A highly entertaining series of stories presented by two experienced hosts. The Porchlight shows have been around much longer than there were podcasts, but this is an excellent medium for the stories. This being a 100% live podcast, sound levels can be a little erratic, such as when someone yells into a mic, but it's not outside the comfortable range. Very much like being there, actually. The typical storyteller is an experienced and proven veteran who has to pitch the story prior to being put on the evening's roster and who generally will deliver an entertaining story. The funeral boat was a hoot. If you like ALL your stories to be polished, you might avoid the Open Door shows as these are pretty much all amateurs, but I do appreciate the hosts making this effort to allow new people to try storytelling.

I do wish they’d realize that conservatives enjoy the stories. I could do without the political sniping

You would be better off spending your time with The Moth or Snap Judgement. Porch light stories are usually weak and the MCs are annoying.

I'm truly amazed this series has lasted as long as it has. The piano grates on the nerves so as well as the way the two hosts talk over each other. The only saving grace are some of the storytellers.

Thanks for the stories

They've done a good job recently editing their show. The hosts also talk less, which was very necessary.

PLEASE PLEASE stop yelling and screaming over each other, its not funny or cute to listen to, otherwise...... love the story telling

There is a dude that laughs at non-jokes. Please fire that guy. He drives me absolutely crazy. Or let him take the stage so that he might feel the joy and support of an audience that is not begging to be onstage.

The storytellers are great! I listen to them at work so the massive amount of content is perfect for binge listening. On the other hand, and I'm only reviewing this so they will fix it, the hosts are AWFUL!! Thank god for the 15 sec skip ahead button because every time they come on, I fast forward to the next storyteller. The hosts scream and distort the sound, talk over each other, and are flat out annoying. If Apple ever takes the fast forward button away I will stop listening. They even announced on one of their shows that one reviewer had pointed out the terrible quality and the fact that the two of them talk over each other yet they don't try to fix it. They just keep pumping out high volumes of low quality work. Spend more time on episodes, please!

The founders should not host. The production value and “open mic” quality to the hosts as well as the poor sound really, really bring the rest down. The storytellers are a range of very good to Boise, Idaho high school talent show. If you’re to do what others do, do it at least as good (The Moth and countless others). Bottom line: C-

Some of these stories are great, but more often are disjointed. The hosts are indeed loud, and in my opinion take too much time talking between to each other. Loudly. So much so that I finally had to downgrade this completely.

This would get a 5 star rating but the hosts need to tone it down. They are loud and obnoxious and we do not need to hear them trying to outshout each other BETWEEN EVERY SINGLE STORY. The story delivery is less polished than Risk or Moth but I like the contrast. The storytellers sound like people you know in real life. I don't know how much longer I can listen to these hostesses though. I respect their passion for their baby but they should listen to themselves sometime and hear the way they assault our eardrums. Give us a break ladies!!!

I love the open and accepting venue for storytelling. The hosts ARE delightful. the “Announcer competition” is great, whateverr! charming. and adorable. i love this podcast. Makes me feel like I can relate to people on days when nobody even says hi to me. (that sounded sad. it’s not that sad. its okay.)

Thank you, sincerely for blasting annoying female voices in my head and making me constantly adjust my volume as my ears either strained to hear or got closer to beinng permantly damaged.

if you are looking for radio friends... here they are... thank you for being mine

Love this podcast! This ranks in my top 5 storytelling go-to's! The reason for a 4 star rating is because the 2 hosts Arline and Beth seem at times to be competing for mic time, or don't realize the other is speaking- they talk over each other quite a bit, and this can be confusing to the listener, and a bit irritating at times-I love that it is taped in front of a live audience- hearing reactions from the crowd adds to the story itself-

I really wanted to like this podcast, guess it's just not for me. The storytellers themselves are great, but the hosts are intrusive and frankly obnoxious. Combine this with poor sound quality, and it's just not fun.

I enjoy this podcast. the style of the host doesn't really bother me, and sometimes I think they're funny. the stories are very well done and entertaining. the only downside is often the host's voices are turned up WAY louder than the storyteller, so I have to constantly change the volume while listening. also, their last two podcasts (in July) could only be heard in one ear of my headphones. but no big deal, I set my iphone on "mono" and then it sounded better. they need to get a little better at recording. but I love this show, so I'll keep listening!

Love the podcasts and the hosts! The only thing that bothers me is the volume difference between the hosts and the stories. When a story ends I usually turn down the volume for the hosts and back up for the stories.

I guess I shouldn't have started with the "open mic" one… I think it's great that these live events exist for inexperienced storytellers to share, but I think a podcast should probably curate and broadcast only the good ones, like the Moth does with its open events. The stories I heard really weren't "stories" pe se - they all had a beginning but only a few had middles or ends. I checked out a second episode that wasn't an open mic and must say I agreed with other reviewers that the hosts shouting over one another is a turnoff. I'll stick with Risk and the Moth...

This podcast is excellent. It sometimes features famous people and people I wish were more famous. (And probably will be!) One suggestion I have for the producers of the podcast is to up the volume in the recordings. I usually have to turn iTunes volume and computer volume all the way up to hear it. Just a tip! Thanks for this wonderful collection of stories!

The two hosts scream into the microphone, it sounds HORRIBLE. They interrupt each other and speak at the same time and it seems like they are fighting for attention. I love story telling podcasts...for the stories. Why can't they cut out the hosts introductions and just include the stories in the podcast. I won't be listening much longer if those two women aren't fired or at least deleted from the podcast. It's not worth it when there are so many other podcasts like this.

The hosts should stop taking over each other. And stop the meaningless profanity between story tellers. The Story tellers are often terrific and otherwise good.

i think it's very interesting. my only issue is that it seems the announcers are competing to speak, it almost feels uncomfortable. on another note, @bigtimestoryfan's review/rating is not reflective of the podcast itself. A podcast should not feel the need to censor itself in any way. If the podcast states that it's a storytelling podcast, and has explicit material, you should be prepared for ANYTHING, and not get upset at the podcast for its bluntness.

If you can't get enough of The Moth, Story Collider or other storytelling podcasts, Porchlight is just what you need! The episodes are 30-60 minutes long and feature several storytellers. With this amount of volume, the storytelling quality doesn't always stand up to The Moth (a surprising number of people have no idea how to end a story or to circle back to a central theme). However, I'm never disappointed in an episode. The hosts of the show are wonderful. They give a small introduction and then let the storytellers do the talking. There is no annoying wasted time or pointless musical interludes- just enough to help your brain transition from one story to the next. I can't wait to hear more!

Really enjoyed listening to these stories - hope they will make more soon!