This is my most favorite podcast

Love it

I don’t know how they do it. This podcast is so wonderful. Balanced between genres. Thrilling, sweet, hilarious, queer in all ways. Fantasy which flips the monsters vs humans narrative with romance and morality, noir detective space pirates. Heart pangs all around. Why isn’t it it more popular among audio dramas? Why isn’t audio dramas more popular among podcast listeners? Get aboard the Ruby 7, folks!

The Penumbra is one of those rare creations that deepens its connection to both the characters and the audience simultaneously over time, until listeners feel as though the characters are real-life figures in their lives. I’ve heard Penumbra listeners use these characters as examples for life lessons and refer to the plot points almost as historic fact. This is a testament to the full world that the creators have given us, and their courage to thread together stories that challenge and inspire our humanity. It’s a good show, but maybe most importantly it’s a show that has created a community of listeners who engage with the material in a shadow of the phenomenons of Star Trek and Doctor Who. To join the Penumbra’s world is to join a community, and almost nothing is more important today.

This podcast started off pretty great, loved it all the way to season 3. Not a fan of season 4, it just doesn’t feel interesting anymore. Not to mention that I started the podcast bcause I thought the main character was black, which was wrong and would’ve been fine if I didn’t find out that this “headcannon” was started by the crew’s official art and not the fans?? That’s not even it, a lot of racist drama surrounds this show. I just don’t think I can listen to this podcast anymore, the story ain’t even worth it.

I’m still early in so maybe I will update when I get further. The stories are good and engaging. Some have unexpected twists. Sometimes the acting could be better but like I said I am in the beginning. Way to much kissing sounds though. That’s just me. I could go without that entirely.

First of all, I hope everyone ignores the stupid homophobic comments because this show is amazing. The minute I started listening it became a new hyper fixation. The representation from early episodes made me so happy and I can’t wait to keep listening.

there’s just no place to start or end with this podcast. the creative energy that goes into and is actively appreciated in the creation of this podcast from so many unique and lovely artists is just baffling. i am so thankful for the conversations i get to hear during the extras and q&a’s too. the co-creators’ advice about writing, mental health, and queer issues has been a great comfort and encouragement for me. the effort they put into exploring all sorts of identities and issues is entertaining while still retaining the more realistic sub context and details. i won’t go into too much detail but specifically the aromantic and asexual representation and its variety meant more to me than i thought it could. i’ve never cried to a podcast until the penumbra but there was this great feeling of being seen at moments that i simply was too moved by. aside from the diversity in topics and cast, there’s also a diversity in storytelling! they somehow find something to add every season or a new way to re-animate or bring back things from old seasons and just: wow! from the music to the type of narration and shift in character development, wow! it may be that i’m simply weak to detective stories, but the penumbra as a whole is a touching project. it’s perhaps the first i see creators and characters so like me making and in a story that still explores those parts of them while also being a lot more. it is a boundless source of inspiration that i could talk about endlessly, i love it a lot, and i wish for the creators and everyone who’s worked on it the absolute best of the best. thank you so incredibly much!

they start very classically mid 2010s podcast complete with tropes you know and love and quickly and cleverly move towards more subtle and meaningful nuanced stories of healing and love and understanding. tpp should be commended they should make academy awards for podcasts so i can give them all to this show. if you’re considering listening i can’t recommend it enough

Rita needs her own spin-off show, better switch reverse episode be cool

Love all the Juno Steel stories! Ruby 7, Rita, Peter and all the rest are such great characters! Really enjoy these stories. Leaves me wanting MORE!

The creators have made it clear that POC don’t belong in their queer space. Or more like, they never thought about it (despite passively riding the POC wave for a while) and then when the issue came up, they’d double down on condemning and abandon their POC fans.

Really enjoying this podcast. Great stories. Love the action and can’t wait to hear more. Rita and Juno are my favorite characters. Well done fantasy!

This show is so amazing, I’ve re listened so many times. Everyone on this show is so creative and it keeps you hooked right from the beginning!

Truly truly beautiful work all around incredible, great acting, well written stories, fantastic audio engineering. Everything about this show is really well done. I highly encourage you guys to listen to it.

It’s a gay pride parade pretending to be audio drama.

This was my first experience with audio dramas and it shifted my life so drastically. The entire story of Detective Juno Steel is so immersive. The soundtrack is stunning, and the storytelling is so detailed. I genuinely grew attached to the characters. I listened to the whole first season in a few days!

Anyone who says there isn’t good acting is either deaf, apathetic, or whining about small issues. Literally, amazing. Nothing else to say, just that Juno & Peter? OTP. Thats my OTP Right there.

