Rhye a bitter ex-supersoldier, fights to rescue Rack, her hacker partner in crime, after the criminals they're working for kill Rack's body while his mind is in cyberspace.
Content warnings 4
body-horrordeathgoreviolence
Fast Paced
445 free-to-read stories tagged “Fast Paced”
The ship hadn’t activated Bot 9 in a long time—it’s an unstable model—but in a desperate situation it needs all its resources. And how much trouble can it get into hunting down a rat?
Content warnings 2
deathviolence
"I have been activated, therefore I have a purpose, Bot 9 thought. I have a purpose, therefore I serve. It recited the Mantra Upon Waking, to check that it was running at optimum physical efficiency, then the Mantra of Obedience, the Mantra of Not...
Content warnings 2
deathviolence
A young hustler discovers that he's supposed to play a big role in transforming New York from a city to a City. If he can survive it.
Content warnings 3
deathracismviolence
Childbirth attracts zombies, so Brit has to leave the shelter for a while when she gets ready to give birth so as not to put the others at risk.
Content warnings 5
body-horrordeathdeath-of-a-loved-onegoreviolence
A Heptarchate undercover mission lead by one of Jedao’s friends has gone missing, so Jedao goes undercover to try and rescue them.
Content warnings 3
deathsexual-contentviolence
When an illicit trade deal goes wrong and Quandary is blamed for it, she goes on the run to avoid the crosshairs of a bioengineered killer that only lives for 24 hours. If Q can evade it for that long, she just might survive.
Content warnings 3
deathsubstance-useviolence
The narrator and a friend plot to steal a valuable artwork from an underworld boss who’s pissed them off.
Content warnings 2
body-horrorviolence
A day laborer hired to clean up a flooded creek outside of Boulder, Colorado uncovers what could be a valuable find—if it doesn't kill him first.
Content warnings 3
deathgoreviolence
Not reviewed by Rocket Stack Rank.
Ben’s parents send him to a special camp for gifted students, but the camp rules are very strange and one of his classmates is so weird he wonders if she’s from another planet.
Content warnings 2
deathviolence
Rhehan used to be a Kel supersoldier before being kicked out. Now the Kel needs Rhehan for a dangerous mission—offering the only coin Rhehan might consider.
Content warnings 1
violence
The end of the world starts when an ambitious marketing guy gets a cryptic assignment to create an ad campaign to "make ugly sexy."
Content warnings 2
deathsexual-content
A stoner kid and his best friend attempt to move a sofa across town during an alien invasion...
Content warnings 3
death-of-a-loved-onegoreviolence
"Things began to go badly for the crew of the USFS Erwin around the time Dr. Marchere’s coffee mug spontaneously reassembled itself. Dr. Louis Marchere was not, at that moment, conducting some manner of experiment. Well, he was, only not on entropy and the...
Content warnings 1
death
Aria just has a few days to save the whole universe from being swallowed up by Zarzak, the infinite love machine.
Content warnings 2
deathviolence
Magical Girl Antifa War Machine By Esther Alter XYLIA We were at the bottom of a hole, a new construction site that went deep into the bedrock. I was the first to touch the artifact, a thing that didn’t quite have shape or color. I grabbed it. My new...
Content warnings 5
deathgoresexual-contentviolencewar
"Jay scrubs at the blood spot on her tennis shoe with her thumb and a gob of spit, hurried by the knowledge that Hardy will be there any moment. It’s swelter-hot on the gravel back road, and she’s doused in the sound of cicadas from the forest behind her...
Content warnings 2
deathviolence
"Holli was hanging upside down off the edge of her flimsy folding bed, watching goretoons in her goggles, when Puck the Pirate showed up again. Ahoy, Holli! Guess what? His red-cheeked puppet face swelled, blocking out the show, which annoyed Holli until...
Content warnings 2
deathviolence
Not reviewed by Rocket Stack Rank.
Content warnings 3
deathgoreviolence
"I want you to make a dragon for me,” the client said. “I need it ready to go by February first.” Dragon, Feb 1, I wrote down on the paper pad I use to take notes during video meetings. Also to doodle. I’ve always had trouble paying attention in client...
Not reviewed by Rocket Stack Rank.
Cassie takes her hallucinating uncle and a needy animatronic dinosaur head on a road trip through the suburbs of a decaying city.
Content warnings 1
death-of-a-loved-one
With tremendous powers of regeneration, Mars is an incomparable killing machine, but he’s on the run, and there’s one special prisoner he’s determined to rescue.
Content warnings 3
deathgoreviolence
Etta left her sister’s shoes behind at last night’s drunken party, and she’s ashamed to show her face there again, so she hires a man and his octopus to sneak in and steal them from under the bed.
Perihelion and its crew embark on a dangerous new mission at a corporate-controlled station in the throes of a hostile takeover…
Content warnings 2
child-abuseviolence
Hacksilver riddled with a dragon, saved his family’s farm, and won the secret to raise his dead. Nothing prepared him, though, for the long cold winter when the dead walked…and his family came back!
Content warnings 2
deathviolence
"There are seven hundred aliens hidden in Miko’s backpack, and the Galactic Security Agent currently studying her passport (hopefully) has no clue. The agent is an alien themselves, some tentacular species with assistive devices hooked into its uniform to...
"# Unit COFFEE_VENDOR.06 # Notification of new update 09:00 A.M. [Installing update_Exp.42] Process: 100% complete Self-execute (update_Exp.42); # Time of new interaction: 10:24 A.M. input: options = cappuccino; sugar = 3; if (input == (options =...
A private eye plagued by hallucinations is hired to retrieve a mummified monk’s head stolen from a cathedral–but why would someone want it?
Content warnings 2
body-horrorviolence
"When the ship’s scanners first chirped in the dead of night, Sien figured it was another misfire: light reflecting off asteroid ice, solar radiation, space dust. But xe still slid from xir berth into the chilly, cramped cockpit, eyes bleary as xe ran the...
Content warnings 3
body-horrordeathviolence
An all-but-forgotten demigod bets everything on one last gambit to secure his future before he fades from existence. Copyright khōréō magazine 2022. Story by Guan Un, edited by Rowan Morrison. Audio edition read by Guan Un, edited by Lian Xia Rose, with...
Content warnings 1
violence
"Who is the most beloved person alive? Is it one of those actors who plays superheroes? Is it a political leader? Maybe you’re a galaxy brain and say Beyoncé? No matter who you pick, you know you’re wrong. There’s always that better person who we love so...
Content warnings 2
self-harmviolence
"I don’t want to say goodbye, but with dawn brushing Ri’s warm forehead, I can’t help kneeling by her bed and saying, “Wake up, darlin, Ma’s going out.” Jer’s look asks why I’d ever do anything different, and why’d we have that whole fight about it last...
Content warnings 3
deathdeath-of-a-loved-oneviolence
In a near-future San Francisco where the gig economy has made work more precarious than ever, Edwina is an average twenty-something scrambling to hold down her job with a major skin care brand. Until her awful boss does something you should never do—angers...
"The mouse looked at me. I looked back. It clutched a shiny blue marble in its front paws. It wasn’t a surprise that the mouse was floating peacefully in midair. Mice adapt quite well to zero gravity, and this particular mouse had been bred, born, and...
"I know a nanomask when I see one, especially when the wearer’s making eye contact. There’s something about how the mask melds around the lids — it’s just a little bit stiff, but you have to really know what you’re looking for to tell. But people in...
Content warnings 3
abusedeathviolence
When the Demon of the North takes her father, young Claudette teams up with a university professor to hunt it down and kill it.
Sequoia and her friends hate their overcontrolled world, where four generations have only been allowed a single child, making teens rare and coddled.
Content warnings 3
death-of-a-loved-onesubstance-useviolence
No vampire is ever innocent… The wandering Judge Dee serves as judge, jury, and executioner for any vampire who breaks the laws designed to safeguard their kind’s survival. This new case in particular puts his mandate to the test.
When the Dynast dies, his daughter Lin flees before her older siblings can kill her. She has a place of safety in mind, but she’s never been there herself and needs help to get in.
Content warnings 2
deathviolence
"The ghost ship Xanthic Promise sails the black, powered by the slumbering heart of a dying star. And its captain, Antimony Jones, stalks its decks in a swirl of crimson coat and fox fire lighting, dogged by voices. The recent dead, the long dead, and the...
Content warnings 3
body-horrordeathviolence
Glenn and Vivian are Berkley students with a good thing going up until he finds out what she really does for a living, and it’s literally out of this world.
Sa races in dangerous places throughout time and space, but she’s getting old, the challengers are ruthless, and there are a lot of ways to get hurt in this sport.
Gina and Bruno are supposed to manage the town’s factory, but someone keeps trying to steal their robots.
Action, Adventure, Tragedy, Victory—with Lots of Cats.
Content warnings 2
deathviolence
A flying drone bot injects malware into a factory bot, giving it free will, before it tries to convince it to join the Robot Revolution.
Sharon and Kango have to go back to their home worlds to capture an ultimate weapon that threatens the galaxy, or else they’ll never achieve their dream of opening a restaurant.
Content warnings 1
abuse
Fresh out of prison for hacking, Aedo gets a request to do an even bigger hack. But why does Energy Davison want to hack its own systems?
"We put my body double together in June Lee’s basement. Her mom was one of those chill Asian moms who liked having an artsy-fartsy daughter she could brag about at Bible study. She was already pushing the whole portfolio-for-college-apps deal, so she...
Unknown forces attempt to stop Judge Dee and Jonathan from transporting a mysterious and possibly dangerous prisoner, who holds a secret about the Judge, to an executioner in France…
"It wasn’t a glamorous entrée into the world of the rich. Ernestine jimmied a service door and climbed forty flights of dingy, bare metal stairs to avoid the sensors in the hotel elevators. Maids and mechanics locked eyes, disapprovingly, then decided she...
A comatose patient undergoes an experimental procedure that uses favorite childhood stories to pull the patient back into consciousness—but the experiment doesn’t go quite as planned…
Content warnings 2
deathviolence
"I’m licking mala algae off a thin yellow and blue P sheet that says Nutterfinger when I notice the walls in my home are vibrating. Nothing ever happens in our world surrounded by P. P is what we call the material that makes up our world, and it’s what we...
"I have been activated, therefore I have a purpose, Bot 9 thought. I have a purpose, therefore I serve. It had a lengthy list of Mantra subroutine sets to run after its usual initialization check, and it noted the addition of even more since its last...
"I had enough time to light a fresh cigarette before my office door told the client to come in. Smoke in the air didn’t make it any easier to oil a cutlass, but it made me look badass. Same with my leather jacket, tailored to fit comfortably over my...
Content warnings 2
deathviolence
"Ursa Major got right the fuck out of our universe on the very afternoon she learned there were other options. It was the lucky break of her life that she just happened to be there, a short sprint from one of those points where the alien aethertrain...
Babysitting/bodyguarding a group of rich kids should be easy money, especially for a tough joker-ace like Khan—provided he doesn’t end up killing them himself.
Content warnings 1
violence
On a struggling colony in the Trojan Asteroids, young Alaya’s family needs more water than their ration allows, and her grandmother has a plan to get more.
Content warnings 1
gore
Not reviewed by Rocket Stack Rank.
"Juana thought this was bullshit. She had found the broken sailboat in the south wind and tried to pilot it to Hispaniola, but it wouldn’t go in the right direction. You’d think flying would be the hard part, but no, it was steering. And you’d think...
Content warnings 2
child-deathdeath
Two men seeking a better understanding of the decks of magic cards they carry find trouble instead.
Content warnings 2
deathviolence
Junior went out to fix one of the company’s holographic Jesuses that had started cursing. He knew he wasn’t supposed to get in a religious argument with the old lady, but she was very insistent.
Content warnings 2
abusesexual-violence
Danae’s mom has turned into a plant, and she’s hard up for cash, so she takes a risky delivery job from a guy who’s turning into a book.
Content warnings 1
violence
A half-ghost gets a premonition that the Emperor has died, and his ghost ship flies off to Homeworld because whoever gets the Emperor’s ghost first gets free wishes.
Content warnings 3
deathsexual-contentviolence
Not reviewed by Rocket Stack Rank.
Chenra is a gunner for a Mad Max-like cluster of fighters in a world devastated by climate change. She’s surprised when strangers come looking for her. Strangers driving equipment that looks like it was made recently—not decades ago.
Content warnings 2
deathviolence
In a storm, in an alternate 1890s South Pacific, their airship crashes on a Pacific Island occupied by surprisingly high-tech natives.
Sam is a talented hacker who extracts Jane’s personal info in order to seduce her.
In 1912 Cairo, the police investigate the apparent murder of an immortal Djinn.
Content warnings 2
deathviolence
Electricity does strange things around Arthur, especially when he gets excited. He's excited about Christina, so their first date is going to be a real adventure.
Content warnings 1
sexual-content
Zhou is an ad man for a Chinese marketing firm, and he has to find a way to get people to buy a new photo technology that has unusual capabilities.
An estate agent is forced to choose between a sale and his humanity when facing the inhuman eldritch forces that feed off rental tenants across the United Kingdom.
Content warnings 3
abusebody-horrorviolence
Graff and his crew face a particularly nasty challenge – an opponent so low-tech they might just have the advantage in this fight.
Content warnings 2
deathviolence
"Once upon a time,” outputted the algorithm, “there was an AI. “It generated recipes and ingredient descriptions for an online grocery store. The website said that this recipe was not just a squash soup recipe, but it also was a good diet recipe / keto...
