Welcome one and all to the first ever Evolved Digest! Starting today, and going forward around every month, this will be where you can find out about the latest happenings at Podcast Evolved, what has happened over the last month (or further for this first issue) and what we are excited for in the coming month in our shows, on YouTube, on the website, and in the community. We hope this becomes your go-to place for finding anything at Evolved you may have missed, and give you a preview of what to look forward to. I don’t want to delay it any longer, so without further ado, I give you the Evolved Digest for May 2021.
Podcast Evolved
The main Evolved crew had a busy 2021 so far, continuing the Road to Infinite series, as well as starting a new series, Character Dossiers. We started the year covering the ONI Archive video series in Road to Infinite, and discussed Spartan-II Blue Team in great detail in Character Dossiers. Since then we have continued to cover more lore topics, including the Brutes, the UNSC Infinity crew, open world in Halo Infinite, and the mysterious members of the Office of Naval Intelligence. If you missed any of those episodes, you can find them below.
2021 also saw the start of a new show, Halo Headlines! Knowing that a lot of Halo news is starting to come in, and our listeners have asked for us to look at the latest Halo news as quickly as possible, we have started publishing weekly 20-minute episodes that cover just the most recent Halo news and our quick thoughts and commentary. Look for Halo Headlines most every week on the main Podcast Evolved feed, as well as its very own feed on most podcast services.
In April we brought Kelly Gay back into the virtual studio to talk to her about her latest book Point of Light, as well as what the future may hold for Rion Forge and the Ace of Spades! It was a fantastic interview, so if you haven’t had a chance yet, give it a listen!
That was what Evolved has done so far this year, but let’s now look ahead at what the crew is looking forward to in May and beyond. Aaron, what does Evolved have in store for the listeners?
Thanks Ian, we have another busy month scheduled for Evolved so lets dive in. First up we'll be continuing the Road to Infinite series with a team-up episode! Oran joined the multiplayer experts Will and Josh over at HCS Pro Talk to discuss the possibilities for Infinite’s multiplayer offering. It's a packed episode with a lot to discuss so join the crew this Wednesday (May 5th) to get your multiplayer discussion fill.
Next up we have our monthly news episode where the gang joins you the listeners live on Discord and Facebook as they break down all the happenings in the world of Halo. As the Infinite hype cycle continues to ramp up these shows are only getting bigger and better so make sure to tune in and keep up to date on all the news and analysis. The next show will be dropping on May 12th for your listening pleasure, unfortunately as you read this you will have missed the live recording. But if you'd like to join us on the next Live episode we'll be recording it on May 30th, you can hop into the Discord server or Facebook group and interact with the hosts as they go.
Finally we have our next Character Dossier episode. This month Krysta will be taking us on a deep dive into the life and history of everyone’s favourite flying lightbulb, 343 Guilty Spark! Heads up, it's going to include big spoilers for both the Forerunner trilogy and the Kelly Gay series. If all goes according to plan you can expect this episode to drop on May 19th.
Finally keep an eye out for next month’s Evolved Digest as we might have some special guest interview news to share with you all. But I cant risk saying anymore in case I'm shipped off to Midnight Facility, so with that I shall hand you back over to Ian.
Thanks Aaron! Glad I don’t have to make the call to Admiral Osman. She will be happy that your voice doesn’t need to be silenced and your spark of life extinguished.
Now that we have covered the main show, lets see what the rest of the shows have in store for you.
Halo Book Club
Following the release and episode on Halo: Point of Light, we are now fully up to date on covering all the Halo novels in Book Club! That doesn’t mean the Halo Book Club is over though. There are still many short stories we have yet to cover from Halo: Evolutions and Halo: Fractures to the Halo Graphic Novel, and through 2021 we look forward to covering the remaining ones, along with any new releases such as Halo: Divine Wind, which hits store shelves October 19th, 2021! For a list of the Book Club episodes so far in 2021, Check out below.
To catch up on Halo Book Club, and to listen to future episodes, you can find Halo Book Club on the main Podcast Evolved feed on most podcast services. And for those looking for a little more on the visual front, all Book Club episodes can be found on our YouTube channel as well!
Mission Debrief
For those unfamiliar, Mission Debrief is a series started in 2018 to play through and discuss the lore of every Halo mission. In November 2020 we wrapped up Halo Wars 2, and with Infinite delayed until the end of 2021, the crew has been on a hiatus. The migration to YouTube continues, however, and for those following now on our YouTube channel, you should be seeing Colin, David, and Krysta discuss the lore of Halo Wars, with the remaining two seasons coming shortly thereafter.
