The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast - Vintage Sci-Fi Short Stories

Avoid Planetoid 787. Lush and sunny, with fine air and no dangerous beasts, it'll tempt you to curve in for some nice solid-ground sleep. DON'T! Asleep in Armageddon by Ray Bradbury, that’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, with at least one lost vintage sci-fi short story in every episode.We’re hearing from a lot of you lately, Paul writes, "Being a sci-fi fan my whole life I was often times disappointed reading old time stories. While your performances are excellent, that's not the main thing that makes the stories so good. It's your choice of stories. Keep up the good work." Thanks. Paul Braun - Dairy farmer from Wisconsin. Thanks Paul!Good to hear from Jack Ford again, "Happy New Year, hope all is well. I very much enjoyed #50 the super short stories bundle, please do more as and when you see fit." Thanks, Jack in England. Thank you, Jack!And Dane Scott says, “I've been greatly enjoying your podcasts. What a wonderful way to share all these buried treasures with the world. I just posted information about your podcast to my big Facebook group, "Keep Watching the Skies," and also to my more-specialized sci-fi audio group, "The Seeing Ear ."Thanks Dane. If you want to share our podcast on Facebook, Twitter or wherever please do and if you want to communicate with us please send us an email, scott@lostscifi.com.We’re happy to report that The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast is now the 8th most listened to science fiction podcast in the Netherlands, #9 in South Africa, #33 in Germany, #57 in Canada and we’ve moved up to #54 in the United States. Thank you for listening, rating, and sharing The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast. We appreciate you. Ray Bradbury began writing at a young age and published his first story at the age of 20. He went on to write hundreds of short stories and novels, and his work has been adapted into numerous films, television shows, and stage productions. This is the 4th Ray Bradbury Short story on our podcast, two weeks ago one of his stories was included in the Super Short Sci-Fi stories episode, and we’ve also featured The Monster Maker and Morgue Ship.In the Winter of 1948 if you plunked down 20 cents on the counter you could walk away with the Winter edition of Planet Stories Magazine where you would find Asleep in Armageddon on page 58…Next week on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast…The most fitting place for a man to die is where he dies for man. Yet Willie chose a sterile, alien world that wouldn't even see a man for millions of years.... Willie’s Planet by Mike Ellis. That’s next week on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, with at least one lost vintage sci-fi short story in every episode.Support the showPlease participate in our podcast survey https://podcastsurvey.typeform.com/to/gNLcxQlk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Conger agreed to kill a stranger he had never seen. But he would make no mistakes because he had the stranger's skull under his arm. The Skull by Philip K. Dick, that’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, with at least one lost vintage sci-fi short story in every episode.We’ve received another 5-star review on Apple Podcasts. User1234xyz writes, “These podcasts are the “perfect storm” for people like me, who love classic stories from the pages of the old sci-fi periodicals and appreciate when they are really well done. Thank you for your fine efforts and for sharing your talents with us all.” Thanks User1234xyz!The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast is now the #5 Science Fiction Podcast on Apple Podcasts in Ireland, #11 in Bulgaria, #17 in Australia, #33 in New Zealand, #37 in the Czech Republic, #45 in the UK, #47 in New Zealand, #48 in Greece, #55 in the Netherlands, #64 in the United States and #69 in Slovakia.There are thousands of Science Fiction podcasts, so thank you for making us successful by listening, sharing, rating and commenting on our podcast. Thank you!From the September 1952 If Worlds of Science Fiction Magazine this is The Skull by Philip K. Dick…Next week on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast…Avoid Planetoid 787. Lush and sunny, with fineair and no dangerous beasts, it'll tempt you tocurve in for some nice solid-ground sleep. DON'T! Asleep in Armageddon by Ray Bradbury. That’s next week on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, with at least one lost vintage sci-fi short story in every episode.Support the showPlease participate in our podcast survey https://podcastsurvey.typeform.com/to/gNLcxQlk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is without a doubt the most unusual episode of The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, featuring 8 short sci-fi stories for you by Fredric Brown, Ray Bradbury, Harry Fletcher, Isaac Asimov and Philip K. Dick.  