My friend got me into this show and it’s so good. I finished the Juno series (all currently released episodes) in like a month so yeah. Highly recommend the gay space pirates.

I work at a desk in a hospital and so mundane. I also have horrible coworkers so I constantly try to escape and this podcast is my escape 💖it is so wonderful ✨and I love Peter and Juno together ! Completely obsessed ! Wonderful job!

The voice acting for Cecil in the first episode was egregiously horrible. The shrill, screeching and hysterics make it abhorrent and ruined what seemed an interesting beginning.

A truly fantastic podcast with brilliant sound design and masterfully written tales. Whether chilling or heart wrenching, each story is perfectly created to keep you on the edge of your seat. I love it

The Penumbra is amazing - great voice acting, music/audio, writing, etc. first episodes are a little less focused because they’re more like multiple short stories, and then you get into two main arcs and they’re both so different and so fun! You get fantasy and space and pirates and investigations and romance — what’s not to love? Plus ALL the LGBTQ+ stories which are beautiful. Highly recommended!

I love the Juno storyline and like the found family vibe. I’m interested to hear more about everyone’s back story. I am less interested in the second citadel but it’s still real good. This show is definitely a classic for a reason

I love this show so much! It is the queer (in all senses of the word) genre-bending audio treat I did not know I needed. Juno is my favorite, but I love both of the ongoing storylines/worlds. Thank you for making this!

My cousin sent this to me 3 week ago and I am on season 4 this rlly helps me do my best.

(Wow! I can’t believe I haven’t left a review yet! Been listening for years and Totally thought I had already!) The folks at the Penumbra Podcast really know what they’re doing. I personally only follow the Juno Steele story arc (nothing personal against Second Citadel, it’s just not my genre preference) and by gods, it’s some of the best fiction I’ve ever come across, in ANY media format. The action and adventure combined with deeply realistic and flawed characters, not to mention the fantastic queer representation- no other podcast comes close to it for me, and I listen to a LOT of podcasts. There are lines from the Juno Steele universe that I seriously have imprinted in my mind forever and have repeated to myself over and over when I’m in a bad place. And they help. It’s not often you find fiction that can actually change how you think and feel as a person for the better, but these stories and characters have affected me deeply, permanently, and helped me through dark, weird and hard times. I seriously can’t recommend this podcast enough. And thank you to the creators for sharing these worlds with us.

Phenomenal characters, and shockingly relatable storylines that have not-so-subtly helped me to reconcile with past traumas. Olala helped me reconcile with fears about death, Sir Damien helped me to cope with chronic anxiety, the most recent episode as of 3/22/22 forced me to acknowledge my anxieties about growing apart from people, the list goes on. 11/10

I love this podcast so much, it was like, the only thing I thought about for months. Great characters, great voice actors, wonderful use of tropes!! Also Juno is an awesome protagonist who I relate to a little more than I want to XD

This is only for the Juno part of this podcast. I really like the long ongoing slow burn of the story. I don’t find the outer space portion super convincing and wish they had leaned into that and made a more compelling world or just done it earth bound. Good sound design, acting and music makes this very entertaining.

not really my thing. Plus the sound quality isn’t great - gets really loud and really quiet

Like anyone who listens to podcasts I love a good story. The stories you’ll hear here will take on emotional rollercoasters , with some wit, confusion but most of all heart. And like me. Maybe you’ll enjoy the ride.

Bruh, this stuff is not incredible. I’m on my third listenthrough of Juno Steel. The music, the writing, the voice acting, all come together to make a nigh perfect set of audio dramas. 🥰🥰🥰

Juno Steel is a truly amazing story with some of (if not The) best queer rep ive seen in modern media. It means a lot to me and aside from that the story lines are very well executed. It gets pretty dark at times in its satire and exploration of late stage capitalism and the kind of mental trauma that environment inflicts, but it also displays a good sense of humor and levity when needed and when appropriate. But also multiple trans/nonbinary Main chatactsrs(!) multiple arospec and an ace Main character (!) complex sapphic and achillean relationships (!)

this show has gotten me through some tough times and just the excitement and serotonin this show gives me is top quality like one moment i’ll be sad then put this on and be like “YASSS QUEEN SLAYYY WE ALL SUPPORT AND LOVE U JUNO" or "NUREYEV GIRLBOSSING, HE’S BACK GET IT GIRLBOSS"

I haven’t listened to much of the second citadel series, but the Juno series alone is worth giving this 5 stars. From the beautiful music to the balance of humor and drama. I love this podcast so so much. The acting is stellar, the writing is genius. When I listened to this the first time, I was in a really dark place and this podcast quickly became somewhat of a comfort series to listen to. And just to put in a personal note, the themes for certain characters are so so good. When Peter is listening to Brahma, or Vespa’s theme in season 3 for her episode. Or the song when Buddy and Vespa reunite. My fav is tools of rust by Anjimile. Without exaggeration, I cannot recommend this podcast enough.

