Un mundo violento: un podcast friki para frikis y creado por frikis. Estudio de caso de la ficción sonora de David Sainz

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24137/raeic.13.26.7

Keywords:

podcast, audio drama, fandom, geek culture, engagement, crowdfunding

Abstract

This study examines the dynamics of geek narrative construction and fandom formation surrounding the fiction podcast Un mundo violento (2021–2025) as a representative case of these cultural practices within the podcasting landscape. The main objective is to explore how geek imaginaries and community participation are articulated around this independent production. A qualitative case study was conducted on the 30 episodes across the podcast’s three seasons, combining content analysis of the audio corpus, digital ethnographic observation of the fan community on the iVoox platform, and an in-depth interview with the podcast’s creator. The findings show that the characters are built around recognizable geek archetypes that evolve over time, fostering processes of audience identification and appropriation. In addition, a high degree of intertextuality and transmedia expansion reinforces the narrative universe. The findings suggest that fandom constitutes a key factor in the project’s economic and creative sustainability, indicating that podcasting can foster the development of participatory geek cultural communities within independent audio storytelling.

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Author Biographies

  • Marcial García López, Universidad de Málaga (UMA)

    Marcial García López is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Audiovisual Communication and Advertising at the University of Málaga (Spain). He teaches in the Bachelor’s Degree in Advertising and Public Relations and in the Master’s programmes in Strategic Management and Innovation in Communication, and Culture of Peace, Conflicts, Education and Human Rights. His research focuses on creativity in social communication, narrative‑based communication strategies, and transformative and development‑oriented communication, fields in which he has authored numerous scientific articles, book chapters, reports and monographs.

    He has coordinated several collective volumes, including Communication, Politics and the Construction of Citizenship for a Cosmopolitan and Global World (2023), Agenda 2030: Communication Facing the Challenge of the SDGs (2021), and Communication and Social Change (2019). He has also led research, educational innovation and international cooperation projects in Bolivia, El Salvador, Palestine and Colombia.

    García López serves as a member of the Ethical Code Monitoring Committee and the Communication Committee of the Spanish Coordinating Body of Development NGOs. He additionally has professional experience in independent and community radio stations.

  • Paloma López-Villafranca, Universidad de Málaga (UMA)

    Paloma López Villafranca is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Málaga, where she teaches in the Bachelor’s Degree in Audiovisual Communication and the Master’s Degree in Audiovisual Creation and Performing Arts. She has an extensive teaching background closely linked to training in radio and podcasting, both at the University of Málaga and in professional development programs for university teaching staff at various institutions.

    Her research focuses on sound narrative, radio, and podcasting, fields in which she has published numerous books, book chapters, and peer‑reviewed articles. She is the author of Radio Sound Formats (2021) and the editor of collective volumes such as Radio Drama: Oblivion, Revival and Its Consumption on Other Platforms (2020) and Sound Project Creation: Practices and Experiences in the Era of Audification (2024).

    She has directed international conferences related to voice performance and audio fiction, and has served as principal investigator on several projects in educational innovation and research on educational podcasting, professional practices in communication, and audio documentary. She has undertaken research stays at universities in the United Kingdom, Portugal, and Italy. She has developed a professional career as a journalist since 1997, collaborating with various media outlets, including Grupo Prisa, SER Málaga, and RTVE.

     

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Published

2026-08-21

Issue

Vol. 13 No. 26 (2026): The "Other" cultural industry. Communication, fandom, and geek subcultures (Otaku, Gamers, K-pop Fans, and Geeks)

Section

Thematic issue

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Marcial García-López, Paloma López-Villafranca

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

Un mundo violento: un podcast friki para frikis y creado por frikis. Estudio de caso de la ficción sonora de David Sainz. (2026). Revista De La Asociación Española De Investigación De La Comunicación, 13(26), raeic132607. https://doi.org/10.24137/raeic.13.26.7