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The Penumbra Podcast — Arts
The Penumbra Podcast

At the Penumbra, you might follow Juno Steel, a brooding, sharp-witted private eye on Mars, as he tangles with an elusive homme fatale, tracks dangerous artifacts of an ancient alien civilization, and faces his three greatest fears: heights, blood, and relationships.

Or you might enter the world of the Second Citadel, where the merciless Sir Caroline must corral a team of emotionally distraught all-male knights to defend their city against mind-manipulating monsters…even the ones they’ve fallen in love with.

Or you might tune into the not-too-distant future of Thirst, a future America somehow even worse than the present, where four couples must survive a dangerous reality TV competition designed by a sadistic host and a cheerfully violent Algorithm.

These audio dramas and more await you in the Penumbra, dear traveler. We hope you enjoy your stay. (Start with “1.01: Juno Steel and the Case of the Murderous Mask” to follow the Juno Steel series, “1.09: Second Citadel – The Head of the Janus Beast” to follow the Second Citadel series, or “THIRST S1E1: Icebreaker” to listen to the Thirst series. Or, listen from oldest to newest to hear everything as we released it.)

The Penumbra is created and produced by Harley Takagi Kaner and Kevin Vibert. Follow us on Bluesky (@thepenumbrapod.bsky.social‬), Tumblr (@thepenumbrapodcast), TikTok (@thepenumbrapodcast), Instagram (@thepenumbrapodcast), or Facebook (The Penumbra Podcast).

For early and ad-free episodes, production scripts, commentary tracks, blooper reels, livestreams with the creators, and much more, you can find The Penumbra Podcast: SPECIAL EDITION at: https://thepenumbrapodcast.supercast.com

You can find all of our transcripts here. If you would like to view trigger warnings or SFX attributions, you can scroll to the end of the appropriate episode transcript: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/2/folders/1bnWLw5dTW4l9A0bmOMzEiy6XqqsXHHi_

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Copyright: © Harley Takagi Kaner and Kevin Vibert

Latest Episodes:

THIRST S1E25: Rerun Sep 10, 2026

Show notes

You can find early and ad-free episodes, production scripts, commentary tracks, blooper reels, livestreams with the creators, and much more, at The Penumbra Podcast: SPECIAL EDITION.

Can't Tear My Eyes From You, Chapter 25: Rerun.

Do you ever get the feeling that all of this has happened before?

Cast:

Kat Buckingham as Marguerite

Chloé Cunha as Coralie

Melissa DeJesus as Danny

Sarah Gazdowicz as Toni

Tooky Kavanagh as The Algorithm and Kali

Jason Mellin as Paulie

Reyna Moody as Carmen

Noah Simes as Sam Sanders

Alexander Stravinski as Jedediah Jordan

Matthew Zahnzinger as François

(Trigger warnings can be found at the bottom of this episode description and at the end of the transcript.)

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You can find all of our transcripts here. Transcripts will come out along with the public release of the episode and include all required SFX attributions.

On staff at the Penumbra:

Ginny D'Angelo -- Head of Operations

Melissa DeJesus -- Script editing team

Harley Takagi Kaner -- Co-creator, Head of Episode Development, Director, Sound designer

Grahame Turner -- Script editing team

Kevin Vibert -- Co-creator, Head of Operations, Lead writer

Ryan Vibert -- Composer and performer of original music

Jeff Wright -- Graphic designer

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TRIGGER WARNINGS:

Violence, murder by several violent means, threats of violence
Large bodies of water
Deception and gaslighting
Grooming
Climate disaster
Abusive relationships and abusive language
Mutilation of several corpses
Body horror and gore
Alcohol abuse
Prejudice in several forms
Occult horror
Violence towards animals
Sickness and vomiting
Brainwashing
Political violence
Stalking

Please consider supporting our ability to continue making this show! We're independent and rely on your funding to buy the time and talent to write, direct, compose, product, act, and so much more for this show. You can find us at:

thepenumbrapodcast.supercast.com

or patreon.com/thepenumbrapodcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

THIRST S1E24: Say Yes Aug 27, 2026

Show notes

You can find early and ad-free episodes, production scripts, commentary tracks, blooper reels, livestreams with the creators, and much more, at The Penumbra Podcast: SPECIAL EDITION.

