The encounter

Discovering the truth is a great adventure.

What would you do if your world was turned upside down? If someone you loved was hurt by others you respected? If the way you were living was a lie? Set in a mysterious future, The Encounter begins with four brave teenagers who want answers and will do anything to get the truth.

LISTEN NOW

LATEST EPISODES

SEASONS 1–4

LISTEN NOW - SEASON ONE: *WHISPERS OF TRUTH*

LISTEN NOW - SEASON TWO: *FRACTURED FIDELITY*

LISTEN NOW - SEASON THREE: *THE MIGHTY AND THE FEW*

LISTEN NOW - SEASON FOUR: *BATTLE FOR EXISTENCE*

THE COMPLETE COLLECTION

The encounter’s Origin

The Encounter audio drama podcast was developed in 2015 and is written, performed, and produced by students and faculty of Liberty University's School of Communication and the Arts.

“The concept for The Encounter came out of a faculty orientation session that I was in about two years ago (2015), when a guest speaker was speaking to us about the postmodern philosophy and how it had very much overtaken the culture, even young people coming to our school at Liberty University—the idea that ‘absolute truth is non-existent’ and that ‘whatever one person says is true for them is true for them’. As I sat there and listened, I thought to myself, ‘Is there a way to counter that way of thinking amongst our students?’ And I was just taking over radio drama within the theatre department and I wanted to give it a fresh reboot, and thought, ‘What if we dramatized and gave a story that would follow some characters as they live in a society that was very much like ours, in the sense of that philosophical approach?’ And then I also wanted to see, ‘What if we created a secondary place that was more legalistic, where there was the presence of truth but it was being used as a weapon and not leading people to freedom?’—which is just as wrong. So it was born out of an idea of: What if we dramatize this young adult type series set in the future that would help to highlight what it looks like to have truth, and what does it means to have an honest and authentic encounter with truth? And that’s how the name came about too: The Encounter—the idea of encountering truth.”

— Chris Nelson (2017)

Chris Nelson is the Executive Producer and show runner of The Encounter audio drama, since its inception in 2015. He also served as Director, Lead Writer (Seasons 5–7), and voice of various characters.

Featured Artwork by ryan brothers

EncounterRadioShow_TheWell_PAINTING_FINAL_Phase2_v01.jpg

“What made me first want to listen to The Encounter was the premise behind it: two isolated mountain cities separated by a mysterious mist. But it was also this: in two cities full of deluded and brainwashed individuals, a few were brave enough to challenge the dominant paradigm. And brave enough to face the consequences of doing so.”

— Robert Thacker (Audio Theatre Central Contributor)