This Planet Needs a Name

New listeners, start here!  We've cut together all four prologue mini-episodes; this is a chance for you to get to know the landing crew before they touch down in Episode One.This Planet Needs a Name, a science fiction audio drama suitable for our times, was created by Evan Tess Murray, who also wrote and directed this episode. Original composition, sound design, and audio engineering are by Trace Callahan. Characters were developed in collaboration with their actors: Caroline Mincks as Zahava, Evan Tess Murray as Zei, Trevor Bean as Mandry, Alexander Doddy as James, Alexander Endymion Hernandez Diaz as Cyrus, Trace Callahan as Kolian, and Sawyer Greene as Quill.Our first full episode is in production now. While we work on it, we want to invite you to join us on our discord server, where we’re building a community of people who believe in the power of stories and in each other. Get in touch on twitter at needsanamepod, or email needsanamepod@gmail.com if you’d like to stop in and say hello.  This episode's script is available for those who find a transcript helpful. More of the unnamed planet's story is coming soon. How soon?  We wish we knew! Follow us to get updates as we go.Support the show

While we work on our full-length episodes, we've pulled together a few things you might enjoy!  Here, Zei answers a questionnaire as part of her job interview to head toward the nameless planet.This is written and performed by Evan Tess Murray, with audio engineering by Trace Callahan. The transcript is available as well. Sorry for the delay - unlike most of what we do, much of this was improvised rather than scripted, so preparing the transcript took a bit longer than usual!Support the show

While we work on our full-length episodes, we've pulled together a few things you might enjoy!  Here, Kolian answers a questionnaire as part of their job interview to head toward the nameless planet.This is written by Evan Tess Murray and Trace Callahan, performed and engineered by Trace Callahan, and the transcript is available.  We did these interviews as character development exercises; they're partially scripted and partially improvised. Anyone interested in learning more about our collaborative process is welcome to email us, get in touch on twitter, or join us on the friendliest corner of the internet to talk about it. Support the show

While we work on our full-length episodes, we've pulled together a few things you might enjoy!  Here, Cyrus answers a questionnaire as part of his job interview to head toward the nameless planet.This is written by Evan Tess Murray and Alexander Endymion Hernández Díaz, performed by Alexander Endymion Hernández Díaz, and engineered by Trace Callahan, and the transcript is available. We did these interviews as character development exercises; they're partially scripted and partially improvised. Anyone interested in learning more about our collaborative process is welcome to email us, get in touch on twitter, or join us on the friendliest corner of the internet to talk about it. Support the show

Our first full-length episode is so close to done we can just about taste it, and in the meantime we've pulled together a few things you might enjoy!  Here, Zahava answers a questionnaire as part of her job interview to head toward the nameless planet.This is written by Evan Tess Murray and Caroline Mincks, perfomed by Caroline Mincks, and engineered by Trace Callahan, and the transcript is available.We did these interviews as character development exercises; they're partially scripted and partially improvised. Anyone interested in learning more about our collaborative process is welcome to email us, get in touch on twitter, or join us on the friendliest corner of the internet to talk about it. Support the show

In Episode One, "When the Gravity is Real," Quill and Zei touch down on the ground, joining Zahava, Cyrus, and James on the planet. Kolian and Mandry watch from above while we discover whether or not anyone is allergic to the air (were we worried about that?). Plants may be planted; power generated; and as always, there will be cheese. But the planet still has secrets for our brave terraformers to discover.The transcript is available.Content Note:  this episode is free from sensitive content other than some swearing.  The showrunner and lead writer for this project is Evan Tess Murray. The sound designer, audio engineer, and composer is Trace Callahan. Sounds and music are her original creations.This is a collaborative, ensemble project. Many of the character decisions are made by the actors as part of the story and script development process. Please check out the links below to get in touch with them or find more of their work. Presenting the Nameless CrewTrevor Bean creates and voices MandryTrace Callahan creates and voices KolianAlexander Endymion Hernández Díaz creates and voices CyrusAlexander Doddy creates and voices JamesSawyer Greene creates and voices QuillAnjali Kunapaneni creates and voices DeviDominic Mendez creates and voices ÁngelCaroline Mincks creates and voices ZahavaEvan Tess Murray creates and voices ZeiThey're also just a ton of fun to hang out with. Our corner of the internet is very friendly, and you're welcome to come say hello. We'd also love you to join the Ground Crew by supporting us on Patreon, if you can. The promo at the end of this episode is for Seren, an upcoming show by our friend Nerys. This story is being told by people in various parts of the world. Every episode, we'll give a bit of space in the shownotes to an effort by indigenous people that could use some support.  Our creator is from the Dawnlands, the ancestral and current home of the peoples of the Wabanaki Confederacy. Please check out - and support - Nibezun. A great deal of this episode was written and edited at Candy’s, an LGBTQ+ community space in Portland, Maine. Check them out at http://candyslovesyou.space.And finally, our hearts go out to our Australian friends and family.  Please help if you can - one suggestion is to donate to the Australian Red Cross. In addition, a member of our podfamily has family that have lost their home to the fires - you can help them out here. Keep breathing, Australia.We tell a story about another world, but we're not giving up on this one. Support the show

