Joseph Fink is the cocreator and cowriter of Welcome to Night Vale, arguably the most important fiction podcast ever. He’s also the creator of the noir podcast Unlicensed and Alice Isn’t Dead, which takes some of the conspiratorial cosmic horror of Night Vale and turns it into fodder for a more serious series about relationships, trauma, and the open road. There’s also a sequel series out now called Don’t Tell Alice that takes the story down an even darker path in which protagonist Keisha is the one with a secret.
Joseph is also an accomplished author. In addition to co-writing the three Welcome to Night Vale novels, he’s also penned the Alice Isn’t Dead novel and The Halloween Moon. His latest work is The Nudge, which features some gorgeous illustrations from Jessica Hayworth, who also provides the art for Night Vale, hits shelves on September 1st. It’s a brief and unsettling novella about a man trying to outrun some mysterious evil.
What is the first app you install on a new phone or computer?
Podcast Addict. It’s an Android-only podcast app made by one guy named Xavier, and it is so much better than any other podcast app that it’s the main reason I can never switch to an iPhone. I’m maybe the one guy in the entire country who chooses phones based on how they play podcasts.
Which social media platform do you use the most?
I use Bluesky, which I used to like because no one was there and so no one read my posts, which is really the ideal social media for me. Now there are more people there, and sometimes people read and respond to my posts, which is a drag.
What game do you have the fondest memories of?
My entire understanding of storytelling is probably shaped by Grim Fandango, a 1999 adventure game about a sad sack grim reaper navigating a film noir afterlife. There are lines and images from that game that will live in my head forever, even if a lot of them were parodies or references to classic films I wasn’t even aware existed when I first played that game.
What creation are you most proud of?
Our Audible show Unlicensed was one of those few projects that turned out exactly how I wanted it to in my head. A mystery series set in the least cool parts of Los Angeles, the parts where the actual people live. I didn’t want it to be “good for two writers who usually don’t write mysteries.” I just wanted us to write a damn good mystery, and I think we did. We got three seasons out of Audible, but then they mostly shut down their original shows department, and that was it. If I had my choice though, I’d happily spend the rest of my life writing Unlicensed.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
I recently watched a talk with Meshell Ndegeocello, and she described having to shush a fellow student in a guitar workshop who was noodling on his guitar while the teacher was trying to demonstrate something. Meshell said: “As a musician, it doesn’t matter how well you play if you can’t listen.” I don’t know if it’s the best advice I’ve ever received, but I think it’s damn good advice and applies to a lot of things outside of music.
What’s the last piece of physical media you bought?
I buy too many books, constantly. I like to hang out in bookstores, and I’ve never left one without buying at least a couple of books. I’m mostly not a physical media guy, I have no interest in owning records or DVDs, but I’ll build an addition to my house before I get rid of any books.
What would the tagline for your biopic be?
“It turns out watching a guy write audio fiction on his computer is boring, this movie was a mistake sorry, we’re sorry.”
What’s the last GIF or meme you used?
I don’t really use GIFs or memes. I’m very much a text guy, which is why I stick to text social media mostly, even though that doesn’t really help you sell books or stuff like that.