Looking ahead to the rest of May and the weeks and months leading into Halo Infinite, Mission Debrief has some exciting news to share with the listeners! Colin, why don’t you tell us what you have in store for everyone who is waiting so patiently for the Halo Infinite season of Mission Debrief to drop?
In short, we’re back baby! Mission Debrief is emerging from the shadows to bring you all a special series as we await the release of Halo Infinite. We’re going to rank the top 20 missions in Halo for the 20th Anniversary of the franchise.
“20 for 20” started earlier this year with some a little bit of research and PE community feedback. Our Patrons helped build a list of the best Halo missions across all of the games and then we asked members of our Facebook group and Discord to vote the list down to the final 20 that we’ll feature.
Matt Salvatore will be joining David, Krysta and I in a YouTube series as we play through each mission in co-op and score them across 4 key categories: Gameplay, Level Design, Difficulty, and Storytelling. At the end of each mission, we’ll average the numbers and assign it an overall score. The totals will then be used to rank each mission against each other in a series of episodes later this year.
We already have a couple episodes in the can and can’t wait to hear your thoughts as we play through the cream of the crop. It’s going to be a lot of fun!
That sounds incredible Colin! I can’t wait to see those episodes go live. I think the listeners are really going to enjoy this series in the run up to the release of Infinite.
Of course you wouldn’t be content with only doing one show, so lets go to Tom to see how your other show, Builds with Blocks, is doing.
Builds with Blocks
So far in 2021, the Builds with Blocks crew have aimed to diversify the amount and variety of content they are putting out to engage a wider variety of Mega Construx fans. We’ve been aiming to create an assortment of engaging core shows themed around different topics – including guest interviews with people involved in the production of these products, breakdowns of new items as and when they are revealed, and also ranking episodes where we break down our favourite items that the MCX and Halo Gear teams have released. This is complimented by the variety of video content which we have released to accompany the show – including MOCs, product reviews, dioramas, collection videos, and more. Check out all the episodes released so far this year below. And for extra Builds with Blocks content including video versions of the below episodes, be sure to visit the YouTube channel.
Later in May we will be releasing a breakdown of all of the Flood-themed Mega Construx sets which have been released – including some discussion about additional things which we would like to see the Mega team create in the future. We are also in the planning stages for episodes later in the month – with the team currently reflecting on future guests, and also thinking about future content as we approach reveal season for another round of new sets and figures. As per usual, these new core episodes will be accompanied by plenty more video content to ensure we’re covering everything that MCX fans care about.
Evolved Community
The last couple years has seen a ton of growth for the Evolved community, particularly when it comes to our Discord server. We are currently closing in on 500 members, and are seeing more members join every day! Its really great to see new names show up looking to talk Halo, and we can’t wait to talk Halo with you as Infinite nears release.
For those looking for someone to play Halo with, we also hold Community Game Nights every Tuesday at 9 PM ET! This is run by our awesome community members, Patrons, and Discord mods Matt, Samuryz, and Desudo. To find Evolved members to play with, join the Discord and head over to the game nights channel. Who knows, you might even catch one of the hosts fighting beside you!
Patreon
If you didn’t know, Podcast Evolved also has a Patreon to help support the show and community, letting us do so much more than we ever could have done otherwise. Being a patron also comes with some awesome perks, including early episodes, Patreon-exclusive merch, patron-only Discord channels, episode shoutouts, Cameo-style videos from Evolved hosts, and much more. This year was extra special, with the release of the official Podcast Evolved soundtrack Concrescence, and a new commissioned art piece depicting the Battle of New Mohács, only for our patrons. A low-res sample of the art piece can be seen below, and to preview the soundtrack, check out the Album link at the very top of the website.
Website
If this is your first time on the Podcast Evolved website, hello! We feature all our podcast and YouTube shows here, as well as this blog, and a thorough Halo lore section to catch you up on the state of the Halo universe. On the blog front, Tom has been regularly sharing his reviews and thoughts on the latest Halo Mega Construx sets and figures this year. If you ever wanted to know more about Halo Mega Construx or Halo collectibles, the Merchandise Mysterium blog and Builds with Blocks podcast are your go-to for getting up-to-date.
We are also looking for any community members who like to write their own Halo fiction to share it with us, and we will share it here on the Podcast Evolved blog for everyone to read! if this sounds like something you are interested in, we look forward to hearing from you!
Looking forward to the rest of 2021, expect many more blog posts from Tom, me, and others at Evolved about collectibles, lore, and anything else Halo. With Infinite coming soon, there will be so much to talk about this year and for the next several years going forward.
