So happy I found this podcast! I’ve been listening since 2017. What makes this podcast different is that Richard McLean Smith finds a way to fold theory and study into the narrative without disrupting the ambiance of the story. I’m learning complex concepts and still getting chills and looking over my shoulder. I can tell a lot of work goes into considering each episode and also into how to make it easily palatable to listeners. Side note: For those of you complaining about the new addition of ads… please consider that you received high quality content free, without ads for years and that everyone needs to keep the lights on, take care of employees, and feed their family. - Thank you RMS and team! I’m sorry it took me so long to leave a review! You guys are great! I’m just shy!

Love the stories and love the content. And I know it’s a necessary evil, but seriously, too many sponsor commercials.

That is all. The ads are long. And loud. The podcast is great. And quiet. The ads ruin the spooky bedtime experience, and MANY of your listeners would gladly upgrade to remove them.

This was a great podcast once upon a time. The ads now make this completely unlistenable. Maybe Richard McLean………..Smith will drop the money grab and get back to putting out good content.

I miss the narration style of the earlier seasons. I don’t know when or why he changed to the current one, but I can’t get through more than a minute or two before shutting off the podcast. It’s a shame because I love the content of the episodes.

I really want to like this podcast but his monotone voice grates on me

I feel privileged to have discovered this podcast in its first season, and 8 seasons later I still call it my favorite. As a connoisseur of “spooky” stories of all media types—the caliber of writing, research and production in Unexplained is unparalleled, and I equally appreciate its avoidance of pervasive, hokey tropes and kooky paranormal speculations that make many podcasts in the genre unlistenable in my opinion. While Richard MacLean Smith’s voice may be an adjustment for some listeners from the usual animate podcaster, there is no other cadence I’d rather listen to early in my quiet morning hours or winding down, swaddled in my bed at night in the dark. I’ve recently been revisiting the great archive of episodes and it’s only reaffirmed my stance that Unexplained is an absolute timeless gem of fascinating, moving and unsettling stories that deserves far more recognition than it’s received. My heartfelt thanks to Richard McClean Smith and all its talented contributors.

An exceptional podcast that consistently delivers. A potent blend of the cerebral, paranormal, true crime, and historical.

The episode about the Flannan Isle Lighthouse is a masterpiece. Don’t miss it!

The host’s voice has a very strange meter, self-consciously flat or rising at the end of each sentence. Very hard to listen to for a full episode. I’m sure he’s going for an Alan Menke style… which is not a good style to emulate.

I’ve listened since season one and I am directly asking Richard MacLean Smith to put forth an ad-free paid version of the podcast! You do outstanding work and I would support your work happily as I enjoy it very much. I know I am not alone in this. The ads are out of hand now and ruin the entire vibe of the show.

The ads on the show used to blend well with the content, now they completely take you out of the experience. Don’t match the tone or mood of the content, and completely take you out of the podcast. I had to stop listening to this because it was no longer relaxing with the ping ponging between the soft, slow narration and the obnoxiously upbeat or loud ads. On to the next one I guess :/

The ads are louder and more frantic than the podcast content…I don’t have this issue with other podcasts. Can someone change the levels or something?

This was a favorite podcast of mine and listened often. Stopped due to the jump in ads. Came back to give it another try, hoping they moderated a bit. But my goodness, now the incessant ads ruin the whole experience. Too bad.

I absolutely adore this program, RMS’s voice and cadence, the subjects, the research, but the adverts have become profoundly erratic and distracting. They are so loud and comprise a seeming much greater proportion of each episode than before. 🥲 now it feels like the show is more ads than the actual program

One of my favorite podcasts but the increase in ads interrupting the storytelling completely take you out of it.