Can't Tear My Eyes From You, Chapter 24: Say Yes.

Jedediah does some convincing.

Cast:

Tooky Kavanagh as The Algorithm and Kali

Melody Perera as Anouk Kalhara

Alexander Stravinski as The Host and the Organitech Sperm Donor

Harley Takagi Kaner as the Organitech Sperm Fairy

Kevin Vibert as Mortimer the Normal Halloween Decoration

(Trigger warnings can be found at the bottom of this episode description and at the end of the transcript.)

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You can find all of our transcripts here. Transcripts will come out along with the public release of the episode and include all required SFX attributions.

On staff at the Penumbra:

Ginny D'Angelo -- Head of Operations

Melissa DeJesus -- Script editing team

Harley Takagi Kaner -- Co-creator, Head of Episode Development, Director, Sound designer

Grahame Turner -- Script editing team

Kevin Vibert -- Co-creator, Head of Operations, Lead writer

Ryan Vibert -- Composer and performer of original music

Jeff Wright -- Graphic designer

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TRIGGER WARNINGS:

Sudden loud noises
Violence and threats of violence
Occult activity
Bodily mutilation, severing of body parts, “body horror”
References to death
Sexual coercion
Sexual activity and masturbation
Medical experimentation and abuse
Specific discussion of climate change
Abuse of authority
Deception and gaslighting
References to stalking

Please consider supporting our ability to continue making this show! We're independent and rely on your funding to buy the time and talent to write, direct, compose, product, act, and so much more for this show. You can find us at:

thepenumbrapodcast.supercast.com

or patreon.com/thepenumbrapodcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

THIRST S1E23: The Reunion Episode Aug 06, 2026

Show notes

You can find early and ad-free episodes, production scripts, commentary tracks, blooper reels, livestreams with the creators, and much more, at The Penumbra Podcast: SPECIAL EDITION.

Can't Tear My Eyes From You, Chapter 23: The Reunion Episode.

You're playing the game but I might still get eliminated?

Cast:

Marge Dunn as Raine Randolph

Amanda Egbu as "Georgia Whittaker"

Josephine Moshiri Elwood as "Valentina Ride"

Eleanore Cho Fellerhoff as "Holliday Murdock"

Joshua Ilon as "Dennis Cruz"

Tooky Kavanagh as The Algorithm

Quinn McKenzie as Capote Whittaker

Melody Perera as Anouk Kalhara

Stefano Perti as Dennis Lang

Marc Pierre as "Sergeant Murdock"

Stewart Evan Smith as Taylor Kelley

Alexander Stravinski as The Host

This week's commercial, "FreeCut Knives," was co-written and performed by Jamie Petronis as Nate and Athan as Mark. You can find their horror comedy audio drama, [REDACTED], at https://www.theredactedunit.com or wherever you find your podcasts.

(Trigger warnings can be found at the bottom of this episode description and at the end of the transcript.)

-------

You can find all of our transcripts here. Transcripts will come out along with the public release of the episode and include all required SFX attributions.

On staff at the Penumbra:

Ginny D'Angelo -- Head of Operations

Melissa DeJesus -- Script editing team

Harley Takagi Kaner -- Co-creator, Head of Episode Development, Director, Sound designer

Grahame Turner -- Script editing team

Kevin Vibert -- Co-creator, Head of Operations, Lead writer

Ryan Vibert -- Composer and performer of original music

Jeff Wright -- Graphic designer

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TRIGGER WARNINGS:

Pursuit/hunting
Capture and being trapped
Vehicular accidents and violence
Fire
Insects and insect killing
Physical harm and violence
Death and dead bodies
Threats of harm
Language that may be triggering regarding body image and restrictive, normative beauty standards
Gore and “body horror”
Sudden loud noises
Severe illness
Deception and manipulation
Relationship infighting
Threats of domestic abuse
Unwanted sexual advances
Abuse of power/authority

Please consider supporting our ability to continue making this show! We're independent and rely on your funding to buy the time and talent to write, direct, compose, product, act, and so much more for this show. You can find us at:

thepenumbrapodcast.supercast.com

or patreon.com/thepenumbrapodcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

THIRST S1E22: We'll Be Right Back Jul 23, 2026

Show notes

You can find early and ad-free episodes, production scripts, commentary tracks, blooper reels, livestreams with the creators, and much more, at The Penumbra Podcast: SPECIAL EDITION.

