The Seanachai - Patrick E. McLean
111 episodes
Web <link> from RSS feed:
https://audiofiction.co.uk/show.php?id=20041231-01
Database link:
RSS Feed:
https://audiofiction.co.uk/archive/20041231-01/20041231-01.xml
Creator: Patrick E. McLean
Solo Multigenre Anthology Audio Book
Synopsis:
Short audio stories very well produced. Unlike anything you've heard. Think NPR meets radio drama in the back of a pub. Actually, don't think. Just listen. If it's not absolutely one of the best podcasts you've ever heard, your lost time will be refunded.
This podcast has been archived on AudioFiction.co.uk with the permission of the original creator.
Language: English
Format: Audio Book
Continuity: Anthology
Writing: Scripted
Voices: Solo
Genres: Multigenre
Soundscape: Voices only
Completion status: Not applicable
Not tagged: [Maturity] [Creator demographics] [Character demographics] [Country of origin] [Transcript] [Content warnings]
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Episodes:
Mon 05 Apr 2010 12:00:00 GMT
The true story of an inconvenient episode.
E110 - The 14 Eskimo Names for Snow
Fri 08 Jan 2010 12:00:00 GMT
So I heard that the Eskimo have fourteen different words to describe snow. Seemed like this was worth looking into.
E108 - The Vampire in My Face Pt. II
Tue 27 Oct 2009 12:00:00 GMT
The worst monsters are the ones who believe they have your best interest at heart.
E107 - The Vampire in My Face Pt. I
Thu 14 May 2009 12:00:00 GMT
Everybody knows that Vampires can’t die. So why am I surprised that he’s back?
Wed 13 May 2009 12:00:00 GMT
In this case, the past genuinely is prologue.
Thu 26 Mar 2009 12:00:00 GMT
How do you rob the safest bank in the world?
Fri 27 Feb 2009 12:00:00 GMT
Working myself up to a frenzy writing many, many Seanachai episodes.
Thu 19 Feb 2009 12:00:00 GMT
A little advice for my little nephew.
Fri 06 Feb 2009 12:00:00 GMT
Am I throwing a wooden shoe in my own works?
Fri 30 Jan 2009 12:00:00 GMT
The classic essay by George Orwell.
Thu 29 Jan 2009 12:00:00 GMT
In which we learn of the elusive pilemongrulous chompficampherous.
E098 - A Defense of Writing Longhand
Thu 22 Jan 2009 12:00:00 GMT
Is technology really my friend? Or is it just pretending to be my friend so it can date my sister.
Wed 14 Jan 2009 12:00:00 GMT
In which, pinball might help us get a handle on a complicated subject.
E096 - Flinchy and the Mexican Show Truck, Part 4
Wed 07 Jan 2009 12:00:00 GMT
In which Democracy is vindicated and our story concludes. With PG Holyfield and Tee Morris
E095 - Flinchy and the Mexican Show Truck, Part 3
Thu 01 Jan 2009 12:00:00 GMT
In which the plot thickens, the story continues and the margaritas blend. Featuring P.G. Holyfield and Tee Morris
E093 - Flinchy and the Mexican Show Truck, Part 2
Fri 12 Dec 2008 12:00:00 GMT
In which the plot thickens, Tee Morris joins the story as Flinchy, and the scintillating P.G. Holyfield endures. Gracious guest appearance by Liza Holyfield.
E092 - Flinchy and the Mexican Show Truck, Part 1
Wed 03 Dec 2008 12:00:00 GMT
A strange golf-related saga begins. Featuring the dead-pan artistry of P. G. Holyfield of Murder at Avedon Hill.
Wed 26 Nov 2008 12:00:00 GMT
It’s that most Turkey-filled time of the year.
Thu 20 Nov 2008 12:00:00 GMT
In which epithets are hurled at me from a powerchair.
Wed 12 Nov 2008 12:00:00 GMT
The poor man had been over-run. By gibberish.
Fri 31 Oct 2008 12:00:00 GMT
This year Halloween just isn’t that scary.
Wed 22 Oct 2008 12:00:00 GMT
My new filing cabinet is mocking me.
Wed 15 Oct 2008 12:00:00 GMT
Everything has a beginning. But there are precious few re-beginnings.
Tue 30 Sep 2008 12:00:00 GMT
Let this serve as notice. The Seanachai returns in a big way on October 15th.
Mon 07 Jan 2008 12:00:00 GMT
I’m taking care of my parents dog. She’s 98 years old, and consequently, a little set in her ways.
Wed 12 Sep 2007 12:00:00 GMT
What happened? Where did two months go? And where’s my decongestant?
Wed 04 Jul 2007 12:00:00 GMT
Complete with beef jerky and those odd stories that only come out when you spend a lot of time in a car.
