The Best Private Messaging App Isn’t WhatsApp or Signal, It’s Delta Chat

You've got all kinds of options when it comes to choosing how to communicate digitally with friends and family: not just dedicated messaging apps such as iMessage and WhatsApp, but also the DM features built into social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat. Some of these apps put a lot of emphasis on security and privacy, with mentions of end-to-end encryption and disappearing messages (WhatsApp now lets you hide your phone number for example). For the ultimate in private messaging, though, there's an app you might not have heard of before.

Delta Chat is decentralized (so there's no one point of failure or control), open-source, end-to-end encrypted, and anonymous—you don't need to supply a phone number to get started. You can even message people who don't have the app. Here's what you need to know, and why you might want to make use of it.

How Delta Chat works

Delta Chat has been around for about a decade now, and started as a way to keep your messages out of the clutches of big tech companies. Over the years, it's added more and more features, become easier to use, and expanded to more platforms. There have also been some changes in the way Delta Chat works as a platform.

For much of Delta Chat's existence, it's worked through email: You signed up with your email address, and the chat app was essentially a wrapper for certain conversations in your inbox. Much of the storage and infrastructure work was handled by your email provider of choice, and anyone with an email address could join in.

Now, though, Delta Chat provides an email address for you, and handles all of the necessary plumbing behind the scenes. Not only does this make the service more convenient, it means you don't need to reveal anything to use it—you won't be asked for a phone number, an email address, a name, or anything else.

You don't have to give any personal details when creating an account. Credit: Lifehacker

That may sound like it leaves the service open to spam, but the encryption stops that: Essentially, no one can spam you without knowing your specific encryption key. Your address is a random string of characters that you can pass on to trusted contacts—there's no public directory of users, and no way of looking someone up.

There are plenty of the usual chat app features here: audio and video calls, group chats, read receipts, and the option to have your messages disappear after a certain amount of time. You can easily share files with contacts, and you can log in on multiple devices simultaneously.

Getting started with Delta Chat

You can start your Delta Chat journey through the desktop apps for Windows or macOS, or through the mobile apps for Android or iOS. As noted above, you don't need to provide any personal information to sign up for the service: Just tap or click Create new profile on the opening splash screen to begin.

The app will ask you for a username that your contacts will recognize you by, but it doesn't have to be your real name, and there's the option to add a profile picture as well. You are then taken to the main chat screen, though you won't have any chats yet—just a welcome message and a folder for your saved messages.

To add someone on Delta Chat, tap the QR code icon at the top (Android and desktop) or bottom (iOS) of the interface. Ask your prospective contact to scan this with Delta Chat on their own device, though there are also options if you're doing the scanning. You can also generate an invite link to paste into an email or another messaging app.

The chat interface is a familiar one. Credit: Lifehacker

Everything works very much as you would expect once you're in the Delta Chat interface. Via a long press on mobile or a right-click on the desktop, you can find options for muting, pinning, and archiving specific conversations, while the new chat button (a plus icon on Android and the desktop; a pen-in-a-box icon on iOS) lets you start a new conversation or create a new group chat.

To get to the settings for an individual chat, tap the three dots (top right) on Android, tap the contact name at the top then the three dots (top right) on iOS, and click the three dots (top right) on the desktop. The options here let you set up disappearing messages, search through chats, and clear the conversation history, as well as muting and archiving.

There's a main settings screen, via the large cog icon on the desktop app interface, the three dots (top right) on Android, and the Settings tab on iOS. The options here include being able to set backgrounds for your chat, turn read receipts on and off, and configure the quality of shared media files.

Why pick Delta Chat over the competition?

There are all kinds of encrypted, secure chat apps out there, including WhatsApp and Signal—so what are the compelling reasons to pick Delta Chat instead? The fact that you don't have to offer any personal data is a big one: You don't need a phone number or an email address, and no one is going to find you (or spam you) unless you specifically decide to add them.

Then there's the decentralized aspect of it. Delta Chat's storage servers and nodes are spread out in several different locations, so one power outage or technical failure doesn't bring down the entire system. You can even host your Delta Chat data yourself, if you want.

Due to the email infrastructure underpinning Delta Chat, it's also harder to block and censor than something like Signal, and easier to get your messages exported out.

If you decide to give this app a go, there is the standard problem of trying to convince family and friends to install it too, on top of whatever they're already using—but you don't necessarily have to persuade your entire contacts list to join Delta Chat: It could work well as a private app for you and a handful of people closest to you.