I was really excited when I first found this because the subject matter of the episodes is right up my alley! However, I’ve tried listening to several of the most interesting sounding recent episodes and I haven’t made it through a single one. I just could not stomach the narrators’ monotonous drawl of identical cadence and inflection of EVERY. SINGLE. SENTENCE. Sometimes I had to remind myself that I was not listening to a robot… It’s enough to make literally the most fascinating subject matter (for me) dry and boring. I say this as someone who much prefers factual narrating to opinion based and overly emotional narrating, and still it’s too dull for even me.

its sad and weird that podcasts are now greedier with ad time than television ever was they're running 30-40% ad time

Great podcast. The ads just ruin the storytelling. Wish I could pay for no ads

I listened to this podcast from ep 1 and consider it to be a top tier paranormal podcast that doesn’t sensationalize and approaches stories with rationally and asks important question. But these ads dont even have the decency to be for the listening demographic or even be in the same language as the pod! It’s annoying and you get like 4 in a row at multiple points. Richard used to do the ad reads, it kept the tone consistent and felt genuine. I think I got all the best years out of this and it honestly is a great podcast, well researched, decent production and sound quality. The ads are just so sloppy - I cant anymore.

I wish I could say I finished a show yet; the droning narration always puts me to sleep

Love this podcast but almost can’t listen now due to unreasonable frequency and duration of ads

At a certain point in every episode he just seems to get so condescending and begins to lecture about the horrible nature of man. Pompous.

Earlier podcasts are amazing! I cannot bear the newer episodes because of the voice of the narrator… it has changed! The cadence and lack of emotion are distracting and impossible to follow. Please return to your normal voice!!

OG fan occasionally checking in to see if he has gone back to his original voice. Listened for years and used to love this podcast but the inflection and cadence of the narrators new tone makes it so hard to listen to now. I can hardly focus on the story all I hear is the same down and up in each sentence. Please lower your pitch at the end of a sentence and offer an ad free version. If it weren’t for that, 5 stars. Love the music, great stories and production quality.

Host is the pet of a roasted scr01um of an 0range p1g

I used to listen to this podcast when it first came out. I loved it. Spooky, engaging, the music. And one of my favorites was the voice he read the story in. However, I noticed over the years his voice has changed. The undulating nature is not natural anymore. I literally can’t listen to it now. It’s made me so disappointed. Richard, it would be so loved if you returned to your original pitch, cadence, and rhythm of story telling.

Used to really enjoy this podcast, but the quality has gone way down this season. Uninteresting stories based on crackpot “Ufologists” self serving speculation and the like.

I used to listen to this podcast. But recently, I was surprised to find the speaker sympathizing with fascists. Wow. Didn’t hear him speak up on January 6th? Strange time to say something. Really sick of this “let’s come together” mentality… and from a white man… who doesn’t even live here? Unless you are a marginalized person who lives in the United States, I don’t expect you to understand. But I DO expect you to respect us enough to not gaslight us. Not much is lost, though. The ads were becoming insane and the narration is drowsy and robotic. Won’t be supporting

I cannot be the only one who listened to this as a wonderful send off to slumber, but now is jolted with 15 ads at 2x volume. Bring back and ad-free model, Richard, please!

Always something to make your hair stand on end. Love it

Richard’s storytelling is excellent, but the new ads are not just excessive in their amount, but also jarring in comparison to the atmosphere of the podcast. I used to love this podcast, but have turned off every recent episode to which I’ve attempted to listen.

Had a bit of a hiatus and first thing I noticed upon returning was all the ads. You’ve got to chill with them. I turned off the latest episode and maybe I’ll follow again in a few months to see if you’ve changed it up. There are many other podcasts out there that sprinkle in 1-2 and have it down. Follow their example.

Used to love winding down to these, but the ads are ridiculous and obnoxious now. Tried purchasing the audio book to enjoy Richard solo but his narration isn’t available in the US.

Richard MacLean (pause …………………………………………………………………………) Smith I didn’t care for the story for the Season 8 return. Worms. The podcast is enjoyable though.

Even though I’ve often already heard many of the stories covered in Unexplained on other podcasts, I’m always compelled to listen to Richard’s versions. He’s thorough and well-researched, often including details that are new to me. My only complaint is the use of sometimes heavy-handed analogies, but even those aren’t often enough to turn me away from the podcast. People complain about his narration style; in my opinion, he’s just chosen not to insert his personality into the narrative, and that’s a perfectly acceptable creative decision. Thanks for all the hard work in the production of this show!

