There are countless podcasts out there and plenty more that aim to be a show of sorts, but few that can captivate like Joseph Fink and Jeffery Cranor’s “Welcome to Night Vale.” The show takes this listener through the consistently bizarre and frequently terrifying society that is the town. Prepare yourself for hooded figures roaming the streets, lights above the Arby’s, a five-headed dragon mayoral candidate and the looming threat of wheat and wheat by-products. Welcome to Night Vale.
The podcast is set up as the local radio station in the small desert town of Night Vale with a man named Cecil as the host. Night Vale is a town plagued by the strange and other-worldly where any conspiracy theory is hardly just a theory, where it is illegal to acknowledge the existence of the angels who live with Old Woman Josie and the City Council is often attempting to alter people's day-to-day lives. The show's podcast itself consists of Cecil bringing his listeners up to date with the goings-on in the town as a normal news segment which goes on for approximately the first half of the podcast.
Occasionally segments like "Traffic" and "Children’s Fun Fact Science Corner" follow; "Traffic" is usually only tangentially related to traffic, and "Children’s Fun Fact Science Corner" is typically composed of very surreal, existential ponderings. Frequently Cecil will announce a “word from our sponsors”, which is fair game to any random, usually maddening, statement followed by the name of a real-world establishment. Target, Taco Bell, Coca-Cola, and DirectTV have all “provided” messages. The segment to be featured on every episode is the Weather where Cecil proclaims, “And now, the weather," and is succeeded by a song, not at all weather-related, by an independent artist.
“Welcome to Night Vale” stands out against other podcasts with its almost ridiculous length. Other podcasts can easily reach well past an hour on a regular basis, but “Welcome to Night Vale” has only two episodes out of nearly 90 that run over 33 minutes, and these are only about 45 minutes. Coming from someone who never got into podcasts due to this staggering runtime, the half-hour episodes are quite enjoyable and far easier to digest than other longer shows. If you’re looking for a more informational or formal show, this is not for you. “Welcome to Night Vale” is just that, a show, meant for entertainment, but not everyone will find it amusing. The humor comes from the extreme outlandishness of what would seem to be everyday occurrences and listening to the Cecil talk in a soothing and deadpan voice about what could otherwise be considered existential or cosmic horror.
Altogether, “Welcome to Night Vale” is not for everyone, but those who are used to and enjoy weirdness will certainly find some charm in the show. “Welcome to Night Vale” has even gained enough popularity to spawn an eponymous novel written by the show’s creators. The novel has just the same atmosphere of the podcast, but ties everything into a cohesive and intriguing plot. Anyone who is looking for some dark, dry entertainment or just some unconnected fantastical events should definitely check out the show.
