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

Of all the irksome, frustrating, maddening discoveries—was there no way of keeping it discovered? Forever by Robert Sheckley. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.Robert Sheckley has been a frequent contributor to our podcast and there are still many of his stories to narrate in the future. When this tale appeared in Galaxy Science Fiction magazine in February 1959, the man who was given credit for it was Ned Lang, because another Robert Sheckley story, Time Killer, was in that issue. Open your copy to page 144, Forever by Robert Sheckley…Next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, One man alone on a planet of death. — A deadly robot made especially to pursue a human being. Was it just a cruel sport devised for some bloodthirsty pleasure? Man-Hunting Robot by James Rosenquest.☕ Buy Me a Coffee https://www.buymeacoffee.com/scottsV===========================🎧 Join Our Newsletter - Get Free Audiobooks http://lostscifi.com/free/Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/TheLostSciFiPodcastTwitter - https://x.com/LostSciFiPodInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/lostscifiguyThreads - https://www.threads.net/@scottscifiguyBluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/lostscifipodcast.bsky.social=========================== ❤️ ❤️ Thanks to All Our Listeners Who Bought Us a Coffee$200 Someone$100 Tony from the Future$75 James Van Maanenberg$50 Anonymous Listener$25 Someone, Eaten by a Grue, 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 Every Month Someone$15 Someone, Carolyn Guthleben, Patrick McLendon, Curious Jon, Buz C., Fressie, Anonymous Listener$10 Anonymous Listener$5 Denis Kalinin, Timothy Buckley, Andre'a, Martin Brown, Ron McFarlan, Tif Love, Chrystene, Richard Hoffman, Anonymous Listener

Alone in a world buried by endless snow and ice the last man on Earth drifts through a twilight of silence and memory. Time has lost all meaning... The Coming of the Ice by G. Peyton Wertenbaker. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.The year was 1926 and although there had been science fiction stories in magazines, there had never been an entire magazine devoted to science fiction. Hugo Gernsback was the man who would change the course of science fiction with the birth of Amazing Stories magazine which began publishing in April 1926. In case you were wondering the Hugo Award is named after this sci-fi pioneer. The first two magazines were filled with reprints, stories that had already been published, by Jules Verne, H. G. Wells and Edgar Allen Poe among others. G. Peyton Wertenbaker's short story The Man From the Atom appeared in that first issue but it too was a reprint, having been previously published 8 months earlier in Science and Invention magazine which was also published by Gernsback.Wertenbaker was born in New Castle, Delaware in 1907, he wrote a handful of sci-fi stories and then turned his attention to other pursuits, literary and otherwise. He served on the editorial board of Fortune magazine from 1933 to 1938, and became a contributing editor to Time Magazine in 1939. During World War Two he served as an air combat intelligence officer in the Pacific. In 1958 he joined NASA as a speechwriter, eventually becoming chief historian of the Aerospace Medical Division. The story you are about to hear was the first original paid story to appear in Amazing Stories in June 1926 on page 232, The Coming of the Ice by G. Peyton Wertenbaker…Next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, Of all the irksome, frustrating, maddening discoveries—was there no way of keeping it discovered? Forever by Robert Sheckley.☕ Buy Me a Coffee https://www.buymeacoffee.com/scottsV===========================🎧 Join Our Newsletter - Get Free Audiobooks http://lostscifi.com/free/Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/TheLostSciFiPodcastTwitter - https://x.com/LostSciFiPodInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/lostscifiguyThreads - https://www.threads.net/@scottscifiguyBluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/lostscifipodcast.bsky.social=========================== ❤️ ❤️ Thanks to All Our Listeners Who Bought Us a Coffee$200 Someone$100 Tony from the Future$75 James Van Maanenberg$50 Anonymous Listener$25 Someone, Eaten by a Grue, 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 Every Month Someone$15 Someone, Carolyn Guthleben, Patrick McLendon, Curious Jon, Buz C., Fressie, Anonymous Listener$10 Anonymous Listener$5 Denis Kalinin, Timothy Buckley, Andre'a, Martin Brown, Ron McFarlan, Tif Love, Chrystene, Richard Hoffman, Anonymous Listener

