Escape Pod (podcast)

:"For other uses of the term, see Escape pod (disambiguation)."Infobox Podcast
title = Escape Pod


caption = The official Escape Pod logo
host = Steve Eley
url = http://www.escapepod.org/
rss = http://feeds.escapepod.org/EscapePod
status = Weekly
began = May 16, 2005
ended =
genre = Sci-fi Short Stories
ratings =

"Escape Pod" is a magazine-style podcast launched on 12 May, 2005 which presents stories in the science fiction, fantasy, and horror genres. It has been called "the world's leading science fiction podcast" [cite web | author=TNC New Media, Inc | title=Speaker Bio: Stephen Eley | publisher=TNC New Media, Inc | url=http://www.newmediaexpo.com/EleyStephen.htm | accessdate=2007-11-13] and the "second largest market for short science fiction" [cite web | author=Steve Eley | title=Escape Pod Metacast 3 | publisher=Escape Artists, Inc | url=http://forum.escapeartists.info/index.php?topic=1383.0 | accessdate=3008-03-27] . The podcast is edited by Steve Eley, who also provides short introduction and closing comments for each story. Escape Pod is produced by Escape Artists Inc., a company started by Steve Eley for the purpose of supporting and continuing the podcast.

Escape Pod features several different types of content. The magazine offers a weekly story, usually between 2000 and 6000 words in length. It also releases flash fiction pieces less than 2000 words in length on an irregular schedule. Occasionally, the podcast airs reviews of mainstream science fiction and fantasy media, most of which are presented by Jonathon Sullivan, Escape Pod's reviews editor. In 2006, 2007 and 2008 Escape Pod published audio presentations that year's Hugo Award nominees in the short story category. On rare occasions, other types of content have been made available on Escape Pod, such as metacasts (episodes discussing the achievements and future plans of the show itself), an interview, book and movie reviews, and PDFs for Playing for Keeps by Mur Lafferty and Infected by Scott Sigler.

Escape Pod has a policy against allowing authors to read their own works. Many stories are read by people associated with Escape Pod (Steve Eley, Mur Lafferty, Jonathon Sullivan, and Anna Eley) as well as other members of the podcasting community.

In 2008, Escape Pod refocused its attention back to its science fiction roots, leaving the horror and fantasy stories to the sister podcasts Pseudopod and Pod Castle. But Eley states that there are still no hard and fast rules on content, and Escape Pod may still feature the occasional horror or fantasy piece.

Escape Pod's music is provided by surf rock band Daikaiju with the band's permission. The opening theme is the instrumental song "The Final Phase," and the closing theme is "Choujikuu Mitsukai" ("Super-Dimensional Angels"). Both are from the album "The Phasing Spider Menace," which will be brought back into print as a joint venture between Daikaiju and Escape Pod in late 2006.

Distribution and rights

Escape Pod is distributed under the Creative Commons attribution non-commercial no-derivatives license. This means that Escape Pod episodes are available at no cost and can be redistributed but not sold or modified. Any of the show's episodes may be downloaded individually from [http://www.escapepod.org/ Escape Pod's website] or received via a podcatcher.

The fiction itself remains copyrighted by its respective authors. Escape Pod contracts with the authors for non-exclusive audio rights, paying semi-professional rates.

Escapepod now sells collections of their podcasts at [http://poddisc.com/ PodDisc] . There are currently five discs available. Disc one contains episodes 1 through 26. Disc two contains contains 27 through 52. Disc three contains episodes 53 through 78. Disc four contains episodes 79 through 104. Disc five contains episodes 105 through 130.

Comment Line

Escapepod has a phone line for anybody to leave a message, some of which are broadcast at the end of episodes. 1-206-666-EPOD (3763)

ister Podcasts

* Pseudopod is Escape Pod's younger sibling podcast dedicated to horror fiction.
* PodCastle is Escape Pod's sister podcast dedicated to fantasy fiction.

List of Escape Pod episodes

References

External links

* [http://www.escapepod.org/ Escape Pod] - official web site
* [http://www.pseudopod.org/ Pseudopod] - sister podcast focused on horror stories
* [http://www.podcastle.org/ PodCastle] - sister podcast focused on fantasy fiction
* [http://smallworldpodcast.com/?p=565 Interview with Steve Eley, host of Escape Pod]
* [http://smallworldpodcast.com small WORLD Podcast] 2007
* [http://www.sffaudio.com/2006/01/back-in-1947-bulletin-of-atomic.html SFFAudio review]
* [http://www.scifidimensions.com/Oct06/podpeople.htm Review in SciFi Dimensions]
* [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20060817/ai_n16640242 Review in The Independent (London)]
* [http://www.escapearchive.com/ Escape Archive] - Unofficial alternative Escape Pod feed that contains every episode instead of the 20 most recent ones