10 Shows Like 'Cape Fear' You Should Watch Next

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Every generation, it seems, gets their own Max Cady: the ex-convict with an obsessive grudge against the attorney who helped send him to prison. Played by Robert Mitchum in 1962 and Robert De Niro in 1991, Javier Bardem has picked up the batshit baton for the new Apple TV adaptation—a miniseries, for the first time. We keep coming back to Cape Fear (based, itself, on a bestselling novel by John D. MacDonald) not so much for the the tormented family (they're fine, I guess), but for the vengeful predator with a preternatural ability to show up where he's least expected. On that note, you might enjoy a few other shows featuring TV's nastiest, but most compelling, villains.

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You (2018 – 2025)

Sometimes we love to hate serial killers, and sometimes we just kinda love 'em—a charming, sexy killer seems to be a contrast that's too juicy and entertaining for us to pass up. Late-stage capitalism, the climate crisis, and the insurance industry are far more likely to kill us, which is probably why we'd rather face the statistically less-likely threat of a charismatic murderer like Penn Badgley's Joe Goldberg in You, which came to a conclusion after five seasons in 2025. In the first season, he develops an extreme romantic obsession with Elizabeth Lail's struggling MFA student Guinevere Beck. He'll do whatever it takes to clear a path to lasting love—like, literally anything. Stream You on Netflix.

You (2018 – 2025)

at Netflix

at Netflix

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The Watcher (2022 – )

This is loosely based on the true story of "The Watcher" of Westfield, New Jersey, who sent a series of obsessive, very specific, and increasingly disturbing letters to the family who'd recently bought a home in the town. Creator and writer Ryan Murphy gives the story his distinctively batshit touch by crafting a neighborhood full of weirdos, each of whom is a suspect. It's like Cape Fear if you didn't know who the stalker was. Naomi Watts and Bobby Cannavale play the freaked-out couple, joined by a supporting cast of neighbors that includes Jennifer Coolidge, Richard Kind, Mia Farrow, and Christopher McDonald. A second season is coming, apparently. Stream The Watcher on Netflix.

The Watcher (2022 – )

at Netflix

at Netflix

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The Fall (2013 – 2016)

Jamie Dornan's sexy young serial killer Paul Spector isn't the protagonist of The Fall, strictly speaking, but he co-leads with Gillian Anderson's police Superintendent DSU Stella Gibson across all three seasons of this crime drama. Much like Joe, Paul is, outwardly, a normal guy, and a family man, whom you might not suspect of being a stalker and a serial killer of professional women in Belfast. DSU Gibson is sent from London to help with a stalled investigation that leads her on a hunt for the clever Spector through physical dangers, mind-fuckery, and bureaucratic complications. Stream The Fall on Peacock and Prime Video.

The Fall (2013 – 2016)

at Peacock

at Peacock

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Hannibal (2013 – 2015)

By 2013, it felt as though we'd seen more than enough of Hannibal Lecter, a series of Silence of the Lambs spin-offs and sequels having become increasingly tiresome. Still, producer Bryan Fuller went back to the source material here, once again adapting Thomas Harris's first Lecter novel with grand, operatic style and a visual flair unmatched on network television—the operatic bigness of Cape Fear and themes of obsession resonate all the same. The deeper, sexier relationship between the Doctor (Mads Mikkelsen) and profiler Will Graham (Hugh Dancy) adds some brilliant subtext as the two work together to hunt serial killers. It ended a bit too early, but the three seasons still make for a satisfying meal. Stream Hannibal on Prime Video.

Hannibal (2013 - 2015)

at Prime Video

at Prime Video

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The Creep Tapes (2024 – )

The Creep Tapes picks up from the two Patrick Brice-directed Creep found-footage films, with writer/star Mark Duplass returning to the role of Josef, or Peachfuzz, or whatever the hell he's calling himself at any given time. Nearly an anthology, this one's for viewers who might get bored with a single, season-long hunt, and who'd much prefer a number of individual stalkings. The show finds the charming, funny, forlorn-looking lead giving generally well-meaning people reasons to come and interview him on film, such that they tend to wind up documenting their own deaths. The show maintains the movies' sense of humor, as well as the constant conviction that we'd very likely be taken in by this compellingly manipulative sad-sack. Stream The Creep Tapes on Shudder.