Hi everyone! This is Evan, here to make a quick announcement. We know a lot of you love the music Trace creates for our episodes. Well, as of today, you can own that music!  She’s made several parts of the score for everything we’ve released so far into full pieces, and they’re available as the first installment of The Nameless Songs collection. The Nameless Songs: Landing is available to all our patrons at the $3 tier or higher, or you can buy it for a few dollars on Trace’s bandcamp page. This includes the fully scored version of the lullaby Zahava sings in her prologue, Numi Numi. I know for sure a lot of you love that song. Now you can buy it for a dollar. To get this and all our future releases, and generally support the show, join the Ground Crew at patreon.com/needsaname.  To check out the songs, go to tracecallahan.bandcamp.com. That’s Trace as in with a pencil, Callahan as in the pretty common Irish last name, at bandcamp.comAs always, thank you so much for your support! Support the show

Now that our first episode is live, we're working on the second one - and the third!  And in the meantime, we have a few more of these bonuses for you.  Here, Mandry answers a questionnaire as part of his job interview to head toward the nameless planet.This is written by Evan Tess Murray and Trevor Bean, performed by Trevor Bean, and engineered by Trace Callahan, and the transcript is available.We did these interviews as character development exercises; they're partially scripted and partially improvised. Anyone interested in learning more about our collaborative process is welcome to email us, get in touch on twitter, or join us on the friendliest corner of the internet to talk about it. Support the show

Now that our first episode is live, we're working on the second one - and the third!  And in the meantime, we have a few more of these bonuses for you.  Here, James answers a questionnaire as part of his job interview to head toward the nameless planet.  Warning: James is fond of some words sometimes considered taboo. If you don't want to hear a bit of gentle cursing, give this one a miss. This is written by Evan Tess Murray and Alexander Doddy, performed by Alexander Doddy, and engineered by Trace Callahan, and the transcript is available.We did these interviews as character development exercises; they're partially scripted and partially improvised. In this case, mostly improvised! Anyone interested in learning more about our collaborative process is welcome to email us, get in touch on twitter, or join us on the friendliest corner of the internet to talk about it. Support the show

In Episode Two, “Access to the Biological Specimens,” Zahava and Zei head out for a day at the beach, and James investigates the local wildlife. Mandry comes downstairs for a visit; we find out who can bake, who can braid, and what those black seas look like up close. Calendars are invented; wildlife encountered; Saccharomyces Cerevisiae rehydrated. The transcript is available.Content Note:  this episode is free from sensitive content other than some mild swearing, still mainly but not entirely James.The showrunner and lead writer for this project is Evan Tess Murray. The sound designer, audio engineer, and composer is Trace Callahan. Sounds and music are her original creations, sometimes with the assistance of others who remain Nameless.  This episode guest starred the North Atlantic as the black ocean of the Nameless Planet.This is a collaborative ensemble project. Many of the character decisions are made by the actors as part of the story and script development process. Please check out the links below for more of their work:Presenting the Nameless CrewTrevor Bean creates and voices MandryTrace Callahan creates and voices KolianAlexander Endymion Hernández Díaz creates and voices CyrusAlexander Doddy creates and voices JamesSawyer Greene creates and voices QuillAnjali Kunapaneni creates and voices DeviDominic Mendez creates and voices ÁngelCaroline Mincks creates and voices ZahavaEvan Tess Murray creates and voices ZeiThey're also just a ton of fun to hang out with. Our corner of the internet is very friendly, and you're welcome to come say hello. We'd also love you to join the Ground Crew by supporting us on Patreon, if you can.The promo at the end of this episode is for Diary of a Space Archivist, a delightful show about space, family, and chocolate by Becky Stirrup. This story is being told by people in various parts of the world. Every episode, we'll give a bit of space in the shownotes to an effort by indigenous people that could use some support.  Inspired by Endymion's connection to the Guanches, we decided to ask you to support Native Land, a community mapping project to help us all understand the people who have gone before us. Our podcast art was created by Katy Schifferer. Check out her work!A great deal of this episode was written and edited at Candy’s, an LGBTQ+ community space in Portland, Maine. Check them out at http://candyslovesyou.space. We tell a story about another world, but we're not giving up on this one. Support the show

