I know that I’ve written about the Edge of the World Broadcast before, but it deserves ongoing discussion because each time a new season drops, Joel Mengel raises the bar on what radio dramas are compared to where they used to be. Season Three is no different.
In Season One, I called the show “wondrous and mysterious,” and in Season Two I said it was “even more engaging and engrossing.” Season Three starts with a great recap of those two seasons especially if, like me, you’re back after an extended period away. It may also work if you’ve never heard the series, but it’s probably worth starting from the beginning.
What starts in season one as a one-act play multiplies in intensity with each passing episode, season after season, culminating in a full-fledged cinematic season three crescendo.
And like Bill Hader’s Stefon would say as a review for this podcast, it has it all; zombies, artificial intelligence, body snatching, apocalypse landscapes and isolation, explosions, tinfoil hat conspiracies, and even coffee. This great series encompasses all of that and more with commentaries on isolation, religion, personal growth, extremism, and ego, as all great fiction should.
I once that this show was storytelling as it used to be, and it continues to be that. This show is why our grandparents were enthralled just by listening to the radio as we once watched the television. Today, children latch on to the streaming service of their particular content addiction.
Creator Joe Mengel
Mengel doesn’t skimp on the story or the production here. There is nothing cheap. He builds tension and drama that is a fuse burning towards a detonator to engage the explosive finish.
In full disclosure, I am the voice of Michael Westen in this series. I am a minor character, however, and only received my part of the script. Even being somewhat behind the scenes, I told Joel not to tell me anything. I was a fan first before he asked me to be a voice in his masterpiece of modern radio theater. And had he not asked, I would have still enjoyed the story because it is just that good.
I grew up listening to the make-believe of Garrison Keillor’s Lake Wobegon. And while that may seem like an odd comparison, they both share a detailed worldbuilding that I often find lacking in today’s radio fiction.
The adventures of Delsin Moore are exciting, enthralling, and most importantly for a radio drama, entertaining. It’s not a tall order to add to your list either; 21 episodes ranging in length from 5 to 30 minutes. This will be something new for you to enjoy, or if you have heard it before, something fun to return to.
“Stay safe… The future depends on it.”