The Creep Tapes (2024 – )

at Shudder

at Shudder

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The Following (2013 – 2015)

An impressively brutal crime thriller from Scream's Kevin Williamson, The Following takes the notion of a charismatic villain one step further, as reflected by the double-meaning of its title. Kevin Bacon is Ryan Hardy, a former FBI agent recalled when serial killer Joe Carroll (James Purefoy), with whom he has history, gets out of prison. There's a bit more to it than that, though: Carroll has assembled a cult around himself (a following, if you will): people who are more than happy to kill for him, and also to help him turn the tables and take revenge on Hardy. Stream The Following on Netflix.

The Following (2013 – 2015)

at Netflix

at Netflix

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The Glory (2022)

There are at least a couple of different levels to The Glory, a justifiably well-received South Korean import, rather remarkably holding together despite some wild shifts in tone. Most relevant here, it's a revenge drama, with a relatively simple set-up: Song Hye-kyo plays Moon Dong-eun, an elementary school homeroom teacher who's playing a very, very long game: Her school bullies are grown up now, and their kids (some of them, anyway) are now in Dong-eun's care. Right where she wants them. Smartly, the show makes clear the extent of the past violence faced by Dong-eun (much of it hard to watch), and the resulting post-traumatic stress that's consumed her life. The parents of her tormentors were all far too wealthy for the girls to face any consequences for their actions, so Dong-eun feels like she has no choice. It could have been a revenge fantasy, or a straight horror show about a woman carrying out a questionable revenge, but, while it's hard to get behind Dong-eun, it's also hard to condemn her completely. Stream The Glory on Netflix.

The Glory (2022)

at Netflix

at Netflix

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Happy Valley (2014 – 2023)

Do not, under any circumstances, let the title fool you: This British crime drama is as dark as they come. Sarah Lancashire is Sgt. Catherine Cawood, a police officer whose daughter died by suicide eight years earlier (as the series starts) following her rape by Tommy Lee Royce (James Norton); she's also raising the grandchild who's also Tommy's son. Royce is the villain, no question, but the narrative is complicated here by Catherine's long-game quest for vengeance, complicated by her target's criminal connections and his relationship to her grandson. The series, and particularly lead Sarah Lancashire, won a number of BAFTA awards and nominations over its three seasons. Stream Happy Valley on Prime Video and Britbox.

Happy Valley (2014 – 2023)

at Prime Video

at Prime Video

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The Outsider (2020)

The premise here is brutal, and, to the everyone in the narrative, impossible: A kid is horrifically murdered, and the evidence decisively points to Little League coach Terry Maitland (Jason Bateman). It’s an open-and-shut case—except that he was out of town at a conference while the murder was occurring, and even appeared on the news in another town. The tragedies pile up, and the threat isn’t entirely natural. Without giving too much away, it’s among the most disturbing of King adaptations (it’s also incredibly engaging). There are great performances here from Bateman, as well as from Ben Mendelsohn and Cynthia Erivo as Holly Gibney, one of King’s recurring characters. HBO declined to renew the show, but it adapts the entire book and ends fairly decisively. Stream The Outsider on HBO Max.

The Outsider (2020)

at HBO Max

at HBO Max

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The Killing (2011 – 2014)

There are tonal similarities throughout, but The Killing feels most like Cape Fear in its final two (of four total) seasons. Mireille Enos and Joel Kinnaman play homicide detectives Sarah Linden and Stephen Holder, initially investigating the murder of a teenager complicated by familial grief and an ongoing political campaign. Later, though, the show becomes a cat-and-mouse game involving Linden and a killer with more personal motives and ties to her past, and one who winds up being much closer than either she, or we as viewers, would suspect. Stream The Killing on Hulu.

The Killing (2011 – 2014)

at Hulu

at Hulu

The Best Books, Movies, Video Games, and Podcasts to Check Out After Watching 'Adventure Time'

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Adventure Time changes you. A show that starts off as a silly cartoon about a kid wearing a bear hat and his shape-shifting adoptive brother Jake the dog hides some of the deepest, darkest lore in entertainment history. The show deals with existential issues in hilarious, sometimes disturbing ways, and once you lock onto its frequency, you realize it might be one of the best shows of all time. If you want to extend that vibe, you’ve probably already burned through all the similar shows you can find, so here are the books, movies, video games, and podcasts that can give you just a little more Adventure Time in your day.

The best books like "Adventure Time"

Few shows have as much going on under the surface as Adventure Time, making books an ideal way to replicate the experience. Here are some books that will remind you of Finn the Human and Jake the Dog’s adventures.

