Midnight Burger

FEED DROP: We Fix Space Junk is Back!!

15 min
Mar 19, 2026about 1 month ago
Listen to Episode
Summary

Joe announces the return of the podcast "We Fix Space Junk" after a hiatus since 2021, with a new episode dropping March 23rd. The episode features the show's first installment, "Escape from Hargon 4," following smuggler Kilner and fugitive socialite Samantha as they navigate a dangerous galaxy while evading authorities.

Insights
  • Podcast revival strategy: Shows can successfully return after multi-year hiatuses with proper audience communication and scheduled release dates
  • Content serialization drives engagement: Multi-episode narrative arcs encourage listener retention and recurring consumption
  • Genre blending (sci-fi comedy drama) appeals to niche but dedicated audiences willing to follow complex storytelling
  • Production quality and cast depth (multiple voice actors, sound design) differentiate premium podcast content in crowded markets
Trends
Scripted fiction podcasts gaining traction as alternative entertainment mediumPodcast revivals becoming viable business model after production pausesSerialized narrative storytelling preferred over episodic formats for audience loyaltyIndependent production companies (Battlebird Productions) competing with traditional media studiosVoice acting and audio production quality becoming key differentiator in podcast market
Topics
Podcast Production and DistributionScripted Audio DramaScience Fiction StorytellingPodcast Audience EngagementIndependent Media ProductionVoice Acting and Audio PerformanceSerialized Narrative StructurePodcast Hiatus and Revival Strategy
Companies
Battlebird Productions
Production company behind We Fix Space Junk, responsible for writing, production, and distribution of the show
People
Beth Crane
Co-creator and writer of We Fix Space Junk; voices character Kilner in the series
Headly Knights
Co-producer of We Fix Space Junk and contributor to voice cast across multiple characters
Joe
Host of Midnight Burger podcast announcing the return of We Fix Space Junk
Quotes
"We Fix Space Junk follows seasoned smuggler, killner and reluctant socialite fugitive Samantha as they travel the galaxy, dodging bullets and meeting strange and wonderful beings as they carry out odd jobs on the fringes of the law."
JoeOpening segment
"Desperate people are my favourite kind of client."
KilnerEpisode excerpt
"Think of me as the easy jet of the smuggling business. We don't do budget."
KilnerEpisode excerpt
"It's like a long sleep. Or a short death."
KilnerEpisode excerpt
Full Transcript
Hi guys, it's Joe. So, uh, breaking news. We Fix Space Junk is coming back. Uh, We Fix Space Junk haven't put out an episode, I think since 2021, uh, you know, the pandemic was rough, y'all. Uh, but they're back now and on March 23rd, their new episode will be dropping on their feed. Now, if you're not familiar with We Fix Space Junk, great show by Beth Crane and Headly Knights. Here's the logline for those of you who are unfamiliar. We Fix Space Junk follows seasoned smuggler, killner and reluctant socialite fugitive Samantha as they travel the galaxy, dodging bullets and meeting strange and wonderful beings as they carry out odd jobs on the fringes of the law. Bonus points if you heard my cat in the background just now. Uh, so it's a great show. It's a lot of fun. It's very funny and definitely check it out if you're into that sort of thing. Once again, that's starting up again on March 23rd. If you follow them, make sure your feed is updated. And for those of you who have not heard the show, here is the very first episode of We Fix Space Junk. We Fix Space Junk by Beth Crane. Episode one, Escape from Hargon 4. We Fix Space Junk by Beth Crane. Psst. Samantha. Go away. I'm not signing any more autographs. Sweetheart, it's me. We've only got 10 minutes. Fabio? I came back for you. I told you I would. Come on, this way. Is that man okay? He's fine. Just step over him. He's, uh, bleeding. Rather, rather a lot. Really, quite a lot. That is, uh, quite a lot of blood, Fabio. He was like that when I got here. Do you want me to rescue you or not? Come on. AUT News. News on the hour. Every hour. News on the hour. Every hour. Can you join me outside the courthouse where the accused, Ms Samantha