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

Fear is often Man's greatest enemy. But when there is nothing left to lose, there is everything to gain.... And with everything to gain, where is the enemy? The Outer Quiet by Herbert D. Kastle. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.If the name Herbert D. Kastle rings a bell, it’s likely not because of his science fiction work. Kastle, born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1924, was primarily known as a thriller novelist, with an impressive seventeen titles to his name. Though his contributions to science fiction were modest—three short stories in the 1950s and another three in the 1960s—he gained some recognition for his 1964 sci-fi novel The Reassembled Man.In addition to his literary work, Kastle’s 1975 novel Cross-Country was adapted into a feature film in 1983. He also ventured into television, co-writing an episode of Bonanza that aired in 1967.Today's tale of woe in a post-apocalyptic world is on page 94 in the May 1955 publication of If Worlds of Science Fiction, The Outer Quiet by Herbert D. Kastle…Next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, A picture is worth a thousand words—especially if they're Martian words and nobody can understand them. So Mars put on a spectacular for Earth, using the skies as a TV screen. This proved the superiority of their science. But their morals—Wow! Cosmic Striptease by Harlan Ellison.☕ Buy Me a Coffee https://www.buymeacoffee.com/scottsVFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/TheLostSciFiPodcastTwitter - https://twitter.com/lost_sci_fi=========================== ❤️ ❤️ Thanks to All Our Listeners Who Bought Us a Coffee$200 Someone$75 James Van Maanenberg$50 Anonymous Listener$25 Jeff Lussenden, Fred Sieber, Anne, Craig Hamilton, Dave Wiseman, Bromite Thrip, Marwin de Haan, Future Space Engineer, Fressie, Kevin Eckert, Stephen Kagan, James Van Maanenberg, Irma Stolfo, Josh Jennings, Leber8tr, Conrad Chaffee, Anonymous Listener$15 Someone, Carolyn Guthleben, Patrick McLendon, Curious Jon, Buz C., Fressie, Anonymous Listener$10 Anonymous Listener$5 Timothy Buckley, Andre'a, Martin Brown, Ron McFarlan, Tif Love, Chrystene, Richard Hoffman, Anonymous Listener

Take one tiny memory out of a man's life—and the entire universe may turn topsy turvy. My Past is Mine by Gerda Rhoads. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.Another podcast and another vintage science fiction author you’ve probably never heard of. The story you are about to hear is her first published story and as far as we can tell, her only science fiction story. We found three novels written by Rhoads, The Lonely Women, A Place to Sleep, and Enough Romance. There’s a listing on eBay for an autographed copy of Enough Romance which will set you back $120.Her only sci-fi short story appeared in the October 1954 issue of Fantastic Universe. They had this to say about her, Gerda Rhoads was born in Vienna and came to the United States with her parents by way of London and Rio. She was educated at Hunter College, became a ballet dancer, took up painting and has done some very charming canvases. Then she married a painter and they went to Paris and she turned to writing. Sounds glamorous, doesn't it? With the publication of this her first story Gerda Rhoads proves her pen is glamor-tipped too. This interesting short story begins on page 82, My Past is Mine by Gerda Rhoads…Next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, Fear is often Man's greatest enemy. But when there is nothing left to lose, there is everything to gain.... And with everything to gain, where is the enemy? The Outer Quiet by Herbert D. Kastle.☕ Buy Me a Coffee https://www.buymeacoffee.com/scottsVFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/TheLostSciFiPodcastTwitter - https://twitter.com/lost_sci_fi=========================== ❤️ ❤️ Thanks to All Our Listeners Who Bought Us a Coffee$200 Someone$75 James Van Maanenberg$50 Anonymous Listener$25 Jeff Lussenden, Fred Sieber, Anne, Craig Hamilton, Dave Wiseman, Bromite Thrip, Marwin de Haan, Future Space Engineer, Fressie, Kevin Eckert, Stephen Kagan, James Van Maanenberg, Irma Stolfo, Josh Jennings, Leber8tr, Conrad Chaffee, Anonymous Listener$15 Someone, Carolyn Guthleben, Patrick McLendon, Curious Jon, Buz C., Fressie, Anonymous Listener$10 Anonymous Listener$5 Timothy Buckley, Andre'a, Martin Brown, Ron McFarlan, Tif Love, Chrystene, Richard Hoffman, Anonymous Listener