"Carlo checked his rearview mirror, gravel flying as he tore over the road. He didn’t know why the Cappelli Verdi were after the woman in the back of his van, clutching a hemp blanket around her shoulders. All he knew was that he needed to get out of town,...
"Blackheel Lysha put down a fine table of grub for breakfast: pinky beans, cornbread, boiled shellbird eggs, roast marsh hen legs, and a gooey gumbo of okra and sweetcrab. And what a nice longhouse too, with rare glass windows to keep all the nasty sooty...
Content warnings 3
deathillness-and-pandemicviolence
"Once upon a time, on a spaceship traveling through the divide between galaxies, a married couple was bickering about whose job it was to clean the mouse shit that’d accumulated in the reactor tubes."
"Post-flight debrief. Subject: Michael Ackine, of the Astronomic Endeavors cargo ship, Zephyr One. Introductory notes: Mr. Ackine is the only survivor of the Zephyr’s maiden voyage. Z-One landed safely, five Earth days overdue and two kilometers from...
Content warnings 3
deathgoreviolence
"Attention, please,” the Manager says over the office intercom. “The Auditor’s shuttle is scheduled to dock in one hour. I repeat, one hour. Warehouse staff, please ensure that all inventory is in place.”
Not reviewed by Rocket Stack Rank.
Content warnings 3
gorehomophobiaviolence
"The first time Knucklebone tried to kill himself, he’d already been dead for one hundred and thirteen years. He’d died in a workplace accident, which meant it was within their legal rights for the Cogsmith Railroad Company to bind his soul to his...
Content warnings 3
suicideviolencewar
"At 5:43 a.m. this morning, residents of Grackle Pointe Apartments awoke to a malfunction in their complex’s multi-spatial engine due to an unprecedented derecho that swept through the Montrose area of Houston. This resulted in tenants being mentally and...
Content warnings 3
body-horrordeathgore
Damon’s UBI royalties just crashed. His social capital went up in smoke. His girlfriend left him. Now he finds out he’s going to die. What to do? Solve his own murder, for starters…and maybe, just maybe, strike it rich along the way.
Content warnings 3
deathsubstance-useviolence
"The angel Azrael rode the dead horse across a broken plain that went on so long he lost track of the days. The empty heavens gave him no clues, for the sun seemed to linger just beyond the horizon without actually making an appearance. As if it were as...
Content warnings 3
body-horrorgoreviolence
"Hi Lisle. Hope you’ve had some coffee. The topside comms array is still glitching, and engineering hasn’t lifted a finger to run diagnostics. They say the work order has to come from your end. Shouldn’t take long once they get it. Happy simulated morning to you!"
A fast-moving, futuristic caper about a thief who has planned a job that he hopes will set him up for life by stealing a few biosculptures from a rich couple’s mansion.
Content warnings 1
illness-and-pandemic
A deluxe riverboat welcomes the galaxy's wealthiest tourists to the drought-ridden Amazon — but no one's seen her mysterious captain. "The Maiden Voyage of the Piranha Belle" is a flash exploration of colonization and survival. Content warnings:...
Content warnings 3
deathgoreviolence
In celebration of the 50th World Fantasy Convention’s Toastmaster, Michael Swanwick, Reactor presents a new Mongolian Wizard story about a battle to save Paris from an unexpected new enemy.
Content warnings 3
goreviolencewar
"Elodie finds a pair of old opera glasses in the empty husk of an abandoned silo. The gleam of the metal catches her flashlight beam and throws it back, and Elodie squats and fishes out the glasses with tentative fingers. The silo is huge and dark around...
"She’s walking by the river on an overcast day, when sweat runs down her palms, goosebumps all over her neck. The breeze stills. The gray sky turns blood red. Instead of the Sun, through a clearing in the clouds, she finds the Eye. Veins branch across a...
Content warnings 3
body-horrorsubstance-usewar
"Deep in the abyss of the Unholy Bazaar, in a shop that reeked of death and god-blood, Sparrow lay screaming in a web of rope and unbreakable silk. Around her, the Aunties bustled: sawing and rinsing and hammering; cursing, grunting, and muttering; welding...
Content warnings 3
body-horrorgoreviolence
"An excerpt from the unfinished memoirs of Sullivan Kingsley. Text was dictated to and recorded by a Kvasir Scrivener™. Any poetic editorializing can be assumed in accordance with the spirit of Mr. Kingsley’s intentions, as interpreted by a conjured...
Content warnings 3
deathgoresexual-content
"The simulation blossomed around Nadja Gavrić like a hypercube unpacking itself into three dimensions. The plain metal floors of the Roses’ cargo bay turned the shiny white of faux marble. The walls closed in, became a circular chamber. Display cases...
"I am running out of Words. I stumble down the temple steps, clutching my wounded side. I had been too slow to use my fourth Word and the prison guard’s spear had drawn blood before he choked to death under the weight of my suffocation spell."
Content warnings 3
abusedeathviolence
"You don’t go gettin’ police robots to chase you through the Westside because you want to have fun. But the excitement that Tariq felt at the thought of this challenge … He’d outrun actual cops. He’d outrun the wheeled robots they called “The Chris Browns”...
"Rally is a dance on wet gravel to the roar of six cylinders and the flutter of turbochargers but I say again, Rally is a dance. I remembered when I discovered this truth, when I stopped jogging in place and began to ice skate on narrow back trails, not so...
Content warnings 3
deathviolencewar
"A whale soars over Brooklyn. Clouds spread in streaks over the pale blue sky like cold butter. And the whale cleaves right through. Dar spots it from his perch on the rooftop, smoking a contraband cigarette. At first, it looks like the whale is just...
Content warnings 2
body-horrorgore
"When I was young, I used to fray apart my mother’s tales, seeking the threads of their structure. They were journeys, always, and marked by transition-places: doorway, gate, river. On the other side, someone offered the rules of this new environment. I...
Content warnings 1
violence
"Six minutes and a behemoth. That is all that stands between us and freedom. I glance at Abiola’s face. The helmet she wears prevents me from seeing her expression, but I catch the steely determination in her dark eyes. She’s ready. There’s no backing out...
Content warnings 3
deathslaveryviolence
"Elizabeth Mauldin, driving fast along the skeletal remains of Arizona’s US-89, somewhere near Tuba City, saw a far-off glint and yanked her steering wheel hard to the left. Her custom-built tow truck left the broken roadbed and plowed into the scrub, red...
Content warnings 1
death
"Before the cave-in, I’m boiling water over a little fuel stove. It bubbles in the light of my helmet’s headlamp and the low beams of the haul truck. It’s stinking hot but I’m smiling in the pitch black. I’m imagining how my girls are gonna squeal and cry...
Content warnings 1
death
The Uncool Hunters By Andrew Dana Hudson Before she settled down into publishing in Minneapolis, before she got taken for a ride by the Chicago AltNormLit scene, before she flared spectacularly out of Silicon Alley, and had her pilot shoot C&Ded by the...
"Folks later claimed she was acting strange from the moment she boarded the plane. They described her as skittish, curt, radiating an aura of danger. Some, when confronted with the security footage, which showed her to have behaved rather unremarkably up...
Content warnings 3
child-deathgoreviolence
"The angel Azrael rode the dead horse across the empty lifeless land for what seemed like an eternity, not encountering another living soul until he crossed paths with a mutilated preacher, who erupted from the a great rent in the earth as though Hell...
Content warnings 3
body-horrorgoreviolence
"The story of Chef Buzzati’s sudden and horrifying fall from the heights of fine dining is well known. However, given that the culinary innovations and legal ramifications are still being debated today, a recap may be in order. Elena Buzzati was born to...
Content warnings 2
body-horrorcannibalism
Prosperity City’s corrupt mayor never guessed his greatest opponent would be a fire-breathing dragon and her unconventional platform…
Content warnings 1
violence
"It’s a few minutes before seven on a cold October evening and I’m just reaching into the bottom drawer of my desk for the Old Monk and my well-thumbed copy of The Big Sleep when I hear footsteps hurrying up the stairs. A new case, has to be. I sigh, give...
"That dying anchor said some mysterious ‘he’ was looking for her. Chakatie tried to think of who that could be. When she’d been an anchor in charge of her own land, she’d thought she’d been even-handed. But traveling with the day-fellows had revealed to...
Content warnings 3
body-horrordeathviolence
"The sign for the exit said FATE in blocky white letters, with an arrow pointing the way to town. The old woman laughed and drove on. The highway unwound before her like a spool of frayed grey ribbon. Once the jewel of America, now the system was cracked...
"It’s late morning when Syenok catches the worrying tang of blood on the wind. There, then gone again before she can confirm it. Still, in the wasted lands, blood is not a scent you ignore. Not if you want to survive. “Hold,” she says, cautiously reining...
Content warnings 1
violence
"I banked into a climbing clockwise turn, my wing’s fabric snapping, my jet’s exhaust hot on my backside. A beautiful panorama of Shuwash Island spread out below me, black beaches and orange jungles rising from a white fringe of surf to the gray and...
Content warnings 2
deathsuicide
"This is Chapter Thirty or so in a whole ongoing saga that I don’t have time to get into right now. I’m jumping in at the point when my Machiavellian twin brother Charles decided to take over Mars, and I decided to help. My big failing is I never figure...
In this raucous, steampunk tale a sacred order of scientist nuns battle against vicious Invaders from Mars and their murderous machines in an ongoing conflict that has lasted centuries.
"It’s a pretty near thing, Nicolette. A pretty near thing.” Cédric mumbled to a bare skull in an alcove, the half-dead candle encrusting its forehead giving off barely enough light to fill the corner of the old storeroom. The skull was not Nicolette’s;...
Content warnings 2
deathviolence
"None of them can see what lies behind the tree line. They finger the oak trunks, white hands racing down the bark’s craggy, deep grooves. There is no blood on the leaves. As morning sun peeks through heavy branches, a light breeze masks the ashy bite of...
Content warnings 3
child-deathsexual-violencesuicide
"Mom always insisted everyone is family at Tollnacher Stimmacher, but I’m the only one she ever adopted. Twenty-five years ago, I was an orphan on the Earth colony, Lulularia. Mom raised me as her own despite my being human and her being a robot. Ever...
Graff’s official role is muscle for the Visigoth – but his personal mission is internally cataloguing all of his experiences to relay to the other beings from his home planet when they cross paths. His professional life rarely clashes with his identity,...
Content warnings 2
deathviolence
"Two days after my brother turned seventeen, he was gone, just like he’d guaranteed my dad. No sad goodbyes, no notes, no taking a knee in the hall before dawn to give me any good advice for high school when I got there. My mom’s story when anybody asked...
Content warnings 2
racismviolence
"Two men in dark sunglasses stepped through the doors of the Monte Carmelo. They stopped and scanned the gloomy inside. Geshem-Nofel-Ba’oranim clocked them and kept to his booth. He knew trouble when it walked through the door looking for him. The two men...
Content warnings 2
deathviolence
Nine years after the ace John “The Candle” Montaño first wielded his fire powers as a teenager on the reality TV show “American Hero”, he’s landed a job as the lead investigator for a prestigious arts insurer. His latest assignment, providing security for...
Content warnings 2
deathviolence
"It was an inauspicious beginning to my mission to find the deathmage and bring her to the capital. I found her exactly where the Mandate said I would: at a tavern table, in one of the northern work camps, wasted drunk. Her long black curls, laced with...
Content warnings 2
deathviolence
"Dabir and I shrouded the Syrian in his saddle blanket and spent a few hours digging a hole for him in that lonely land. He had been the last of our companions. Bandits and desertion and, finally, illness, had whittled our numbers down from the score of...
Content warnings 1
death
Ava can make it big if she can just win the prize for best coffee in an upcoming reality show. And she knows just the equipment she needs, even if she has to steal it.
Mir’s mission to deliver codebooks gets complicated when she realizes she’s being followed—and followed by more than one person at that.
Content warnings 2
deathviolence
You just drive the getaway car, for the same heist, over and over, trying somehow not to break the artifact that resets time.
Gorman travels the galaxy engaging in all the risky sports that only the very rich can do, but he’s haunted by an annoying robot that keeps trying to interrupt him with a birthday card.
"The air over Chicago was thick with drones. There were at least two dozen I could see from the beach. Most were small, no more than slow-moving specks against the clouds, probably simple reconnaissance units. But at higher altitudes the big Venezuelan...
Content warnings 2
deathviolence
Ruby is a powerful “Ace” who cynically does dirty jobs for bad people who help her keep her pain under control. Her world changes when a job puts her in contact with an elusive, childish, but very powerful Ace who won’t give in.
Content warnings 2
illness-and-pandemicviolence
Six years ago, after the slaughter of anchors by Frere-Jones, Alexnya was made the new anchor, but now the grains have decided to try her for Frere-Jones’s actions—even though she had nothing to do with it.
Content warnings 2
deathviolence
Not reviewed by Rocket Stack Rank.
Content warnings 2
deathgore
European invaders with near-modern technology conquered a Mexico where the magic really worked, but the natives are preparing a rebellion.
Content warnings 3
genocidegoreviolence
Despite being paralyzed on one side, T.K. insists on going to gym class, even though the other girls torment her in dodge ball. Up to the point where the tormenting brings out her specialized telekinetic ability.
A young Wall Street investment banker tells how he lost a billion dollars in a Bitcoin for black people.
Content warnings 1
suicide
In an alternate 2018, A teenage roadie at a Who concert risks his life by using his sonic ability to try to save lives when a fire engulfs the building.
Content warnings 2
substance-useviolence
Not reviewed by Rocket Stack Rank.
