Bombs, old friendships and a grief that will not settle.
Boom: A Serial Drama follows Porter through one continuing story of bomb vests, armed standoffs and a high-school friendship with Luke that is now strained to breaking. Hostage scenes sit beside quieter ones, like a reunion after four years and an afternoon of burgers and pie, so the danger falls on characters who were friends first.
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Boom: A Serial Drama is scripted audio fiction told as one continuing story, and Porter is the man it follows. The threats are physical. A vest of wired gray packets, bombs armed at a door so no one disturbs the room and a detonator eased out of a pocket on command are what the plot works with. In one scene Porter walks into a room and sees a woman unconscious on a couch wearing one of those vests. He takes her for Genevieve before realizing it is Myra. She has been sedated with propofol, and the person holding the room insists she is fine. Scenes like that could be stock thriller moments. History keeps them from it. Porter and Luke were, in one character's words, inseparable in high school. The story brings that past back by cutting from a tense negotiation over a vest to the day the two first sat together at a Nashville school. Trust runs through every one of those exchanges. One voice recalls trusting the other with his life, and now a gun stays drawn because that trust is gone. Jen's death sits underneath all of it. One character reports Luke saying he wished Porter had died the day Jen did, which shows how deep the damage runs. Not every scene is a crisis. Porter and Miss Hanover meet again after four years apart, and the conversation runs on teasing, compliments and one badly worded invitation, with one of Jen's photographs hanging large on a living-room wall. Elsewhere a group of friends, Myra among them, sets out to have a good day of burgers, drinks and pie, even though one of them carries a gun that is, by its owner's account, strictly for protection. Those quieter stretches make the characters people rather than targets. A narrator steps in at key moments to describe what Porter sees and how his body reacts, and then the dialogue takes over again. The language is blunt and unfiltered. Episodes have numbered titles, among them 'Episode 39: The Good Part', 'Episode 40: Strange Currencies', 'Episode 41: Burn with Me' and 'Episode 42: Everything is Everything', and because it is a serial, the story is built to be heard in order. The feed also carries other audio fiction introduced by Faith, including the first episode of Apollyon, a sci-fi series from Observer Pictures. A Juneteenth message on the feed asks for support for Black podcasters and names fiction shows from fellow creators, Margaritas and Donuts among them. It suits a listener who wants a thriller built as much on friendship as on firepower, and who can sit through hostage scenes to get there.
Made for: Suits a listener who wants a scripted thriller with a continuing plot, cares as much about strained friendships as about the danger, and is comfortable with bombs, guns and hostage scenes.
What sets it apart: Its bomb scenes are tied to a small circle of old friends, so a standoff over an explosive vest and an afternoon of burgers and pie draw on the same shared history. Narration between dialogue scenes follows Porter's physical reactions up close.
Porter is a 30 something Nashville native that takes his best friend, Genevieve out on a date...finally. What happens the next day changes his life forever. We follow him as he struggles physically and emotionally over the trauma of what happened and the regression that comes with finding out who’s responsible. CONTENT WARNING: This podcast contains moments of trauma and violence including physical attacks, bombs, and gun violence.
A family dinner hits the word 'jail'; if you like your drama with consequences, pull up a chair.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
Quinn's first big lead turns her sister's unsolved murder into a darkly comic threat.
Quinn steps into a familiar murder mystery with one awkward complication: she is both an amateur detective and a reluctant true crime celebrity. A year after her sister's unsolved murder, her first serious lead puts pressure on her and the people around her.
A domestic argument about AVS becomes a tense study of containment, separation, and bureaucratic control.
Apollyon builds its tension through a conversation over tea, as talk of children and vacations gradually gives way to AVS, Redivir, and the protected limits that define daily life. Theo treats AVS as a managed problem, citing lower numbers and the safeguards inside those limits.
Dice, divine mysteries, and the trouble with good intentions.
Boom: A Serial Drama presents 'Who the F*ck Killed My Sister?' through Faith, who introduces Quinn as an amateur detective and reluctant true-crime celebrity.
["Apollyon episode one, \"The Destroyer,\" opens with Dr.
Porter Owens processes Luke's death after returning with a gun but finding he could not take another person's life.
Faith McQuinn's Boom episode "Imitation of Life" follows Myra and Allie returning to Arlington after a 10-hour drive.
Episode 35 follows Porter Owens on his last day of home confinement and court-ordered therapy after Allie's attack.
Boom: A Serial Drama’s “Unsteady” centers on Allie Moretti’s hospital interview after Luke Sullivan attacks her.
Porter Owens and Genevieve Reynolds turn a bowling night into a first date, then plan breakfast for 9 a.m.
A man's life unravels after a traumatic event involving a bomb, as he struggles to find who is responsible.