List

The top short fiction podcasts

50 Fiction podcasts with episodes that typically run 30 minutes or less, all free to listen to and with an episode out in the last month.

shows
50
category
Fiction
rebuilt
Daily

How this list is made

  • Fiction shows
  • Episodes typically 30 minutes or less
  • An episode out in the last month
  • Best placed on Apple Podcasts' charts first

The list

Best placed first

  1. Welcome to Night Vale

    #13 in Fiction From Night Vale Presents Fiction

    Length
    28 min
    Releases
    Weekly
    Episodes
    385
    Since
    2012

    Twice-monthly community updates for the small desert town of Night Vale, where every conspiracy theory is true. Turn on your radio and hide. Never listened…

    Episodes and details

  2. Six Minutes

    #14 in Fiction From Gen-Z Media Arts, Fiction

    Length
    13 min
    Releases
    Weekly
    Episodes
    394
    Since
    2018

    Discover the most downloaded family audio drama in history. Eleven-year-old Holiday is pulled from the icy waters of Alaska with no memory of who she is or…

    Episodes and details

  3. REDACTED

    #22 in Fiction Comedy, Fiction

    Length
    23 min
    Releases
    Twice a week
    Episodes
    82
    Since
    2025

    Following the death of his twin, failing actor Jacob Kane assumes his late-brother’s life in hopes of a fresh start. Instead of finding stability, Jacob finds…

    Episodes and details

  4. The Saints

    #28 in Fiction Fiction, Religion & Spirituality

    Length
    14 min
    Releases
    Daily
    Episodes
    748
    Since
    2023

    🏔️ Adventures of Faith and Courage A daily podcast bringing the Saints to life with award-winning actors, writers, and sound designers. 🌐 Subscribe for Free…

    Episodes and details

  5. Chilling Tales for Dark Nights — A Horror Fiction Anthology and Scary Stories Series Podcast

    #46 in Fiction Fiction

    Length
    28 min
    Releases
    Daily
    Episodes
    512
    Since
    2019

    Chilling Tales for Dark Nights is a twice-weekly horror fiction anthology podcast, with each episode featuring creepy tales from talented authors, brought to…

    Episodes and details

  6. The SCP Experience

    #33 in Fiction Fiction

    Length
    30 min
    Releases
    Twice a week
    Episodes
    575
    Since
    2021

    The SCP Experience™ is an immersive science fiction podcast set in the SCP Foundation universe, adapting classified containment files, anomalous technologies…

    Episodes and details

  7. Scary Story Podcast

    #49 in Fiction Fiction, Society & Culture

    Length
    22 min
    Releases
    Every two weeks
    Episodes
    253
    Since
    2019

    Scary Story Podcast features scary stories about darkness, unexplained phenomena, ghosts, and the paranormal. A collection of short original horror tales…

    Episodes and details

  8. The Road of Shadows

    #41 in Fiction Fiction

    Length
    26 min
    Releases
    Every two weeks
    Episodes
    65
    Since
    2023

    It's 1984, and Daniel Knox is on the run. He's spent his entire life evading mysterious creatures that are disguised as everyday people - the ones he calls…

    Episodes and details

  9. Matt From Nomad’s

    #34 in Fiction Fiction

    Length
    25 min
    Releases
    Twice a week
    Episodes
    127
    Since
    2026

    We are going to talk about conspiracies, true crime, the supernatural, historical facts, sprinkled in with some animal facts, and everything in between.

    Episodes and details

  10. Tales of the Night

    #86 in Fiction Fiction

    Length
    23 min
    Releases
    Twice a week
    Episodes
    149
    Since
    2024

    This podcast is inhabited by the stories, urban legends, and horrors that you can find in towns not so different from yours; streets like the ones you walk…

    Episodes and details

  11. Bloodrock Springs

    #44 in Fiction Fiction

    Length
    22 min
    Releases
    Every two weeks
    Episodes
    18
    Since
    2025

    Mark R. Healy (The Strata, The Road of Shadows) returns with an exciting new audio drama. Bloodrock Springs is an engrossing thrill-ride for the listener…

    Episodes and details

  12. Limelight

    #64 in Fiction From BBC Fiction

    Length
    29 min
    Releases
    Weekly
    Episodes
    299
    Since
    2021

    The Limelight podcast - for fiction and drama serials you won't want to miss from Radio 4.