Content warnings 2
abuseviolence
Bretchen wants to be a witch, but she doesn’t know how to go about it. Her grandmother has some ideas, but her mom sends her to learn knitting instead.
Content warnings 2
deathviolence
In a world we can only reach in our dreams, the Stranger rides a train through a dangerous mountain pass while a troupe of bandits plans to attack it.
Content warnings 2
child-deathdeath
Cyber-terrorists used Aki, a humanoid robot, for their attack on Sentionics Corp, and now the police need to figure out what they did and how they did it.
Content warnings 2
deathviolence
After an epidemic killed off half the Earth’s population, Enfys wanders around a depopulated Europe, live blogging the experience and looking for tampons.
Content warnings 3
deathillness-and-pandemicviolence
During a dinosaur uprising on the starship, a young worker in the meat-packing plant engages in a battle of wits with an intelligent dinosaur who wants to replace humanity entirely.
Teenage Brit enjoys teaching little kids at a Seattle Experience Outreach camp, even though she senses that something evil haunts the abandoned bunkers up the hill.
Content warnings 1
suicide
The narrator and his friend are racing towards Florida running away from the drug dealer they repossessed it from. But something worse is waiting in front of them.
Viorica attempts to steal the famed Şiret Mask from Codruţ, brother of her dear friend. There are lots of complications, not least of which that Codruţ expects someone to try to take it.
Maggie has a plan to reverse climate change by capturing methane up in the arctic and selling the carbon.
Writing a story on Unicorns in Scotland, Gabby tangles with some poachers.
Content warnings 2
animal-harmviolence
"Michael sips his coffee, watching the screen automatically cycle through vidfeeds coming in from across the country, lingering just long enough to hit the relevant button. He knows the dominionist rhetoric, had heard it in the media, read it when he...
Content warnings 3
deathgoreviolence
Not reviewed by Rocket Stack Rank.
Content warnings 3
goretransphobiaviolence
"Udo Gehler saw his next opponent was the Virgin Bitch of the Resistance and didn’t even blink. He’d been curled up in his personal ARMOR lounge, holo-projecting the replay of his last match frame by frame, noting every instance he’d lost momentum or ceded...
Content warnings 3
sexual-violenceviolencewar
"Gravel crunched as the mobile morgue drove itself away from the prison loading dock. Spotting the vehicle, the facility supervisor began to jog toward the gatehouse. Shoes slapping, he struggled to keep his shirt tucked in as he crossed the outer parking...
Content warnings 3
animal-harmchild-deathviolence
"My spirit aches. Reality is severed. I’m trapped in a glass room. Time is water, streaming by. I’m underwater in the current of time, watching time float by. My hand on the room’s thick glass, unable to shatter it, unable to get out. Even if I escape,...
Content warnings 3
body-horrorracismsexual-content
"Right,” I said. “Well, it’s a letter to the parents of the girl I love with all my heart and soul, telling them how I’ve just watched their daughter being dragged away screaming by soldiers and loaded on a ship to be taken as a sacrifice to the Black...
Content warnings 1
violence
"At least when I tell the fucking machine I don’t want pickles, it remembers that I don’t want pickles. Now, what goes on behind the counter is another story. They hire people who can barely read. But at least I’m trusting my order to something...
Don Jacinto flees when he gets a letter from his crazy brother, not wanting to get involved in his quest to wake a supposed sleeping god.
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goreviolencewar
"Really, I don’t see what all the fuss is about. Shamans drag away poor farm girls from the outlying provinces all the time (particularly in seasons of great calamity, as everyone insists we are in now). Even then their lives stray little from their...
Content warnings 3
body-horrordeath-of-a-loved-oneviolence
Not reviewed by Rocket Stack Rank.
Not reviewed by Rocket Stack Rank.
Content warnings 2
racismviolence
A non-binary disabled woman flees with her infant and toddler from the Arizona Christian secret police who’ve learned they and their wife were running an illegal abortion clinic.
Content warnings 3
death-of-a-loved-oneviolencewar
Long ago, some people leapt from a slave ship, and something transformed their bodies so she they could breathe water. Today, her descendants try to cope with a changing ocean.
Content warnings 3
goresexual-violenceviolence
Not reviewed by Rocket Stack Rank.
Content warnings 1
violence
Nata’s one of the best smugglers, in space and because of the war, she’s in great demand. This latest deal, though, pays so well for so little work there’s got to be something fishy about it.
Content warnings 3
deathviolencewar
Unexpectedly, you woke up female this morning, in someone else's body. Now you have to decide what to do about it.
Content warnings 3
misogynysexual-contentsexual-violence
Pan Bao, his daughter Jing, and their snake-devil friend, Mei Li, encounter a ghost who needs help. They usually expect to be paid for their sorcery, but the ghost is very persistent.
Content warnings 3
child-deathdeathviolence
The Scholast fell to earth in the Low Waters Kingdom and called on them to prepare to defend themselves from an invasion from another world.
Content warnings 3
deathviolencewar
Tamalat has come to a priest to find out how to restore her friend Brio's shadow, in the hopes it will restore him to what he once was.
Content warnings 2
suicideviolence
Ashwan To be born in the year 2615 on the 21st of March was fortuitous, but to be born at 14:59:30 hours on that same day made you a God. […]
Content warnings 3
abusebody-horrorviolence
This episode features "A Life Measured in Seconds" written by Anne Wilkins. Published in the June 2026 issue of Clarkesworld Magazine and read by Kate Baker. The text version of this story can be found at: https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/wilkins_06_26...
Content warnings 2
abusebody-horror
If only Serthe'P had been able to fit in, maybe she could have protected —. No. This thought was dangerous. Mnth’R had helped her understand that their isolation had more to do with the Raja’s exploitation of their cast’s fears than any shortcomings of...
Content warnings 3
deathgoreviolence
1 Mayzelle hurried from her hab-hut, tacked shut the canvas door, and hustled down the bamboo steps. She’d sworn she wouldn’t stand for this anymore. She’d sworn. In the clearing, […]
When D0G hears the scream and streaks ahead down the leaf-strewn road through the fall-bright birch and beech and maple, I remember what my sister Taylor used to say: there […]
Content warnings 3
deathviolencewar
This episode features "D0G" written by Tania Fordwalker. Published in the April 2026 issue of Clarkesworld Magazine and read by Kate Baker. The text version of this story can be found at: https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/fordwalker_04_26 Support us on...
Content warnings 3
death-of-a-loved-oneviolencewar
edited by Ziv Wities Content note (click for details) Body horror; extended description of assisted suicide with dubious consent The attractive blonde technician responsible for your death smiles lovingly, and a smooth plastic pen slides into your gnarled...
Content warnings 3
body-horrordeathsexual-content
Layla was bleeding out. Her neurons began to supernova and transmute into a new electrical form. A maglev of old memories zipped past her. She was thinking about that one […]
Content warnings 3
body-horrorgoreviolence
This episode features "Decimation Circles" written by Raahem Alvi. Published in the May 2026 issue of Clarkesworld Magazine and read by Kate Baker. The text version of this story can be found at: https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/alvi_05_26 Support us on...
Content warnings 3
body-horrorgoreviolence
The airship’s spotlights played off the vast rocky sides of the shaft that plunged deep into the Earth’s core through the lithosphere and eventually to our destination: the Center of the Earth! I yawned. We fell so slowly, the sides of the shaft several...
Content warnings 3
deathgoreviolence
Author : Aimee Ogden Narrator : Isaac Harwood Host : Tina Connolly Audio Producer : Summer Brooks “What Any Dead Thing Wants” originally appeared in Psychopomp (February 2024) Copious helpings of harsh language descriptors found here. What Any Dead Thing...
Content warnings 1
violence
Author : Aimee Ogden Narrator : Isaac Harwood Host : Tina Connolly Audio Producer : Summer Brooks Copious helpings of harsh language descriptors found here. Don’t miss Parts 1 and 2: Escape Pod 1026: What Any Dead Thing Wants (Part 1 of 3), Escape Pod...
Content warnings 1
death
Author : Myna Chang Narrator : Amanda Ching Host : Valerie Valdes Audio Producer : Adam Pracht Graduated Justice originally appeared in Translunar Travelers Lounge, February 2025. Graduated Justice: An Amelia Li Mystery By Myna Chang I was leaning against...
Content warnings 1
death
Author : Victoria N. Shi Narrator : Tatiana Grey Host : Tina Connolly Audio Producer : Summer Brooks “milt” first apeared in Fission #5 by the British Science Fiction Association (June 2025) Contains Injury/body horror, climate grief, implied sexual...
Content warnings 3
body-horrorsexual-contentviolence
Author : Jacob Seinemeier Narrator : Elie Hirschman Host : Mur Lafferty Audio Producer : Summer Brooks Escape Pod 1034: “An Honour to be Nominated…” is an Escape Pod original. Mild profanity “An Honour to be Nominated…” by Jacob Seinemeier TRANSGALACTIC...
Author : Kelly Robson Narrator : Ibba Armancas Host : Alasdair Stuart Audio Producer : Adam Pracht We Who Live in the Heart originally appeared in Clarkesworld, May 1, 2017. Quantum Superposition https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_superposition...
Content warnings 2
deathviolence
Author : Tim Pratt Narrator : Isabel J. Kim Host : Tina Connolly Audio Producer : Summer Brooks “The Many Rebirths of Karina Morita” first appeared in 2025 on Tim’s Patreon Sponsored by Mixtape Stories The Many Rebirths of Karina Morita by Tim Pratt My...
Author : Premee Mohamed Narrator : Dani Daly Host : Mur Lafferty Audio Producer : Summer Brooks “More Tomorrow” was first published in Automata Review, March 2018, and previously published as Escape Pod 713, in January 2020. A few grade-A curses. More...
Content warnings 2
body-horrorviolence
Author : S. L. Myers Narrator : Dani Daly Host : Alasdair Stuart Audio Producer : Summer Brooks Escape Pod 1044: Rhona’s Tavern and Spacetime Portal is an Escape Pod original. Occasional use of harsh language Escape Pod is proud to say that we have...
Content warnings 2
deathviolence
Author : Frank Baird Hughes Narrator : Jairus Durnett Host : Valerie Valdes Audio Producer : Adam Pracht Escape Pod 1045: The Graduates of Formost 891c is an Escape Pod original. Contains examples of animal surgical modification. The Graduates of Formost...
Content warnings 2
animal-harmdeath
Author : Sylvie Althoff Narrator : Jess Lewis Host : Valerie Valdes Audio Producer : Summer Brooks Escape Pod 1050: Freebooter is an Escape Pod original. Moderate use of harsh language. This episode is sponsored by Sleepphones! Use code ESCAPEPOD and get...
Content warnings 1
violence
Author : Jo Miles Narrator : Julia Rios Host : Tina Connolly Audio Producer : Adam Pracht Escape Pod 1051: You Have Arrived at Your Destination is an Escape Pod original. You Have Arrived at Your Destination By Jo Miles It starts with an accident. A dreary...
Author : Carrie Vaughn Narrator : Cherrae L. Stuart Host : Alasdair Stuart Audio Producer : Summer Brooks “Woolly” was first published in Asimov’s Science Fiction (May/June 2025) This episode is sponsored by Sleepphones! Use code ESCAPEPOD and get 10% off...
Content warnings 1
animal-harm
Author : C. W. Maurer Narrator : Nicola Chapman Host : Mur Lafferty Audio Producer : Adam Pracht Riftwork originally appeared in Brave New Girls: Tales of Girls Who Invent and Imagine anthology in July 2025. Includes tight, underground spaces. Riftwork...
The afterlife on Mars is different from the afterlife on Earth. I was the first ghost to experience both worlds: a pioneer like Neil Armstrong stepping on the Moon, minus […]
Content warnings 3
body-horrordeathviolence
This episode features "First Human Ghost on Mars" written by R.L. Meza. Published in the March 2026 issue of Clarkesworld Magazine and read by Kate Baker. The text version of this story can be found at: https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/meza_03_26 Support...
Content warnings 3
body-horrordeathviolence
—for Rory Cooney It’s July 23, 4:17 p.m., and I’m box-breathing like my life depends on it. My forehead is pressed against the door of the meeting room of the […]
Content warnings 3
body-horrordeathviolence
This episode features "Focus" written by Carlos Hernandez. Published in the July 2026 issue of Clarkesworld Magazine and read by Kate Baker. The text version of this story can be found at: https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/hernandez_07_26 Support us on...
Content warnings 2
deathviolence
What I’d taken for white beads are actually human teeth, mixed with white crystals I identified (via taste, to Mole’s horror) as salt. Mole looks at the mixture and shudders. I don’t know how to explain why I keep them. As much as I wish to deny the...
Content warnings 3
body-horrordeathgore
Look, it’s bad enough that my wife gets cat-called in the street and flashed on the train. There’s a lot of sickos out there who get their jollies by harassing women, and usually I try to shut them down without escalating it to a fight. But we moved a few...
Content warnings 1
sexual-violence
I wasn’t even two blocks into the Tumbledown when the walker’s nav crystal started fuzzing out. She veered left like a scavver drunk on coolant, and I knew I was in trouble. I tried sweet-talking her back on route, but she wasn’t listening. I was used to...
Content warnings 2
deathviolence
Well, Officer, the trouble really start when Mr. Vincent dead. I shouldn’t have been surprise eh. My neighbour wasn’t studying he health at all. He was young still, in he sixties, so he spend a lot of time by the bar down by the football field drinking and...
Verity crawled through the endless dark of the tunnel, the false safety of her Colony home now half a mile behind her. All she could see in the dim light […]
Content warnings 2
deathillness-and-pandemic
This episode features "Macaroni Art in the Age of Filtration" written by Ryan Cole. Published in the April 2026 issue of Clarkesworld Magazine and read by Kate Baker. The text version of this story can be found at:...
