T
here's a ridiculously niche podcast that I listen to -- an "actual play" podcast, in which four friends play the role-playing game Monster of the Week together. I don't remember how I stumbled on this particular podcast, but it has a tiny listener-ship; their discord channel has scarcely 50 members, and I doubt there are many more listeners than that outside. But the production value is good, the chemistry of the players fun, and, most of all, their game master Johnny is one of the best I've ever heard. As far as I'm concerned he's a diamond in the rough, displaying truly remarkable skills of improvisation, voice acting, humor, imagination, and pacing to an audience of not more than a couple dozen. While his vision for his world isn't exactly to my personal taste, it is extremely coherent and ideosyncratic, and displays far more charm and originality than basically any fiction I've been exposed to in the last ten years. I've learned a great deal from him, and admire deeply how hard he works for such little recognition. This willingness is the true tao of the game master.