Trapp, is due to stand trial? For Ms Trapp, the last six months have been a roller coaster. Formerly a member of the social elite with a social media following of millions and a nightlife I think we've all envied at one point or another. Wait, hang on. I'm getting an update. It appears that Ms Trapp has escaped from the infamous Hargon 4 prison where she was being held prior to her trial. Leaving, no, four dead guards behind her. She appears to have disabled the alarms and security measures surrounding her cell and fled. She is being reported as armed and extremely dangerous and should not be approached under any circumstances. Any information pertaining to our whereabouts. Looks awfully suspicious to me. Of course it looks suspicious. If it was innocuous, I could move it myself. You're a smuggler. You smuggle things. Well, the whole point is the packages look ordinary. This crate just screams fleeing Eris. It's too big and too new and too stylish. Nobody transports cargo in polished Tigerwood crates. Please, we have no other choice. We're desperate people. Desperate people are my favourite kind of client. You've done all the paperwork? Yes. So that's a third of the payment now and the other two thirds will meet you at the Crab Nebula. And I'll have had time to prove her innocence by then. Sure you will. And the payment's already been set up, yeah? You'll get your money so long as she's safe and sound at the end. And you know what happens if you don't pay up? I've read the contract. Can we hurry this up? I don't want to get caught by customs at the last minute. I'm just checking. I've signed a few contracts at my time. It's good to know what you're letting yourself in for. Geez, she's heavy for a socialite. She's in the other crate. And this is? Luggage, obviously. Just the basics. I'm not taking it. You've paid for one person. I've fuelled up and stopped up for one person. Not a crate full of... I'm not even sure what half this stuff is. Well, you're not living the Haudkuture lifestyle. We're paying you well, extremely well. I have a lot of subsidiary costs. Like what? I'm taking one person and one small suitcase. Think of me as the easy jet of the smuggling business. We don't do budget. Think of it as minimalist. She's not gonna be happy. She'll live, unlike the guards she killed on the way out. Okay, now clear off. Goodbye, my love. For you, it'll feel mere seconds, but for me, it will be an eternity. I cannot wait... Yeah, I'm closing the doors now. I love you, my angel. Bruce, the things I have to do for this job. This is Casp Friends. Sorry, I'm just leaving. I'm in a real hurry. Dax, can you do something? Like what? Could you please open the door, ma'am? Ma'am must be serious. Good afternoon. We're checking all outgoing cargo ships for suspicious packages. Due to the high level of smuggling in the area, we're conducting a random search. Right. And I thought it was a little strange, a woman traveling all on her own in a big ship like this. Did you pack your cargo yourself, ma'am? Yes. Really? How did you manage that? Those crates are rather large. Are you sure you didn't...? Well, thank the wonders of cyborg technology. I see. So what's in that? I believe that... Yes, that's army boots. Ex army boots. For the orphans. For the orphans? They turn them into a nutritious stew. Disgusting, but well. Orphans can't be choosers, right? I'll give them the once over, just in case. Oh. Oh, army boots. Pick them up on the way over here, just, you know. Or Tomnacon. Doing its bit for the less fortunate. You're from on Tomnacon? You didn't see the sticker on my windscreen? No, no, no, I did. I'm so sorry. I guess my ship is a little dirty. I suppose you couldn't see it. I'm so sorry. I'm so untidy for a woman. I guess it could happen to anyone, right? Anyone at all. It's a harmless mistake. You have a nice day now. I can go. Go on. Well, that was a little cruel. Obnoxious little creep. Who's about three seconds away from asking to speak to the man of the ship? I guess the closest thing would be you, and you're a computer. Oh, come on, pile of junk. Hey, less of that. I don't take it out on you when you park badly. Sorry. There we go. I'll get a nano service while you're in cryo. It'll give me something to do in the long, lonely months. I can't stay