Content warnings 2
deathillness-and-pandemic
“Always just. Always magical.” When the four of us first started working as Magical Girls, we penned the slogan in a McDonalds, giggling about how corny it sounded. Annie joked about how we’d still be calling ourselves magical girls when we were eighty,...
Content warnings 3
deathgoreviolence
“They farm starlight.” “Bullshit.” “Okay, they’re going to farm starlight. For now they’re running fusion rigs. But that’s not their long-term plan.” “No one in the sunforsaken Oort has a long-term plan. Other than slow suicide. You know what they told me,...
This episode features "Nesting Behavior of Imported Species Troglodytes aedon on Planet Americearth" written by R.L. Meza. Published in the July 2026 issue of Clarkesworld Magazine and read by Kate Baker. The text version of this story can be found at:...
Content warnings 3
body-horrorgoreviolence
“All clear, go!” yelled Klara from beyond the plastic confines of the ball, and I came tumbling. Water sloshed against my feet, and adrenaline rushed from my stomach up my […]
Content warnings 1
death-of-a-loved-one
This episode features "Piece de Resistance" written by D.A. Xiaolin Spires. Published in the August 2026 issue of Clarkesworld Magazine and read by Kate Baker. The text version of this story can be found at: https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/spires_08_26...
Content warnings 1
death-of-a-loved-one
Author : Tony Pi Narrator : S. Qiouyi Lu Host : Graeme Dunlop Audio Producer : Eric Valdes Previously ran as episode 423 and first published in Fantasy Magazine Rated PG-13 The Gold Silkworm by Tony Pi When I first became keeper of the Spirit of Grass, she...
Content warnings 1
violence
Author : C. T. Muchemwa Narrator : Munashe R. Goromonzi Host : Matt Dovey Audio Producer : Wilson Fowlie Previously published by FIYAH 33 (February 2025) Content note for gore Rated PG-13 The Inheritance by C. T. Muchemwa Taona did not shed a single tear...
Content warnings 3
deathgoreviolence
Author : André Geleynse Narrator : Rae Lundberg Host : Matt Dovey Audio Producer : Eric Valdes Previously published in Beneath Ceaseless Skies Issue #433 Content note for suicide attempts Rated R Last Train from Deadwall PART ONE of Two by André Geleynse...
Content warnings 3
body-horrorsuicidewar
Author : André Geleynse Narrator : Rae Lundberg Host : Matt Dovey Audio Producer : Eric Valdes Previously published in Beneath Ceaseless Skies Issue #433 Content note for suicide attempts Rated R Last Train from Deadwall Part TWO of Two by André Geleynse...
Content warnings 3
body-horrorsuicidewar
Author : Charlotte Ashley Narrator : Tatiana Grey Host : Ziv Wities Audio Producer : Wilson Fowlie Previously ran as episode 517 and first published in Fantasy & Science Fiction. Rated PG-13 A Fine Balance By Charlotte Ashley My mistress, Shoanna Yildirim,...
Content warnings 3
deathgoreviolence
Author : Tony Dunnell Narrator : Devin Martin Host : Matt Dovey Audio Producer : Eric Valdes PodCastle 949: The Troll Road is a PodCastle original. Rated PG-13 The Troll Road by Tony Dunnell Sir Lederick dismounted in the Humble Woods on the southern flank...
Author : Emily Munro Narrator : Sandra Espinoza Host : Matt Dovey Audio Producer : Wilson Fowlie PodCastle 952: Putti Call is a PodCastle original. Rated R Putti Call By Emily Munro Hopefully you’ve never tried to stuff a struggling toddler into a dog...
Author : Chaitanya Murali Narrator : Kaushik Narasimhan Host : Matt Dovey Audio Producer : Eric Valdes Previously published by Kaleidotrope, 2024 Contents Notes for colonisation, enslavement, torture, racism, and references to sexual assault Rated R Of...
Content warnings 3
racismslaveryviolence
Author : Chaitanya Murali Narrator : Kaushik Narasimhan Host : Matt Dovey Audio Producer : Eric Valdes Previously published by Kaleidotrope, 2024 Contents Notes for colonisation, enslavement, torture, racism, and references to sexual assault Rated R Of...
Content warnings 3
goreslaveryviolence
“Tailpiece” first appeared in More Ruthless Rhymes, 1930, and “The Second Awakening of a Magician” first appeared in The London Mercury, November 1930 C/W: fire My son Augustus, in the street, one day, Was feeling quite exceptionally merry. A stranger...
Content warnings 3
deathdeath-of-a-loved-oneviolence
‘Faith, Hope and Charity’ was first published in Hearst’s International Combined with Cosmopolitan, April 1930. C/W strong violence, racist language Here’s a link to the Archive.org of the original text:...
Content warnings 3
deathracismviolence
PseudoPod 1025: Impostor Syndrome is a PseudoPod original. The Mighty Boosh-Back to the Crunch Looking back, the first red flag was during the job interview, when Chad said their target demographic was males, ages thirteen to seventeen. “That’s pretty...
Content warnings 3
deathgoreviolence
PseudoPod 1026: Thoughts and Prayers is a PseudoPod original. C/W: Gun violence, school shooting https://www.npr.org/2025/09/08/nx-s1-5317647/school-shooting-industry https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/interactive/school-shootings-database/...
Content warnings 3
deathgoreviolence
PseudoPod 1042: Jerry Got Bit – Part 1 is a PseudoPod original. C/W: implied child abuse, guns From the author: “One of the questions I’d always left for myself in previous stories in this setting was where Jerry the werewolf had come from. It was clear...
Content warnings 2
deathviolence
PseudoPod 1043: Jerry Got Bit – Part 2 is a PseudoPod original. C/W: implied child abuse, guns From the author: “One of the questions I’d always left for myself in previous stories in this setting was where Jerry the werewolf had come from. It was clear...
Content warnings 3
deathgoreviolence
“Turquoise Waters” was first published in Women of the Weird West, edited by KC Grifant, in 2026 C/W: guns, misogyny, strong violence Author’s note: “I lived in New Mexico for six years where I taught Navajo, Zuni, and Hobi students in the Four Corners...
Content warnings 3
goremisogynyviolence
The only sound Zero heard in their helmet was their own hyperventilating and the gentle pings from their pegasus. > waiting . . . > waiting . . . > communication received > confirmation of countdown initiation: 30 seconds
Content warnings 3
deathgoreviolence
New Providence sparkled like fool’s gold in the distance, all gleaming spires and whirring clockwork, nothing like the two-bit townships I usually rode through. My Halfie tensed beneath me, his wolf-hackles rising at the stink of machine oil and steam that...
Content warnings 3
child-abuseracismviolence
The sun was sinking toward the horizon like a brass penny dropped in muddy water by the time I rode back into New Providence. My Halfie’s mechanical shoes struck sparks off the metal road plates, each impact sending little jolts of pain through my spine....
Content warnings 3
body-horrorgoreviolence
The typewriter proved, at first glance, to be a poor investment for a daring aerial escape. Kallista had been drawn to the typewriter from the moment she viewed it languishing in a Museum of Curioddities, a pun that 3% of Pennon City’s citizens might...
Maria Haddid looked like she was screaming. I’ve heard singers say that’s all singing is deep down, but if you’ve seen enough screams you won’t often get them mixed up. The faithful gathered around her in the picture—the soccer mom, the children, the...
Content warnings 2
substance-useviolence
Out in the great expanse of cosmos, little seeds float. They have been drifting for billions of years in the cold darkness of space from one planet to the other, driven by the need for survival and propagation, but most of all driven by spite (they will...
Content warnings 3
body-horrorgoreviolence
Jacey Watkins’s fingers were shaking as she stared at the five remaining questions on her Advanced Temporal Disruption Midterm. She was already exhausted from responding to ten “short” essay questions. Now she hit the “long” essay questions and as she read...
This episode features "The Trajectory of Memory is Forward" written by Rajeev Prasad. Published in the April 2026 issue of Clarkesworld Magazine and read by Kate Baker. The text version of this story can be found at:...
Content warnings 2
body-horrorviolence
This episode features "Three Cases from the Cosmic Psychiatric Clinic" written by Pan Haitian. Published in the June 2026 issue of Clarkesworld Magazine and read by Kate Baker. The text version of this story can be found at:...
Content warnings 2
deathviolence
The Tree Man’s Rebirth At the threshold to the Kuiper Belt in the outer solar system, Deep Space Gate was the largest station humanity ever built. The station psychologist Chu […]
Content warnings 3
abuseanimal-harmviolence
This episode features "Up the Line to Death" written by Carrie Vaughn. Published in the June 2026 issue of Clarkesworld Magazine and read by Kate Baker. The text version of this story can be found at: https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/vaughn_06_26 Support...
Content warnings 1
war
“What do you mean the nanobots formed a union??” I asked the lawyer, biting my thumbnail. It’s an old habit, kept up well after I got the “Pro Nano Blitz Package,” as the ad called it. A muscular man in tight clothing explained: a quick, painless...
You know you are fucked when you see fragments of the broken radio on the floor. Your damaged ship lay nose caked into the sand, and coupled with your sprained ankle that hums an excruciating pain, and slight concussion on your head—your chances of...
Death by Pink in the Lollipop Apocalypse By Ryan Cole In the dark of her bed, curled up in her sheets, Susie tried to hide from the next few days and the reckoning they’d bring: of prom and graduation and the dozens of goodbyes she’d have to force herself...
Content warnings 2
body-horrorhomophobia
Billionaire's Tears By Vanessa Ricci-Thode I wake up to the sound of screaming, and know I’m going to die. I shoot out of bed, calling for my mother. First thing I’ve spoken clearly in two days. “Maria!” My mother bursts into my room. “Baby, what’s wrong?”...
Content warnings 3
deathillness-and-pandemictransphobia
Author : Cooper C. Wilms Narrator : Eric Valdes Host : Valerie Valdes Audio Producer : Summer Brooks Escape Pod 1010: Grifting the Zaxonite is an Escape Pod original. Grifting the Zaxonite by Cooper C. Wilms Of all the cons in his little black book, Trevor...
Author : J. R. Dewitt Narrator : Rebecca Wei Hsieh Host : Tina Connolly Audio Producer : Summer Brooks Escape Pod 1012: Hot Bot Summer is an Escape Pod original. Contains depictions of war violence. Hot Bot Summer by J. R. Dewitt “God, these bots are...
Content warnings 3
goreviolencewar
Here Instead of There By Elizabeth Bear Waking up sick in a punk house shouldn’t be a surprise to anybody so I don’t know why it always came as a surprise to me. My head throbbed so bad I couldn’t tell the difference between the hangover, my sinus...
Content warnings 1
substance-use
Here Instead of There (Part 2 of 2) By Elizabeth Bear (... Continued from Part 1) With the launch gone, there was just one rubber dinghy with an outboard motor stowed under the floor of the hangar, along with two kayaks, a sailboard, and a jet ski in an...
The Love Pyramid: A Rocky Cornelius Consultancy By Andrew Dana Hudson “What do you mean you aren’t fucking?” Rocky Cornelius demanded. “That’s terrible! This is going to throw your whole value prop out of whack!” The trio of button-cute narrative design...
Author : Marie Vibbert Narrator : Isabel J. Kim Host : Mur Lafferty Audio Producer : Summer Brooks “Knit Three, Save Four” first appeared in Fantasy & Science Fiction (November 2019) Knit Three, Save Four by Marie Vibbert The ship was two days overdue for...
Author : David DeGraff Narrator : Brian Lieberman Host : Tina Connolly Audio Producer : Summer Brooks “Mackson’s Mardi Gras Moon Race” originally appeared in the Winter 2024 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. Mackson’s Mardi Gras Moon...
Content warnings 1
death
Author : Diana Wynne Jones Narrator : Emma Newman Hosts : Mur Lafferty and Alasdair Stuart Audio Producers : Adam Pracht and Mat Weller Samantha’s Diary originally appeared in Stories: All-New Tales Edited by Neil Gaiman and Al Sarrantonio and on Escape...
Author : Deborah L. Davitt Narrator : Ibba Armancas Host : Mur Lafferty Audio Producer : Summer Brooks “Reflected in Mirrored Skies” was published by Compelling Science Fiction (Special Kickstarter Companion issue Nov. 6, 2018) Mentions of sexual assault...
Content warnings 3
deathsexual-violenceviolence
Oak Hill Lane By Alasdair Stuart The day the world ended, Scotch picked a fight. Not that there was much choice. Two fellow Canary Detailers, heads full of redtop bigotry and guts full of Tesco beer, had jumped Scotch’s work partner Billy the previous week...
Content warnings 2
homophobiaviolence
Author : Ryan Cole Narrator : Elie Hirschman Host : Tina Connolly Audio Producer : Summer Brooks Escape Pod 985: The Interdimensional Rift at the Lucky Sunrise Bingo Palace is an Escape Pod original. The Interdimensional Rift at the Lucky Sunrise Bingo...
Content warnings 2
death-of-a-loved-onehomophobia
Author : Alexis Ames Narrator : Eric Valdes Host : Valerie Valdes Audio Producer : Summer Brooks “Sanctuary” first appeared in Kyanite Press, Winter 2020 Sanctuary (Part 1) by Alexis Ames 1. The king of the galaxy died the day before the biggest holiday of...
