The Weird Tales Podcast Tycho Alhambra

I want to start off by saying that this is a show I always check in on every week to see what’s new. I don’t listen to every episode, but I enjoy the host’s readings quite a lot. I’ve even discovered some new authors and stories through this show that I’ve since grown to love! In that regard I have no complaints.

Where I do feel like I should give a bit of constructive criticism is in the way the host sometimes interacts with the audience. Now, I’m not saying “you should just shut up and read the story, man!”. At least, I’m really trying not to say that. But I think it could be a good idea to keep the beginnings where you decide to address the audience a little more on the light side.

Recently I listened to the ch. 3&4 episode of Horror From the Hills, where you address a comment you received from a listener who disagreed with your decision to explicitly address any racism in stories read on the show. I actually agreed with the point you made, but I have to say it kinda killed the mood. Again, I’m not saying you shouldn’t discuss any serious topics regarding the stories, or that you shouldn’t address the audience or anything like that. But I think you might be overestimating the role you’re playing here

While I think you’re right to say it’s best to err on the side of caution in terms of addressing the racism directly, I also don’t think anyone is expecting you to solve the problems of institutional racism on a short story podcast. It’s okay to not take yourself so seriously here. No one will think you’re wasting your platform if you’re not doing a five minute lecture about why racism is bad at the beginning of every ep. I get the desire to be cautious, but it’s okay to strike a balance too.

I’m just not sure that airing out your personal grievances with individual critics on air is the best way to be doing things. It only makes the show a lot more unpleasant for people who already agree with you anyway and just want to hear the story. Again, not suggesting you’re wrong to bring up serious topics when necessary, but no one expects you to be the knight in shining armor here. People do come for the stories and your performance of them. Going out of your way to go off on every rando who didn’t agree with you on the show, no matter the validity of your stance, isn’t going to win you any fans and it’s unlikely to change anyone’s mind

I hate to sound like a jerk, because you really do seem like a genuine guy who has his heart in the right place. But there’s nothing wrong with letting the show just be a fun place. When you make that big of a deal about some random guy disagreeing with you, you’re not combatting racism, you’re just making the show less enjoyable for everyone else.

I hope that all made some kind of sense and doesn’t seem too combative if you happen to read this. That’s certainly not how I intend for it to come off!

There are plenty of podcasts today, that offer stories of the weird and eerie, but the consistency of the excellent selections that are here cannot be matched. I’m very lucky that I stumbled across this podcast and I recommend it highly to my friends and family.

Tycho remains the hardest working, most lovable human in podcastland. A terrific weird tales writer too. This is amateur podcasting in the best sense, podcasting done for the love of it (Lat. *amare*, to love). I have discovered many stories on this show, and experienced in full others I'd only heard about. For example, William Hope Hodgson's *The House on the Borderland*, a novel I would have never read on my own. I would not say it's a "good" novel, though there are wonderful elements to it. But I'm immensely grateful to Tycho for bringing me through it. Also amazing: his promotion of diverse writers, his heroic “October project,” and his trips into weird poetry. “Annabelle Lee” forever, my friend!