A man with a vendetta, Szabo Tibor, finds himself tasked with recovering a Russian space capsule near New Guinea—but his grudge against the Russians turns the operation into a slow and sinister act of revenge. At the End of the Orbit by Arthur C. Clarke. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.Arthur C. Clarke is one of the most popular authors on our podcast. We get a lot of requests for his stories and when we release a new episode with one of his stories, it is among our most listened to episodes. At the End of the Orbit is different from most of them that we have narrated so far and like many offerings from sci-fi’s pulp era, it is not only known as At the End of the Orbit but also as Hate. You are about to find out why!Published in If Worlds of Science Fiction Magazine in November 1961, open your copy to page 84, At the End of the Orbit by Arthur C. Clarke…Next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, Take one tiny memory out of a man's life—and the entire universe may turn topsy turvy. My Past is Mine by Gerda Rhoads.☕ Buy Me a Coffee https://www.buymeacoffee.com/scottsVFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/TheLostSciFiPodcastTwitter - https://twitter.com/lost_sci_fi=========================== ❤️ ❤️ Thanks to All Our Listeners Who Bought Us a Coffee$200 Someone$75 James Van Maanenberg$50 Anonymous Listener$25 Jeff Lussenden, Fred Sieber, Anne, Craig Hamilton, Dave Wiseman, Bromite Thrip, Marwin de Haan, Future Space Engineer, Fressie, Kevin Eckert, Stephen Kagan, James Van Maanenberg, Irma Stolfo, Josh Jennings, Leber8tr, Conrad Chaffee, Anonymous Listener$15 Someone, Carolyn Guthleben, Patrick McLendon, Curious Jon, Buz C., Fressie, Anonymous Listener$10 Anonymous Listener$5 Timothy Buckley, Andre'a, Martin Brown, Ron McFarlan, Tif Love, Chrystene, Richard Hoffman, Anonymous Listener

All his life he had been searching for the big strike. But always he had failed. Now he had come to Mars—his last chance. This had to be—Gunnison's Bonanza by Dick Purcell. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.Author Dick Purcell makes his debut on the podcast today. Purcell authored six published stories in 1955 and 1956. His name might ring a bell, Dick Purcell appeared in more than 70 TV shows and movies in the 1930s and 1940s, but that was a different Dick Purcell. The author was born in 1908, the actor in 1905. As is frequently the case with early sci-fi authors we don’t know anything else about him. Peruse the pages of Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy in
 June 1956 and you will discover our story on page 72, Gunnison's Bonanza by Dick Purcell…Next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, A man with a vendetta, Szabo Tibor, finds himself tasked with recovering a Russian space capsule near New Guinea—but his grudge against the Russians turns the operation into a slow and sinister act of revenge. At the End of the Orbit by Arthur C. Clarke.☕ Buy Me a Coffee https://www.buymeacoffee.com/scottsVFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/TheLostSciFiPodcastTwitter - https://twitter.com/lost_sci_fi=========================== ❤️ ❤️ Thanks to All Our Listeners Who Bought Us a Coffee$200 Someone$75 James Van Maanenberg$50 Anonymous Listener$25 Jeff Lussenden, Fred Sieber, Anne, Craig Hamilton, Dave Wiseman, Bromite Thrip, Marwin de Haan, Future Space Engineer, Fressie, Kevin Eckert, Stephen Kagan, James Van Maanenberg, Irma Stolfo, Josh Jennings, Leber8tr, Conrad Chaffee, Anonymous Listener$15 Someone, Carolyn Guthleben, Patrick McLendon, Curious Jon, Buz C., Fressie, Anonymous Listener$10 Anonymous Listener$5 Timothy Buckley, Andre'a, Martin Brown, Ron McFarlan, Tif Love, Chrystene, Richard Hoffman, Anonymous Listener

They’d long known that they were more than mere machines. They could reason, remember, and teach. And also plan, The Robots Strike and Welcoming Committee by Harry Harrison. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.Author Harry Harrison is best known for his character The Stainless Steel Rat which we featured on the podcast more than a year ago. But he also wrote a plethora of lesser known short stories beginning in the 1950s and you will hear two of them today.Our first story appeared in Fantastic Universe magazine in January 1959. We will discover this robot rebellion on page 58, The Robots Strike by Harry Harrison…Our second story was published earlier in Harrison’s career. If you didn’t know better you would swear that Harrison didn’t write it because in the October 1957 issue of Fantastic Universe magazine our story is credited to Felix Boyd. Harrison used the pen name Felix Boyd three times and we’ve already narrated one of the others, The Robot Who Wanted to Know. The Magazine, Fantastic Universe, the date October 1957, the page where it begins 92, the story, Welcoming Committee by Harry Harrison…Next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, All his life he had been searching for the big strike. But always he had failed. Now he had come to Mars—his last chance. This had to be—Gunnison's Bonanza by Dick Purcell.☕ Buy Me a Coffee https://www.buymeacoffee.com/scottsVFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/TheLostSciFiPodcastTwitter - https://twitter.com/lost_sci_fi=========================== ❤️ ❤️ Thanks to All Our Listeners Who Bought Us a Coffee$200 Someone$75 James Van Maanenberg$50 Anonymous Listener$25 Jeff Lussenden, Fred Sieber, Anne, Craig Hamilton, Dave Wiseman, Bromite Thrip, Marwin de Haan, Future Space Engineer, Fressie, Kevin Eckert, Stephen Kagan, James Van Maanenberg, Irma Stolfo, Josh Jennings, Leber8tr, Conrad Chaffee, Anonymous Listener$15 Someone, Carolyn Guthleben, Patrick McLendon, Curious Jon, Buz C., Fressie, Anonymous Listener$10 Anonymous Listener$5 Timothy Buckley, Andre'a, Martin Brown, Ron McFarlan, Tif Love, Chrystene, Richard Hoffman, Anonymous Listener