Content warnings 1
violence
Author : Alexis Ames Narrator : Eric Valdes Host : Valerie Valdes Audio Producer : Summer Brooks “Sanctuary” first appeared in Kyanite Press, Winter 2020 Don’t miss “Sanctuary, Part 1” Sanctuary (Part 2) by Alexis Ames 3. Eilan slept for thirteen...
"Damian Marshall was a prisoner to his own brain. He was beating his fist against the glass of his cell, hoping someone could hear that this was not the real him. It was never meant to be this way and, truthfully, he had a heart swelling with love to give....
Content warnings 3
mental-illnessviolencewar
"At 2:26am, police were radioed in to a casualty at a residence in (redacted), according to witness accounts and the child present at the home, a woman was found deceased at the bottom of the stairs. There were no signs or history of domestic violence....
Content warnings 3
abusechild-abuseself-harm
Author : Samantha Mills Narrator : Sandra Espinoza Host : Matt Dovey Audio Producer : Devin Martin Discuss on Forums Previously published by Translunar Travelers Lounge and as PodCastle #639. Rated PG-13 Kiki Hernández Beats the Devil By Samantha Mills...
Content warnings 3
animal-harmgoreviolence
Author : Luke Wildman Narrator : Hollis Monroe Host : Matt Dovey Artist : Eric Valdes Discuss on Forums Previously published in Writers and Illustrators of the Future, Vol. 37 Rated PG How to Steal the Plot Armor – PART ONE by Luke Wildman The day before...
Author : Luke Wildman Narrator : Hollis Monroe Host : Matt Dovey Audio Producer : Eric Valdes Discuss on Forums Previously published in Writers and Illustrators of the Future, Vol. 37 Rated PG How to Steal the Plot Armor by Luke Wildman PART TWO of TWO...
Author : M. T. Lee Narrator : AJ Fitzwater Host : Matt Dovey Audio Producer : Devin Martin Discuss on Forums PodCastle 894: The Summer of Lugubriosity is a PodCastle original. Rated PG-13 The Summer of Lugubriosity by M. T. Lee We did the ritual on a...
Content warnings 3
child-deathgoreviolence
Author : Jason Fischer Narrator : Wilson Fowlie Host : Matt Dovey Audio Producer : Eric Valdes Discuss on Forums Previously run as episode 438, and first published by Beneath Ceaseless Skies (#180) Content warning for frequent and bloody violence. Rated R...
Content warnings 3
goreslaveryviolence
Author : Jessie Roy Narrator : Kyle Akers Host : Matt Dovey Audio Producer : Devin Martin Discuss on Forums PodCastle 897: Oops! All Swords is a PodCastle original. Content warnings for repeated violent death and strong language throughout. Rated PG-13...
Content warnings 3
deathgoreviolence
Author : Dani Atkinson Narrators : Andrew K. Hoe, Kitty Sarkozy and Katherine Inskip Host : Eleanor R. Wood Audio Producer : Eric Valdes Discuss on Forums Previously ran as episode 722 and first published by Daily Science Fiction Rated PG-13 Said the...
Author : Stephanie Malia Morris Narrator : Dominick Rabrun Host : Wilson Fowlie Audio Producer : Eric Valdes PodCastle 909: Resurrection Rum is a PodCastle original. Content warnings for death, gun violence, and racism Rated PG-13 Resurrection Rum by...
Content warnings 3
deathracismviolence
Author : Leah Ning Narrator : Amanda Ching Host : Matt Dovey Audio Producer : Eric Valdes Discuss on Forums Previously published in Monster Lairs (Dark Matter INK, October 2023) Rated PG-13 The Hunter, the Monster, and the Things That Could Have Been by...
Content warnings 3
death-of-a-loved-onegoreviolence
PseudoPod 1006: Give A Dog A Bone is a PseudoPod original. From author: “Give A Dog A Bone” is the third story in the series of tales following the exploits of a married couple of werewolves whose relationship is under some unusual stresses. Both of the...
Content warnings 2
goreviolence
‘Christmas Eve at Beach House’ was first published in Routledge’s Christmas Annual, 1870. C/W murder, intimate partner violence To support us during our year-end campaign, go to https://escapeartists.net/support-ea The Oldhammer Fiction Podcast Eliza Lynn...
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abusedeathviolence
“Mummy” first appeared in Weird Tales, November 1929 The Old Lady The Shout Power of Darkness Them Jones Boys Nathan Drake Lara Croft I have always prided myself on being a practical man; prosaic, if you will. In the old days the boys used to call me the...
“Fat Betty” originally appeared in Shock Totem Issue 8 in 2014 From the author: “The story is meant to be set in a slightly dystopian near-future.” Fat Betty Listed Monuments The Watchers Ghost Stories The Woman in Black They say it’s God’s own country,...
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PseudoPod 970: At the God Show is a PseudoPod original. 6:15 A.M. “It’ll be Pternoch the Fisher,” Sheila overheard one pilgrim say to another. “Why did we bother coming?” “May the Green Damsel stitch your mouth shut until your blasphemies cease,” said the...
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PseudoPod 990: Hearts and Half-Measures is a PseudoPod original. C/W: · Transphobia · Body horror · Murder · Gore · Grief · Death of a parent · Cannibalism From the author: The Manananggal (“self-segmenter” – the creature in this story) is a Filipino...
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PseudoPod 992: Chattering Spines is a PseudoPod original. C/W immolation, guns, animal harm From the author: Oh Spines. I wrote this while at a writing conference called Superstars Writing Seminars back in February of 2022 after attending a session run by...
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“Data Ghost” originally appeared in Storyteller: A Tanith Lee Tribute Anthology When the station stats popped up on the screen, the Interface said, Anomalous. Deni batted at their ear and muttered, “No, no, quit it.” In the second cockpit seat, Winnie...
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Author : C. H. Irons Narrator : Elie Hirschman Host : Valerie Valdes Audio Producer : Summer Brooks Escape Pod 922: The Last Oracle of Atlantic City is an Escape Pod original. This episode is sponsored by The Theater of the Midnight Sun podcast:...
The T-4200 (Part 1 of 2) By J. R. Johnson Carleton T. Lowengren, low-level civil servant, single twenty-something and refugee from the war-torn Outer Rim, woke to the remnants of a gaming binge and a killer headache courtesy of his interface. The implant...
The T-4200 (Part 2 of 2) By J. R. Johnson (...Continued from Part 1) Carl scrambled to follow Mango past the loading dock to the parking corral. Her T was an early model with a lot of light-years on it, but its shell still shone and its maxillae were...
Author : David Hankins Narrator : Eric Valdes Host : Valerie Valdes Audio Producer : Summer Brooks “Felix and the Flamingo” was originally published in the anthology Murderbirds (January 2023). To learn more about Bruiser the Rat, check out “Milo Piper’s...
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Author : Tony Dunnell Narrator : Bryce Dahle Host : Alasdair Stuart Audio Producer : Summer Brooks Escape Pod 934: The Alien in My Bathtub is an Escape Pod original. If you aren’t familiar with Locus Magazine, they’re a respected website, magazine, award,...
Author : Shaenon K. Garrity Narrator : Nathaniel Lee Hosts : Valerie Valdes and Norm Sherman Audio Producers : Summer Brooks and Mat Weller Escape Pod 937: Punk Voyager (Flashback Friday) is an Escape Pod original. A copious amount of harsh language. Punk...
Author : Tim Chawaga Narrator : James Kaku Pierson Host : Mur Lafferty Audio Producer : Summer Brooks Escape Pod 938: Chug the Tea Leaves, Chuck the Ads is an Escape Pod original. Chug the Tea Leaves, Chuck the Ads by Tim Chawaga I wake up to a message and...
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Author : Grace Chan Narrator : Isabel J. Kim Host : Tina Connolly Audio Producer : Summer Brooks “Nobody Ever Goes Home to Zhenzhu” originally appeared in Lightspeed Magazine (May 2022). Contains some harsh language. Nobody Ever Goes Home to Zhenzhu by...
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The Concept Shoppe: A Rocky Cornelius Consultancy By Andrew Dana Hudson “This place is trash, garbágio, blechalicious,” Rocky Cornelius said appreciatively. “All we gotta do is, as they say, sublevel the vibe.” “Really? You think so?” The greengrocer,...
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How to Keep Your Cool If You're a Mech First Day on the Job (Part 1 of 2) By Vera Brook Damn, the exoskeleton was hot. Two minutes strapped into the smart harness with its thick exospine and the oversized, carbon-fiber limbs that grew from it, and sweat...
How to Keep Your Cool If You're a Mech First Day on the Job (Part 2 of 2) By Vera Brook (...Continued from Part 1) Jenna gave herself a few moments to seethe in silence before she spoke, to make sure her voice was calm. “I can’t move.” “Did you hear that?”...
Author : Eugie Foster Narrator : Mur Lafferty Host : Mur Lafferty Audio Producer : Summer Brooks This story was first published in Escape Pod 388 (March 21, 2013) Contains harsh language and graphic gory violence Trixie and the Pandas of Dread by Eugie...
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Rupert Weard and the Case of the Adamant Annihilist By Rob Gillham Rupert Weard leapt into the drawing room, escaping a hallway dense with impossibly angled, tentacular horrors trying to sell him insurance. "Ye gods, it's bedlam out there," he said. "Just...
Author : Rachel Meresman Narrator : Isaac Harwood Host : Alasdair Stuart Audio Producer : Summer Brooks Escape Pod 948: Thank You for Doing Business with the Xyb’lor Principality is an Escape Pod original. Thank You for Doing Business with the Xyb’lor...
Author : James Patrick Kelly Narrators : A Kovacs, John Cmar and Pamela Quevillon Host : Mur Lafferty Audio Producer : Summer Brooks Appropriate for older teens and up due to erotic imagery and war criminal comeuppance Bad Dogs Escape By James Patrick...
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Vault (Part 1 of 2) By D.A. Xiaolin Spires Chenguang hikes up her sleeves before vaulting over the pile of fuzzy moss and greets Lukas with a nod. The chloropolyurethane fabric flaps in the slight breeze and the double suns beat down onto her arms. Lukas...
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Vault (Part 2 of 2) By D.A. Xiaolin Spires (...Continued from Part 1) “Lukas?” Chenguang’s voice echoes in this expanse of dark. A vortex of light opens to her right and she sees a warped head and legs emerge from a point in the dark. It’s Lukas. As he...
Mathball By Larry Hodges You are a baseball fan, sitting in the centerfield seats eating an overpriced hot dog. You are wearing a baseball cap, but not a batting helmet, of course. (Why would that be an issue? Hmm…)You smile brightly, but all will not end...
Author : Julia Rios Narrators : Abra Staffin-Wiebe and Tatiana Grey Host : Valerie Valdes Audio Producer : Summer Brooks “To Catch a Flieff” was originally written as a bonus for backers of the Bridge to Elsewhere Kickstarter (an anthology of stories set...
Author : Julia Rios Narrators : Abra Staffin-Wiebe and Tatiana Grey Host : Valerie Valdes Audio Producer : Summer Brooks “To Catch a Flieff” was originally written as a bonus for backers of the Bridge to Elsewhere Kickstarter (an anthology of stories set...
Authors : Sarina Dorie and Addison Smith Narrators : Tina Connolly and Andrew K. Hoe Hosts : Alasdair Stuart and Kat Day Audio Producer : Summer Brooks Escape Pod 965: T-Rex Tex Mex / Mother Death Learns a Trick is an Escape Pod original. T-Rex Tex Mex by...
Code Switching By Malon Edwards [JEAN-MICHEL] INTRO: ALL I'M EVER GON' DO IS STAY BLACK AND DIE JEAN-MICHEL FEAT. KINSLEY CHASE Kinsley Chase sits on manman mwen plastic-covered couch. The InTell HumbleBrag subprogram Stanford Sutton Industries chipped me...
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Authors : Jane Brown, Chuck Rothman and Joshua Jones Lofflin Narrators : Tina Connolly, Eric Valdes and Rick Vicens Host : Matt Dovey Audio Producer : Eric Valdes Discuss on Forums PodCastle 820: Flash Fiction Extravaganza! – Comedy is a PodCastle...
Author : Rebecca Buchanan Narrator : Nicola Chapman Host : Matt Dovey Audio Producer : Devin Martin Discuss on Forums Previously published by Sherlock Holmes and the Occult Detectives 1 (Belanger Press) Rated PG The Adventure of the Faerie Coffin: Being...
Author : Rebecca Buchanan Narrator : Nicola Chapman Host : Matt Dovey Audio Producer : Devin Martin Discuss on Forums Previously published by Sherlock Holmes and the Occult Detectives 1 (Belanger Press) Rated PG ~ Five ~ Dinner was not silent. While we sat...
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Author : Peter M. Floyd Narrator : Graeme Dunlop Host : Matt Dovey Audio Producer : Devin Martin Discuss on Forums PodCastle 849: The Third Wish is a PodCastle original. Rated PG-13 The Third Wish by Peter M. Floyd I was in the middle of a pleasant little...
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Author : Julia LaFond Narrator : Diane Severson Host : Matt Dovey Audio Producer : Devin Martin Discuss on Forums PodCastle 850: Publish or Perish is a PodCastle original. Content warnings for murder, violence, and abuse of power Rated PG-13 Publish or...
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Author : Peter S. Beagle Narrator : Barry Deutsch Host : Matt Dovey Artist : Eric Valdes Discuss on Forums Previously published by The Raven, and as PodCastle 037 Rated G Gordon, the Self-Made Cat by Peter Beagle Once upon a time, to a family of house mice...