    Episodes and details

  13. The Hollow

    #84 in Fiction From Gen-Z Media Arts, Fiction

    Length
    16 min
    Releases
    Daily
    Episodes
    13
    Since
    2020

    Commemorating the 200th anniversary of Washington Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” The Hollow is a modern take on the timeless story of Ichabod Crane and…

    Episodes and details

  14. The Great Detectives Present Yours Truly Johnny Dollar (Old Time Radio)

    #101 in Fiction From The Great Detectives of Old Time Radio Arts, Fiction

    Length
    27 min
    Releases
    Weekly
    Episodes
    722
    Since
    2014

    Listen to the adventures of that man with the action-packed account, Yours Truly Johnny Dollar. From 1949-62, the freelance insurance investigator relayed his…

    Episodes and details

  15. The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel

    #72 in Fiction From Gen-Z Media Arts, Fiction

    Length
    19 min
    Releases
    Twice a week
    Episodes
    38
    Since
    2021

    The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel is a mystery adventure show for kids that the whole family will enjoy. In the show, eleven-year-old Mars Patel and…

    Episodes and details

  16. The Archers

    #87 in Fiction From BBC Arts, Fiction

    Length
    13 min
    Releases
    Daily
    Episodes
    267
    Since
    2025

    Contemporary drama in a rural setting.

    Episodes and details

  17. Bunker 8

    #76 in Fiction Fiction

    Length
    22 min
    Releases
    Weekly
    Episodes
    42
    Since
    2024

    Hidden beneath layers of secrecy and isolation, Bunker 8 plunges you into one of the most classified military outposts on Earth. Jack, a hardened Australian…

    Episodes and details

  18. The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast - Vintage Sci-Fi Short Stories

    #118 in Fiction Fiction

    Length
    29 min
    Releases
    Daily
    Episodes
    610
    Since
    2022

    The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast restores and narrates forgotten and underrated vintage science fiction short stories spanning from the 1700s through the mid-1960s. Each…

    Episodes and details

  19. The Void

    #71 in Fiction Fiction

    Length
    22 min
    Releases
    Weekly
    Episodes
    45
    Since
    2025

    What do you know about the dark? When you look into the shadows, do you feel them watching back? In the town of Milton, the darkness isn't just in your head, it…

    Episodes and details

  20. Biome

    #69 in Fiction Arts, Fiction

    Length
    19 min
    Releases
    Weekly
    Episodes
    26
    Since
    2026

    Short fiction. Big worlds. Every Tuesday. From ancient forests to far off alien worlds, Biome brings you thrilling new Science Fiction, Fantasy, and the weird…

    Episodes and details

  21. Alice Isn't Dead

    #82 in Fiction From Night Vale Presents Fiction

    Length
    23 min
    Releases
    Every two weeks
    Episodes
    74
    Since
    2016

    A truck driver searches across America for the wife she had long assumed was dead. In the course of her search, she will encounter not-quite-human serial…

    Episodes and details

  22. Writing Excuses

    #88 in Fiction Business, Fiction

    Length
    26 min
    Releases
    Weekly
    Episodes
    1,013
    Since
    2008

    Fifteen minutes long, because you're in a hurry, and we're not that smart.

    Episodes and details

  23. How i Died

    #99 in Fiction From Audiohm Media Fiction

    Length
    24 min
    Releases
    Every two weeks
    Episodes
    81
    Since
    2019

    Bodies are piling up in the strange town of Springfield, and forensic pathologist Jonathan Spacer intends to find out why. But, Jon isn’t without his own…

    Episodes and details

  24. Edge of the Forgotten

    #75 in Fiction Fiction

    Length
    26 min
    Releases
    Weekly
    Episodes
    26
    Since
    2025

    There are cracks in this world … fractures stretching outward, shredding the veil between what we know and what lies beyond. Few are aware of it. Those who do…

    Episodes and details

  25. FRIGHTLY! Scary Stories and Tales of Terror

    #132 in Fiction Arts, Fiction

    Length
    25 min
    Releases
    Twice a week
    Episodes
    30
    Since
    2025