The Complete Calvin and Hobbes Hardcover Box Set (3-Volumes)

$134.22 at Amazon

$225.00 Save $90.78

$134.22 at Amazon

$225.00 Save $90.78

The Buried Giant (Vintage International)

$10.07 at Amazon

$18.00 Save $7.93

$10.07 at Amazon

$18.00 Save $7.93

Tales of the Dying Earth

$18.89 at Amazon

$31.99 Save $13.10

$18.89 at Amazon

$31.99 Save $13.10

Monk & Robot Series 2 Book Collection Set: A Psalm for the Wild-Built and A Prayer for the Crown-Shy

$25.90 at Amazon

$99.90 Save $74.00

$25.90 at Amazon

$99.90 Save $74.00

The Hike: A Novel

$16.78 at Amazon

$18.00 Save $1.22

$16.78 at Amazon

$18.00 Save $1.22

The Complete Calvin and Hobbes, by Bill Watterson

Matching the chaotic dynamic and imaginary energy of Adventure Time isn’t easy, but Calvin and Hobbes is as close as you can get. This comic series about a little kid with a universe-sized imagination and his stuffed tiger (who comes to life only for him) as they go on adventures (in the real world as well as in Calvin’s lush fantasy life) might as well be a prequel to the show. Just like Adventure Time, Calvin and Hobbes often lets the real world and its dangers infect the whimsical romps of its protagonists, and you’ll find yourself once again bonding emotionally with a little kid and his real-to-him companion.

The Buried Giant, by Kazuo Ishiguro

One aspect of Adventure Time that makes the show so special is the low-key melancholy that suffuses it, and one of the main ingredients for that is the implied backstory of destruction and loss due to the Mushroom War that left civilization in shreds centuries before Finn and Jake’s story. If that’s your jam, The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro is the perfect read. Set in Britain some time after King Arthur’s days, the story follows an elderly man on a quest for his past, and delivers a dreamy, myth-soaked mood that fans of the show will savor.

Tales of the Dying Earth, by Jack Vance

The apocalypse that led to the world of Adventure Time is glimpsed here and there in the background—the remnants of what is recognizably our world. The slow winding down of civilization and the literal death of our planet are powerful themes the show weaves into many of its stories, and makes them hauntingly beautiful. There’s a whole Dying Earth sub-genre of sci-fi you can dive into, but start with the originator, Tales of the Dying Earth, by Jack Vance, set in a far future where the Sun is fading and magic has reasserted itself after technology’s collapse.

A Psalm for the Wild-Built, by Becky Chambers

If you want more of the dynamic between Finn and Jake, check out A Psalm for the Wild-Built, by Becky Chambers. On the moon Panga, sentient robots left human society long ago, retreating to their own enclave. Humanity remade society in a more sustainable and less techno-centric way, and no human has seen a robot since. Dex, a tea monk, travels around listening to people’s fears and misgivings. One day, Dex travels into the wilderness and happens upon a robot named Splendid Speckled Mosscap, and the two begin traveling together. It’s a beautiful, slow burn of a story, and Dex and Mosscap’s relationship will remind you of Finn and Jake in many ways.

The Hike, by Drew Magary

If the high weirdness and loopy humor of Adventure Time is what sticks with you, Drew Magary’s The Hike is a great choice. Ben arrives at his hotel for a meeting and decides to take a walk. Almost immediately, he finds himself lost in a surreal predicament, pursued by killers and monsters and accompanied by a talking blue crab named, well, Crab. As Ben’s experiences get increasingly strange (and threatening), he learns he must find a powerful entity called The Producer if he wants to escape alive. His interactions with Crab and the oddly ominous nature of his new reality will definitely resonate with fans of Adventure Time.

The best movies like "Adventure Time"

Adventure Time is cinematic, in its way—those visuals are eye candy, and the scope of its narrative arc is actually kind of stealth-epic. If you want movies that scratch a similar itch, there are plenty to choose from (including, unexpectedly, the 1979 comedy Meatballs, because Bill Murray’s performance as Tripper in that film directly inspired the character of Jake in Adventure Time.)

Where the Wild Things Are (2009)

Adventure Time and Where the Wild Things Are are so thematically similar you can find endless mashups of them online. Max, who wears a wolf costume like Finn wears a bear hat, is sent to bed, sulking, without supper. He finds himself transported to a magical jungle, where the native monsters—the Wild Things—try to frighten him, but then make him their king and take him on adventures. As with the show, this story has a dark core and a thread of melancholy to it. Stream Where the Wild Things Are on The Roku Channel or rent it on Prime Video.