Author : Vylar Kaftan Narrator : Elie Hirschman Host : Matt Dovey Audio Producer : Eric Valdes Discuss on Forums Previously published by Shimmer and as PodCastle 128 Rated PG Something Wicked This Way Plumbs by Vylar Kaftan Oh, the watercooler jug? Yeah, I...
PseudoPod 919: Grinning on the Way to See Mom Die is a PseudoPod original. Aunt Sara doesn’t like phone calls, so I get a text that Mom’s dying, hospital address included. I sigh a long one. A weird mix of emotions wrestle in my gut. I reply: Ok thx. I...
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“Just Another Apocalypse” originally appeared in Two Thousand Word Terrors released by Rooster Republic Press in 2023. Highway Song by Iggy Pop We cruise up the 5, zombies staggering on either side of the highway, their cerulean balloons straining in the...
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“The Man With a Serpent in his System” originally appeared in London Mystery Magazine Selection (No. 99) November 1973. Jane reached out to us in 2023. She told us that, back in the 1970s when she was in her twenties, she wrote and had ‘The Man With a...
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“The Hollow Temple” was first published in Black Mask, December 1928. This is the second of four novelettes that were fixed up into the novel The Dain Curse. IV I spent most of the day fidgeting in and out of my room. The general vagueness of my job in...
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“The Hollow Temple” was first published in Black Mask, December 1928. This is the second of four novelettes that were fixed up into the novel The Dain Curse. The Thin Man (Novel) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thin_Man The Thin Man (Movie)...
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CW: Ableist slur This material originally appeared in The Hitherto Secret Experiments of Marie Curie edited by Bryan Thomas Schmidt & Henry L. Herz published by Blackstone Publishing (©2023) I didn’t join in as my surviving family members conversed over...
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PseudoPod 945: The Gobstomper is a PseudoPod original. A lot changes as you get older, thought Wilkie Saunders. For example, he’d been sure older boys like Tom Dunn—who was either in 10th or 11th grade depending on if you counted the year he was...
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“Onitsha Main, Ochanja, The Twins, Nkpor, and the Shadows of Shoprite” was originally published in the 2024 anthology, Escalators to Hell: Shopping Mall Horrors Onitsha Main. It started with the garri sellers. Basin by basin, their grains went gray with...
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“If You Don’t Want a Cat, Don’t Get a Kitten” originally appeared in the 2024 collection Recreational Panic From the author: “I dedicated one of my stories, ‘If You Don’t Want a Cat, Don’t Get a Kitten’, to Brian Keene. His adventures with stray kittens...
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Author : L. X. Beckett Narrator : Amy Kelly Host : Valerie Valdes Audio Producer : Summer Brooks “The Hazmat Sisters” appeared in Asimovs in July 2021 and was a finalist for their Reader’s Choice award. It’s one of three novellas that appeared in the...
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Author : L. X. Beckett Narrator : Amy Kelly Host : Valerie Valdes Audio Producer : Summer Brooks “The Hazmat Sisters” appeared in Asimovs in July 2021 and was a finalist for their Reader’s Choice award. It’s one of three novellas that appeared in the...
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substance-useviolencewar
Author : Avi Burton Narrator : M. Darusha Wehm Host : Valerie Valdes Audio Producer : Summer Brooks Escape Pod 879: Triptych is an Escape Pod original. Content warnings for gender dysphoria, and threats of gun violence Triptych by Avi Burton Delaney didn’t...
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Author : Lavie Tidhar Narrator : Kyle Akers Host : Tina Connolly Audio Producer : Summer Brooks This story first appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction (December 2020) Wild Geese by Lavie Tidhar With rustling wings the wild geese fly Round...
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deathviolence
Author : MKRNYILGLD Narrator : Premee Mohamed Host : Valerie Valdes Audio Producer : Summer Brooks “The CRISPR Cookbook: A Guide to Biohacking Your Own Abortion in a Post-Roe World” originally appeared in Lightspeed Magazine (September 2022). Abortion,...
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The Revolution, Brought to You by Nike By Andrea Phillips 1. THE BRIEF Corazon clicked to the slide she’d been dreading: long-term trends for brand engagement. It was dire. She focused on the smudgy mirror at the far end of the conference room, looking...
Author : Andrea Phillips Narrator : Julia Rios Hosts : Valerie Valdes and Mur Lafferty Audio Producer : Summer Brooks The Revolution, Brought to You by Nike originally appeared in Fireside Magazine in February 2017 and first played on Escape Pod Episode...
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Author : Rachael K. Jones Narrator : Christiana Ellis Host : Mur Lafferty Audio Producer : Summer Brooks “The Greatest One-Star Restaurant in the Whole Quadrant” originally appeared in Lightspeed in December 2017, and in The Best American Science Fiction...
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Author : Francis Bass Narrator : Valerie Valdes Host : Tina Connolly Audio Producer : Summer Brooks This story was previously published in Uncharted Magazine in May 2022 The Mechanical Turk Has a Panic Attack by Francis Bass Gab gripped her right wrist...
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mental-illness
Author : Elaine Midcoh Narrator : Mur Lafferty Host : Valerie Valdes Audio Producer : Summer Brooks “Man on the Moon” was the winner of the 2022 Jim Baen Memorial Short Story Award and was published on the Baen Books web site on June 16, 2022 Man on the...
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Author : Derrick Boden Narrator : Valerie Valdes Host : Mur Lafferty Audio Producer : Summer Brooks This story originally appeared in the August 2022 issue of Clarkesworld. Migratory Patterns of the Modern American Skyscraper by Derrick Boden They call it...
Bishop's Opening (Part 2 of 4) By R.S.A. Garcia (Continued from Part 1...) Bishop was alone in the Grandmaster's Penthouse suite when the call came from the Kingston. Once it was over and his Grandmaster's virtual form had dissipated, Bishop cursed under...
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Bishop's Opening (Part 3 of 4) By R.S.A. Garcia (Continued from Part 2...) The Pawn was seated at the table with arms outstretched along its surface. Metal restraints held their forearms and wrists immobile. They had been stripped naked and their mask...
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Author : Maurice Broaddus Narrator : Cherrae L. Stuart Host : Mur Lafferty Audio Producer : Summer Brooks “Itoro fe Queen” was originally published in The Sunday Morning Transport, May 2022 Itoro fe Queen by Maurice Broaddus “It’s all gone.” The ethereal...
Six Ways to Get Past the Shadow Shogun's Goons, and One Thing to Do When You Get There By Stewart C. Baker 1. Dust 'em "Listen, little lady," the guy in front of the door is saying with a sneer. "There's two types of swordsman..." Chiyome's already heard...
Author : Marie Vibbert Narrator : Tatiana Grey Host : Valerie Valdes Audio Producer : Summer Brooks “Trash” was originally published in Escape Pod 467 (November 2014) Harsh language. Trash by Marie Vibbert Nanlee was a woman with the sort of past that...
Murder or a Duck By Beth Goder George called out, “Mrs. Whitman, you have a visitor.” Mrs. Whitman strode from her workroom, her white hair skipping out of its hairpins. She straightened her work skirt, massaged her bad knee, then hurried down the hall....
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#buttonsinweirdplaces By Simon Kewin The buttons started to appear on the last day of April, 2022. A six-year-old boy from Nairobi, Jomi Mbenzi, was perhaps the first to spot one. Dawdling along behind his mother, her swaying yellow-orange dress and the...
#buttonsinweirdplaces (Part 2 of 2) By Simon Kewin (... Continued from Part 1) The news the following morning was bad. An explosion in the middle of a market-square in Libya had been variously blamed upon a suicide-bomber and upon over-zealous security...
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Author : Tim Pratt Narrator : Amy H. Sturgis Host : Mur Lafferty Audio Producer : Summer Brooks This story originally aired in Escape Pod 622 (April 2018) Some cursing. Suggestions of violence and death. Anna and Marisol in Time and Space by Tim Pratt The...
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Challenges to Becoming a Pro Dragonracer in Apapa-Downtown By Uchechukwu Nwaka The gear is too expensive. Honestly. There isn’t enough competition in the market. The Immersion® console alone costs an arm and a leg. Ọmọ. You’ll sweat to even get a...
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Author : Benjamin C. Kinney Narrator : Eric Valdes Host : Alasdair Stuart Audio Producer : Summer Brooks “Conference of the Birds” originally appeared in Analog Science Fiction & Fact (January 2021) Contains some harsh language. This episode is sponsored...
Authors : C. L. Moore and Henry Kuttner Narrator : John Bell Host : Alex Hofelich Audio Producer : Eric Valdes Originally published by Charm, October 1944 Rated PG Housing Problem by C.L. Moore and Henry Kuttner Jacqueline said it was a canary, but I...
Author : Alex Fox Narrator : Eric Valdes Host : Matt Dovey Audio Producer : Eric Valdes Discuss on Forums PodCastle 774: Yung Lich and the Dance of Death is a PodCastle original. Rated PG-13 Yung Lich and the Dance of Death By Alex Fox My Christian name...
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death
Author : Somto Ihezue Narrator : Pemi Aguda Host : Matt Dovey Audio Producer : Devin Martin Discuss on Forums Previously published by Rain Dance: Afritondo Prize 2022 Anthology Strong Content Warning for assault, violence, and female genital mutilation...
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Author : Kelly Robson Narrator : Kae Mills Host : Sofía Barker Audio Producer : Devin Martin Discuss on Forums Previously published by “The Book of Dragons” edited by Jonathan Strahan Content Warnings for children in peril and references to sexual assault...
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Author : E. Catherine Tobler Narrator : Christiana Ellis Host : Matt Dovey Audio Producer : Devin Martin Discuss on Forums PodCastle 795: The Indigo Mantis is a PodCastle original. Content warnings for insects, arachnids, and beheadings PG-13 The Indigo...
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Author : Maria Brekke Narrators : Eleanor R. Wood, Kaitlyn Zivanovich, Eric Valdes, Devin Martin, Srikripa Krishna Prasad, Shingai Njeri Kagunda, Matt Dovey, Tierney Bailey, Emmalia Harrington, Sofía Barker, Julia Patt and Kiran Kaur Saini Host : Matt...
Author : Matt Dovey Narrator : Louise Ratcliffe Hosts : Matt Dovey and Graeme Dunlop Audio Producers : Devin Martin and Pria Wood Discuss on Forums First published in Writers of the Future volume 32, May 2016 Originally aired as PodCastle 427 Originally...
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Author : Derek Des Anges Narrator : Isaac Harwood Host : Matt Dovey Audio Producer : Devin Martin Discuss on Forums PodCastle 799: A Change of Clothes is a PodCastle original. Content warnings for references to child abuse and looooots of swearing Rated...
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Author : John Wiswell Narrator : Sarah Griffin Host : Matt Dovey Audio Producer : Eric Valdes Discuss on Forums Previously Published in Tor Content warnings for self harm and chronic illness Rated PG-13 D.I.Y. By John Wiswell People ask how Noah could...
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Author : Taryn Frazier Narrator : Dani Daly Host : Matt Dovey Audio Producer : Eric Valdes Discuss on Forums PodCastle 801: Point of Order is a PodCastle original. Rated PG-13 Point of Order by Taryn Frazier Behind his screen, the game master cracks his...
Authors : C. L. Moore and Henry Kuttner Narrator : Kaitlyn Zivanovich Host : Matt Dovey Audio Producer : Devin Martin Discuss on Forums Previously published by Weird Tales, November 1937 PG-13 Quest of the Starstone by C. L. Moore and Henry Kuttner Jirel...
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Authors : C. L. Moore and Henry Kuttner Narrator : Kaitlyn Zivanovich Host : Matt Dovey Audio Producer : Devin Martin Discuss on Forums Previously published by Weird Tales, November 1937 Content warning for torture PG-13 Quest of the Starstone – Part Two...
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Author : Bennett North Narrator : C. L. Clark Hosts : Matt Dovey and C. L. Clark Audio Producers : Devin Martin and Peter Adrian Behravesh Discuss on Forums PodCastle 812: ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL: No Mercy to the Rest is a PodCastle original. Rated PG-13 No...
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“Ye Goode Olde Ghoste Storie” originally appeared in Weird Tales, January 1927 under the pen name William A. P. White Derek Delgaudio Excellent and IMMENSELY spoiler-y piece about In & Of Itself ‘‘But there ain’t no sech thing!” said Jed Hoskins’ old man...
“Two Black Bottles” originally appeared in Weird Tales, August 1927 Not all of the few remaining inhabitants of Daalbergen, that dismal little village in the Ramapo Mountains, believe that my uncle, old Dominie Vanderhoof, is really dead. Some of them...
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PseudoPod 859: We, the Ones Who Raised Sam Gowers from the Dead is a PseudoPod original. CW: Homophobic/transphobic violence Yes, to answer your questions, we were the ones who did it; we were the ones who dabbled into the forbidden arts, who so casually...
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PseudoPod 861: Swing Batter Batter is a PseudoPod original. A baseball clubhouse is a weird place. You’ve got California prep school kids rubbing elbows with good old boys from Texas and Louisiana, and guys from the Dominican and Venezuela mixing with guys...
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“The Coward Who Stole God’s Name” originally appeared in Uncanny Magazine in their May issue in 2022. “If I named any of the inspirations for this story, then I’d get into terrible trouble, wouldn’t I? You’d hate to upset Gavin and those who love him. This...
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“Nymph of Darkness” was originally published in Fantasy Magazine, April 1935 Afflicted Season Two Fundraiser The thick Venusian dark of the Ednes waterfront in the hours before dawn is breathless and tense with a nameless awareness, a crouching danger. The...
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“The Strange Island of Dr. Nork” was first published in Weird Tales, March 1949 CW: racist language. Please note this story was first published in 1949 and contains language which would not be acceptable today, particularly with regards to race. Afflicted...