    Enjoy a family fright night with stories that thrill—but don’t traumatize. FRIGHTLY! drags classic and original horror tales into the cold light of your…

    Episodes and details

  26. HumorUs Stories — Classic and Original Funny Stories

    #97 in Fiction Arts, Fiction

    Length
    17 min
    Releases
    Weekly
    Episodes
    27
    Since
    2026

    Classic Tales and New Laughs from Twain to Today Comedy is the oldest trick in the book (or the short story), and HumorUs goes digging for the funniest…

    Episodes and details

  27. Mina and Lucy's Guide to Slaying Dracula

    #108 in Fiction Arts, Fiction

    Length
    14 min
    Releases
    Daily
    Episodes
    25
    Since
    2023

    When a mysterious ship washes ashore in Whitby, best friends Mina and Lucy begin to wonder if there’s something strange about the new kid in school. With Dr…

    Episodes and details

  28. The Bright Sessions

    #117 in Fiction From Atypical Artists Fiction

    Length
    30 min
    Releases
    Weekly
    Episodes
    127
    Since
    2015

    The Bright Sessions is a science fiction audio drama that follows a group of therapy patients. But these are not your typical patients - each has a unique…

    Episodes and details

  29. 1001 Classic Short Stories & Tales

    #159 in Fiction From 1001 Podcast Network Arts, Fiction

    Length
    30 min
    Releases
    Twice a week
    Episodes
    680
    Since
    2016

    A huge collection of beautifully narrated and carefully chosen short stories from golden age authors (1850-1930) who knew how to deliver stories that reach…

    Episodes and details

  30. Station 151

    #68 in Fiction Fiction

    Length
    21 min
    Releases
    Weekly
    Episodes
    47
    Since
    2022

    Station 151 is Antarctica’s first and only astronomical radio observatory. Built by the Telders Corporation at an estimated cost of $200M USD, the station…

    Episodes and details

  31. Fear Daily

    #111 in Fiction Fiction

    Length
    23 min
    Releases
    Daily
    Episodes
    653
    Since
    2024

    Fear Daily takes you into the shadows of the past, unearthing the 1990's most terrifying tales of monsters, madness, and life after death. Join us as we explore…

    Episodes and details

  32. The Mario Bros. Show

    #145 in Fiction Fiction

    Length
    28 min
    Releases
    Twice a week
    Episodes
    140
    Since
    2023

    Join Mario and Luigi as they go on all kinds of adventures. Listen as Peach, Toad, Bowser, and others join in the fun across the Mushroom Kingdom and beyond…

    Episodes and details

  33. The Scottish Folklore Podcast

    #150 in Fiction Fiction, History

    Length
    30 min
    Releases
    Every two weeks
    Episodes
    66
    Since
    2024

    In each episode of The Scottish Folklore Podcast host Jenny Johnstone retells traditional Scottish folk tales from around the country, bringing age-old…

    Episodes and details

  34. OMINOUS THRILL: Her Horrorween

    #113 in Fiction Fiction

    Length
    26 min
    Releases
    Twice a week
    Episodes
    55
    Since
    2024

    A genre-bending audio drama of character-driven adult dark fiction, thrillers, horror & suspense. Each story is fully dramatized with exceptional actors and…

    Episodes and details

  35. The Survivor Tapes

    #107 in Fiction Fiction

    Length
    5 min
    Releases
    Twice a week
    Episodes
    17
    Since
    2026

    Follow for stories left behind from a world where the dead roam the earth.

    Episodes and details

  36. Dying On Tuesday

    #147 in Fiction Comedy, Fiction

    Length
    27 min
    Releases
    Weekly
    Episodes
    6
    Since
    2026

    For John Borden, dying is the least of his worries. It’s 1989 and John is an unscrupulous waterbed salesman sleeping through life, until he meets Claire, a…

    Episodes and details

  37. Bedtime Horror Stories by Dr. NoSleep

    #157 in Fiction Fiction

    Length
    22 min
    Releases
    Twice a week
    Episodes
    35
    Since
    2026

    Bedtime horror stories told in the rain. New uploads every Tuesday and Thursday at 8pm EST. No AI stories or voices used. Our stories are written specifically…

    Episodes and details

  38. Mockery Manor

    #166 in Fiction Fiction

    Length
    26 min
    Releases
    Every two weeks
    Episodes
    71
    Since
    2019