That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, with at least one lost vintage sci-fi short story in every episode.A few weeks ago Blind Voyager said and I quote, “It would be fun to do an episode of several short, very short sci-fi stories." Thanks for your request Blind Voyager and today’s episode would never have happened if not for you!I came across several interesting short stories months ago but it’s tough to sell a 4 minute audiobook and the thought of a super short podcast didn’t appeal to me either. However, when we got the request from Blind Voyager the light bulb went on and I began planning today’s podcast.After you have a chance to listen, and you will want to listen all the way to the end, let us know what you think by commenting and tell us if we should do another episode of the The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast with several super short sci-fi stories. You can always send us an email, scott@lostscifi.com.Our first story today can be found in the June 1960 edition of Galaxy Science Fiction magazine, "Earthmen Bearing Gifts" by Fredric Brown…That’s "Earthmen Bearing Gifts" by Fredric Brown… up next another story by Brown which first appeared in Fantastic Science Fiction Stories in August 1960, "The House"…That’s "The House" by Fredric Brown and now our last Fredric Brown story for today, from Galaxy Science Fiction magazine in 1954, "Experiment"… Let’s go back to October 1944, you could buy Super Science Stories for 15 cents and if you did you would have found, "And Then—The Silence" by Ray Bradbury...In 1953 Harry Walton wrote a short story that was published in the March/April 1953 edition of Fantastic using the pen name Harry Fletcher, "A Star Falls on Broadway"... If you’d picked up a copy of the April 1942 Astounding Science Fiction you would have discovered this super short story by Isaac Asimov, "Time Pussy"...The next two stories by Philip K. Dick didn’t appear in a science fiction magazine when they were written. And they weren’t credited to Philip K. Dick. These stories were published in the Berkeley Daily Gazette. Dick was only 13 years old when he wrote The Black Arts which appeared in the newspaper on Wednesday September 16th, 1942 and credited to Philip Dick. "The Black Arts"...Philip Dick was a little older when this next story appeared in the newspaper, he had just turned 16, when the Berkeley Daily Gazette published "Santa’s Return" on Tuesday January 4th 1944.Next week on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast… Conger agreed to kill a stranger he had never seen. But he would make no mistakes because he had the stranger's skull under his arm. "The Skull" by request by Philip K. Dick. That’s next week on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, with at least one lost vintage sci-fi short story in every episode.Support the showPlease participate in our podcast survey https://podcastsurvey.typeform.com/to/gNLcxQlk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Robinson Crusoe ... Gulliver ... Paul Bunyan; the story of their adventures is nothing compared to the Saga of Mitkey… The Star Mouse by Fredric Brown, that’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, with at least one lost vintage sci-fi short story in every episode.Special thanks to podcast listener Bill Farley who requested the story you’ll hear today. Yes, we do take requests for stories or authors that you’d like to hear on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast. In fact, next week we’ve got another request for you, a rather unusual request.The Star Mouse first appeared in the Spring 1942 issue of Planet Stories Magazine. Turn with me now to page 28 for The Star Mouse, written by Fredric Brown…Next week on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast… once again by request a special episode, filled with several super short science fiction stories. That’s next week on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, with at least one lost vintage sci-fi short story in every episode.Support the showPlease participate in our podcast survey https://podcastsurvey.typeform.com/to/gNLcxQlk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Undaunted by crazy tales of an indestructible presence on Asteroid Z-40, Harley 2Q14N20 sets out alone to face and master it. The Planetoid of Peril by Paul Ernst, that’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, with at least one lost vintage sci-fi short story in every episode.Thanks for listening to the Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, with new listeners around the world every week. To show our appreciation we’re offering the biggest and best collection of vintage science fiction short stories ever!More Than 56 hours of Vintage Science Fiction, 100 sci-fi short stories, 56 hours 34 minutes for only $9.97!Click on this link and you’ll be taken directly to the checkout page, or if you prefer go to https://lostscifi.com. This offer is for a limited time only. 56 hours of vintage sci-fi for only $9.97.Thanks to podcast listener blablahyaddayadda for their recent 5-star rating and comment on Apple Podcasts, “Exceptional. The best scifi podcast I’ve come across. Fantastic stories are one thing, but I can’t count the number of times I have been disappointed by the quality of the voice acting. I am very happy to say, that the standard of both contained within these episodes is top notch. As is often the case, there are often elements within classic scifi that don’t age particularly well for numerous reasons, but they are few and far between. I think I will be blasting through the entire catalogue in no time and left waiting in anticipation for the next