Can't Tear My Eyes From You, Chapter 22: We'll Be Right Back

The contestants make a run for it.

Cast:

Marge Dunn as Raine Randolph

Josephine Moshiri Elwood as "Valentina Ride"

Eleanore Cho Fellerhoff as "Holliday Murdock"

Sarah Gazdowicz as the BetterYou Announcer

Joshua Ilon as "Dennis Cruz"

Quinn McKenzie as Capote Whittaker

Melody Perera as Anouk Kalhara

Stefano Perti as Dennis Lang

Marc Pierre as "Sergeant Murdock"

Stewart Evan Smith as Taylor Kelley

(Trigger warnings can be found at the bottom of this episode description and at the end of the transcript.)

-------

You can find all of our transcripts here. Transcripts will come out along with the public release of the episode and include all required SFX attributions.

On staff at the Penumbra:

Ginny D'Angelo -- Head of Operations

Melissa DeJesus -- Script editing team

Harley Takagi Kaner -- Co-creator, Head of Episode Development, Director, Sound designer

Grahame Turner -- Script editing team

Kevin Vibert -- Co-creator, Head of Operations, Lead writer

Ryan Vibert -- Composer and performer of original music

Jeff Wright -- Graphic designer

--------

TRIGGER WARNINGS:

Transphobia
Racism and xenophobia
Political persecution
Sex and "sex work"
Bodily harm
Torture
Surveillance
Cheating/adultery
Death and violence
Severe illness
Gaslighting and manipulation
Sudden loud noises
Abuse of power
Social ostracization

Please consider supporting our ability to continue making this show! We're independent and rely on your funding to buy the time and talent to write, direct, compose, product, act, and so much more for this show. You can find us at:

thepenumbrapodcast.supercast.com

or patreon.com/thepenumbrapodcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

THIRST S1E21: Mister Crowley Jul 09, 2026

Show notes

You can find early and ad-free episodes, production scripts, commentary tracks, blooper reels, livestreams with the creators, and much more, at The Penumbra Podcast: SPECIAL EDITION.

Can't Tear My Eyes From You, Chapter 21: Mister Crowley

Things get very personal.

Cast:

Marge Dunn as Raine Randolph

Josephine Moshiri Elwood as Wife

Tooky Kavanagh as The Algorithm

Quinn McKenzie as Capote Whittaker

Melody Perera as Anouk Kalhara

Stefano Perti as Dennis Lang

Marc Pierre as the LittleEye Spy

Stewart Evan Smith as Taylor Kelley and the LittleEye Announcer

Alexander Stravinski as Husband

(Trigger warnings can be found at the bottom of this episode description and at the end of the transcript.)

-------

You can find all of our transcripts here. Transcripts will come out along with the public release of the episode and include all required SFX attributions.

On staff at the Penumbra:

Ginny D'Angelo -- Head of Operations

Melissa DeJesus -- Script editing team

Harley Takagi Kaner -- Co-creator, Head of Episode Development, Director, Sound designer

Grahame Turner -- Script editing team

Kevin Vibert -- Co-creator, Head of Operations, Lead writer

Ryan Vibert -- Composer and performer of original music

Jeff Wright -- Graphic designer

--------

TRIGGER WARNINGS:

Transphobia
Racism and xenophobia
Political persecution
Sex and "sex work"
Bodily harm
Torture
Surveillance
Cheating/adultery
Death and violence
Severe illness
Gaslighting and manipulation
Sudden loud noises
Abuse of power
Social ostracization

Please consider supporting our ability to continue making this show! We're independent and rely on your funding to buy the time and talent to write, direct, compose, product, act, and so much more for this show. You can find us at:

thepenumbrapodcast.supercast.com

or patreon.com/thepenumbrapodcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

THIRST S1E20: Blindfold Jun 25, 2026

Show notes

You can find early and ad-free episodes, production scripts, commentary tracks, blooper reels, livestreams with the creators, and much more, at The Penumbra Podcast: SPECIAL EDITION.

