5 Fantasy Podcasts: for when you need to escape to another world

Off we go, podcast listeners!

Listen to Babalu: a mother and daughter finally meet — through cassette tapes recorded decades ago.

Podcast Picks

Curated by Tal Minear of Sidequesting

Here’s why Tal chose this week’s podcasts:

Sometimes, everything about the real world sucks and you just wanna go somewhere else. These five podcasts are perfect for such an escape. They're fun, they're fantasy, and you'll end up in a better mood for having listened.

Tal Minear, November 2025 EarBuds curator

Podcast Recommendations That Take Us to Fantasy Worlds

Absolutely No Adventures podcast cover art

Absolutely No Adventures

This show follows a chosen one who does not want to partake in any prophecies, thank you very much.

He's got his own bakery instead, and plenty of hi-jinks ensue. Listening always makes me want a pastry.

Inn Between podcast cover art

Inn Between

Listening to this show feels like being at a DND game with your best friends. It's sweet, silly, and fun.

Stories from Ylelmore podcast cover art

Stories from Ylelmore

This show follows a group of kids in a mundanely magical world, and it is absolutely adorable!

I'm always smiling when I listen. You'll never believe one actor does all the voices.

Starfall podcast cover art

Starfall

Starfall is about a magical theatre troupe and it's everything you'd ever want from that concept.

It's also extraordinary heartfelt!

Sidequesting podcast cover art

Sidequesting

This show follows and adventurer who avoids the main plot, doing (you guessed it) side-quests instead.

It promises a happy ending to every episode. Sometimes, that's just what you need.

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Small Ship Cruise Talk reveals the world of intimate cruising experiences where you'll actually connect with destinations, from European barges and river cruises to Arctic expeditions to sailing North America's coastline.

Cruise experts Dan and Mikkel Woodruff share insider secrets to help you discover the most incredible small ship voyages you never knew existed.

Sherry Zhang committed suicide in 1989. When she died, she left behind a baby daughter and unbeknownst to her family, dozens of cassette tapes recording her innermost thoughts. Years later, Luisa, the child Sherry left behind, learns about these tapes and decides to finally get to know the mother she lost through her own words.

But the more she listens, the more questions she has.

Reach your ideal audience by purchasing an ad in this newsletter.

Community

🇨🇭Are you Swiss and planning to move abroad? Or have you already taken the leap? Swissinfo has a new podcast just for you. It’s called Ade merci, Schweiz and is available in Swiss German and French.

🎧Discover Small Talk with Sheila, where the mundane meets the magical in the most delightful and humorous ways! Imagine Bridget Jones had a self-help podcast, and you’re pretty close to the charming chaos that is Sheila’s world.

🏀Discover podcasts about college sports, curated by Chris Colbert for the EarBuds Sports newsletter.

🎤On Air Presents is revealing the first wave of headline talent and programming for its 2026 flagship On Air Festival. Get tickets here.

💖In Podcast The Newsletter, Lauren Passell recommends No Skip Christmas. She writes: “Helen is such a goddam delight, she’s one of the most underrated funny voices in podcasting and I would listen to her talk about anything.”

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Podcast news from Podnews

Spotlight

Phonograph podcast cover art

A sound-rich audio zine about podcasts, hosted by former public radio producers Rob McGinley Myers (The Writer's Almanac, Anxious Machine) and Britta Greene (Minnesota Public Radio, The New Yorker Radio Hour).

On the latest episode…

To explore the phenomenon of podcast bonus feeds, Rob and Britta dig into several podcast bonus feeds (This American Life Partners, Slate Plus, and others), to find what they're offering. And they’re pleasantly surprised.

✨Curate a list just like this one! Learn more here.

Extra bits

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