All this month we are celebrating acts that you need to look out for in 2025. Today it is the time to find out all about a brand new podcast that is coming your way in 2025 – Welcome To Hole.
Hello tell us all about yourself?
Duncan Thompson: We’re the team that’s making Welcome to Hole – a wild ride of a horror-comedy podcast that’s about to turn the supernatural storytelling world on its head.
Brendan Way: It’s a show about a team solving monster-y mysteries in Nevada!
DT: Our podcast is basically what would happen if Buffy the Vampire Slayer met X-Files and decided to have a really weird, hilarious baby.
Sean Toole: You know, I’ve never actually watched either Buffy or X-Files except the musical episode of Buffy. Does X-Files have a musical episode? Also we should do a musical episode. Ooh, how about Scooby Doo meets True Detective?
BW: I watched all of The X-Files last year so I can confirm it does NOT have a musical episode. But there is one which ends with Mulder and Scully dancing at a Cher concert. Which is pretty odd considering the episode is largely a homage / parody of Frankenstein.
Kate Oswald: We’re a group who’s very focussed and on point when it comes to answering interview questions.
How was 2024 for you?
DT: 2024 has been an absolute whirlwind of creativity! We’ve poured our hearts and souls into bringing Welcome to Hole to life.
BW: We’ve been very busy. In December 2023, we had one script. By the end of August 2024 we had twelve scripts ready and recorded.
DT: It’s been a journey of late nights, collaborative writing sessions, sweaty studio days, and watching our crazy concept transform from a rough idea into a fully-realised twelve episode season.
ST: 2024 has been wild, lots of getting stuck into the script-writing, carefully planning our studio sessions to coincide with the hottest days of the year in London, and having lots of fun editing it all together.
What were the top 3 highlights for you?
BW: Seeing my buddies try new skills. It was so cool to read their first scripts or hear the creative flair they added to an edit.
DT: Casting our incredible ensemble – finding the perfect voices for our guest stars was like striking supernatural gold. Each actor brought such unique energy to their characters.
BW: Yes, shoutout to Cristiano, Liz, and Magda! Each of them was great.
DT: Completing our full twelve episode season – knowing we’ve crafted a complete story arc with both episodic monster-hunting adventures and an overarching narrative was incredibly satisfying. Writing and recording and now editing this is a MASSIVE undertaking and we couldn’t be more proud of where we have gotten so far.
ST: Honestly getting together in the recording studio over the course of multiple days and trying to get it all recorded properly has been the most fun. The most I’ve laughed all year.
KO: A definite highlight for me was finishing the studio recording sessions and knowing what we’d accomplished in those long hot days. Another would be having finished the first edit of our pilot episode and playing it out to the group in a ‘listening party’. Just getting to see everyone’s reactions to hearing how it had all come together made everything worth it.
What was the key lesson you learnt from last year?
BW: Always prioritise health over hobbies. As much as we are keen to get this silly lovely show live, none of us are doing this for money or a career. So for the sake of our sanity, we’re working to our own schedules.
DT: Collaboration is everything. We learned that the best stories emerge when you create space for everyone’s creativity. We’ve built this out of a D&D-type campaign, so every storyline is drawn from an ‘episode’ of the story we collaboratively created together. It’s amazing to see this vision come together – even if that vision involves an 8-year-old magical prodigy, a vampire-hunting Vatican man, a secretive government agent, and a conspiracy theorist truck driver!
ST: Leave room to breathe and have fun, for sure. Once we realised the amount of time it would take to complete the trifecta of writing, recording and editing, we allowed ourselves time to breathe and made sure to remember that we’re doing this for fun.
What are your plans for 2025?
BW: If all goes according to plan, share the show with the world! And then have a rest. Because, again, it has been INTENSE. But wonderful.
ST: Yes, resting for sure, but we know what we’re like, won’t be long before we’re itching to roll them d20s again.
KO: The goal is to release all of the episodes and hope they find their way into the ears of people who will enjoy them. But they can also find their way into the ears of people who will hate them. We don’t mind hate listeners, as long as people are listening.
What other shows are you looking forward to listening to this year?
BW: Pappy’s Flatshare Slamdown. I’ve been listening since it started in 2011. It’s a gleefully silly game show where comedians fight to not do a household chore!
ST: I might be in the minority here, but I’m patiently waiting for a new episode of Fall of Civilizations, a podcast that explores the collapse of different societies through history.
KO: I keep my eye fixed on the investigative true crime podcast space, so I’ll be listening to anything new there. And classic true crime comedy like Last Podcast on the Left and My Favorite Murder.
What styles do you hope to see more of in podcasts this year?
DT: More genre-blending! We love how podcasts can experiment with storytelling – mixing horror with comedy, drama with supernatural elements. I want to see more podcasts that aren’t afraid to take risks and challenge listener expectations.
BW: I think more RPG groups should adapt their games into scripts. As far as I’m aware, the only ones who have done it are us and Critical Role!
KO: Yes, definitely shows that push the boundaries of the medium in new and unique ways. Kind of like ours!
What podcast is your ones to watch in 2025 and why?
DT: Welcome to Hole, obviously! But seriously, we believe we’re bringing something truly unique to the podcast landscape. A story that’s simultaneously hilarious, heartfelt, and hair-raising.
KO: Yes, ours! But you can’t watch it (mom) because it’s audio only (mom) and so you will have to get onto a podcast app (mom) and listen to it through your headphones which I got you for Christmas a few years ago.
Do you have any new year’s resolutions? If so, what are they?
BW: Try to find more voices! We each played sooo many characters across the twelve episodes. What if we add new ones in season two???
KO: A big one is to launch the podcast with as much gusto as we can manage and celebrate the accomplishment. Also to play more TTRPGs. Also, I always buy almond milk but reach for the regular skim milk for all of my milk needs. I’d like to change that. I’d like to really commit to being an almond milk gal.
Are you on social media? If so, how can people find out more about your show?
BW: TBD! In the meantime, please do NOT search the hashtag #welcometohole. ESPECIALLY if you are at your job.
KO: Everyone is welcome at our podcast even if you arrive by accident.
Three words why people should listen to your show this year?
BW: X-Files Buffy baby.
DT: Monsters. Magic. Mayhem.
ST: Mysteries, chaos and silliness.
KO: We worked hard.
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