Welcome to Night Vale!

Inspired by a "long-standing desire to write a world where every bizarre conspiracy and theory is absolutely true," erstwhile SA writer Joseph "maxnmona" Fink launched the podcast "Welcome to Night Vale" roughly a year ago. "It's community radio from a small desert town where things like aliens and ghosts and angels are commonplace parts of daily life," Fink explains. "It's weird and funny and sad, and at no point do any comedians discuss their unique takes on the comedy business and life."

The most recent "Night Vale" installment, posted Monday July 15 at midnight, quickly climbed to #2 on the podcast charts, so be sure to check it out now if you like to get in on the ground floor of new and popular media phenomena! On the other hand, it's still ranked beneath "This American Life," so you'll be supporting the underdog that's challenging a government-funded fat cat! Here's the official teaser:

And here's an unsolicited celebrity endorsement:

Time for your Night Vale starter kit: You can listen to all 27 episodes for free; note that SA's fiction luminary Zack Parsons co-wrote Episode 18, and frequent contributor Satellite High lent this tune to Episode 2. Also, you can follow the Twitter feed (maintained by the series' co-writers Fink and Jeffrey Cranor) and/or donate to the show. Now you have everything you need! Turn on your radio and hide.

– Andrew "Garbage Day" Miller