Angriff der singenden Molche!
With our inspiration firmly international, we Newts! are thrilled when programs and audiences abroad show interest in the show. So it was particularly exciting to listen to Deutschlandfunk Kultur reviewing the podcast -- and we don’t even speak German! If you do, listen in here.
And if not, here’s a helpful summary from Sam’s Mother-in-Law:
“It starts with a history of musical podcasts. It then goes on saying that one of the most interesting of this genre is the indie podcast Newts. It says that one pays attention to music differently in podcast-hearing than music-hearing. It then compares the difference between a stage musical and a podcast musical to stress the point that it is more difficult and more important in the podcast because the stage and costumes and that keeps the viewer’s attention. It says that Newts requires full attention from listeners but it also rewards them and shows that podcast musicals can be complex and challenging. For a very young art form, Newts a tremendous and very entertaining development swing. It seems they really liked it!!!" (Danke!)
Shout Out From The Citizen
While Newts! is swimming in Radiotopia talent, technically we’re not a Radiotopia show -- so we were all the more honored to receive a spotlight in The Citizen, Radiotopia’s newsletter. As Kerri Hoffman, Radiotopia’s CEO put it:
“Loving Newts - it is SO rich and fun. Oh - and weird.” (Swoon.)
Strange Newt Worlds
Ian joined Wade Roush, host of the most excellent Soonish podcast, for what he thought would be a quick chat about Sci-Fi -- but Wade had done his homework, listening the all of Newts! and even re-reading Capek’s original War with the Newts! What follows instead is a thoughtful, far-ranging, hour-long conversation about Karel Čapek, audio drama storytelling, and the creative process. It’s the deepest dive we’ve done yet into Newts!
This conversation contains mild spoilers for the back half of our story, so if you may want to wait until you’ve finished the show to tune in. Thanks again, Wade!
Podcast The Newtsletter
Color us thrilled about our shout out in Lauren Passell’s always illuminating, always entertaining Podcast The Newsletter. She writes:
“If you think you don’t like fiction, this podcast is so undeniably inventive I think it could change your mind. I wanted to stand and applaud after I heard episode one. It felt like the curtain was closing on the first act to a play made from the blood, sweat and tears of a very inventive team.” (No you’re crying!)
Newt and Vulture, Friends Forever
Many thanks to Nick Quah at Vulture, for featuring Newts! in 1.5x Speed, an ongoing series of podcast recommendations and reviews. He writes:
“A seven-layer salad of influences, and a musical that leans heavily on surf-rock and the kind of lyrical storytelling associated with something like The Decemberists… Expect sea shanties, grand theatricality, and squishy sounds.” (We feel seen.)
European Folklore Gets Murky…
Our friends at the Myths and Legends podcast just released their latest episode, Murky, which dives deep into the Vodník, a dangerous -- often amphibious -- water creature found in Czech folklore.
Karel Capek wrote his own take on the Vodník in his delightfully titled book, Nine Fairy Tales and One More Thrown In For Good Measure, and we here at Newts! have long suspected Capek had Vodník at least partially on the mind when he invented his salamanders. We had a great time chatting with Myths and Legends in the run up Murky, and recommend checking it out!
Newts on The World
Co-creator Ian Coss sat down with Marco Werman on today’s episode of The World to discuss Newts! and its original inspiration from the 1930s. As Marco puts it:
“Democracy in a central European country is under threat. Authoritarianism is spreading around the globe. And the planet itself seems to be in peril from unexplained floods. These very contemporary themes are actually from a 1936 work of science fiction by Czech author Karel Čapek called War of the Newts.”
Marco Werman makes a cameo appearance in Newts! later on in the story. Stay tuned -- and in the meantime, enjoy the interview!
Válka s Mloky
While Karel Čapek is not so well known in the United States, he’s a literary icon in his home country of the Czech Republic -- which made this interview Sam gave to Radio Prague International quite a treat! Listen in for a discussion on Čapek, how he’s received in the US, and the timely resonance of his work, over 80 years later -- as well as Ian and Sam’s personal relationships to the Czech Republic, and how that informed their work on Newts!
First Encounters
Today’s the day! Our special sneak peak of Episode 1 is now available for streaming on The Truth. Head on over and have a listen!
Tell your friends. Your enemies. Amphibious enthusiasts everywhere! And while you’re at it, be sure to subscribe to The Truth for more original, brilliant narrative fiction - movies for your ears! We’ll be rolling out the rest of our show on our own channel, but we always tune it to whatever The Truth’s cooking up next.
Meet The Humans
PRX published a great write up of Newts! -- spotlighting our talented cast (check out our CAST page to read up on everyone) and co-creators. Here’s a taste from Ian:
“At the time Čapek published ‘War with the Newts’ in 1936, my grandmother also lived in Prague under the shadow of an approaching war. Now in the 21st century, this work continues to speak directly to the issues of our time: climate change, artificial intelligence, nationalism and the basic challenge of collective action. To me, Karel Čapek is an incredible observer of human nature. I’m excited to present his visionary tale in a new form.”
The Newts Are Coming
We’ve teamed up with The Truth to give listeners an exclusive, early premiere of Episode 1 -- coming out June 1st -- as well as a behind the scenes conversation about our process and what audiences can expect from Newts! Read it all here!
Vulture’s 10 Podcasts We Can’t Wait to Listen to This Summer
We here at Newts! are big fans of Nick Quah, Vulture’s resident podcast critic, so we were thrilled to learn that our show is on his list of most anticipated podcasts of the summer! We can’t wait to share it soon!
