The Guardian posted an article about a podcast that mixes fact and fiction, and the occasional occult reference in a blend that deliberately — apparently quite successfully — keeps devotees unsure as to whether it’s based on reality masquerading as fiction or vice versa.
“Pacific Northwest Stories was a well-regarded radio program that, much like This American Life, painted grand pictures of the universal experience through the minute details of the individual lives of people living in the Pacific Northwest. Thanks to the success of that show, producers of Pacific Northwest Stories have gone on – under the auspices of the Pacific Northwest Stories podcasting network – to create two new shows, the Black Tapes Podcast (which you can read about here) and its spin-off, Tanis. They are both highly regarded and critically acclaimed shows that explore the unknowable and as their stories unfurl, they have both become mandatory listening for podcast fans. Here’s the thing, though: Pacific Northwest Stories never existed. Not that anyone who works at the Black Tapes Podcast or Tanis will admit that. It’s all part of the deep fiction that makes both the Black Tapes and Tanis so compelling and wildly addictive.
“Thanks to that in-depth research, the show is littered with references to people such as English occultist Aleister Crowley, rocket engineer Jack Parsons, and the Haida tribe, which all require digging through the past to be as historically accurate as possible to add a level of truth to Nic’s (and his trusty internet maven Meerkatnip) investigation. It’s a lot of work, but it pays off, keeping the mystery of Tanis alive – and the show’s Reddit community on their toes, which Miles loves. “The fans of Tanis are super engaged,” Miles said. “I get emails everyday with crazy theories and videos and pictures. There are the wildest theories.” Amid all the theories and the speculation circling the show are those listeners wondering why they have never heard of the myth of Tanis before, a question for which Miles has an easy answer. “If there’s a large conspiracy keeping this thing off of the internet, that would make sense. At least that’s what Nic always says,” Miles said.”
Read the entire article here:
http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/dec/19/tanis-podcast-unravels-mystery-internet-age
Check out the podcast here:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tanis/id1049183167?mt=2
Thanks to Hymenaeus Beta for the tip!