this podcast is everything!!! the characters are so cool and the plots are amazing! you really get to know the characters well and love them a lot. both juno steel’s storyline and the second citadel are really interesting and i am always looking forward to new episodes. there is a lot of representation in this show and i love it with all my heart. a friend recommended the penumbra podcast to me a couple years ago and i have listened through at least 3 times. my brother loves it too! this show is very very good and you should definitely listen!! everything about it is lovely. peter nureyev is amazing and i love him, he is constantly in my thoughts. overall idea: LISTEN LISTEN LISTEN

i love the penumbra podcast So Much, i listen to it the second it comes out! i started and caught up in a matter of days because it was just impossible to stop listening! the storyline, the characters, the pacing, the voice acting and foley, its all just so incredible. not to mention the representation like no other! keep doing what youre doing friends❤️ thank you for your wonderful works of art

Love it! Finally a well made podcast where sexuality isn’t novel or needed to be explained.

My friend introduced me to penumbra this summer while I was going through a very rough family situation. It has had such a large positive impact on my life and brought me serotonin when I needed it most! Penumbra is also incredible for queer representation in media.

I first listened to TPP nearly two years ago, and I've loved it ever since. In particular, the characters stuck with me, especially the characters of Juno and Nureyev. Juno is probably one of my favorite Nonbinary characters of all time, I really like the way his gender is written. And Nureyev is just so relatable, I love him so much. And don't even get me started on the rest of the crew! They're all so great too. And the side characters. And everyone in Second Citadel. SC had what's probably some of the very first canon polyamory rep in anything I've consumed, so that's very important to me! Just. Such a good show!

Helped me in countless ways, ways there for me when no one else was, moved me forward on my gender journey and made me laugh, cry and everything in between

This show is the best fiction pod to ever grace my eardrums. Please just give it a listen. Warning: you may end up recommending it to all your friends and/or get very attached to the characters

Amazing voice actors and effortless stories. The writing gets me every time no matter what story you’re following. The creators dedication to representation I. The show almost feels effortless. I’ve never listened to a podcast with disabled representation like this before, and the trans representation is shining through. It feels amazing to hear a story with you in it ❤️

I’ve started listening to the penumbra podcast some time during season 2 , it was recommended by a friend and it’s just gotten better from there, the characters the world building, the story it all so lovely!!!

I’ve been listening to this podcast from day 1! And it just gets better and better! All the characters are amazing! Nearly every episode is an emotional roller coaster and I can’t wait for more!! Thank you Harley and Kevin!

it’s not often that you find a story that not only changes your life, but also has the most compelling and well written narratives, beautifully written characters that you connect to in ways you’ve never connected to any character (or person, for that matter) before, but also gives you a better perception of yourself and the world around you. however, the penumbra has given me all of this and more. this story helped me find myself, gave me an escape, but also changed me for the better. the penumbra made me reassess my life, inspired me to seek help and try to find happiness. storytelling has always been one of the most important things in my life, but the penumbra has changed me in ways no other story ever has. for this i am eternally grateful. #penumbraparty #thepenumbrapodcast

I love this podcast because do you like space operas? Dramatic romance and daring adventure, cheesy just right sci-fi intrepid childhood friends turned complex adults with difficult relationships that may have you on different sides of big topics that shape your world? Mysteries??? What’s up Juno steel is so good. Like all the same but make it fantasy with amazing relationships and world building and creatures and fantasy rules that’s soft magic building galore? Hey have some second citadel goodness. ALL of the above, PLUS amazing audio design and fantastic music and delightful bookending by one of the most soothing auditory voices welcoming you to the show every episode and bidding you farewell when it’s time to go? Well hoooo boy if penumbra podcast isn’t the show for you. It’s so good. Everybody please. Give at least one ep of whichever of the storylines you’re interested in a listen — they’re a delight.

This podcast has become an instant obsession, I started listening in December and I’m on my fourth re-listen. The writing and voice acting are fantastic, and the cast of characters are likable and feel real. Also I’m somehow more queer now than when I started?

Ever since I started my fantasy podcast rabbit hole, I’d seen recommendations for this show. The fan art and silly posts were so compelling and made the characters feel real to me even before listening to it. Last summer I finally was able to binge it all and then waited patiently for the season 4 release. It was not easy, but boy was it worth it. Their quality just gets better and better every season- if I had the ability to rate them a higher number, I would. For now you have to trust me- it’s well worth the listen.