Can't Tear My Eyes From You, Chapter 20: Blindfold

The ultimate loser loses.

Cast:

Marge Dunn as Raine Randolph and the Make Money Now Announcer

Josephine Moshiri Elwood as Valentina Ride

Tooky Kavanagh as The Algorithm

Quinn McKenzie as Capote Whittaker

Melody Perera as Anouk Kalhara

Stefano Perti as Dennis Lang

Stewart Evan Smith as Taylor Kelley

Alexander Stravinski as The Host

(Trigger warnings can be found at the bottom of this episode description and at the end of the transcript.)

-------

You can find all of our transcripts here. Transcripts will come out along with the public release of the episode and include all required SFX attributions.

On staff at the Penumbra:

Ginny D'Angelo -- Head of Operations

Melissa DeJesus -- Script editing team

Harley Takagi Kaner -- Co-creator, Head of Episode Development, Director, Sound designer

Grahame Turner -- Script editing team

Kevin Vibert -- Co-creator, Head of Operations, Lead writer

Ryan Vibert -- Composer and performer of original music

Jeff Wright -- Graphic designer

--------

TRIGGER WARNINGS:

Transphobia and coded transphobic language
Bodily harm
Torture
Self-inflicted pain
Electrocution
Death and violence
Gaslighting and manipulation
Sudden loud noises
References to child trafficking
Abuse of power
Loss of consciousness
Fire and burning
Social ostracization

Please consider supporting our ability to continue making this show! We're independent and rely on your funding to buy the time and talent to write, direct, compose, product, act, and so much more for this show. You can find us at:

thepenumbrapodcast.supercast.com

or patreon.com/thepenumbrapodcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

THIRST S1E19: The Edit Jun 11, 2026

Show notes

You can find early and ad-free episodes, production scripts, commentary tracks, blooper reels, livestreams with the creators, and much more, at The Penumbra Podcast: SPECIAL EDITION.

Can't Tear My Eyes From You, Chapter 19: The Edit

A glimpse at what the audience sees. The contestants discover that their popularity affects the game.

Cast:

Marge Dunn as Raine Randolph

Josephine Moshiri Elwood as Valentina Ride

Tooky Kavanagh as The Algorithm

Quinn McKenzie as Capote Whittaker

Melody Perera as Anouk Kalhara

Stefano Perti as Dennis Lang

Stewart Evan Smith as Taylor Kelley

Alexander Stravinski as The Host

M Sutherland as Boots Goliath

Harley Takagi Kaner as Capote's Dysphoria

(Trigger warnings can be found at the bottom of this episode description and at the end of the transcript.)

-------

You can find all of our transcripts here. Transcripts will come out along with the public release of the episode and include all required SFX attributions.

On staff at the Penumbra:

Ginny D'Angelo -- Head of Operations

Melissa DeJesus -- Script editing team

Harley Takagi Kaner -- Co-creator, Head of Episode Development, Director, Sound designer

Grahame Turner -- Script editing team

Kevin Vibert -- Co-creator, Head of Operations, Lead writer

Ryan Vibert -- Composer and performer of original music

Jeff Wright -- Graphic designer

--------

TRIGGER WARNINGS:

Emetophobia/vomiting
Propaganda and organized manipulation
Racism, sexism, transphobia, xenophobia
Body dysmorphia and misgendering
Discussions of sex and romance
Violence with weaponry
Drug use
Actions and sounds resembling firearm use and suicide with a firearm
Deep bodies of water and drowning
Fascist control
Hallucination
Mob violence

Please consider supporting our ability to continue making this show! We're independent and rely on your funding to buy the time and talent to write, direct, compose, product, act, and so much more for this show. You can find us at:

thepenumbrapodcast.supercast.com

or patreon.com/thepenumbrapodcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Check out: The Gentleman From Hell Jun 04, 2026

Show notes

Three private detectives investigate the mystery of Cold Sparrow - a town that's entire population disappeared without a trace over twenty years ago. Together, the detectives seek to unravel the town's mysteries and find the enigmatic Benjamin Veers, an eccentric billionaire who resided in the once picturesque town.

