When it comes to podcasts available to listen to nowadays, the choices of what there is to listen to can seem endless. Scrolling through the choices on an iPhone, it's easy to get lost in the thoughts of what all is there. What should you listen to? What if the person on the podcast has an annoying voice? Where does one even begin? One choice could be to just scroll and scroll until something seems interesting, or...you could try listening to a wonderful, strange, completely out-there, adventure of a podcast "Welcome to Night Vale."
Why "Welcome to Night Vale", though? Well, let's see..
1.) Cecil Palmer, voiced by Cecil Baldwin, has a voice that makes you want to listen to him for hours.
When you first start the podcast, you're greeted (almost) every week by the voice of Cecil as he begins the weekly radio show for the city of Night Vale, and like the voice of Morgan Freeman, he could read me the nutrition facts off a box of rice and I'd still listen.
2.) Night Vale is probably the strangest, most unique town you'll ever hear of.
3.) The radio station has a floating cat in the men's bathroom named Khoshekh!
He floated four feet off the ground next to one of the sinks, and they can't seem to find a way to move him. Not that anyone minds; he's cute and seems to be perfectly healthy.
4.) The way that the characters look is completely up to what your imagination can hold!
The character descriptions are vague, to the point that you can't ever be sure just exactly what they look like (besides the fact that there's a faceless old woman and a five-headed dragon). You want to imagine that Cecil is a pale man covered in tattoos with a third eye? Go for it! Cecil's a muscular Hispanic man? Sure! It's all up to your imagination, besides the smallest little vague details so you can begin to shape the characters in your mind!
5.) You get to hear Cecil fanboy over Carlos.
I don't know if you're one of the people that loves to hear someone in a relationship gush over the other person, look no farther than Cecil Palmer and Carlos the scientist. The first time Carlos appears in Night Vale, you get to hear Cecil talk about his perfect, perfect hair (and get angry when Tilly the barber cuts it), and his teeth, and Cecil gushing over Carlos being a scientist.
7.) The weather broadcast each episode is music.
I kid you not; every time Cecil switches you over to the weather, it's music. Some new song by a band, group, or person you may never have heard of that can be just as strange and wonderful as the little town of Night Vale is.
8.) You'll get a laugh every time the topic of Steve Carlsburg comes up.
Steve Carlsburg is a citizen of Night Vale that, for some reason, Cecil absolutely despises. And every time Cecil has to say Steve's name, it never fails to earn a laugh from the way his voice changes and he just says the name. It's great, trust me.
9.) Night Vale just got a brand new dog park! Don't go in it.
10.) There are angels in Night Vale.
Okay, well, they're at Old Woman Josie's house, and angels don't technically "exist", but they're there. Legally, though, they're not, okay? Okay.
11.) The Glow Cloud.
There's a giant glowing cloud over the city. It rains cats and dogs, sometimes.
Er, sorry, The All Mighty Glow Cloud.
12.) You can also read about Night Vale, and they finally explain The Man in The Tan Jacket.
Last year, a Welcome to Night Vale book was published, and finally, finally, there is an explanation for who The Man in The Tan Jacket is and what's going on with him.
13.) It's just great, okay?
Go listen to it, give it a try! The episodes aren't too long, and you can listen to them and finish one without even realizing twenty, twenty-five minutes have passed!
