Podcast Wednesday: Alice Isn't Dead Is Back

In one of my very first posts here, I wrote about my favorite serial fiction podcasts, including Night Vale Presents' Alice Isn't Dead. This week, the show returned to a final season, and I'm here to tell you why you should catch up and listen. This is Podcast Wednesday.

Alice Isn't Dead was the second podcast by Night Vale Presents, following one of the biggest and most popular podcasts in the world, Welcome To Night Vale. It tells the story of Keisha, a woman searching for her missing, long presumed dead, wife. Keisha takes to the road as a trucker, and follows the clues in search of Alice, the woman she loved, who disappeared with many secrets.

A serial fiction podcast that is mostly narrated by one person is as dependent on the actor as it is on the writing. And Alice Isn't Dead is built largely on the vocal talents of Jasika Nicole. If you know Nicole, it is most likely due to her stellar work as Astrid on Fringe. Of the core four characters in the show, she was most often the one sidelined, with the focus going to the other three. But here, the spotlight is very much on her, and she delivers.

From the very first episode, "Omelet," we learn that this is not just the story of one woman's search for another. This is a story about the evil that roams the roads of America. The American countryside has become, thanks to pop culture, synonymous with horror. That's where evil lurks, where it can find you and catch you if you make a mistake. And Keisha has to stay one step ahead of that evil while she looks Alice and gets involved in an ever broadening network of conspiracy.

The first episode of season 3, which dropped this week, was a huge shift in the show's status quo. I won't spoil it, but it is the sort of shift the season will have to go back to explain.

I have nominated Alice Isn't Dead for the Hugo award in the Best Dramatic Presentation: Short category in the past, and I expect I'll do it again next week. This is both because I dislike how the category has become "best TV episode" when there is so much more, and because this podcast is that good.

You can find every episode of the show on the Night Vale Presents website or in podcatcher of your choice.