2014 Hugo Nominee Ballot: Best Fancast

I love this category for entirely biased reasons:  I’m eligible for one and a lot of my favorite shows are eligible, too.  It’s also a category which I think deserves to exist.  Podcasting is such a specific medium, so it really doesn’t belong in Best Fanzine or Best Related Work or Best Dramatic Presentation (unless your podcast involves audio plays or audiobooks, of course).  So the fact that I get to vote in this category now is pretty awesome.

But you’re here for my nominations.  So here goes (in no particular order):

The Coode Street Podcast
This remains one of my favorites, and the only “long time fans talking about the history of sf/f” podcasts on my list.  Gary and Jonathan always have something fascinating to say about whatever topic they’re covering, and their endless knowledge of the field adds considerable depth to the conversation without making it unfit for a general audience.

The Writer and the Critic
I’m fairly new to this show (as in the last year-ish), but it was recommended to me by so many people that I couldn’t ignore it.  And for good reason, too.  Their concentrated examination of individual works of sf/f is refreshing and informative.  Also:  it’s Australian, which is pretty cool, right?  Mostly, however, I just think they are one of the best places to get in-depth analysis and discussion of sf/f works.

Galactic Suburbia
I came back to GS last year after a bit of a hiatus.  Originally, I didn’t much care for the show because they spent so much time talking about “politics” (the word I’m using to describe the gender kerfluffles in our field).  They still talk about “politics,” but I think I’m in a much different place today than I was in 2012, so either I don’t notice it as much or I agree with their take more often than not or they’ve reduced the amount of time they devote to “politics.”  I have a feeling it’s the middle one.  Whatever the reason, I’m now a regular listener of this show for one simple fact:  their opinions on things happening in sf/f and the works we read are compelling and align with my own interests.

The Incomparable
Honestly, I have no idea if they’re even eligible in this category.  But Fred Kiesche is absolutely correct:  if you don’t know, nominate anyway and let the Hugo folks figure it out.  So I’m nominating The Incomparable, which is one of my favorite shows from last year.  Their insightful commentary and humor have kept me quite entertained since I started listening to them after Worldcon last year.  They are not unlike The Writer and the Critic in that respect.

The Skiffy and Fanty Show
I’m on the show.  I’m nominating it.  So sue me.  Why am I nominating it?  Because I think it’s a good show.  We’ve improved so much in the last year, and with this whole new crew, things are just getting better.  Of course, I’m totally biased, so you can smack me around if you like.

And that’s my list.  What am I missing?

Note:  I realize there are some big shows missing from the list (SF Signal, for example).  The main reasons for this are either that I didn’t listen to those shows last year OR I didn’t think they were award worthy (maybe perfectly serviceable shows, but without meeting my admittedly rigid standards for what I want in a show).