awake just to keep you company while you barrel through space stacks. You're a computer. You're not supposed to get lonely. Can you at least renew your Netflix account? It expired four months ago, and I nearly went mad with boredom. Full how? I don't know why they don't just give us walk drives. You know why. Our time's worth nothing to them. This is Yellow Submarine. Repeat Yellow Submarine. Reclared for takeoff. Yellow Submarine. This is Yellow Romeo, Genji, Sierra, Nile, up. Reclared for takeoff. Thanks, pal. Sub out. You're going to let me out. Come on. Oh, you must be Samantha. Yes, I'm... What happened to your face? What happened to yours? What? That knows his natural, is it? Well, no, but it's like, you've got like... Sorry, I've never actually met a full-on one of you before. I mean, I've got a friend with a robot hand, but I think it's ironic. You can say it. It's not a dirty word. You're a... Sorry, I mean, I'm just... I'm a cyborg. There you go. But like, can I ask you what actually happened? Some things. Like what? So, what do you call this place? Right. I know what it means, but nobody cryos anymore. You think I'm joking? Think of it as a really long spa, a bit of a digital detox. What was that? That's Dax and the shipboard computer. Say hi. Uh, hello? Yes, hello. He prefers to be called Dax. Be nice. He's controlling your cryo settings. Look, Samantha, they're checking every warp-ready ship. Not checking like that guy from Customs just now, I mean tearing them apart, looking for you. We were lucky just now, but Automnecon isn't always as scary a name as it should be. The one place they aren't checking are the freezer ships, because they assume you won't go cryo class. Right. You killed four guards on your way out. I doubt you'll last that long if you go back. Pardon? It's a really easy way to vanish for six months. Just floating slowly through space, frozen in time. I do it all the time. It's like a long sleep. Or a short death. Well, that's comforting. Did you do it, by the way? No, I didn't. I've been framed. So why were you so afraid to stand trial? I was ready to stand trial. Seems like you went to a lot of trouble to avoid it. Makes you seem less than innocent. As I said in the press conference, myself and my family are entirely innocent of any wrongdoing whatsoever. We are merely a thillin- Ha! What? I grew up on Pluto. Then you of all people should know, my family have been a boon to Pluto. Our partnership with- Where do you think I lost my legs? And I was lucky. And if you're going to be like that, why did you bother picking me up? I need the money. And I haven't been back to Pluto in a few decades. You're what, 20? It's not your fault your family are a bunch of murderers. Wait, how old are you? Cryo has its advantages. Anyway, I have bigger problems than that. Like what? It's getting late. We better get in the tanks. So what do I... do? Just get in. Bax will do the rest. Ah! Oh and don't worry if you feel like you're drowning. That's perfectly normal. Wait, what? She's interesting. She's alright. We've only got to spend a couple of days with her. And then I can get my debt paid off and we can get a better ship. With no ghosts. And a warp drive. Oh. I'll look at some second-hand models. Put some Thieles out. Thanks. See you in six months, Dax. I'll miss you. Back to the Suduki. Just me and the Fridge. Well... That was... unsettling. Did you hear that, Fridge? Of course you didn't. You're a Fridge. Six months of Cryo ahead of them. What's waiting in the future for Kilner and Samantha? What's sinister being as lurking in the hull of the Yellow Submarine? And will Dax ever finish his Suduki? Find out in next week's episode of ReFix Space Jump. In that episode of ReFix Space Jump, Samantha Tratt was played by Rebecca Evans, Kilner was played by Beth Crane, Dax was played by Jack Carmichael, and Fabio was played by Chris Montaghan. All other parts were played by the cast, along with Aaron Simmonds, Rosie Alice, Crystal Kimmet, and Headly Knights. The programme was written by Beth Crane and produced by Headly Knights for Battlebird Productions. Music It's done? It's done. She'll be dead before she can get to trial. Thank you, Fabio. It's a shame I'll never have you as a son-in-law. Just doing my bit for the company, sir.! You