The Orbiting Human Circus (of the Air)

The Orbiting Human Circus (of the Air) is a fiction radio drama podcast written and created by Julian Koster, and published by Night Vale Presents.[1] The podcast is primarily the inner monologue of Julian the janitor, an employee of the Eiffel Tower who wishes he could work for the radio show broadcast from the top. It was released in two seasons from 2016 to 2020. In September of 2025, the official Orbiting Human Circus Tumblr shared that a new series featuring characters from The Orbiting Human circus of the Air podcast is in the works. The new series will be three seasons long and will include a "full length musical's worth of songs."[2]

Synopsis

Julian the janitor is a shy, sensitive employee of the Eiffel Tower who dreams of joining the fictional radio show also titled The Orbiting Human Circus of the Air, which is broadcast from a large ballroom at the top of the tower. Listeners of the podcast hear Julian the janitor's inner thoughts as he discusses his situations with The Narrator, played by Drew Callander, an imaginary voice only Julian can hear. In addition to the conversations in his head, Julian interacts with the staff and talent of The Orbiting Human Circus of the Air, notably voiced by actors such as John Cameron Mitchell, Cecil Baldwin, Tim Robbins, Charlie Day, and Mary Elizabeth Ellis.[3] One of the most prominent themes of the podcast is the pain of loneliness.[4]

History

The podcast was in development for several years prior to its eventual release, based on ideas Koster had been developing. Some of Koster's dialogue was recorded in his spare time during the Neutral Milk Hotel reunion tour, while Mitchell recorded much of his during his run in Hedwig and the Angry Inch on Broadway, both events having occurred over a year before the series' release.[5] Koster cites British humor, specifically The Goon Show, as inspiration for some of the podcast's absurdism, in that jokes are delivered with little time for the audience to process the information.[5] Koster employed a RCA Ribbon microphone from the 1930s for the recordings.[5]

The first season of the podcasts comprised eight episodes as well as a bonus question and answer episode in which Koster answers questions submitted by fans. It was the fourth podcast to be released under the Night Vale Presents name. From June to July 2017, the podcast released "an Orbiting Human Circus Special," titled "The 2nd Imaginary Symphony," which served as the official wide-release of Koster's 2002 album.[6] It was announced in January 2017 that the podcast would return for a second season. The season, titled "Naughty Till New Years," premiered on November 6, 2019,[7] and the podcast concluded with a finale on June 17, 2020.

A series of live shows were made through international tours in 2023 and 2024. This began with a US tour in fall 2023, a Japanese tour in spring 2024, and finally a tour across the US and Europe in the summer of 2024. This last tour was conducted jointly with The Music Tapes, and concluded with a final performance at Egersund Visefestival from July 4–6, 2024.

Episodes

External links

• The Orbiting Human Circus of the Air homepage
• The Orbiting Human Circus of the Air podcast page on iTunes