Speaking of Cosmic Horror Space Opera, anyone who likes that sort of thing should check out "The God Engines" by Scalzi. It appeals to me in very much the same way the Bear/Monette stories do. As far as I know, it only exists in print though, so I guess it is inappropriate to the other podcasts discussion.
Therefore: Something on topic!
Reading this whole discussion, I can't help but think "Wow, that level of modernism and slice-of-life-ness is bothering you guys? Have you read The New Yorker recently? Or Best American Short Stories?" EP's got a whole lotta plot comparatively.
Which is not to say the above stories are all bad, I actually quite like some plot-light stuff, I'm just saying it's a funny perspective difference.
Also, it's funny because I think of Escape Pod as the most Space Opera-y podcast. Which is why (no offense) it's actually my least favorite as compared to Drabblecast and Clarkesworld. I've absolutely loved "Run Bakri Says", "Devour", "Water Man", and "Ghost of a Girl Who Never Lived". But I find myself getting discouraged by all the "Next Time Scales" and "Asteroid Monte" type stories.
You can't please all of the people all of the time, but I love you guys anyway. Plus, you spawned Pseudopod.