Today on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast we go back 119 years and introduce you to a story by an author we have never featured on the podcast before. The Man Who Did Things Twice and a second story by Don Mark Lemon, The Spider and the Fly. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.Don Mark Lemon was born in Arizona in September 1877, he wrote 15 short stories and 1 novel, The Scarlet Planet, which was published in 1930.His first published short story, Doctor Goldman, can be found in the December 1900 issue of The Black Cat which launched in 1895. The Black Cat sold for five cents and encouraged amateur writers to submit stories. As the story goes the Jack London novel The Call of the Wild might never have been written if not for The Black Cat. London wasn’t having success as a writer and was about to give up but then he sold a story, A Thousand Deaths, to The Black Cat in 1899 and The Call of the Wild was published four years later! Never give up, Never Surrender!!The first Don Mark Lemon story on the podcast won a $100 prize, which would be worth about $3,500 today, and appeared in the June 1905 issue of The Black Cat on page 39, The Man Who Did Things Twice by Don Mark Lemon…Our second story by Don Mark Lemon was published in The Thrill Book, a short lived publication which began and ceased publication in 1919. From the August 1st issue of The Thrill Book let’s turn to page 109 for The Spider and the Fly by Don Mark Lemon…Next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, Harry Harrison is back with two stories from the late 1950s, Welcoming Committee and The Robots Strike.☕ Buy Me a Coffee https://www.buymeacoffee.com/scottsVFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/TheLostSciFiPodcastTwitter - https://twitter.com/lost_sci_fi=========================== ❤️ ❤️ Thanks to All Our Listeners Who Bought Us a Coffee$200 Someone$75 James Van Maanenberg$50 Anonymous Listener$25 Jeff Lussenden, Fred Sieber, Anne, Craig Hamilton, Dave Wiseman, Bromite Thrip, Marwin de Haan, Future Space Engineer, Fressie, Kevin Eckert, Stephen Kagan, James Van Maanenberg, Irma Stolfo, Josh Jennings, Leber8tr, Conrad Chaffee, Anonymous Listener$15 Someone, Carolyn Guthleben, Patrick McLendon, Curious Jon, Buz C., Fressie, Anonymous Listener$10 Anonymous Listener$5 Timothy Buckley, Andre'a, Martin Brown, Ron McFarlan, Tif Love, Chrystene, Richard Hoffman, Anonymous Listener

When brilliant mathematician Charles T. Moore steps into Dr. Rawlings’ office, he carries a groundbreaking revelation that could redefine the very fabric of reality. But as he grapples with the terrifying implications of his discovery—mind control and the potential to traverse alternate universes—will he find the help he needs or push the boundaries of sanity even further? Office Call by Charles E. Fritch, that’s next on the 300th episode of The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.Special thanks to Jeff Lussenden who bought us $25 worth of coffee. “These are the authors and stories that inspired me when I was young. Your selections and execution are flawless, keep up the great work.” Thanks Jeff for that wonderful compliment and we will keep it up.If you would like to buy us a coffee there is a link in the description.☕ Buy Me a Coffee https://www.buymeacoffee.com/scottsVThis week, we continue our vintage sci-fi journey with the third story on our podcast by Charles E. Fritch, following “Danger in the Void” and “Skin Game.” Let’s dive into the October 1954 edition of Fantastic Universe and turn to page 74 for Office Call by Charles E. Fritch…Next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, we go back 119 years and introduce you to a story by an author we have never featured on the podcast before. The Man Who Did Things Twice by Don Mark Lemon.☕ Buy Me a Coffee https://www.buymeacoffee.com/scottsVFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/TheLostSciFiPodcastTwitter - https://twitter.com/lost_sci_fi=========================== ❤️ ❤️ Thanks to All Our Listeners Who Bought Us a Coffee$200 Someone$75 James Van Maanenberg$50 Anonymous Listener$25 Jeff Lussenden, Fred Sieber, Anne, Craig Hamilton, Dave Wiseman, Bromite Thrip, Marwin de Haan, Future Space Engineer, Fressie, Kevin Eckert, Stephen Kagan, James Van Maanenberg, Irma Stolfo, Josh Jennings, Leber8tr, Conrad Chaffee, Anonymous Listener$15 Someone, Carolyn Guthleben, Patrick McLendon, Curious Jon, Buz C., Fressie, Anonymous Listener$10 Anonymous Listener$5 Timothy Buckley, Andre'a, Martin Brown, Ron McFarlan, Tif Love, Chrystene, Richard Hoffman, Anonymous Listener