Hey everyone.  This isn't a bonus episode, not really. It's a note from the Nameless Crew to everyone out there listening, because we're thinking of you, and there are a few things we want to say.People are frightened right now. We're facing uncertainty at best. People in some parts of the world are dealing with grief and loss. Many of us are afraid and alone.  And we, here, happen to be telling a story of hope in a hard world - it's what we very deliberately do. And now we're hearing that some of you are finding solace in these people we've created and their stories. We want to give you a little more than fiction. All we have are words, so we're going to try to find some good ones. But we aren't going to offer you empty promises that everything will be all right. You'd know they were meaningless.  We don't know any more than you do.Instead, what we have to offer is this:  please, in this uncertain time, when things are hard, look out for each other. Look after yourself. Let yourself be afraid, and know that even in hard times, moments of joy matter. We, every one of us, contain multitudes - we can find beauty in between our fears. We can look hard at the things we cannot control, and still create art that connects us to each other and the world.  We can struggle to trust that the future has meaning, but choose to act as though our choices matter. We can let ourselves be human and fallible, and also the best of what humanity is - a clever, creative, social ape that has invented stories. We are the animal that makes meaning.  We do it urgently; we need our stories the way we need air to breathe, the way the touch of a gentle hand reminds us we're alive, the way we let ourselves sleep at night, trusting that the morning will come.We can be fierce in our defiance of despair.  We can let ourselves cry when we need to cry, and we can still choose, again and again, to hope. That's what we have to give you, right now. From the Nameless Crew to all of you: please, if you can, choose kindness, love, art, beauty, joy, wonder.  Please, if you can, choose hope.-with much love, from Alex, Caro, Endy, Evan, Nerys, Sawyer, Trace, and TrevorSupport the show

Our third episode is deep in production, the fourth is being written...  in the meantime, here's the final crew interview, and we think it's been well worth waiting for.  Quill, everyone's favorite soft flower boi, answers questions as part of his interview for this job.  Ever wonder what would send our agricultural specialist on a one-way mission to the stars? This was written by Evan Tess Murray and Sawyer Greene, performed by Sawyer Greene, and engineered by Trace Callahan, and the transcript is available.We did these interviews as character development exercises; they're partially scripted and partially improvised. In this case, because he waited so long to do it, Sawyer and Evan have had a lot of time to build Quill's story and talk about what Earth was like for him; his improvisation in this piece is building our world.  Anyone interested in learning more about our collaborative process is welcome to email us, get in touch on twitter, or join us on the friendliest corner of the internet to talk about it. Support the show

You asked, and she delivered!  Trace Callahan, as Kolian, singing the full version of their song from the prologue. This was entirely Trace's work - lyrics, music, sound design, performance, engineering, all of it. Lyrics below! We haven't given it a nameWe haven't even seen its faceBut this place is the center of our livesIt's still a million miles awayAnd we're still hurtling through spaceThe human race is counting on us to surviveAnd who knows what we will findThe first adventure of its kindWhen we land, will there be sand, will there be air?(well, I can make air)We have a leader not a boss (just ask her)We have a doctor who is boredWe have so much cheese, all these formers, too much timeOur pilot woke us one by oneHe made a point of being kindWe have so much algae, giant vats of useful slimeHow I wound up here with ZeiChasing yet another skyWho knows why? Will there be goats? Will there be trees?We're making room for all our feetWe're planting seeds and growing skyThat's our plan, that's how we hope that this will beI really hope there will be rocksIf there's just lava tell me whyWe brought so many sleeping people here to seeAnd who knows how long it'll takeIs it all a big mistakeWill there be stars? Will there be soil? Will there be rain?Or unimaginable animals On a planet's surface that's unplannableFilled with unimaginable animals, mmm hmmmmm Support the show

In Episode Three, “A Many-Splendored Thing,” we meet the Design Team, who are finally awake and learning what they’ve gotten themselves into; Cyrus requires James’s assistance with a science project; and Quill heads upstairs to check on the algae vats and for, obviously, absolutely no other reason involving Mandry at all. We learn more about Mandry, the relationship between Kolian and Zei, and what Zahava really feels about all of them. The transcript is available here.Content Note:  this episode includes a discussion of an emotionally abusive relationship from the perspective of a survivor [40:35 - 42:19]. It also mentions a pandemic in the context of in-universe fiction [33:20 - 34:15]. And, as always, there is some swearing. A lot of it really. This is a collaborative, ensemble project. Many of the character decisions are made by the actors as part of the story and script development process. Please check out the links below for more of their work:Trevor Bean creates and voices MandryTrace Callahan creates and voices KolianAlexander Endymion Hernández Díaz creates and voices CyrusAlexander Doddy creates and voices JamesSawyer Greene creates and voices QuillAnjali Kunapaneni creates and voices DeviDominic Mendez creates and voices ÁngelCaroline Mincks creates and voices ZahavaEvan Tess Murray creates and voices ZeiAnd introducing Nerys Howell, currently voicing Nessa the Doctor Detective.The promo at the end of this episode is for With Caulk and Candles, a delightful show we hope you’ll check out. Our podcast art was created by Katy Schifferer. Check out her work!A great deal of this episode was written and edited at Candy’s, an LGBTQ+ community space in Portland, Maine. Check them out at http://candyslovesyou.space.  Candy’s is closed due to the state of emergency and may struggle to re-open; they could use help right now.We found a delightful new book by a queer and trans author - check out FINNA by Nino Cipri!  They also have a short story collection out. You can buy their work through bookshop.org, which benefits local bookshops!  It's a bit tricky to just go pick it up in person right now, after all. Or, if you want the ebook, check out this page from the publisher. Please also support Indigenous Climate Action, if you can. http://indigenousclimateaction.org  We tell a story about another world, but we're not giving up on this one. Support the show