Wed 16 May 2007 12:00:00 GMT
I go looking for an analogy and discover a very moving story.
E077 - How to Succeed in Evil - El Justiador Part II
Tue 15 May 2007 12:00:00 GMT
The inexplicable march of El Justiador marches on.
E076 - How to Succeed in Evil - El Justiador Part I
Sat 05 May 2007 12:00:00 GMT
This is qualifies as prequel territory. As the characters have been evolving (and as I’ve been developing ‘Evil for television) I have discovered that the sweet spot of the story is Edwin as a consultant. There’s just no end of fun to be had pitting him against inane villian after inane villian.
Tue 24 Apr 2007 12:00:00 GMT
A chance to have a radio show on public radio? Geeze, wonder if that’s a good match?
E074 - Yeah, yeah — but who’s flying the plane?
Wed 04 Apr 2007 12:00:00 GMT
If you agree with a nut, does that make you a nut?
Tue 06 Mar 2007 12:00:00 GMT
What on earth am I doing waking up at 5:00 am?
Thu 15 Feb 2007 12:00:00 GMT
Happy St. Valentine’s Day. No, not that Valentine. The other one.
Fri 08 Sep 2006 12:00:00 GMT
How could you forget Ulan Bator – 1965? (a tip of the hat to Michael Stackpole and Mykel [last name unknown] for the conversation that led to this episode.)
E068 - How to Succeed in Evil 11
Wed 30 Aug 2006 12:00:00 GMT
Edwin settles the accounts and slips away.
Wed 02 Aug 2006 12:00:00 GMT
Maybe current events are nothing more than ancient events with better TV coverage?
Fri 21 Jul 2006 12:00:00 GMT
The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril, and, after much ado, a t-shirt for sale.
E065 - How to Succeed in Evil – Cheap Labor Part III
Fri 14 Jul 2006 12:00:00 GMT
Edwin makes a deal with the VP.
E064 - How to Succeed in Evil – Cheap Labor Part II
Thu 08 Jun 2006 12:00:00 GMT
All they want to do is eat your brains. They’re not unreasonable. (featuring songs by Jonathan Coulton and The Flavor Foundation)
E063 - How to Succeed in Evil – Cheap Labor Part I
Thu 25 May 2006 12:00:00 GMT
Cheaper even than hiring illegal aliens. The music in this episode is by The Flavor Foundation.
Sat 22 Apr 2006 12:00:00 GMT
There are many reasons the kitchen might be slow.
E060 - How I Got My Voice Back, Part II
Wed 29 Mar 2006 12:00:00 GMT
Don’t tell them it ended like this. Tell them I said something.
Sat 18 Mar 2006 12:00:00 GMT
From the wreckage of the day after St. Patrick’s Day.
E058 - How I Got My Voice Back, Part I
Tue 28 Feb 2006 12:00:00 GMT
Wondering why there hasn’t been an episode recently?
Mon 16 Jan 2006 12:00:00 GMT
A commentary on one of the great speeches of the 20th Century.
E052 - The War with Santa Part I
Thu 15 Dec 2005 12:00:00 GMT
Nevermind the war on Christmas – I’m in trouble here.
Fri 02 Dec 2005 12:00:00 GMT
An interview with Tony Khan of Morning Stories.
Fri 18 Nov 2005 12:00:00 GMT
The secret of coming up with ideas.
Mon 31 Oct 2005 12:00:00 GMT
In honor of Halloween, a retelling of the classic Edgar Allen Poe story.
E046 - The Instant of Eternity
Fri 21 Oct 2005 12:00:00 GMT
You’ve already listened/are listening/will listen/used to listen/have never listened to this.
E045 - Good-Hearted Hospitable Creature
Fri 14 Oct 2005 12:00:00 GMT
The heat of August and the cooling of age.
Tue 27 Sep 2005 12:00:00 GMT
A catch-all episode. Hurricanes, street repair, even a bit about the author.
Sun 11 Sep 2005 12:00:00 GMT
There’s no snappy tagline for this episode. It’s not that kind of thing.
Thu 01 Sep 2005 12:00:00 GMT
This should be a perfect day, but I’m finding it very hard to write.
Sun 07 Aug 2005 12:00:00 GMT
The full-fathomed death rattle of a 60 gig drive.
E030 - Death of a Dishwasher, Part I
Sun 10 Jul 2005 12:00:00 GMT
Every man dies. But not every man works as a dishwasher.
