Afoot, the mystery podcast! What makes a mystery a mystery? It’s a genre with a puzzle at the middle, but which takes many forms across all media. We talk books, comics, TV, movies, audio plays, theatre, and more, and stretch boundaries while staying true to the form. Find us on Twitter @afootcast and our reading recommendations and upcoming books at Goodreads.
There’s something fishy about the murder in this episode. Novelist W. M. Akers joins us to talk about Murder Under Glass, an episode from the final season of the original NBC run of Columbo featuring Louis Jourdan as a food critic and, of course, a murderer. It is maybe not the most perfect episode, but well worth a visit for the variations on the formula—people are actually happy to see the good Lieutenant for once, and he gets to show off some serious culinary skills. We also get to talking about Will’s own mystery novels. Somehow, we wind up talking...
11 Nov 2021
2.2: 70 is the New 40
As podcasters and fans of podcasts—as well as good murder mysteries—we’ve convened a panel to talk about Only Murders in the Building, the new Hulu series starring Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez, created by Steve Martin and John Hoffman. Yes, there are spoilers, so go watch the series first, trust us. Then come back and listen to us talk about murders, cats, sex toys, animations, El Paso, generation gaps, and dips. As you do. And remember, he’s 76 years old! That takes the slapstick in a whole new direction....
2 Apr 2021
2.1: What Happened to the Other Guy?
Yes, it’s April 1, but this isn’t a joke, Afoot is back from the grave as it were. And that question doesn’t refer to Glenn—or does it?—but to Lt. Columbo, one of the rare television characters to become as iconic as Holmes, Poirot, Miss Marple, et al, and almost instantly from his first appearance. Or, well, Peter Falk’s first appearance. Because he wasn’t the first actor to portray the good lieutenant… The UCLA Film and TV Archive presented a special stream of an episode of The Chevy Mystery Show, a 13 episode summer replacement series from 1960. The title? Enough...
28 Jan 2018
13: Mysteries We Dropped
We’ve all started reading down mystery series or authors, and then hit a point where we said, “nah, I’m good.” In this episode, we talk about what we gave up on and why, and some we loved all throughout. This comes from a place of love: we enjoyed early installments enough that we kept reading, but something eventually got lost for us. In fact, we often recommend the first few or even several novels, and tell you when the best point to stop is —Â the subtitle of this episode is “exactly when to stop reading.” An important note: this episode...
30 Mar 2017
12: Forget It, Fake, It's Chinatown
Forty years ago, Neil Simon wrote a pair of parodies in the mystery vein: the 1976 film Murder By Death, which sent up the great movie detectives, and The Cheap Detective in 1978, which took on hard-boiled Bogart characters, like Sam Spade. The two films have a lot in common, including Robert Moore as director, Peter Falk as the Bogie analog, and Madeline Kahn in a wonderful supporting role in each. But the Afoot panel prefers one to the other. Which one? You’ll have to listen to find out. We have spoiler-free parts of this podcast for each film, so...
11 Mar 2017
11: When You Come to a Falk in the Road, Take It
The original rumpled detective, Columbo, broke the mold of the urbane cogitator or hardboiled world-weary dick who merely needed to assemble all the clues — and keep from being killed. Nearly every episode of the long-running TV character (across two series and 69 episodes) showed viewers the murder at its start. Columbo, a police detective, is brought in on the case, and we see the killer becoming increasingly agitated as he relentlessly circles his prey. We talk about episodes and actors, and why Falk created an enduring character....
10 Feb 2017
10: Phryne with a Fringe on Top
She’s smoothly sensual, a sharp dresser, and has a wicked uppercut. We travel to the Antipodes to visit with Phryne Fisher, the protagonist of a series of 20 murder mystery books and three seasons of an adaptation to television. We like the cut of her jib and the stab of her knife. If you’d like to prep before listening, we read three of the books: Cocaine Blues, our introduction to the cast, which grows and grows; Murder in Montparnasse, which fleshes out her backstory; and Murder in the Dark, which takes place on a rambly country estate and features a...
