Silvertongues: Audio Sci-Fi That Crackles With Magic

Several podcast networks such as Spotify have crafted expensive sci-fi audio dramas with uneven results. No huge hits, but solid download numbers. Therefore, a highly successful and quality independently produced sci-fi audio drama seems unlikely, given the financial constraints.

Leave it to an independent podcaster like Acorn Arts And Entertainment to innovate a way to produce a high-quality sci-fi audio drama that has the sonic palette of a million-dollar production.

What they've produced is a sci-fi audio opera that crackles with action, conflict, questioning reality, time shifting, and doing ferocious battle with linear thinking.

What is the narrative of Silvertongues? On the tranquil shores of the Kalalani Island Chain, two lost souls discover they have no past. But paradise turns deadly when Roscoe Talbott and Tavi Jones uncover a conspiracy that blurs the lines ...sci-fi / tropical thriller about a young man who discovers he has no past. What follows is an increasingly twisted investigation as he discovers a brainwashed island. 

 

Because the show is non-linear, a plot summary would sound more like quantum physics than a literary analysis. Yet Silvertongues is audio fiction magic. From the lush soundscape created to the award-winning level acting, the show ranks as one of the best fiction shows of 2024-2025. 

The show features an original soundtrack from Jesse Haugen (the composer of The Sheridan Tapes, and Tales of the Echowood). Just the incessant chirping of birds infuses your ears with the universe inhabited by Silvertongues. Add that soundscape to the fictional Sunset With Seth DJ on 93.5 The Coast, where the radio show acts as a time portal and time stamp for the narrative.

Silvertongues has seven, short full-episodes and six mini-episodes. I recommend listening to the 40-minute Q&A with the producers. It's a fascinating look into the creative process.

 

Who are the mad scientists mixing beakers of plot, character, action, suspense, conflict, eerie agitation, and space-time disorientation?

We have Michael Alan Herman, who is an award-winning writer and actor from St. Joseph, Michigan.  He was the co-writer of James Franco’s film The Mad Whale in collaboration with Elysium Bandini Studios and has an MFA in screenwriting from University of Southern California.

  Josie Eli Herman is the founder of Acorn Arts and Entertainment. She is a multi-avenue artist with a background in theater and fine art.

Some of her greatest passions are directing for theater and film, acting, photography, and portrait painting.

 Acorn Arts And Entertainment also has other audio fiction podcasts, including The Call of the Void, a fully immersive, three-season, science-fiction/mystery podcast that takes place on the bustling streets of New Orleans.

There, a tour guide and a palm-reading outcast team up to unravel the mystery behind cases of sudden insanity besetting the city.

Acorn's latest project is from T. Luna Alexander, who is a Michigan-based writer, director, teacher and performing artist.

The Inn At The End Of Things  is a Sleep Theatre podcast designed to help the listener find rest, guiding audiences gently to their dreamspaces through folklore and kitchen table wisdom. 

 Hosted by the Inn’s Keeper, each listener is guided through simple meditations, adventures, and soundscapes. You'll meet the other residents and guests of the Inn, who share tales gathered from around the world. These tales are equipped with empowering archetypes and timeless themes, allowing the listener to reach full relaxation before falling asleep.

I listened to the trailer and was immediately drawn to the sonic landscape of the show.

I highly recommend Silvertongues. It's a show that showcases all that podcasting can do at its best using the audioverse. Thinking about watching a cheesy, low-budget sci-fi film on Netflix? Save your eyes the trouble and cater to your ears and spend two hours listening to Silvertongues.