weekly addition. Great work!” Thanks blablahyaddayadda for your glowing review. We would love it if you’d be kind enough to leave us a review wherever you listen to The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast or send us an email, scott@lostscifi.com.Paul Ernst was born in West Peoria, Illinois on the 7th of November 1899. Ernst wrote 4 short stories that were published in 1928 and 29, then picked up the pace considerably with more than 120 stories in the 1930s, with only 3 more in the 1940s. He is not the same Paul Ernst as the Paul Ernst born in 1886 who wrote detective novels in the 1930s.Our story today comes from the November 1931 edition of Astounding Stories magazine. You can purchase a copy of the magazine on eBay for $120 or on AbeBooks.com for only $75. Written more than 91 years ago, The Planetoid of Peril by Paul Ernst…Next week on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast…Robinson Crusoe ... Gulliver ... PaulBunyan; the story of their adventuresis nothing compared to the Saga of Mitkey. The Star Mouse by Fredric Brown. That’s next week onThe Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, with at least one lost vintage sci-fi short story in every episode.Support the showPlease participate in our podcast survey https://podcastsurvey.typeform.com/to/gNLcxQlk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Consider the problems of miners who work on Ganymede, moon of Jupiter, 390,000,000 miles from earth: isolated on a world so different from our own, surrounded by beings who know nothing of our traditions, how might these men teach their alien work-mates how we celebrate Christmas? Christmas on Ganymede by Isaac Asimov, that’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, with at least one lost vintage sci-fi short story in every episode.Christmas on Ganymede is the first Isaac Asimov short sci-fi story on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast. Listener Sleepy Williams requested something from Asimov and since we’re getting close to Christmas it seemed like a good time for this story. Asimov was born in Russia on January 2, 1920, his family immigrated to the United States in 1923, and he became a naturalized US citizen in 1928.He discovered science fiction through the magazines sold in his father's candy store.During World War II, he was employed as a chemist at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. That’s when that he became acquainted with Robert Heinlein and L. Sprague de Camp, two other future science fiction writers.Asimov briefly served in the Army in 1946, and following his discharge, he received his Ph.D. and began teaching biochemistry at Boston University’s School of Medicine. Asimov soon started writing short stories and then his first novel, Pebble in the Sky, in the 1940s and ’50s. For the next 40 years, Asimov wrote hundreds of science fiction works.The 2021 Apple TV series Foundation is based on his writing, as is the 2004 movie I, Robot starring Will Smith and the 1999 Robin Williams movie Bicentennial Man.Asimov was given theScience Fiction Writers Association Grand Master Award in 1987 and was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 1997.A discussion of his accomplishments in sci-fi would take hours, so we’ll save more of the Isaac Asimov story for another episode of the podcast.Christmas on Ganymede was written in December 1940, first published in the January 1942 issue of Startling Stories Magazine. The Yuletide Season Brings Turmoil on Jupiter’s Moon and Ill Will Toward Everybody When Olaf Johnson Gets Sentimental! Our Christmas tale begins on page 83, Christmas on Ganymede by Isaac Asimov...Next week on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast… Undaunted by crazy tales of an indestructible presence on Asteroid Z-40, Harley 2Q14N20 sets out alone to face and master it. The Planetoid of Peril by Paul Ernst. That’s next week on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, with at least one lost vintage sci-fi short story in every episode.Support the showPlease participate in our podcast survey https://podcastsurvey.typeform.com/to/gNLcxQlk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The dark star passed, bringing with it eternal night and turning history into incredible myth in a single generation! A Pail of Air by Fritz Leiber, that’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, with at least one lost vintage sci-fi short story in every episode.Like the author we’ll hear from next week, Isaac Asimov, today’s author, Fritz Leiber had a long and successful sci-fi career. But he also had a fascinating life.Fritz Leiber was born on December 24, 1910, in Chicago, Illinois, to the actors Fritz Leiber and Virginia Bronson Leiber. For a time, he seemed inclined to follow in his parents' footsteps. At just 17 years old he was touring with his parents' Shakespeare company, Fritz Leiber & Co., before entering the University of Chicago.He appeared alongside his father in uncredited parts in several movies in the 1930s including 1939’sThe Hunchback of Notre Dame. His first novel, Conjure Wife, published in 1943 has been made into feature films four times under other titles.Two Leiber short stories were filmed for TV for Rod Serling's Night Gallery. The Girl with the Hungry Eyes and The Dead Man.His first short fiction