Sometimes our conversations about our art turn into different kinds of art. To skip ahead to the song, go to [21:42]. Otherwise, tune in to hear Trace and Evan talk about the process that led to this piece of music. Ever wonder what this creative partnership looks like? We're here to show you. (The chirping is Caesar. He's a 21-year-old cockatiel who lives with Evan and wanted very badly to be included. We gave up and let him in on the conversation.)Along the way we reveal many deeply-held This Planet Needs a Name secrets. Don't worry, no spoilers, just the soft underbelly of our creative process. We say this thing is a labor of love, and it is. In this case, we decided to capture a little bit of the love and share it with you. Also, we are painfully sincere, ridiculously dorky, and you might just decide you love us back. Here's the transcript!  My apologies, I failed to transcribe every single laugh. I did my best. I think we just like each other too much. Support the show

One of our favorite things about the Nameless Crew is that all of us contribute to this project in many ways - beyond what you hear when you listen to an episode. This ranges from people having input into character decisions to the wholesale creation of spinoff content.Izley Kolian sings songs and tells stories to make sense of the world. We already have one of their songs; here we find them explaining how we came to where we are, and seeking truth in mythology. Like any good storyteller, our blind bard dreams up pictures for us, finds meaning in the spaces between the facts.This is written, performed, and engineered by Trace Callahan.The text of the story is available as a transcript.  Support the show

In Episode Four, “Nature’s Social Union,” we finally have the meeting Zahava’s been talking about, to determine the fate of the unnamed planet. James and his slitherfluff friend watch Clinical Trials, many people go for walks in the rain, and we learn a whole lot about the mission. You know. The mission. Saving humanity.Content Notes: this is a heavy one. As always, none of this is gratuitous or described in detail. (There’s more swearing than usual as well.) Interpersonal conflict: [10:55 - 16:22]Mention of genocide: [15:37 - 15:45]Panic attack, hyperventilation: [15:10 - 16:22]Mention of violence, murder, torture: [42:00 - 43:10]The transcript is available. If the transcript link is broken please email needsanamepod@gmail.com and we’ll get it to you as soon as we can. This is a collaborative, ensemble project. Many of the character decisions are made by the actors as part of the story and script development process. Please check out the links below for more of their work:Trevor Bean creates and voices MandryTrace Callahan creates and voices KolianAlexander Endymion Hernández Díaz creates and voices CyrusAlexander Doddy creates and voices JamesSawyer Greene creates and voices QuillAnjali Kunapaneni creates and voices DeviDominic Mendez creates and voices ÁngelCaroline Mincks creates and voices ZahavaEvan Tess Murray creates all of them and voices ZeiNerys Howell currently voices Nessa the Doctor DetectiveThe poem at the end of this episode is “To a Mouse” by Robert Burns. It seemed extremely fitting. Alexander Doddy gave us his best Scots when he read it. You can find many excellent renditions, including translations, on youtube. Our podcast art was created by Katy Schifferer. Check out her work!Please, if you can, donate to the Lakota People’s Law Project at http://lakotalaw.org. And please also continue to support Black Lives Matter in whatever way you can.Check out Hank Green's brand-new book, A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor!  There's more information at  https://www.hankgreen.com/.We tell a story about another world, but we're not giving up on this one. Support the show

You asked for it! The first in what may well be a series of recipes from the Nameless Crew.Written and performed by Caroline Mincks. Music and audio engineering by Trace Callahan.The transcript and ingredient list are available here. Enjoy! Support the show

James puts his personal spin on explaining the delightful little things that are Yorkshire puddings. Written and performed by Alexander Doddy.Composition and audio engineering by Trace Callahan. The transcript and ingredient list are available here. Enjoy! Support the show

We're deep in production of our next full episode - in the meantime, just so you know we're still here, James has given you his recipe for brewing a decent beer. Well, I say recipe. Really it's sketchy at best, as beer's all in the technique anyway. Written and performed by Alexander Doddy. Music and engineering by Trace Callahan. The transcript (and, theoretically, recipe) are available here.Support the show