chronological order instead of publication order, and each story has multiple episodes.  The first episode is a different reader reading the story to you, and we all know how great these stories are, and However Improbable is purposely trying to find diverse voices to read the stories, a nice change of pace for sure.  

But the real strength comes in the second episode for each story.  Hosts Marissa and Sarah have a two-person book club.  Recaps are nice, but most of us know these stories, and the reader episodes make sure everyone knows the ins and outs of the story.  So no recap here, just two friends talking about what they liked, didn't like, the friendship between Holmes and Watson, and how these stories hold up over a hundred years later.

So far, However Improbable has only done one story, A Study in Scarlet, so I'm admittedly using a small sample size here, but Marissa and Sarah's conversation was absolutely delightful, and I found myself wanting to spend more time with them.  Don't think I won't try and recruit them to log in to an upcoming Parallel Case of St. Louis zoom session!