Welcome to Night Vale (2025)

Unlicensed Ep 1 - The Detective of Citrus Ave

Released on 11/10/2022

Today we are proud to present the first fiction podcast created by me, Joseph Fink, and my Night Vale co-creator Jeffrey Cranor since Welcome to Night Vale. It is called Unlicensed and we are about to play you the first episode. This is a project that is very close to my heart, and one that we have been working on for years.

All twelve episodes of the first season are available right now only on Audible. There is a free trial, so feel free to use that to listen to it at audible.com/unlicensed.

That said, I have spent the last two years listening to Audible Originals and here are a few personal recommendations if you want to keep exploring once you’re there:

Hot White Heist - A very queer, very funny heist story that’s premise is too explicit for me to say here. Featuring more celebrity voices than I can list, it’s the kind of show where Tony Kushner shows up as himself to give a 5 minute monologue on how he thinks the story is going so far.

I Will Never Lie to You - A 70s road trip written by Brie Williams, frequent Night Vale writer and also writer on Unlicensed, along with James Urbaniak, of Venture Brothers and Night Vale, who also stars in it. A funny and sweet two hours of your time.

Romance Road Test - Two real Brooklyn women and their real husbands try out real romantic advice in their relationships and record what happens. Everyone involved is candid and charming, and it’s a lot of fun. I listened to this one in the car with my wife.

Hear all episodes of Unlicensed and a bunch of other cool shows at audible.com/unlicensed.

217 - Salmon Burger

Released on 11/01/2022

Moving offices really works up an appetite

Weather: "Find Out" by AGBAT

The voice of Joseph Fink is Joseph Fink

The voice of Deb is Meg Bashwiner

Original episode art by Jessica Hayworth

Read episode transcripts

Our new podcast, UNLICENSED, coming Nov 10

2023 US TOUR DATES for “The Haunting of Night Vale”

Hot Night Vale merch!

FACELESS OLD WOMAN and THE HALLOWEEN MOON novels now available in paperback!

Patreon is how we exist! If you can, please help us keep making this show.

Music: Disparition

Logo: Rob Wilson

Written by Joseph Fink & Jeffrey Cranor

Narrated by Cecil Baldwin

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Check out our books, live shows, store, membership program, and official recap show at welcometonightvale.com

A production of Night Vale Presents.

From the creators of Welcome to Night Vale: Unlicensed

Released on 10/20/2022

From Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor, creators of the genre defining fiction podcast Welcome to Night Vale, comes the new LA noire Unlicensed, starring Molly Quinn, Lusia Strus, and T.L Thompson.

Coming November 10, only to Audible. Subscribe now here: https://www.audible.com/Unlicensed

Unlicensed follows Molly Hatch (Quinn), recently divorced, two years sober, and completely lost on where to go next in her life. On a whim she answers an ad for an assistant to a PI, traveling to an unpromising strip mall on Citrus Avenue in Azusa, CA, where she meets Lou Rosen (Strus). Lou is a brilliant detective, but she’s also a completely disorganized mess, both in her physical space and within her own mind. She loses evidence, forgets what she’s already figured out, and she hasn’t even gotten it together to get her PI license.

Working illegally in the outskirts of Los Angeles, where the cul-de-sacs and strip malls sprawl into the desert, the only clients she can get are those who either can't afford anyone else or have cases that are too marginal for licensed PIs or the police to bother with.

When a teenage girl pleads for Lou and Molly to take the strangest case of their career, they find themselves involved in something much bigger than they were prepared for. This unlikely pair, with no resources and no back-up, follow a trail of seemingly unconnected cases, which leads them to a ransom, a murder, a mysterious wellness center, and a conspiracy that might go all the way to the governor.

Featuring guest appearances by Jason Segel, Janet Varney, James Urbaniak, Cecil Baldwin, Jasika Nicole, Mara Wilson, and more, Unlicensed is a deeply-human, captivating thriller set in the most uncool neighborhoods of America’s coolest city.