How Brad Williams turned a passion project into an award-winning audio fiction universe of his own.
The Origin of an Independent Vision
Five years ago, Brad Williams sat down to tell a story simply because he loved the world it lived in. Today, that story has reached hundreds of thousands of listeners, collected nine Signal Awards, and earned the recognition of the very studio whose universe first inspired it. The path from fan to showrunner is rarely a straight line, yet Williams has walked it with a clarity of vision that sets his work apart.
Once Upon a Wasteland began as an independent audio drama born from Williams’s love of the Fallout franchise. Set twenty-seven years after nuclear war in the ruins of Appalachia, the series follows Elizabeth Kirby, a Vault Dweller, and Odessa Valdez, a Brotherhood of Steel Scribe from California, as they navigate a slow-burning romance and race to unravel a mystery that threatens the future of their world.
What might have remained a modest fan effort instead grew into something far larger. Williams approached the project not as a hobbyist, but as a showrunner. He built characters, shaped mythology, directed performances, and crafted the immersive sound design that would become a hallmark of his work. That commitment to cinematic storytelling gave the series a scope usually reserved for serialized television, combined with the intimacy of classic radio drama.
The result resonated. As downloads climbed into the hundreds of thousands, the series earned eight Signal Awards across categories including Best Scripted Fiction, Writing, Editing, and Show Art. For an independent production without studio backing, the recognition was remarkable.
Recognition From an Unexpected Place
Then came a moment few independent creators ever experience. Bethesda Game Studios, the company behind the Fallout universe, featured Once Upon a Wasteland in an official Fallout 76 Community Spotlight and invited Williams to an exclusive creator preview of 2025’s Fallout 76 “Burning Springs” update. The world that had inspired Williams had, in turn, acknowledged his contribution to it.
“I started as an independent creator building something from the ground up, and over time it found an audience, earned recognition from the industry, and led to a relationship with the people behind the world that inspired it. Now I’m taking everything I learned from that experience and using it to build an original audio fiction universe of my own.,” Williams says.
That relationship marked a turning point. It validated a belief that has guided his career: ambitious, character-driven fiction can find both an audience and industry respect without the resources of a traditional network. The Signal Awards later profiled his approach to building an audio fiction universe, cementing his reputation as one of the foremost independent audio drama creators working today.
Building a World of His Own
With the lessons of Once Upon a Wasteland behind him, Williams set out to prove that his skills could translate to a universe entirely his own. That ambition became Dark Road Diaries, an original supernatural horror-comedy.
The new series carries forward everything Williams learned about serialized storytelling, character development, directing remote voice casts, and sound design. Yet it also frees him from the boundaries of an established franchise. Dark Road Diaries blends memorable characters, expansive mythology, and a distinctly offbeat sense of humor into a world that answers to no one but its creator.
For Williams, the project represents the natural next stage of a five-year evolution. “Creating it has given me the opportunity to take everything I learned building Once Upon a Wasteland and apply it to a world that is entirely my own,” he explains. Where the first series demonstrated what an independent creator could achieve within a beloved universe, the second demonstrates what he can build from nothing at all.
The Showrunner Difference
One thing that distinguishes Williams is his approach. He does not think of himself simply as a writer or a podcaster. He operates as a showrunner, involved in every part of the process, from creating characters and building worlds to directing performances and shaping the sound of the finished production.
This end-to-end vision is rare in independent audio fiction, where limited resources often force creators to specialize. Williams instead maintains creative control across the entire pipeline, ensuring that every element serves the story. That discipline is one reason his productions feel so cohesive and cinematic.
His perspective has also earned him a broader role in the industry. A member of the Podcast Academy, Williams now serves as a judge for both the Ambies and the Signal Awards. He occupies an unusual position: an active creator still making ambitious independent work, while also helping to recognize excellence across the wider podcasting and audio landscape. Few people see the field from both sides at once.
What It Means for Independent Creators
Williams’s journey says something larger about the opportunities available to independent creators today. He started with nothing more than a desire to tell a story. That desire led to industry recognition, relationships he never anticipated, and a seat at the table where the best work in the medium is celebrated.
A graduate of Syracuse University’s broadcast journalism program, Williams brings the instincts of a storyteller and the training of a journalist to everything he creates. Based in North Carolina, he is also an experienced interviewer, panelist, public speaker, writer, director, and voice actor. He speaks with an engaging, fan-focused perspective on audio storytelling, worldbuilding within established universes, writing compelling characters and relationships, directing remote voice casts, and producing ambitious independent fiction without traditional studio backing.
His story offers a template for the modern creator. A network is not needed to begin. What is needed is a clear vision, a willingness to master every part of the craft, and the persistence to keep building until the audience, and the industry, take notice.
The Next Chapter
Williams continues to expand both of his worlds, welcoming new listeners into the post-apocalyptic mystery of Once Upon a Wasteland and the supernatural mischief of Dark Road Diaries. For fans of immersive audio fiction, few creators offer such a rewarding combination of scope, character, and craft.
For those who want to experience cinematic audio storytelling at its most ambitious, a good place to begin is Once Upon a Wasteland, then follow Williams down the Dark Road. The series is available to stream on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or a preferred platform, with the option to support the work on Patreon, and to discover what independent audio fiction can achieve when a true showrunner takes the wheel. My next favorite story is waiting to be heard.
Explore More About Once Upon a Wasteland Productions
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