Where the Wild Things Are (2009)

$4.99 at Prime Video

$4.99 at Prime Video

The Dark Crystal (1982)

The combination of adult themes and a strikingly designed universe marks Adventure Time as something special, and the same goes for The Dark Crystal, Frank Oz’s triumph of puppetry. The story of two Gelflings, Jen and Kira, as they seek to heal a magical crystal and save their world from eternal darkness and tyranny is a visual treat. Like the show, the film is ostensibly aimed at kids, but deals with a lot of heavy, adult-level themes along the way. Stream The Dark Crystal on Kanopy or rent it on Prime Video.

The Dark Crystal (1982)

$4.99 at Prime Video

$4.99 at Prime Video

Spirited Away (2001)

Another film frequently mashed up with Adventure Time is Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away. Although the animation style is quite different, the story of a young girl, Sen, who accidentally enters the spirit world and then must find a way to save her parents after they are transformed into pigs by a witch has the surrealist flair and dark vein of sadness fans of the show will recognize. It’s a visually dazzling story that explores the crossover from childhood to adulthood through a Japanese cultural lens and playful visuals that yield new surprises each time you watch. Rent Spirited Away on Prime Video.

Spirited Away (2001)

$3.59 at Prime Video

$3.59 at Prime Video

Labyrinth (1986)

This 1986 film from Jim Henson is live action, but it mirrors many of the themes of Adventure Time (which sports its own Labyrinth that bedevils Finn and Jake), especially the under-the-surface melancholy and the use of fantasy to address serious issues. 16-year-old Sarah (Jennifer Connelly) resents her father’s remarriage and her infant stepbrother, Toby, and in a moment of irritation, she offers him to the goblins she was just reading about. When the Goblin King, Jareth (David Bowie), shows up, she is told she must solve his labyrinth in 13 hours or Toby will become a goblin. Through a lush fantasy world, Sarah must use her brain and rely on her sense of right and wrong to defeat the Goblin King in a story that any fan of Adventure Time will love. Stream Labyrinth on Kanopy or rent it on Prime Video.

Labyrinth (1986)

$3.99 at Prime Video

$3.99 at Prime Video

The Iron Giant (1999)

If it’s the “I’m not crying, you’re crying” vibe that often creeps into Finn and Jake’s interactions on Adventure Time that you love, The Iron Giant is a must-watch. In 1957, a 50-foot tall robot crash lands on Earth, discovered and befriended by nine-year-old Hogarth Hughes. When the government learns about the Giant, it reacts with violent paranoia, forcing Hogarth and the Giant to flee even as the Giant wrestles with the destructive force it potentially wields. It’s a gorgeous animated film exploring the power of friendship between disparate beings—what could be more Adventure Time-y? Rent The Iron Giant on Prime Video.

The Iron Giant (1999)

$3.99 at Prime Video

$3.99 at Prime Video

The best video games like "Adventure Time"

Adventure Time’s stories often work with beats and dynamics that are similar to video games, with quest-based stories and wildly imaginative graphics. If you want more of that, check out these video games.

Adventure Time: Finn And Jake Investigations

Because it’s pretty much a game in cartoon form, there are a lot of video games officially based on Adventure Time to choose from. Adventure Time: Finn And Jake Investigations isn’t the most challenging game on that list, but it’s one of the most fun and immersive. Finn and Jake decide to become detectives, like their parents, and begin collecting treasures as they solve puzzles throughout the Land of Ooo. The game lets you wander the world, interact with other denizens, and generally have fun. It’s like playing inside an actual episode of the show.

Platforms: PlayStation, Xbox, Wii U, 3DS, Steam

Adventure Time Finn and Jake Investigations - PlayStation 4

$29.97 at Amazon

$29.97 at Amazon

Olli Olli World

It’s a skating game, yes, but visually and tonally it’s like playing a skating game set inside Adventure Time. The characters live in a world called Radlandia, but they could just as easily have migrated from the Land of Ooo, and the world’s visuals are equally Adventure Time-ish. You play as a candidate for the title of Skate Wizard, and you have to travel around Radlandia impressing folks with your amazing skateboard skills, which sounds like an episode of Adventure Time as well. Olli Olli World doesn’t have the strain of sadness and loss you find at the deep center of the show in later seasons, but it’s a blast that will remind you of the early episodes.