    Summer, 1989, somewhere in deepest darkest England. Mockery Manor is a theme park where people disappear, and it's up to a pair of chaotic teenage twins to…

    Episodes and details

  39. Incoming

    Fiction

    Length
    23 min
    Releases
    Monthly
    Episodes
    66
    Since
    2024

    EMERGENCY ALERT. BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INCOMING. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. What would you do if you only had 20 minutes left to live?…

    Episodes and details

  40. Imagination Amplified

    #182 in Fiction Arts, Fiction

    Length
    25 min
    Releases
    Weekly
    Episodes
    93
    Since
    2024

    Imagination Amplified is the home of GZM Shows, the award-winning creators of Six Minutes, The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel, Nightingale and…

    Episodes and details

  41. Pixel Quest

    Fiction

    Length
    11 min
    Releases
    Weekly
    Episodes
    50
    Since
    2024

    The story of a young man who is looking to find his own path in a world of swords, special abilities, and adventure, even though he can’t level up like his…

    Episodes and details

  42. Kids Short Stories: a Bedtime Show By Mr Jim

    Fiction, Kids & Family

    Length
    10 min
    Releases
    Daily
    Episodes
    2,269
    Since
    2019

    Welcome to Kids Short Stories, the unique podcast where your child's imagination becomes the star of the show! Dive into a world of adventure, mystery, and…

    Episodes and details

  43. The Natureverse: Becoming Mother Nature

    #162 in Fiction From Gen-Z Media Fiction, Science

    Length
    20 min
    Releases
    Weekly
    Episodes
    26
    Since
    2018

    Volume I of The Natureverse: Becoming Mother Nature introduces us to troubled 13-year-old Chloe Lovejoy, who prematurely inherited the mantle and awesome…

    Episodes and details

  44. Kids Animal Stories

    Fiction

    Length
    9 min
    Releases
    Twice a week
    Episodes
    1,290
    Since
    2021

    Welcome to "Kids Animal Stories," the captivating kids podcast where education meets entertainment through the exploration of the animal kingdom. Hosted by…

    Episodes and details

  45. Bedtime Stories for Kids|Good Night Tales|Stories of New Beginnings

    Fiction, Kids & Family

    Length
    7 min
    Releases
    Twice a week
    Episodes
    1,088
    Since
    2021

    Our podcast offers a selection of the best bedtime stories for kids, your little one's passport to dreamland. Each tale is a warm, gentle lesson, perfect for…

    Episodes and details

  46. Choice Classic Radio Drama & Horror | Old Time Radio

    Arts, Fiction

    Length
    30 min
    Releases
    Daily
    Episodes
    1,015
    Since
    2023

    Choice Classic Radio brings to you old time radio tales sure to keep you on the edge of your seat! Tune in for the most thrilling mystery, suspense, drama and…

    Episodes and details

  47. Daily Short Stories - Mystery & Suspense

    Arts, Fiction

    Length
    20 min
    Releases
    Daily
    Episodes
    1,014
    Since
    2024

    Immerse yourself in the captivating world of "Daily Short Stories - Mystery & Suspense," where each day brings a fresh tale of intrigue and tension, expertly…

    Episodes and details

  48. MrCreepyPasta's Storytime

    Arts, Fiction

    Length
    25 min
    Releases
    Daily
    Episodes
    1,014
    Since
    2020

    The OFFICIAL MrCreepyPasta Storytime! Hey there kids! It's me, MrCreepyPasta! And I think I might have found a new way to bring Creepypasta stories from the…

    Episodes and details

  49. Science Fiction - Daily Short Stories

    Arts, Fiction

    Length
    28 min
    Releases
    Daily
    Episodes
    1,014
    Since
    2024

    Dive into a universe of imagination and wonder with "Science Fiction - Daily Short Stories," where each episode transports you to alternate realities, distant…

    Episodes and details

  50. Stories - Mystery Suspense

    Arts, Fiction

    Length
    15 min
    Releases
    Daily
    Episodes
    1,014
    Since
    2021

    Dive into the enigmatic world of "Stories - Mystery Suspense," a captivating podcast that promises to keep listeners on the edge of their seats with its…

    Episodes and details
All Fiction lists