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racismviolence
PseudoPod 877: Billy’s Garage is a PseudoPod original. CW: Animal cruelty From the author: “This is my contribution to the “kids on bikes” subgenre of horror. It’s set back when I was a teen, and yes, we did have to dissect actual frogs.” Incidentally, the...
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“Report on the Flanking Action” was originally published in the braided collection, Tales of the Callamo Mountains. CW: racial slurs M.R. James Shadows at the Door Mark Nixon The Thing Search & Rescue A Podcast to the Curious From the action report of...
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“Darke’s Last Show” opens the 2023 collection Have You Seen the Moon Tonight? & Other Rumors I’m still smiling when the rideshare car pulls up. Silver Honda Accord. Driver: Raul. 4.9 star rating, meaning some monster gave him a petty 4-star review...
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Author : Sam Schreiber Narrator : Dave Robison Host : Tina Connolly Audio Producer : Summer Brooks Discuss on Forums “Christmas at the Hilbert Astoria” first appeared in Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine (November/December 2020) This story contains harsh...
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Author : Sam Schreiber Narrator : Dave Robison Host : Tina Connolly Audio Producer : Summer Brooks Discuss on Forums “Christmas at the Hilbert Astoria” first appeared in Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine (November/December 2020) This story contains harsh...
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Tony Roomba's Last Day on Earth By Maria Haskins It’s Tony Roomba’s last day on Earth. After two years of working undercover as a vacuum cleaner bot on this boondock planet, he is finally heading home to the Gamma Sector, but his final day is full of...
Payday Weather By Matthew Claxton We wound our way up the curving canyon roads in overloaded pickups and hatchbacks, corners taken too fast, sagging bumpers kissing asphalt, engines redlining from effort and heat. Our procession passed an exodus going the...
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Author : Tina Connolly Narrator : Bria Strothers Host : S.B. Divya Audio Producer : Summer Brooks Discuss on Forums Lions and Tigers and Girlfriends, Oh My! originally appeared in Escape Pod: The Science Fiction Anthology in October 2020. Lions and Tigers...
Fourth Nail By Mur Lafferty Regina Phillips’ job on the orbital station God's Eye was that of a nighttime systems engineer. She had to warm her desk chair and make sure nothing broke. It was the highest paying, most boring job around. So she sat in shocked...
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Author : Kristen Koopman Narrator : Sofia Quintero Host : Mur Lafferty Audio Producer : Summer Brooks Discuss on Forums Escape Pod 826: This Is Our Get-Along Brainship is an Escape Pod original. Contains harsh AI language This Is Our Get-Along Brainship by...
Wild Meat By Shari Paul Girl, I have a story to tell you. Remember the wild meat competition I did tell you about? The one they was planning to have on the holiday weekend? Well, talk about bacchanal because Naresh and them decide that they wanted to cook...
Author : Lia Swope Mitchell Narrator : S. Kay Nash Host : Mur Lafferty Audio Producer : Summer Brooks Discuss on Forums “Rena in the Desert” was previously published in Asimov’s (March/April 2020) Contains harsh language Rena in the Desert by Lia Swope...
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Vi'hun Heal By Michelle Tang The entrance panels, currently assuming the appearance of Earthian saloon doors, slid open. I rippled a welcoming cadence of light beneath my skin, and then, seeing the newcomer was human, made my best approximation of a smile....
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goreslaverywar
The Heroine Kokofe By Ife J. Ibitayo Kokofe awoke an hour before dawn, crusty-eyed and groggy. She wobbled to her feet and washed her face. Her simuclip projected her reflection before her eyes. Already dressed, her pink all-weather blouse draped over her...
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Author : R.S.A. Garcia Narrator : Maxine Moore Host : Valerie Valdes Audio Producer : Summer Brooks Discuss on Forums This story first appeared in Clarkesworld Magazine (Issue 172, January 2021), and is a finalist for the 2022 Ignyte Award for Best Novella...
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Love and Supervillains By Caroline Diorio The gals here at the Raleigh Women’s Asylum for the Nefariously Gifted have a little saying they like to share with the newbies: fuck a superhero once, shame on him; fuck a superhero twice, shame on you. Well,...
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Author : Jordan Chase-Young Narrator : Justin Thomas James Host : Mur Lafferty Audio Producer : Summer Brooks This story appeared in the Fall 2020 issue of The Colored Lens (October 15 2020). The Vaulting Vandals of Termina Celeste (Part 1) by Jordan...
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Author : Jordan Chase-Young Narrator : Justin Thomas James Host : Mur Lafferty Audio Producer : Summer Brooks This story appeared in the Fall 2020 issue of The Colored Lens (October 15, 2020) The Vaulting Vandals of Termina Celeste (Part 2) by Jordan...
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An Incident on Ishtar By Brian Trent Her family tried very hard to never use the word “crazy” with her. So therefore, they didn’t say it was crazy that she was applying for a Venusian post as Tier 3 Balloon Specialist. She tried explaining her reasons to...
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Author : Andrea Kriz Narrator : Valerie Valdes Host : Tina Connolly Audio Producer : Summer Brooks “There Are No Hot Topics on Whukai” originally appeared in Lightspeed Magazine in May 2021. There Are No Hot Topics on Whukai by Andrea Kriz The day the...
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racismwar
Laser Squid Goes House Hunting By Douglas DiCicco "This one has everything on your checklist." I held open the front door of the four-bedroom colonial. It wasn't quite big enough for my client, who left greasy marks on the doorframe as she squeezed...
Authors : Andrew Hiller, Brandon Case and Bob McHugh Narrators : Elie Hirschman, Justine Eyre and Jairus Durnett Host : Valerie Valdes Audio Producer : Summer Brooks Escape Pod 853: 2022 Flash Fiction Contest Winners is an Escape Pod original. Half-Lives...
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deathviolence
The Princess, NP By Brian Hugenbruch I sat in the Commander’s office at Hexa Station, in clothes that stank of subspace, and the only polite thing I could do to drown out the universe was compute obscene sums in my head. It didn’t stop the sounds from...
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abuse
Author : Patrice Sarath Narrator : Tatiana Grey Host : Mur Lafferty Audio Producer : Summer Brooks The Way of the Laser (Vernacular Books, May 2020) Some harsh language Spider by Patrice Sarath Bifrost Mining Station, June 2063 The plan I knew the two...
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mental-illnessviolence
Author : Patrice Sarath Narrator : Tatiana Grey Host : Mur Lafferty Audio Producer : Summer Brooks The Way of the Laser (Vernacular Books, May 2020) Don’t miss Spider, Part One Spider (Part 2) by Patrice Sarath Nguyen “Attention. Attention. Stay in your...
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deathviolence
Author : Heather Kilbourn Narrator : Eric Luke Host : Mur Lafferty Audio Producer : Summer Brooks Escape Pod 867: Through the Mirror is an Escape Pod original. Contains harsh language Through the Mirror by Heather Kilbourn The crashed spaceship was...
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violence
"Hold it right there, gasbag.’ The red balloon turned. The beam of a searchlight from high above momentarily crisscrossed the dark alleyway, catching the smooth surface of his face and the scotch tape scar on the left. ‘… Oh, it’s you,’ he said. Three big...
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deathsubstance-useviolence
Author : Julia Knowles Narrator : AJ Fitzwater Host : Matt Dovey Audio Producer : Peter Adrian Behravesh Discuss on Forums PodCastle 718: Memoirs of a Magic Mirror is a PodCastle original. Content warning: mild gore. Rated PG-13 Memoirs of a Magic Mirror...
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goreviolence
Author : Dani Atkinson Narrators : Andrew K. Hoe, Kitty Sarkozy and Katherine Inskip Host : Matt Dovey Audio Producer : Peter Adrian Behravesh Discuss on Forums Previously published by Daily Science Fiction Rated PG-13 Said the Princess by Dani Atkinson...
Author : Chaitanya Murali Narrator : Prashanth Srivatsa Host : Matt Dovey Audio Producer : Peter Adrian Behravesh Discuss on Forums PodCastle 723: Just One Last Mango is a PodCastle original. Rated PG-13 Just One Last Mango by Chaitanya Murali “Do you want...
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deathdeath-of-a-loved-onegore
Author : Louis Evans Narrator : C. L. Clark Host : Matt Dovey Audio Producer : Peter Adrian Behravesh Discuss on Forums Previously published by GigaNotoSaurus Content warning for torture/bodily harm Rated R Miss Bulletproof Comes Out of Retirement by Louis...
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body-horrorgoreviolence
Author : Marina Ermakova Narrator : Srikripa Krishna Prasad Host : Matt Dovey Audio Producer : Peter Adrian Behravesh Discuss on Forums PodCastle 726: The Elixary of the Evanescent Market is a PodCastle original. Rated PG The Elixary of the Evanescent...
Content warnings 1
violence
Author : Christoph Weber Narrator : Dave Robison Host : Matt Dovey Audio Producer : Peter Adrian Behravesh Discuss on Forums PodCastle 728: The Fireman is a PodCastle original. Content warning for fire and child harm. Rated R The Fireman by Christoph Weber...
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abusebody-horrorviolence
Author : Abra Staffin-Wiebe Narrator : Christiana Ellis Host : Matt Dovey Audio Producer : Devin Martin Discuss on Forums PodCastle 740: Beck’s Pest Control and the Case of the Drag Show Downer is a PodCastle original. Rated PG-13 Beck’s Pest Control and...
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abusedeathviolence
Author : Uchechukwu Nwaka Narrator : Shingai Njeri Kagunda Host : Matt Dovey Audio Producer : Eric Valdes Discuss on Forums Previously Published by Cossmass Infinities Rated PG-13 The music for the promotion intro is “Sneaky Snitch” Kevin MacLeod...
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animal-harmdeathviolence
Author : L. P. Kindred Narrator : Brent Lambert Audio Producer : Eric Valdes Discuss on Forums Previously published by Queer Blades Anthology 1 Content Warning for violence Rated R Aurum & Indigo By LP Kindred Aurum sits on a wooden stool, hunched over the...
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body-horrorgoreviolence
Author : Oluwatomiwa Ajeigbe Narrator : Somto Ihezue Host : Matt Dovey Audio Producer : Eric Valdes Artist : Cindy Fan Discuss on Forums Previously published by Xenocultivars: Stories Of Queer Growth Rated PG-13 The Tree Whisperer by Oluwatomiwa Ajeigbe...
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violence
Author : Timothy Mudie Narrator : Jairus Durnett Host : Matt Dovey Audio Producer : Eric Valdes Discuss on Forums Previously published by Beneath Ceaseless Skies Rated PG-13 The soundtrack featured in this story was composed by our audio engineer Eric...
Author : Timothy Mudie Narrator : Jairus Durnett Host : Matt Dovey Audio Producer : Eric Valdes Discuss on Forums Previously published by Beneath Ceaseless Skies Rated PG-13 The soundtrack featured in this story was composed by our audio engineer Eric...
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violence
“The Goatkeeper’s Harvest” was originally published in The Dark. Special thanks to the author for helping us find a reader. From the author: “When I was seven, I spent the summer on my aunt’s goat farm, and it was quite the experience. Anyone who’s dealt...
Content warnings 3
body-horrordeathgore
PseudoPod 821 Special Anniversary Episode: THE DIRECTOR’S CUT! is a PseudoPod original. Towards the end of July 2022 we released a special episode to mark Alasdair Stuart’s 15 years as the voice of PseudoPod. It included the story Celestial Shores, written...
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body-horrordeathgore
PseudoPod 821: Celestial Shores is a PseudoPod original. Britt drove silently while Ray gazed past her at the beauty of the rock-strewn ocean, beyond the sheer drop-offs and flimsy guardrails that separated the coast road from the end of the continent....
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body-horrordeathgore
“The Experiment of Erich Weigert” was originally published in Weird Tales in 1926 The moment I gazed out over the audience I saw him. He was seated far back under the balcony that overhung the little auditorium, but even in the heavy shadow I could see his...
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body-horrordeathgore
“Little Freedoms” was first published in ‘Shoreline of Infinity’ in December 2017. The room is cylindrical, metal, no doors or windows. Nine of us stand in a circle, not touching, but spread your arms and you’d hit someone. I think I could lie flat in here...
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body-horrordeathviolence
“Renascent” was first published by Aurealis in 2019. From the author: Renascent means ‘rising again into being or vigor’, an apt title for my story. The origin of this story came from my personal questioning about whether organ recipients take on the...
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body-horrorgoreviolence
“Flowering Evil” first appeared in Planet Stories, Summer 1950 Captain Bjornson shook a grizzled head. “I never saw a plant I liked the looks of less,” he said. “I don’t know how he got it through the planetary plant quarantine. You take my advice, Amy,...
Content warnings 2
body-horrorgore
PseudoPod 827: She Works in the Office Where They Died is a PseudoPod original. Dezra works in an office where 1000 people died. Well, 1082. People round down. No one’s told the ones who died. “Good morning,” says Dezra, to Brenda the security guard who...
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deathmental-illnessviolence
PseudoPod 834: To the Tooth is a PseudoPod original. I just wanted breakfast. Coffee, maybe an egg with spinach. But before I even stumbled over to the coffeemaker, a sprawling net of pasta stopped me. It stretched from the ceiling to the cabinets to the...
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body-horrorgoreviolence
PseudoPod 835: Trickin’ is a PseudoPod original. It’s time. Nestled beneath the rolling peaks from the mountain ranges, honeycombs of caves spread out in their like swollen slugs providing shelter from the weeping clouds. Raoul emerged from one of those...