When you've been to Mars, when you've struggled with men and ships and supplies like some tremendous Herculean figure in the morning of the world, you'll never really feel at home on Earth... Lake of Fire by Frank Belknap Long. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.We don’t usually tease the next episode before sharing the story you’re about to hear—but today, we’re making an exception. Next time on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, we’ll introduce you to the teenager who wrote the very first original story—not a reprint—ever purchased by the world’s first truly complete science fiction magazine, nearly 100 years ago. You won’t want to miss it.Mars is the most Earth-like planet in our solar system. Close enough to dream about visiting, colonizing, or even finding life, yet alien enough to be mysterious. Mars gave writers a new place to dream big, play with ideas of civilization, survival, and human nature under alien skies. Such is the story you are about to hear. We will find our story on page 49 in the May 1950 issue of Planet Stories Magazine, Lake of Fire by Frank Belknap Long…Next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, The Coming of the Ice by G. Peyton Wertenbaker. ☕ Buy Me a Coffee https://www.buymeacoffee.com/scottsV===========================🎧 Join Our Newsletter - Get Free Audiobooks http://lostscifi.com/free/Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/TheLostSciFiPodcastTwitter - https://x.com/LostSciFiPodInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/lostscifiguyThreads - https://www.threads.net/@scottscifiguyBluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/lostscifipodcast.bsky.socialTikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@scottscifiguy=========================== ❤️ ❤️ Thanks to All Our Listeners Who Bought Us a Coffee$200 Someone$100 Tony from the Future$75 James Van Maanenberg$50 Anonymous Listener$25 Someone, Eaten by a Grue, 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 Every Month Someone$15 Someone, Carolyn Guthleben, Patrick McLendon, Curious Jon, Buz C., Fressie, Anonymous Listener$10 Anonymous Listener$5 Denis Kalinin, Timothy Buckley, Andre'a, Martin Brown, Ron McFarlan, Tif Love, Chrystene, Richard Hoffman, Anonymous Listener

Pauker had killed ten men to get eight million dollars. Now his flight to Mars would insure his safety from justice. Or would it? Eight Million Dollars From Mars! by Winston Marks. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.Special thanks to Someone, and yes, sometimes people really do choose to be anonymous when they buy us a coffee. Someone bought us $15 worth of coffee, every month. Thanks someone. If you would like to show your support for the podcast there is a link in the description.☕ Buy Me a Coffee https://www.buymeacoffee.com/scottsVWinston Marks is not very well known but we love his work. When I was narrating this story I couldn’t help but think that it would have made a great Twilight Zone episode. From Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy in November 1954 on page 90, Eight Million Dollars From Mars! by Winston Marks…Next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, When you've been to Mars, when you've struggled with men and ships and supplies like some tremendous Herculean figure in the morning of the world,
you'll never really feel at home on Earth... Lake of Fire by Frank Belknap Long.☕ Buy Me a Coffee https://www.buymeacoffee.com/scottsV===========================🎧 Join Our Newsletter - Get Free Audiobooks http://lostscifi.com/free/Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/TheLostSciFiPodcastTwitter - https://x.com/LostSciFiPodInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/lostscifiguyThreads - https://www.threads.net/@scottscifiguyBluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/lostscifipodcast.bsky.socialTikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@scottscifiguy=========================== ❤️ ❤️ Thanks to All Our Listeners Who Bought Us a Coffee$200 Someone$100 Tony from the Future$75 James Van Maanenberg$50 Anonymous Listener$25 Someone, Eaten by a Grue, 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 Every Month Someone$15 Someone, Carolyn Guthleben, Patrick McLendon, Curious Jon, Buz C., Fressie, Anonymous Listener$10 Anonymous Listener$5 Denis Kalinin, Timothy Buckley, Andre'a, Martin Brown, Ron McFarlan, Tif Love, Chrystene, Richard Hoffman, Anonymous Listener

A curious antique dealer discovers a strange crystal egg that reveals eerie glimpses of an alien world teeming with life. As he obsesses over its mysteries, he begins to question whether the visions are mere reflections—or a window into something watching him back. Todays story was first published in The New Review, in May 1897, The Crystal Egg by H. G. Wells.Next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, Pauker had killed ten men to get eight million dollars. Now his flight to Mars would insure his safety from justice. Or would it? Eight Million Dollars From Mars!by Winston Marks.☕ Buy Me a Coffee https://www.buymeacoffee.com/scottsV===========================🎧 Join Our Newsletter - Get Free Audiobooks http://lostscifi.com/free/Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/TheLostSciFiPodcastTwitter - https://x.com/LostSciFiPodInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/lostscifiguyThreads - https://www.threads.net/@scottscifiguyBluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/lostscifipodcast.bsky.socialTikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@scottscifiguy=========================== ❤️ ❤️ Thanks to All Our Listeners Who Bought Us a Coffee$200 Someone$100 Tony from the Future$75 James Van Maanenberg$50 Anonymous Listener$25 Someone, Eaten by a Grue, 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 Denis Kalinin, Timothy Buckley, Andre'a, Martin Brown, Ron McFarlan, Tif Love, Chrystene, Richard Hoffman, Anonymous Listener