13 Dec 2016
9: Bugs Meany Was Framed
We talk about mysteries written for kids, which are often good reads for adults! Among panelists, we count six children at home and all of us remain kids at heart. The episode also features special guest Rex Fleishman for a brief discussion of a series he loves. We have dozens and recommendations, and have tried to list most in the show notes....
30 Oct 2016
8: And We Would Have Recorded Away with It, Too
What’s more appropriate for Halloween than Scooby-Doo? Join Afoot as we recount the nearly 50-year history of the show, talk about our favorite and least-favorite eras, praise voice actors, and dissect the problem with the show switching from old men in rubber masks to real ghosts, zombies, and monsters....
26 Sept 2016
7: When a Man's Partner Is Killed (Several Times)
The Maltese Falcon is one of the noir books that defined the genre. But the first try at making this spare, grim book about a fancy bird into a novel didn’t take. Nor did the second. The third is the one we all recall, with Humphrey Bogart and Mary Astor. And even it’s a bit weird. In this episode, we bring in ringers Dylan Meconis, whose grew up with a Bogart shrine in her home, and Brock Winstead, a Falcon fan....
14 May 2016
6: Veronica Mars: Season 1
Veronica Mars is the greatest detective series that many people watched, but clearly not enough! A determined, hard-nosed teenager, Veronica had absolutely no concern about invading the privacy of others in her pursuit of solving a case her father is working on, troubles her classmates brought to her, or getting to the bottom of the season’s overall arc—the murder of her best friend. It’s time to revisit the first season of the show 12 years after it debuted, and a bunch of great fans of the show and one newcomer, the host, talk episodes, characters, themes, and comparisons to other...
23 Feb 2016
5: Heaping Helping of Holmes, Part 2
Sherlock Holmes is the most portrayed, parodied, adapted, and extended detective in the history of the genre. In this episode (part 2 of 2), Afoot panelists discuss more of their favorite Holmes' depictions and extensions. This time: Failed TV pilots that use Holmes or Holmes-like characters, the movie Young Sherlock Holmes, House, M.D., Robert Downey, Jr's portrayal in movies, the movie of The Seven-Percent Solution, and the Mary Russell series by Laurie R. King....
31 Jan 2016
4: Heaping Helping of Holmes, Part 1
Sherlock Holmes is the most portrayed, parodied, adapted, and extended detective in the history of the genre. In this episode (part 1 of 2), Afoot panelists discuss their favorite Holmes’ depictions and extensions. This time: Jeremy Brett, Sherlock (BBC), an episode of Magnum, P.I., the movie They Might Be Giants, Elementary (US TV), and The Great Mouse Detective....
30 Dec 2015
3: Radio Mystery Shows
From nearly the dawn of broadcast radio came scripted shows, and the biggest genre outside of soap operas were radio mysteries. Remarkably, these not only thrived across dozens and dozens of shows during radio’s heyday, but for decades beyond, into the 1980s. And podcasting has offered some new life, from Thrilling Adventure Hour to…The Incomparable Radio Theater. We discuss our favorite shows, some great episodes, how we grew up with radio mysteries, and where to find them, old and new....
2 Dec 2015
2: Make Mine Marple!
Miss Marple may have been a pioneer crime-tape crosser, but there are oodles of women writing detective fiction and starring in it. In this episode, we talk about our faves, what a woman detective brings to the picture (Miss Fisher!), and introduce folks to perhaps some lesser-known treasures....
31 Oct 2015
1: Good Eve-a-Ning
Welcome to the latest member of The Incomparable family of podcasts: Afoot, the mystery podcast! What makes a mystery a mystery? It’s a genre with a puzzle at the middle, but which takes many forms across all media. Many mystery elements have also percolated out into mainstream fiction and media. This show will be “genre for people who aren’t genre snobs,” where we will talk books, comic books, television, movies, audio plays, theatre, and more, and stretch boundaries while staying true to the form. We may even play mystery games. We’ll have a number of book-club episodes, too, and announce...
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