Elena Fernández Collins

elderflowers against a blue sky (elderflowers symbolize kindness and empathy).

How can we practice radical empathy and self-care?

Elena Fernández Collins March 11, 2019

Digital spaces can sometimes get a bit noisy: a lot of ideas, thoughts, demands, needs, cries for help overlapping one another, and it can be hard to spend the emotional energy to sift through it, to know how to respond, …

a decaying tall hous, three story wood house in the middle of nowhere, with a greying sky, but brightly colored surroundings, creating a sensation of naivety against the rampant onset of decay.

HartLife NFP’s “Unwell” is Both a Quiet Example and Direct Subversion of Midwestern Gothic

Elena Fernández Collins February 21, 2019

The creeping, quiet dread of the desolate Midwest—those distant areas where there’s nothing but corn, a gas station, and one ancient diner for miles—is the ideal setting for the terror and dysfunction that lives inside the Gothic family home, like …

background: like burned parchment. Upon it, thick Gothic calligraphy with the words "Once upon a time..."

How is narration in audio a useful tool?

Elena Fernández Collins February 18, 2019

The conversation surrounding the place of narration in audio fiction is one that has often plagued both my listening and my commentary, due to the huge divide on whether or not narration is a tool creators should still be using …

A drawn image of Puerto Ricans helping to build a community at the Centro de Apoyo Mutuo (Center for Mutual Aid). People are growing plants, fixing the building, telling stories to children, while there is a dark sky beyond. The Puerto Rican flag drawn on a wall is in black and white.

“The Response” Passes the Microphone to Disaster-Affected Communities

Elena Fernández Collins February 12, 2019

It isn’t easy to provide nuanced and descriptive reports on natural disasters without taking up a huge amount of time, but The Response manages, with apparent ease, to consider one angle to each of three natural disasters in the United …

Photoshop fantasy image. Foreground, an enormous statue hewn from rock of a naked woman with her arms outstretched to either side; to the lower left, two small people stand as silhouette, looking up at it. Background, a huge icy snowy landscape, empty into the distance but for the statue, and a sky showing sunset colors with an enormous moon, very close to the planet, hanging behind the statue.

Janus Descending Weaves Beauty into Tragic Horror

Elena Fernández Collins February 2, 2019

(The following review contains minor spoilers for tangential narrative elements.) The tragedy inside modern horror is an element sometimes not well-played for me, either overdone or undercooked. Janus Descending, a space horror set on a distant planet with evidence of …

photo from the stage in an auditorium, of rows and rows of empty,b lue chairs, with two balconies, disappearing into the long darkness.

How can we support marginalized creators at conventions?

Elena Fernández Collins January 28, 2019

While I did not give any specifics for PodCon 2 hopes in the previous issue, I think it would be helpful to talk briefly about one thing: featured guests, speakers, and why podcasting as a medium growing into having multiple, …

Best in Podcasting for 2018

Elena Fernández Collins December 31, 2018

Not to just keep repeating myself, but 2018 has been the longest decade I’ve ever experienced, up to the point where a couple of my choices on the best of lists were placed after I realized “wait, that came out …

First Look: “Minefire” Summons Demons and Psychics for a Wild Romp

Elena Fernández Collins December 26, 2018

I can think of no better demon-hunting dream team than a human who makes bad decisions with ouija boards, the demon entity she summons, and said demon’s perpetually annoyed psychic friend. When a seance goes awry, Rob finds herself stuck …

Illustration of 3 adventurers in a dark forest. Background, facing left, is a ranger with a hood holding a lantern and a sword. Background facing right is a woman with a pointy eared helmet holding a torch aloft. Foregroud is a bard in armor, holding a stringed insturment in one hand and a small crossbow in the other.

First Look: “Dark Dice” is Immersive, Action-Packed Horror Actual Play

Elena Fernández Collins December 21, 2018

Immersive in-character conversation and sound design are the two aspects of any actual play podcast most likely to get me hooked. Fool and Scholar Production’s actual play podcast, Dark Dice, is a horror podcast made up of Game Master and …

upward photo of a helicopter in the sky, surrounded by smoky clouds and dark grey blue sky.

First Look: “Timestorm” Celebrates Puerto Rican History for Young Adults

Elena Fernández Collins December 9, 2018

I got an advance listen of @cocotazomedia's TIMESTORM and if you want great representation, fun young adult audio, and consideration of the interlocking of current and historical events, this is the podcast for you.