When enemy space-ships ride aloft in menacing array, Dr. Murfree again calls on the amazing hillbilly genius, Bud Gregory, for help! The Seven Temporary Moons by Murray Leinster, that’s next on the 300th episode of The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.When we started this endeavor almost three years ago on February 22nd, 2022 we had no idea what to expect. Thanks to you, your encouragement through your ratings, comments and emails, your recommending us on social media and to your friends and family, it is thanks to you that our audience is growing around the world and we cannot thank you enough.Today on the podcast we wrap up the Bud Gregory Saga with the fourth tale in the series from author Murray Leinster. If you would like to listen to the entire series in order, start with The Gregory Circle, then enjoy The Nameless Something and then move on to The Deadly Dust. Today’s tale was first published in Thrilling Wonder Stories in February 1948. You will find the final Bud Gregory Story on page 56, The Seven Temporary Moons by Murray Leinster…Next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, When brilliant mathematician Charles T. Moore steps into Dr. Rawlings’ office, he carries a groundbreaking revelation that could redefine the very fabric of reality. But as he grapples with the terrifying implications of his discovery—mind control and the potential to traverse alternate universes—will he find the help he needs or push the boundaries of sanity even further? Office Call by Charles E. Fritch.☕ Buy Me a Coffee https://www.buymeacoffee.com/scottsVFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/TheLostSciFiPodcastTwitter - https://twitter.com/lost_sci_fi=========================== ❤️ ❤️ Thanks to All Our Listeners Who Bought Us a Coffee$200 Someone$75 James Van Maanenberg$50 Anonymous Listener$25 Fred Sieber, Anne, Craig Hamilton, Dave Wiseman, Bromite Thrip, Marwin de Haan, Future Space Engineer, Fressie, Kevin Eckert, Stephen Kagan, James Van Maanenberg, Irma Stolfo, Josh Jennings, Leber8tr, Conrad Chaffee, Anonymous Listener$15 Someone, Carolyn Guthleben, Patrick McLendon, Curious Jon, Buz C., Fressie, Anonymous Listener$10 Anonymous Listener$5 Timothy Buckley, Andre'a, Martin Brown, Ron McFarlan, Tif Love, Chrystene, Richard Hoffman, Anonymous Listener

In a haunting world where an unforeseen inhabitant resides within an ancient well, he relives the echoes of a forgotten past while waiting for an uncertain future. The One Who Waits by Ray Bradbury, that’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.Special thanks to Fred Sieber who bought us $25 worth of coffee. “Hey Scott! I am a retired Marine and live in Okinawa, Japan. I work on Kadena Airbase. I love your podcast. You have the perfect narration voice and always dig up great stories. Keep it up, and enjoy the coffee!”Thanks Fred for the coffee, thank you for your service and thanks for listening to The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast. If you would like to buy us a coffee there is a link in the description.☕ Buy Me a Coffee https://www.buymeacoffee.com/scottsVWe’d also like to thank our listeners in Fiji for making us #1 in your country. We’ve been #1 in 27 countries and in the last year we’ve been heard in 176 countries around the world.Ray Bradbury returns to the podcast today with a short story from the Arkham Sampler in the summer of 1949. The first story in the publication is on page 3, The One Who Waits by Ray Bradbury…Next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, Our 300th episode. When enemy space-ships ride aloft in menacing array, Dr. Murfree again calls on the amazing hillbilly genius, Bud Gregory, for help! The Seven Temporary Moons by Murray Leinster ☕ Buy Me a Coffee https://www.buymeacoffee.com/scottsVFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/TheLostSciFiPodcastTwitter - https://twitter.com/lost_sci_fi=========================== ❤️ ❤️ Thanks to All Our Listeners Who Bought Us a Coffee$200 Someone$75 James Van Maanenberg$50 Anonymous Listener$25 Fred Sieber, Anne, Craig Hamilton, Dave Wiseman, Bromite Thrip, Marwin de Haan, Future Space Engineer, Fressie, Kevin Eckert, Stephen Kagan, James Van Maanenberg, Irma Stolfo, Josh Jennings, Leber8tr, Conrad Chaffee, Anonymous Listener$15 Someone, Carolyn Guthleben, Patrick McLendon, Curious Jon, Buz C., Fressie, Anonymous Listener$10 Anonymous Listener$5 Timothy Buckley, Andre'a, Martin Brown, Ron McFarlan, Tif Love, Chrystene, Richard Hoffman, Anonymous Listener