Platforms: PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, Steam

Olli Olli World Code in Box

$26.90 at Amazon

$26.90 at Amazon

Dungeons of Hinterberg

If you want a visually lush game that gives a bit more of the melancholic and existential mood of Adventure Time, check out Dungeons of Hinterberg. You play as a tourist named Luisa who has arrived in Hinterberg to investigate the dungeons and slay the monsters that have appeared in the surrounding mountains. There’s combat and skilling up as you might expect, but you also have to navigate social interactions in town that illuminate Luisa’s backstory and emotional state, giving this dungeon-crawler game a unique aspect. In the end, it’s the visual style and exploration of Luisa as a character that will remind you of Adventure Time as you play.

Platforms: PlayStation, Xbox, Steam

Dungeons of Hinterberg

$6.89 at Steam

$22.99 Save $16.10

$6.89 at Steam

$22.99 Save $16.10

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

With its nonlinear gameplay, open world design, and exploration-based dynamics, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild offers a gaming experience that can offer similar levels of comfort and fun, especially if you find clever ways to avoid fighting (which is possible, and adds an element of extra challenge to the game as well). Both are set in beautiful post-apocalyptic worlds, both play around with a “sci-fantasy” mix of magic and technology, and there’s definitely a vibe of loss and sadness to Breath of the Wild that will feel familiar to Adventure Time fans.

Platforms: Nintendo Switch, Wii U

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (for Nintendo Switch)

$56.99 at Amazon

$56.99 at Amazon

Undertale / Deltarune

The RPGs Undertale and its parallel-story sequel Deltarune definitely give Adventure Time vibes. In Undertale, you play as a child who slips through the magical barrier between your world and the Underground, where monsters were banished after a war with humanity; in Deltarune, you’re in the same universe but you explore a Dark World with a different set of goals and challenges. The games feature whimsical, lo-fi graphics filled with fanciful monsters, and a range of tones that shift from hilariously silly to moments of surprising emotional devastation.

Platforms: PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, Steam

Undertale Nintendo Switch Standard Edition [Physical]

$43.50 at Amazon

$43.50 at Amazon

The best podcasts like "Adventure Time"

Sometimes you just want to close your eyes and let someone tell you a story, or tell you what they think about a story you love (like Adventure Time). In that case, here are some of the best podcasts for fans of the show.

Never Ending Adventure: An Adventure Time Podcast

Credit: Podcast logo

The dynamic on Never Ending Adventure is genius: Host Russell has never watched the show, and reacts to each episode in chronological order. The other host, Ned, is a deep fan of Adventure Time and knows far too much about it. Their discussions mirror those moments when you’re desperately trying to get a friend to love something as much as you do so you can obsess over it together. It’s a terrific way to rekindle your excitement for the show and catch some stray insights you missed on your own journey.

Oh My Glob! An Adventure Time Podcast

Credit: Podcast logo

If you just want a straightforward—yet hilarious—deep dive into each and every episode, check out Oh My Glob! An Adventure Time Podcast. It’s just two smart people, Matt and Amy, recapping and analyzing each episode. If you lack a group of weirdos who also want to just sit around re-watching episodes and excitedly noting the Easter eggs and hints scattered throughout, putting this podcast in your ears is the next best thing.

Wolf 359

Credit: Podcast logo

Like Adventure Time, this narrative fiction podcast starts off as a humorous story and then slowly develops into a much more emotional and powerful story. Doug Eiffel is part of the small crew on board the U.S.S. Hephaestus as it orbits the star Wolf 359, seeking signs of alien life. As Doug investigates some weirdness, the crew slowly realizes that their mission and existence is not what they assumed, and the tone slowly shifts into a compelling drama in a way that fans of the show will appreciate.

Everything Is Alive

Credit: Podcast logo

The depth and sensitivity of Adventure Time kind of sneaks up on you, and if that’s one of your favorite aspects of the show, this Everything Is Alive is just the ticket. Each episode is an interview with an inanimate object—a towel, for instance—and each episode offers a surprisingly nuanced, funny, and often hilarious rumination on existence, purpose, and the hidden world all around us. This combination is exactly what fans of Adventure Time are looking for.

The Adventure Zone: Balance Arc

Credit: POdcast logo

For a more “adventure”-based story that offers the same slow burn as Adventure Time, the Balance arc of The Adventure Zone is a great choice. The first campaign of the podcast starts off as a simple role-playing game narrative with a focus on friendships, but slowly morphs into a deep examination of the power of love, the nature of time, and dealing with an existential threat beyond anything you’re prepared to deal with. For AT fans, it’s a treat.