Narrated in a strange distracting sing song manner.

I think the narrator is AI. Very unnatural sounding with bizarre pronunciations. I couldn’t stick with any show for more than a few minutes.

I did enjoy this show a lot, always looking for the next release, holding for weeks on multi part episodes so I can binge them. I really enjoyed the content with is well redacted and the narration of Richard that goes great with it…. But the amount of advertising interruptions is too much, the loud, fast paced adds really ruins the mood and breaks the story making it hard to continue. I understand that the creators like to male money of their work but there are much better and subtle ways to do it. Perhaps reading the adds him self, this way the adds continue with the tone of the narration which would be easier on the listener. Personally Im done with this podcast, I did really enjoy them before the deal was signed with whoever is putting all these adds in it.

End each sentence as if he’s asking a question. Once you hear it you can’t un-hear it. What a shame.

I’m a longtime listener, since around 2019. I absolutely love Richard’s storytelling and writing - he brings these incredible stories to life so beautifully. I enjoy every listen!

To hear the host earnestly go on about an attempted assassination of a convicted felon/rapist/racist/avowed dictator that literally tried to overthrow our government yet has remained silent on ALL the other times in where our democracy and rights have been attacked by this man was wild. If this is where the hosts values are I’m no longer interested.

I’ve been listening for YEARS now—since 2019—and I’ve only ever had praise for this podcast. I love the way Richard narrates these stories. The pacing, the suspense, the information revealed: the care and attention present in each episode and its production, start to finish, is discernibly resonant. I struggle to find the words to accurately describe the allure, but I think he’s always captured the essence of these stories, bottled them up, and delivered them to us with immaculate prose. I felt compelled to write a review following the conclusion to this latest season’s finale: it’s a brave thing, I think, to say what he said, although it shouldn’t be. It should be easier to share opinions, especially one that is decidedly more a kindness than anything else. But I truly appreciate his words and thoughtfulness, and it makes me all the more a fan of his works. Well done and thank you.

I could not find a way to contact thru the website, so I guess I’ll leave this here. As an American, I think you should keep your opinion about us to yourself. We are not online, telling the UK what to do. I understand, you see what is happening to our country, but you are not American, you do not understand the issues here. For a start, you do not live in a country where almost anyone can have an automatic weapon. And you do not live in a country that has rescinded a biological right for women, Until you do, I feel you have no concept of how we feel, here. I understand, you want to tell us to love one another, and you are horrified about what is happening here, and I agree with you, but I also feel you have no cause to tell us what to do, or how to solve our problems, which are specific to our nation. You would not tell any other nationalities how to think or feel, so why do you feel the urge or the need— to tell us?

Like others, I used to love RMS’s voice and the podcast. I have no idea what happened, but now he reads the story like it’s one long, run on sentence. So much about a narrated story is understood through the inflection of the speaker. Sadly, RMS has failed in that aspect so much so, that I can’t listen to what was once a great podcast.

Long time listener, short time add bearer. I simply cannot deal with how obnoxious the adds have become in every way possible. Unsubscribed from the show…it’s a shame

This podcast is incredible. There just isn’t anything like it. Listen to episode one, just give it a go, and see if you’re not totally fascinated. I know I’m hooked! UPDATE: Season 7, Episode 26 From one of your US listeners, That was beautiful. Thank you and God Bless You.

Brilliant renditions of strange historical tales brought to life in great detail, all delivered with the subtle deadpan of a spooky summer campfire story. Love this show. Grateful to have discovered it quite late so I have tons to binge. :-) Brill!

I know that even mentioning the word politics is tricky in a podcast that is meant to be unbiased, but your endnote on the most recent episode is perfect. A little messy, but it hits at exactly all the feelings. Also, I love the stories… (first time reviewer, long time listener)

I have been listening to Unexplained for years, and it was a long time favorite. Fell off for quite awhile and decided to jump back in. Upon listening, I simply could not bear the narration. I thought I was going insane so I went back to the first episode and heard a completely different style. It’s like the script was fed to an AI that’s reading for him. Genuinely appreciate RMS’s work but I do not understand what happened.