Considering we take inspiration from the radio dramas from the “Golden Age of Radio,” we’re always happy to see scripted shows get notice in the hopes that the audience will grow. So when we saw that some folks are launching a new podcast soap opera this week, we were excited. It’s called Worlds Apart and it already has three episodes you can listen to.

Now, we’re unlikely to try and do a soap opera ourselves… unless we could figure out some speculative fiction slant, but soap operas have a proud tradition in radio from The Goldbergs to Ma Perkins and many other shows that ran for decades upon decades. Like The Goldbergs, The Guiding Light made the jump to television where it continued until 2009… and the British soap, The Archers, started in 1951 and is still going.

And consider how many episodes a year these soaps often produce. The Archers will surpass 21,000 episodes this year. Consider how many cast and crew members have gotten experience from audio soap operas. Consider how many listeners might discover more audio drama through this sub-genre.

So that’s why we say that even if soap operas aren’t your cup of tea –which since it’s a soap opera, may be poisoned– this is a promising sign.

And okay, if this really takes off, maybe we’ll reconsider doing that soap-opera-on-a-generation-ship one company member pitched.