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Do not fear the dark, fear what darkness brings... Arkham Private Investigator Arthur Lester wakes up with no memory of who he is or what has happened, only a nameless, eerie voice guiding him through the darkness.Blind, terrified, and confused, his journey will lead him towards a series of mysteries in the hopes of understanding the truth of what has transpired.As cosmic horrors seep into the world around, Arthur must ask himself whether this entity truly seeks to help him, or are its intentions more…MalevolentMalevolent is produced, written, edited, performed, scored & created by Harlan Guthrie. This podcast co...
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Malevolent makes trust itself frightening, binding cosmic horror to the volatile partnership between Arthur and John.
Malevolent turns Arthur and John's constant negotiation into the engine of a dark, tightly serialized audio drama. John describes what Arthur cannot perceive, while Arthur must decide when to trust the voice guiding him through hostile places and encounters with figures such as…
Arthur cannot see the thing in the sky; John can, and you're stuck listening with both of them.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A rescue scene tightens into ritual, police light, and one very bad breathless minute.
The episode keeps the room under real pressure: Arthur, Sam, a knife, a gun, and a young man on the floor all crowd into the same instant before anyone can land on a clean way out.
A spoiler-aware post-season conversation that digs into Malevolent's themes, secrets, and voting structure.
Post Season 6 Discussion is a spoiler-aware conversation about Malevolent's sixth season and part 1 of Threshold, with a clear warning for listeners who want to stay fully unspoiled.
A bleak finale that turns apocalypse into a plea for forgiveness.
The episode ends with a hard turn: a stage performance gives way to a room full of bodies, then the kitchen, the obelisk, and Cain over the city. The scale keeps widening, but the human shock stays in place as Arthur and John are forced to keep looking.
A cold, controlled confrontation that turns Larson's Mansion into a place for maneuvering and pressure.
The Vast Darkness brings Larson's Mansion back into a colder, bluer register, and the episode uses that setting with purpose. Arthur and his allies keep thinking in terms of time, distance, and position, while the rooms and hallways give them enough space to move, hide, and test…
Arthur's grief turns memory into a defiant answer to the voices demanding obedience.
Arthur's memory turns into contested ground as John and another voice push him to erase Roe from his mind and heart. The drama works best in the argument itself, where a demand to let go is met with grief, anger, and a clear refusal to treat love as something disposable.
A forest crossing turns into a vicious argument about replacement, identity, and whether enemies can use each other to stop Cain.
A freezing move out of the woods and toward water becomes a savage argument over flesh, memory, and control. After a few hours unconscious, one figure wakes to a worse loss than the top of a pinky: a whole finger is gone.
A reunion in the woods turns the hunt into a choice about bodies, memory, and survival.
The episode turns the hunt into a ritual of dread: a lamb in a boy's hands, stirrup cups before the fox hunt, and then a search through trees and dirt paths that seems to pull Arthur toward the butcher and a choice he cannot take back.
A prison-pit ordeal becomes a dangerous bargain over identity, bodies, and the cost of going home.
A prison-pit ordeal turns into a wary negotiation over identity. The narrator is forced to relive Faust's death again and again, a punishment that lands harder because it comes while he is questioning what he was and trying to become more than the monster he has started to…
["Arthur Lester and John spend a rainy stakeout at the Arnett barn, where missing livestock and a blood sigil turn a routine watch into an occult case.", "Sam appears with a knife, a torn page, and a claim that he tried animals first before hunting for a heart to stop 'him'.", "Michael Callahan arrives after Arthur shoots Sam, and Arthur has to explain the scene to a police officer who calls it devil's work.", "Later, Faroe meets Arthur at the Junction Cafe, talks astronomy and the Torquemada Puzzle Book, and slips him a message for Robert Puckett."]
In this episode, crime boss Leonard seeks help from mystic Mr.
Harlan Guthrie says Malevolent was shaped by July 2020 lockdown, the 2022 Canada convoy protest, and Wren’s February 2025 reaction to episode 255.
Arthur Lester returns to his office after memory loss, discovering mysterious items and a heartfelt letter from Daniel.
Malevolent Part 60, The Final Act, opens with Kane inside the Waylay after a massacre, and Arthur Lester and John move through overturned tables, a blood-soaked kitchen, and an empty gallery.
["Arthur, John, and Lilith regroup in Larson's Mansion after the Dreamlands, using the cold blue house as the base for a plan against Cain.", "Lilith explains that Narlathotep is not bound by human scale, that the manager made the lighter, and that Cain can be made vulnerable if the artifact lands correctly.", "Arthur and John spend the episode testing whether Lilith is honest about the manager, the Blackstone, and the possibility that killing Cain could leave the wrong Narlathotep in control.", "The story moves through a vision of Faroe, a tunnel full of forced choices, and a theatrical confrontation with Cain that leaves the question of the waylay unresolved."]
A blind detective explores the alien city of Carcosa, guided by a mysterious voice, as they witness its reconstruction by monstrous beings.
Malevolent Part 57, "The Fallen Seed," centers on Arthur Lester and Lilith in the dreamlands, where the obelisk, the manager, and Cain's pursuit all become tied together.
Malevolent Part 56, "The Parting Glass," moves between a fox-hunt memory and Arthur and John’s final preparations with Yorick and the Dollmaker.
The Dollmaker says, "I can make anything"—but the price is a dead man’s ears.
Hosts Harlan Guthrie and Wren discuss Season 5 of the Malevolent audio drama in a spoiler-filled Q&A session.
A blind private investigator with amnesia is guided by a mysterious voice through a swamp, searching for answers amid cosmic horrors.
A blind private investigator with amnesia is guided by a mysterious voice through a dark, cosmic horror-filled world.
A blind detective and his mysterious guide travel through a corrupted landscape toward the Blackstone, hoping to fulfill a deal with Cain.
A blind private investigator with amnesia is guided by a mysterious voice through a series of supernatural mysteries in Arkham.