A podcast by and for lovers of the television show Supernatural and the fanfiction it inspires.

I'm Sandra, the creator and co-host of Idling In The Impala, along with my amazing co-host, Kasey. I actually got into Supernatural relatively late in the game, but once I found it, it didn't take long for me to fall head-first into the SPN FanFic world. Outside the fandom, I write original romance novels (under the names Sandra Kyle and S.K. Andal), but honestly, those get pushed to the back of the queue a lot these days. I completely blame Dean for that! I’m firmly the 'DeanGirl' of our duo, writing mostly Dean-centric, mature-leaning fanfiction and shamelessly shipping myself with him—'Deandra' forever! My husband is a little worried, to be honest.

My fantastic co-host Kasey (they/them) is an agender/pansexual/transmasc queer mortal from the UK and has been with me since the very beginning. They’re a proud 'SamMortal'—though Dean has slowly won them over, too—and they wear the title of 'Agent of Chaos and Kink' with pride. Kasey is a parent of two, a slave to three dramatic cats who regularly crash our recordings, and a writer of some amazing fics of their own. Between my Dean obsession and Kasey's wild array of tropes, we balance each other out perfectly!

We've been on this incredible joy ride since December 2021. Idling In The Impala is basically a love letter to Supernatural (although we often question, 'Do we even like this show?') and the incredible fanfiction it inspires, especially the amazing works over AO3. We chat about the show, dissect our favorite episodes and actors, dive deep into specific fanfic tropes, and I even do some podfic narrations. We also love interviewing other fans, writers, and creatives who make up the SPN Family to hear the stories of how they discovered the show and the fandom.
 

The podcast started because of the interest I had built up listening to a lot of SPN rewatch podcasts. I had also found a podcast that narrated Destiel fanfics-which is known as podficcing-and I desperately wanted to find Dean/Reader narrations. Alas, at least in the podcast arena, there were none.

Kasey, a friend, and I were having daily text conversations about tropes, episode dynamics, and the incredible creativity of the SPN family. One day, the lightbulb just went off: 'Why aren’t I making a podcast about the things we love to talk about?' I wanted a space where we could celebrate the writers, readers, artists, and the pure joy of fandom without judgment. So, when I presented the idea to our little trio, Kasey decided to join me on the adventure, with the very clear opinion that I couldn't just talk about Dean Winchester on this podcast and not give Sam Winchester the occasional spotlight as well.

Our very first motivation was pure, unadulterated self-indulgence! We wanted a dedicated space to talk about the things we love, share our own writing (and eventual podfics I started narrating), and spotlight other brilliant creators in the community who deserve all the flowers.

Beyond that, our goal was to create a safe, welcoming, and hilarious space for the 'ones in the back.' Fandom can sometimes get heavy or dramatic, and we wanted Idling In The Impala to be a comfortable listen: a place where you could laugh about Dean's layers, debate Sam's hair, dive into wild tropes, and just feel like you belong.

Everything about our first season of podcasting was very fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants. We figured out the technical side of things together even though there's an ocean (and time zones) between us. When we finally hit 'publish' that December in 2021, it was a massive mix of nerves and pure excitement.
 

Our episode release schedule has changed and is something we tend to revisit season by season. Finding time in between real-life to attend to a hobby that has kind of turned into a part-time job is extremely challenging. Right now -Season 5, 2026- we release weekly episodes along with the occasional bonus podfics. I manage the production end of the podcast. Depending on turnaround time and whether we need to budget time for a guest review, I can convert a raw recording into a polished final audio file ready for publishing in two to four weeks. Kasey is our marketer (and the talent!) and helps ensure we get the word out about our podcast across a variety of social platforms.

Our podcast is funded by us, with the amazing support of a core group of listeners who back us on Ko-fi!
 

We are a tiny little niche in the Supernatural fandom and fanfiction community, so we haven't ventured into sponsorships yet, but we would be interested in that as we grow and expand our reach.

This podcast has helped me personally and taught me valuable skills and a belief in my abilities that have carried over into my employment and my interest in pursuing narration. I've made friends all over the world; although they may have started because of Supernatural, the friendships have only grown over the years.
 

Kasey and I usually decide on certain topics we want to chat about, and then I build a recording schedule around that.

Our guests usually come about organically within the community we are a part of. We hear about a new or old-guard creator, we read an amazing fanfic and get lost in someone's AO3 works... and then I ask if someone would want to come on the podcast to chat about all the things related to their fandom journey and their creative process. The way and why a person writes or creates is as identifiable and distinct as a fingerprint.

Our episode preparation varies wildly. Some days we're winging it; other days there's a three-page doc of notes. But all of our recordings and interviews currently happen over Zoom. We actually rarely turn on video (we never do with guests, as we want to ensure privacy and confidentiality and allow people to feel as comfortable as possible) unless we're doing a special presentation or an extra gift for our listeners and members in our Discord server.
 

We host our podcast on Spotify and push it out to other platforms. We also have a YouTube channel and mainly market on Tumblr. We're considering other social media platforms, but that all takes additional time and effort that real life doesn't always allow.
 

If you are interested in podcasting, don't wait until it's perfect. Practice with some friends and learn the ins and outs through videos and articles. If you have something you want to say, there might be someone out there who wants to listen. And expect that if you find you like doing it, it may become a part-time job that may not pay much monetarily but allows you to reap dividends in other ways you never would have expected.
 

Our website, which links to all the ways you can connect with and support our podcast: idlingintheimpala.com.