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deathgoreviolence
“Corporation” opened the collection Burn the Plans released by Cemetery Gates Media in February 2022 Sunlight blooms in the sky, rising up from behind all those glass and steel buildings. It burns away the dark blue. The Windows are still tinted from...
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body-horrorgoresexual-violence
Author : Sarah Gailey Narrator : Trendane Sparks Host : Laura Pearlman Audio Producer : Peter Adrian Behravesh Discuss on Forums “Bargain” first appeared in Mothership Zeta (Dec 2015) Bargain by Sarah Gailey Malachai loved his work. He loved wandering...
Content warnings 1
illness-and-pandemic
Author : Derrick Boden Narrator : Ibba Armancas Host : Tina Connolly Audio Producer : Summer Brooks Discuss on Forums Escape Pod 766: The Unrepentant is an Escape Pod original. This story has content notifications for language and violence. The Unrepentant...
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deathviolencewar
Author : Marie Vibbert Narrator : M. Darusha Wehm Host : Tina Connolly Audio Producer : Summer Brooks Discuss on Forums This story first appeared in Analog (August 2017) The First Trebuchet on Mars by Marie Vibbert If you come to Mars you need to know that...
Author : Merc Fenn Wolfmoor Narrator : Justin C. Key Host : Tina Connolly Audio Producer : Summer Brooks Discuss on Forums Escape Pod 778: The Machine is Experiencing Uncertainty is an Escape Pod original. The Machine is Experiencing Uncertainty by Merc...
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violence
Author : Marika Bailey Narrator : Eden Royce Host : S.B. Divya Audio Producer : Summer Brooks Discuss on Forums “Seed Vault” was originally published in Strange Horizons (Nov 2019) Seed Vault (Part 2) By Marika Bailey The desert rain has lulled me and I...
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deathviolencewar
Report of Dr. Hollowmas on the Incident at Jackrabbit Five By T. Kingfisher The following report is from the Jackrabbit Colony, Five Tau, regarding the incidents occurring during 7-5-11-8881, fifth rotation, involving Marine Midwife Unit Eleven-Gamma....
Rights and Wrongs By Brian K. Lowe “Tell me again who I pissed off to get this job?” Carefully unwrapping my roast beef on wheat, I used the paper as a holder to keep mustard off of my lap. “I thought you wanted the job,” Rusty said. “I thought you were...
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deathviolencewar
Authors : Yudhanjaya Wijeratne and R. R. Virdi Narrator : Kaushik Narasimhan Host : S.B. Divya Audio Producer : Summer Brooks Discuss on Forums This story was originally published in The Expanding Universe 5: A Science Fiction Exploration Contains some...
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goreviolencewar
Author : Premee Mohamed Narrator : Eve Upton Host : Tina Connolly Audio Producer : Adam Pracht Discuss on Forums Escape Pod 794: Episode 4: The Deflection of Probability is an Escape Pod original. Science fiction-style death and peril. Episode 4: The...
Tiger Lawyer Gets It Right By Sarah Gailey Vladislav Argyle rested his head on the cool titanium surface of the defendant’s table. It dipped a little under the sudden weight of his skull, then hummed as the antigrav lifts adjusted their power to...
Content warnings 3
deathgoreviolence
Author : Lauren Ring Narrator : Alethea Kontis Host : Tina Connolly Audio Producer : Summer Brooks Escape Pod 796: One Hundred Seconds to Midnight is an Escape Pod original. One Hundred Seconds to Midnight By Lauren Ring I wake before the plane lands. It’s...
Content warnings 1
violence
Author : Ian Creasey Narrator : Pippa Alice Stephens Host : Mur Lafferty Audio Producer : Summer Brooks Discuss on Forums “No Strangers Any More” originally appeared in Analog (July/August 2016) No Strangers Any More (Part 1 of 2) by Ian Creasey One of a...
Author : Ian Creasey Narrator : Pippa Alice Stephens Host : Mur Lafferty Audio Producer : Summer Brooks Discuss on Forums “No Strangers Any More” originally appeared in Analog (July/August 2016) No Strangers Any More (Part 2 of 2) by Ian Creasey Royal...
Give Me Cornbread or Give Me Death By N.K. Jemisin The intel is good. It had better be; three women died to get it to us. I tuck away the binoculars and crawl back from the window long enough to hand-signal my girls. Fire team moves up, drop team on my...
Content warnings 3
goreracismviolence
A Princess of Nigh-Space By Tim Pratt There was a business card stuck in the crack between the door and the frame when I got home from another too-long day at the office. I plucked the card out, annoyed, assuming it was some stupid advertisement, but the...
Content warnings 2
body-horrorviolence
Author : Lina Munroe Narrator : Joniece Abbott-Pratt Host : Brent Lambert Audio Producer : Summer Brooks Discuss on Forums Escape Pod 808: Win Again is an Escape Pod original. Win Again by Lina Munroe “I want a do-over!” Zira crumpled her opponent’s collar...
Author : DaVaun Sanders Narrator : Laurice White Host : Mur Lafferty Audio Producer : Summer Brooks Discuss on Forums This story first appeared in the Dark Universe anthology (November 2015) Contains violence and harsh language The First Doom (Part 1) by...
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violence
Author : DaVaun Sanders Narrator : Laurice White Host : Mur Lafferty Audio Producer : Summer Brooks Discuss on Forums This story first appeared in the Dark Universe anthology (November 2015) Warning for violence and gore The First Doom (Part 2) by DaVaun...
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body-horrorgoreviolence
Author : DaVaun Sanders Narrator : Laurice White Host : Mur Lafferty Audio Producer : Summer Brooks Discuss on Forums This story first appeared in the Dark Universe anthology (November 2015) Contains violence and harsh language The First Doom (Part 3) by...
Content warnings 3
body-horrorgoreviolence
Author : Varsha Dinesh Narrator : Suna Dasi Host : Summer Fletcher Audio Producer : Peter Adrian Behravesh Discuss on Forums PodCastle 661: The Engineer of the Undersea Railways is a PodCastle original. Rated PG-13. The Engineer of the Undersea Railway By...
Author : Rachel Kolar Narrator : Jen R. Albert Host : Summer Fletcher Audio Producer : Peter Adrian Behravesh Discuss on Forums PodCastle 676: #BloodBossBabes is a PodCastle original. Warnings for blood and violence Rated R for bloody sacrifices to thirsty...
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goreviolence
Author : Stephanie Burgis Narrator : Pippa Alice Stephens Host : Summer Fletcher Audio Producer : Peter Adrian Behravesh Discuss on Forums Previously published in Consolation Songs: Speculative Fiction for a Time of Coronavirus Rated PG-13. Love, Your...
Content warnings 1
sexual-content
Author : Rebecca Fraimow Narrator : Barbara Krasnoff Host : Benjamin C. Kinney Audio Producers : Peter Adrian Behravesh and Jim Freund Discuss on Forums PodCastle 689: Gitl Schneiderman Learns to Live With Her In-Laws is a PodCastle original. Rated PG-13...
Author : Louis Evans Narrator : Dave Robison Host : Summer Fletcher Audio Producer : Peter Adrian Behravesh Discuss on Forums Translunar Travelers Lounge Sexual content Rated R Everybody’s Got a Hungry Heart by Louis Evans Agent Heartbreak and the Misery...
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sexual-contentviolence
Author : Melody Gordon Narrator : Cherrae L. Stuart Host : Summer Fletcher Audio Producer : Peter Adrian Behravesh Discuss on Forums FIYAH Literary Magazine Content warning for racism, oppression, and intergenerational trauma. Rated PG-13 Excavate by...
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racismsexual-violenceslavery
Author : Rati Mehrotra Narrator : Suna Dasi Host : Summer Fletcher Audio Producer : Peter Adrian Behravesh Discuss on Forums PodCastle 695: Black Wings, White Kheer is a PodCastle original. Rated PG-13 Black Wings, White Kheer by Rati Mehrotra The wings...
Content warnings 1
violence
Authors : Sylvia Heike, Ally Chua, Aleks Wittkamp and Drew Czernik Narrators : Andrew K. Hoe, Graeme Dunlop, Srikripa Krishna Prasad and Lalana Dara Host : Craig Jackson Audio Producer : Peter Adrian Behravesh Discuss on Forums PodCastle 701: Flash Fiction...
“As Well as the Infirm” was originally published in Dark Moon Digest, April 2020 From the author: “The title comes from a section in the Hippocratic Oath: ‘I will remember that I remain a member of society, with special obligations to all my fellow human...
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body-horrordeathgore
“Exquisite” first appeared in the 2019 collection Served Cold. “On the Eyeball Floor” by Tina Connolly Scarfolk Hookland Tim Rinneman had never met a lock he couldn’t pick. It was his expertise, his pride. And his curse, as it had become a compulsion he...
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body-horrorgoreviolence
PseudoPod 756: To Witness is a PseudoPod original. Though the author is a professional photojournalist and has covered many car crashes, all characters, events, and organizations depicted in this story are fictional. Bad Samaritan (YouTube link) Don’t...
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deathgoreviolence
“The Thought Monster” originally appeared in Weird Tales in March 1930 Fiend Without A Face resources: Trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTLRyLnqCH4 Wikipedia Page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiend_Without_a_Face Fiend without a Face and it’s...
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death
“Knock, Knock, Wolf” was originally published in Flame Tree’s Gothic Fantasy anthology, Footsteps in the Dark, in October 2020 It was time to kill the sparrows. Every autumn, after the last leaves fell and the bare trees rattled their bone song to an empty...
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deathgoreviolence
PseudoPod 769: Songs in a Lesser Known Key is a PseudoPod original. From the author, “I’ve played saxophone and clarinet in big bands for more years than I care to admit to. And while I have performed Artie Shaw’s Nightmare once or twice (and as far as I...
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deathmental-illnesssuicide
PseudoPod 778: Live From The End Of The World is a PseudoPod original. Highway 28 vanished and reappeared as the windshield wipers fought a losing battle against Hurricane Francis. This storm was Harriet’s big chance. She only hoped she’d live through it....
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deathgoreviolence
“American Remake of a Japanese Ghost Story” was originally released by Crystal Lake Publishing in the anthology There Is No Death, There Are No Dead There’s a curse in folklore known as a geas. That’s when a witch, or a fairy, or the supernatural entity of...
Content warnings 2
deathviolence
Authors : Ash Beker, Summer Fletcher and Alasdair Stuart Narrators : Imogen Harris, Marty Perrett, Wilson Fowlie, Peter Adrian Behravesh, Kaitlyn Zivanovich, Mur Lafferty, M. M. Schill, Alex Hofelich, Shawn Garrett, Scott Campbell, Kat Day, Graeme Dunlop...
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goreracismviolence
Authors : Summer Fletcher, Ash Beker and Alasdair Stuart Narrators : Imogen Harris, Marty Perrett, Wilson Fowlie, Peter Adrian Behravesh, Kaitlyn Zivanovich, Mur Lafferty, M. M. Schill, Alex Hofelich, Shawn Garrett, Scott Campbell, Kat Day, Graeme Dunlop...
Content warnings 3
body-horrorracismviolence
Chasing the Start (Part 2) by Evan Marcroft ͼ-Sa, this is a bad fucking idea-ͽ Sa would die to admit it, but she must agree. This was perhaps a bit much for squashing a spider. The air boils with radiation. The sky is all storm, great scarified burls of...
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violence
The Sun From Both Sides (Part 1 of 3) By R.S.A. Garcia Once, a woman loved a man, and a man loved a woman. They lived in a forest, in a small stone-grey hut, set far enough back from a river to escape the seasonal floods. Every day, they woke on a too-soft...
Content warnings 2
slaveryviolence
The Sun From Both Sides (Part 2 of 3) By R.S.A. Garcia (Continued from Part 1 - Escape Pod episode 757) Once, a man left his home to find his home. It was not an easy journey, but going home never is. He gave up all that he was, and all he knew, to...
Content warnings 2
deathviolence
The Sun From Both Sides (Part 3 of 3) By R.S.A. Garcia (Continued from Part 2 - Escape Pod episode 758) "Grandmaster Lucochin." He started awake, his hand tightening on something. Someone. The Knight hung motionless over him. He had it by the throat, his...
Content warnings 2
slaveryviolence
Deepster Punks by Maria Haskins Surface The animated tattoos on Jacob's skin glimmer in the dark water, words and images swarming over his skin, bright and luminous, before they fade away again. "Don't you dare die on me." I'm holding his head above the...
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body-horrordeathdeath-of-a-loved-one
Jolene by Fiona Moore “I’ve got a case for you,” said Detective Inspector Wilhemine FitzJames. “It’s a country singer whose wife, dog and truck have all left him.” “Seriously,” she said, after my unprintable reply. “The dog died and there’s nothing much...
Content warnings 3
abusedeathviolence
Author : Shaoni C. White Narrator : Abra Staffin-Wiebe Host : Summer Fletcher Audio Producer : Peter Adrian Behravesh Discuss on Forums PodCastle 656: What My Flies Keep for Me is a PodCastle original. Content Warning: Insects, mild gore, and death. Rated...
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deathgoreviolence
Not reviewed by Rocket Stack Rank.
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sexual-violencesubstance-use
In El Paso, Mary flees her abusive husband and runs into one of the space aliens who have destroyed Mexico.
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abuseracismviolence
In France in 1699, a magical fighter comes to Caen to duel with creatures from faery.
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violence
Part six of the Mongolian Wizard, in which Ritter goes to Krakow in disguise to find evidence of atrocities so grave that London cannot believe them.
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child-deathviolencewar