Credits:

Written by Mark Anzalone

Edited by Walker Kornfeld

Sound mastering by Steven J. Anzalone

--

Mace voiced by Steven Zivic

Leon voiced by Sam Stark

Phyllis voiced by Aubrey Akers

Benjamin Veers voiced by Mark Anzalone

Edward Veers voiced by Mark Anzalone

Charlie Prist voiced by Mark Anzalone

--

Intro music by Steven Anzalone

Music and Sound effects are licensed from third party providers

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

THIRST S1E18: The Man Behind Me May 28, 2026

Show notes

You can find early and ad-free episodes, production scripts, commentary tracks, blooper reels, livestreams with the creators, and much more, at The Penumbra Podcast: SPECIAL EDITION.

Can't Tear My Eyes From You, Chapter 18: The Man Behind Me.

The living contestants finally get the chance to grieve. Anouk remembers her childhood.

Cast:

Marge Dunn as Raine Randolph

Josephine Moshiri Elwood as Valentina Ride

Joshua Ilon as "Dennis Cruz"

Tooky Kavanagh as The Algorithm

Quinn McKenzie as Capote Whittaker

Jamie McGonagill as Ms. Vasquez

Melody Perera as Anouk Kalhara

Stefano Perti as Dennis Lang

Brandon M. Reeves as the Lots and Lots of Guns Announcer

Stewart Evan Smith as Taylor Kelley

Alexander Stravinski as The Host

(Trigger warnings can be found at the bottom of this episode description and at the end of the transcript.)

-------

You can find all of our transcripts here. Transcripts will come out along with the public release of the episode and include all required SFX attributions.

On staff at the Penumbra:

Ginny D'Angelo -- Head of Operations

Melissa DeJesus -- Script editing team

Harley Takagi Kaner -- Co-creator, Head of Episode Development, Director, Sound designer

Grahame Turner -- Script editing team

Kevin Vibert -- Co-creator, Head of Operations, Lead writer

Ryan Vibert -- Composer and performer of original music

Jeff Wright -- Graphic designer

--------

TRIGGER WARNINGS:

-Death

-References to torture and assault

-Sexism, racism, xenophobia, transphobia, homophobia

-Situations evoking grooming and sexual assault

-Gaslighting and manipulation

-Sudden loud noises

-Mentions of gun violence and death

-Gore and body horror

-Self-harm

-Stalking

-Child death (referenced, not shown)

-Child abuse

-Social ostracization

-Financial abuse

-Mass death and suicide

Please consider supporting our ability to continue making this show! We're independent and rely on your funding to buy the time and talent to write, direct, compose, product, act, and so much more for this show. You can find us at:

thepenumbrapodcast.supercast.com

or patreon.com/thepenumbrapodcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From The Penumbra Special Edition: Wet Hot American Doomsday, Episode 10 (with Harley Takagi Kaner and Kevin Vibert) Apr 23, 2026

Show notes

As we enter the last couple weeks of our spring break, here's an episode of our companion podcast, "Wet Hot American Doomsday," normally reserved for Supercast and Patreon supporters only! Harley and Kevin took the opportunity of our tenth episode of Thirst to talk about the making of the show.

This is just a taste of what you'll find at The Penumbra: SPECIAL EDITION, which you can subscribe to on Supercast or Patreon. Please consider subscribing if you can--since times are tough for everyone, we've lost a lot of financial support and we're really teetering on the edge of being able to continue making the show. Indie art needs your help to survive!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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