Sun 29 May 2005 12:00:00 GMT
So the Seanachai has been rolling for about 22 episodes now. It’s certainly not the Hoover dam, but as I look back, it’s no small accomplishment. www.goodwordsrightorder.com is going to get 80k hits this month. A number of people have been generous enough to donate. And, for the time being, I’ve got the bandwidth cost covered.The question is, where now? I’ve got a few ideas of my own, of course, but I thought the best thing would be to ask you, the listeners. I know what I enjoy most about the Seanachai, what I don’t know is what you enjoy the most?So I have a few questions. If you feel like helping out, just comment on this post. Favorite episode? Why? This is not an essay question, but it needs some set up. There are three kinds of Seanachai episodes. 1 Ongoing series (How to Succeed in Evil) 2. First person narrative (Roulette, Lendu, Guitar) 3. Pure fiction (mall, wolf) Which one do you like best? If you could see any or all of these stories existing outside the internet, where would be the most natural place for them to live? Thanks for giving this some thought. And if you’re not bothering to give it any thought, well, then thanks for listening.
Thu 19 May 2005 12:00:00 GMT
Seriously, what kind of man shoots a guitar?
Tue 10 May 2005 12:00:00 GMT
What kind of man shoots a guitar?
E018 - How to Succeed in Evil 05
Wed 13 Apr 2005 12:00:00 GMT
What will Edwin do with the Cromoglodon?
Wed 06 Apr 2005 12:00:00 GMT
Your fear is as real as you make it.
Wed 30 Mar 2005 12:00:00 GMT
Stavrakos is that you? Epic poet or fisherman?
E014 - Happy St. Patrick’s Day
Fri 18 Mar 2005 12:00:00 GMT
St. Patrick’s effect on the Irish and the world.St. Patrick’s effect on the Irish and the world.
Wed 16 Mar 2005 12:00:00 GMT
How come you never see a thin guy playing the tuba?
Wed 02 Mar 2005 12:00:00 GMT
When he puilled the trigger, it was love.
E010 - How to Succeed in Evil 02
Thu 24 Feb 2005 12:00:00 GMT
Introducing the somewhat less-than-sinister Dr. Loeb.
Tue 01 Feb 2005 12:00:00 GMT
A nickel here, a nickel there, pretty soon you’re talking about real money.
Tue 25 Jan 2005 12:00:00 GMT
Beware of Gypsy Women who play cards.
Tue 18 Jan 2005 12:00:00 GMT
Some things shouldn’t be left to chance.
Wed 12 Jan 2005 12:00:00 GMT
What’s a disagreement among friends? Or was it physicists?
E002 - The Vampire in the Attic (First audio feed entry.)
Sun 02 Jan 2005 12:00:00 GMT
Bad monster, worse music.
E001 - What eeeesss a Seanachai?
Fri 31 Dec 2004 12:00:00 GMT
I’m glad you asked. The explanation is a good story in itself. In Ireland, in the days before books and printing, there was a class of people called seanachai or storytellers. These folks made their living by traveling from village to village and telling stories. Sometimes they would spin tales from the great tapestry of folklore that comprises the mythology of Ireland and other times they’d just repeat the gossip from the town next door. They but they always entertained by their telling. As romantic as that might sound, it’s not the wonderful part. The wonderful part is that centuries later, when Gaelic was being systematically suppressed, people calling themselves seanachai would travel from town to town seemingly for the sole purpose of carrying on the ancient tradition of telling stories. At night they would loiter in the pubs and spin their yarns (now that’s a living!) but during the day (I’m guessing more towards the afternoon) they would gather the children, lead them off into the countryside to teach them the Irish language and culture in secret. What does all this have to do with a web site? My we’re full of questions today. Well, the way I see it, a seanachai is a person who tells stories with a purpose. Especially the latter day seanachai with their covert educational agendas. As a writer this idea appeals to me very much because I believe that good stories seek to prove something in the telling. Not anything as crass and pedantic as who should be president those kind of stories are always awful. The kind of stories I’m after are the ones that are true for all time, not one instance. As John Gardner argued so eloquently in “On Moral Fiction”, a story is a kind of artistic proof. Delicate ideas can be framed, tested and communicated within the imaginary world of a well-told tale. The McLuhan is the Message Yeah, yeah, McLuhan whatever. (and if you don’t know who he is, he’s the man who said the “Medium is the Message” which set up me up nicely for that spooneristic subhead. The impact of which has been greatly lessened by all this senseless parenthetical explanation.) Anyway, the point I was hoping to get to in that last paragraph is that some stories are better in the telling than they are reading. And technology has evolved to a point where we can eliminate the whole publishing hierarchy and get back to a more oral tradition. It’s not exactly a new medium, but it sure does feel like I’m playing with live ammunition. With this line of thinking the name seanachai seemed perfect for the kind of storytelling and writing I wanted to play with. The most important reason of all. The reason this site exists at all is that I needed a woodshed to practice in. As Stephen King said, “Talent in cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.” So it is my hope that the Seanachai will secretly teach me how to write while it overtly entertains you. NO EPISODE - THIS IS A TEXT OPENING.