The Orbiting Human Circus (of the Air) is a fiction radio drama podcast written and created by Julian Koster, and published by Night Vale Presents. The podcast is primarily the inner monologue of Julian the janitor, an employee of the Eiffel Tower who wishes he could work for the radio show broadcast from the top. It was released in two seasons from 2016 to 2020. In September of 2025, the official Orbiting Human Circus Tumblr shared that a new series featuring characters from The Orbiting Human circus of the Air podcast is in the works. The new series will be three seasons long and will include a "full length musical's worth of songs."
Synopsis Julian the janitor is a shy, sensitive employee of the Eiffel Tower who dreams of joining the fictional radio show also titled The Orbiting Human Circus of the Air, which is broadcast from a large ballroom at the top of the tower. Listeners of the podcast hear Julian the janitor's inner thoughts as he discusses his situations with The Narrator, played by Drew Callander, an imaginary voice only Julian can hear. In addition to the conversations in his head, Julian interacts with the staff and talent of The Orbiting Human Circus of the Air, notably voiced by actors such as John Cameron Mitchell, Cecil Baldwin, Tim Robbins, Charlie Day, and Mary Elizabeth Ellis. One of the most prominent themes of the podcast is the pain of loneliness.
History The podcast was in development for several years prior to its eventual release, based on ideas Koster had been developing. Some of Koster's dialogue was recorded in his spare time during the Neutral Milk Hotel reunion tour, while Mitchell recorded much of his during his run in Hedwig and the Angry Inch on Broadway, both events having occurred over a year before the series' release. Koster cites British humor, specifically The Goon Show, as inspiration for some of the podcast's absurdism, in that jokes are delivered with little time for the audience to process the information. Koster employed a RCA Ribbon microphone from the 1930s for the recordings.
The first season of the podcasts comprised eight episodes as well as a bonus question and answer episode in which Koster answers questions submitted by fans. It was the fourth podcast to be released under the Night Vale Presents name. From June to July 2017, the podcast released "an Orbiting Human Circus Special," titled "The 2nd Imaginary Symphony," which served as the official wide-release of Koster's 2002 album. It was announced in January 2017 that the podcast would return for a second season. The season, titled "Naughty Till New Years," premiered on November 6, 2019, and the podcast concluded with a finale on June 17, 2020.
A series of live shows were made through international tours in 2023 and 2024. This began with a US tour in fall 2023, a Japanese tour in spring 2024, and finally a tour across the US and Europe in the summer of 2024. This last tour was conducted jointly with The Music Tapes, and concluded with a final performance at Egersund Visefestival from July 4–6, 2024.
Episodes Season One TitleRunning Time (Min:Sec)Release DateEpisode 127:01Oct. 11, 2016Episode 2 (The Cricket)32:08Oct. 25, 2016Episode 326:46Nov. 8, 2016Episode 4 (The Janitor's Nights)21:12Nov 22, 2016Episode 522:02Dec 6, 2016Episode 623:52Dec 20, 2016Episode 720:21Jan 10, 2017Episode 8 30:15Jan 24, 2017The 2nd Imaginary Symphony - An Orbiting Human Circus Holiday Special67:04November 20, 2018
Season Two TitleRuntimeRelease dateFirstly, the Janitor40:00November 6, 2019Secondly, the Past29:20November 20, 2019Thirdly... How to Disappear (Lessons I and II of III)23:04December 4, 2019Fourthly... How to Disappear (Lesson III of III)12:26December 11, 2019The Orbiting Human Circus Holiday Vacation30:47December 18, 2019Fifthly, Do You Dream?25:16January 8, 2020Sixthly, the Flea Talks23:16January 22, 2020Seventhly, the Gift22:21February 5, 2020Eighthly, a Booth by the Seaside30:41February 20, 2020Ninthly, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner!29:16March 4, 2020Tenthly, a Time for Dreamers31:24March 18, 2020Eleventhly, It's a Scream (part 1) + Season Recap19:24May 6, 2020Twelfthly, It's a Scream (part 2)26:01May 13, 2020Season Finale, Part One29:52May 27, 2020Season Finale, Part Two49:30June 17, 2020
Extras TitleRunning Time (Min:Sec)Release DateThe Orbiting Human Circus (of the Air) – Teaser2:35Oct. 4, 2016Bonus Episode (your questions)30:10Feb. 7, 2017The Orbiting Human Circus in Naughty Till New Years: Trailer3:42Oct. 23, 2019The Orbiting Human Circus Holiday Vacation29:46Dec. 18, 2019
Live shows From 2023 to 2024, the show was toured across the United States, Europe and Japan.
2023 US tourSeptember 14, 2023Citizen VinylAsheville, NCSeptember 16, 2023First Unitarian ChurchPhiladelphia, PASeptember 18, 2023Le Poisson RougeNew York, NYSeptember 19, 2023Pie ShopWashington, DCSeptember 20, 2023The PinhookDurham, NCSeptember 21, 202340 Watt ClubAthens, GASeptember 23, 2023EyedrumAtlanta, GA 2024 Japanese tourMarch 30, 2024Ueno ParkTokyoApril 6, 2024Cafe OttoFukuokaApril 7, 2024Pub VoxhallKyotoApril 8, 2024Bar HachimonjiyaKyotoApril 13, 20247th Floor ShibuyaTokyo 2024 tour with The Music TapesJune 21, 2024The Sultan RoomBrooklyn, NYJune 22, 2024Quarry House TavernWashington, DCJune 23, 2024Johnny Brenda'sPhiladelphia, PAJune 28, 2024ConcertoAmsterdam, the NetherlandsJuly 1, 2024TivoliVredenburgUtrecht, the NetherlandsJuly 4–6, 2024Egersund, Norway
See also
The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air
References
External links The Orbiting Human Circus of the Air homepage The Orbiting Human Circus of the Air podcast page on iTunes