story, Riches and Power, was published in 1934. He would go on to write around 200 short stories and 10 novels. There’s much more to the Fritz Leiber story which we’ll save for another podcast.Today’s story was published in the December 1951 issue of Galaxy Science Fiction Magazine. You’ll find our story on page 56. A Pail of Air by Fritz Leiber...Next week on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast…Consider the problems of miners who work on Ganymede, moon of Jupiter, 390,000,000 miles from earth: isolated on a world so different from our own, surrounded by beings who know nothing of our traditions, how might these men teach their alien work-mates how we celebrate Christmas? Christmas on Ganymede by Isaac Asimov. That’s next week on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, with at least one lost vintage sci-fi short story in every episode.Support the showPlease participate in our podcast survey https://podcastsurvey.typeform.com/to/gNLcxQlk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Somewhere on that asteroid of sin lurked the crime king of the Universe. Asteroid of the Damned by Frederik Pohl, that’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, with at least one lost vintage sci-fi short story in every episode.More than 48 hours of vintage sci-fi for only $19.97, right now on LostSciFi.com. 1950s science fiction volumes 1 thru 4 contain 89 vintage sci-fi short stories from the 1950s and you can get it for only $19.97 at lostscifi.com. There has never been a great collection of 1950s science fiction at such an unbelievable price. Go to lostscifi.com and wherever you live around the world the price will be adjusted to your currency. You won’t find a better collection at a better price.One of our favorite vintage sci-fi authors is back on the podcast today. We heard from Frederik Pohl a little more than 5 months ago with Let The Ants Try and we will no doubt hear from him again.Let’s go back in time 8 decades ago to the summer of 1942 and peruse the pages of Planet Stories magazine. Turn with me to page 32 for Asteroid of the Damned by Frederik Pohl…Next week on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast…  The dark star passed, bringing with it eternal night and turning history into incredible myth in a single generation! A Pail of Air by Fritz Leiber, that’s next week on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, with at least one lost vintage sci-fi short story in every episode.Support the showPlease participate in our podcast survey https://podcastsurvey.typeform.com/to/gNLcxQlk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Adam Slade was a man who had nothing to lose by making a break for it. The trouble was, he knew that no one had ever escaped from the—Prison Of A Billion Years, written by C.H. Thames, that’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, with at least one lost vintage sci-fi short story in every episode.Author C.H. Thames is back on the podcast for the second time in less than a month. Today’s story can be found on page 104 in Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy, April 1956.Slade knew they needed no walls to hold him; outside lay nothing but eternity. Prison Of A Billion Years by C.H. Thames…Next week on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast… Somewhere on that asteroid of sin lurked the crime king of the Universe. Asteroid of the Damned by Frederik Pohl. That’s next week on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, with at least one lost vintage sci-fi short story in every episode.Support the showPlease participate in our podcast survey https://podcastsurvey.typeform.com/to/gNLcxQlk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

He knew his wife was dead, because he'd seen her buried. But it was only one possibility out of infinitely many!... The Other Now, written by Murray Leinster, that’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, with at least one lost vintage sci-fi short story in every episode.Murray Leinster was a pen name for William Fitzgerald Jenkins a man who wrote a lot of science fiction, although he wrote more than sci-fi. He wrote and published more than 1,500 short stories and articles, 14 movie scripts, and hundreds of radio scripts and television plays.Today’s story is the first of what will be many short sci-fi stories we will narrate written by Murray Leinster. Born in June 1896, Leinster was a high school dropout, and his first story was published when he was only 19. Although Leinster's first science fiction story, "The Runaway Skyscraper" is longer than any we’ve narrated so far at nearly 2 hours, it’s on our list of future Leinster stories we will narrate.Our story begins on page 53 of Galaxy Science Fiction Magazine in March 1951. The Other Now by Murray Leinster.Next week on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast… Adam Slade was a man who had nothing to lose by making a break for it. The trouble was, he knew that no one had ever escaped from the—Prison Of A Billion Years. That’s next week on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, with at least one lost vintage sci-fi short story in every episode. Support the showPlease participate in our podcast survey https://podcastsurvey.typeform.com/to/gNLcxQlk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.