Something is wrong with Dad… Charlie knows it, but no one believes him. Is it all in his head, or has something terrifying taken his father’s place? The Father Thing by Philip K. Dick. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.Philip K. Dick, what a mind. It has been said that Dick believed he was living in two timelines simultaneously, one as himself in 1970s California and another as a persecuted Christian in ancient Rome. These bizarre experiences fueled his paranoia but also deepened the philosophical depth of his later works. Today’s story is one of his earlier works, published in Fantasy and Science Fiction Magazine in December 1954 on page 105, The Father Thing by Philip K. Dick…Next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, A curious antique dealer discovers a strange crystal egg that reveals eerie glimpses of an alien world teeming with life. As he obsesses over its mysteries, he begins to question whether the visions are mere reflections—or a window into something watching him back. The Crystal Egg by H. G. Wells☕ Buy Me a Coffee https://www.buymeacoffee.com/scottsV===========================🎧 Join Our Newsletter - Get Free Audiobooks http://lostscifi.com/free/Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/TheLostSciFiPodcastTwitter - https://x.com/LostSciFiPodInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/lostscifiguyThreads - https://www.threads.net/@scottscifiguyBluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/lostscifipodcast.bsky.socialTikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@scottscifiguy=========================== ❤️ ❤️ Thanks to All Our Listeners Who Bought Us a Coffee$200 Someone$100 Tony from the Future$75 James Van Maanenberg$50 Anonymous Listener$25 Someone, Eaten by a Grue, 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 Denis Kalinin, Timothy Buckley, Andre'a, Martin Brown, Ron McFarlan, Tif Love, Chrystene, Richard Hoffman, Anonymous Listener

Tampering with events of the past could bring disastrous results in the future. It was why Brek was given a pair of six-guns to catch—The Time Snatcher, by Randall Garrett. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.Who doesn’t love a good time travel story? This one reminds me of the 1994 sci-fi movie Timecop starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and Ron Silver. Turn to page 82 in Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy in February 1957, The Time Snatcher, by Randall Garrett…Next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, Something is wrong with Dad… Charlie knows it, but no one believes him. Is it all in his head, or has something terrifying taken his father’s place? The Father Thing by Philip K. Dick.☕ Buy Me a Coffee https://www.buymeacoffee.com/scottsV===========================🎧 Join Our Newsletter - Get Free Audiobooks http://lostscifi.com/free/Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/TheLostSciFiPodcastTwitter - https://x.com/LostSciFiPodInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/lostscifiguyThreads - https://www.threads.net/@scottscifiguyBluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/lostscifipodcast.bsky.socialTikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@scottscifiguy=========================== ❤️ ❤️ Thanks to All Our Listeners Who Bought Us a Coffee$200 Someone$100 Tony from the Future$75 James Van Maanenberg$50 Anonymous Listener$25 Someone, Eaten by a Grue, 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 Denis Kalinin, Timothy Buckley, Andre'a, Martin Brown, Ron McFarlan, Tif Love, Chrystene, Richard Hoffman, Anonymous Listener

A creature in the night hunting for fresh meat. Hunting in a way that never fails. A Prophecy of Monsters by Clark Ashton Smith. And, If heat and moisture and greasy chemical compounds once combined to make life, the laziness of a slattern landlady might cause them to combine again. In that case, the results would not be pretty. The Rag Thing by Donald A. Wollheim. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.Thanks to Denis Kalinin who bought us a coffee and says, “ Sci Fi makes science not war.” Thank you Denis we appreciate you! If you would like to buy us a coffee there is a link in the description.☕ Buy Me a Coffee https://www.buymeacoffee.com/scottsVOur first story today is shorter than most but I love it and I think you will too. It has been published many times, in Hauntings and Horrors, Ten Grisly Tales, 100 Great Fantasy Short Short Stories, 100 Creepy Little Creatures and Werewolf! It’s been titled Monsters in the Night but that’s not the original title. First published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in October 1954 open your seven decade old copy to page 119, A Prophecy of Monsters by Clark Ashton Smith...We’ve got another short story for you today, and this one is a little different too! It was also first published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in October, but three years earlier in 1951, the magazine says it was written by David Grinnel but it was actually written by an old friend of the podcast, turn to page 34, The Rag Thing by Donald A. Wollheim…Next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, Tampering with events of the past could bring disastrous results in the future. It was why Brek was given a pair of six-guns to catch—The Time Snatcher, by Randall Garrett.===========================🎧 Join Our Newsletter - Get Free Audiobooks http://lostscifi.com/free/Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/TheLostSciFiPodcastTwitter - https://x.com/LostSciFiPodInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/lostscifiguyThreads - https://www.threads.net/@scottscifiguyBluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/lostscifipodcast.bsky.socialTikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@scottscifiguy=========================== ❤️ ❤️ Thanks to All Our Listeners Who Bought Us a Coffee$200 Someone$100 Tony from the Future$75 James Van Maanenberg$50 Anonymous Listener$25 Someone, Eaten by a Grue, 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 Denis Kalinin, Timothy Buckley, Andre'a, Martin Brown, Ron McFarlan, Tif Love, Chrystene, Richard Hoffman, Anonymous Listener

It was a lovable little creature, anxious to help solve the troubles of the world. Moreover, it had the answer! But what man ever takes free advice? The Creatures, and the Truth! Misbegotten Missionary by Isaac Asimov. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.Did you know that you can leave comments on individual episodes on Spotify? Tonypegel had this to say, “Thanks for the Zenna Henderson. This is one of the reasons I love your podcast; it lives up to its name. If not for this podcast, many such worthy authors might be lost. Thanks for all you do and how well you do it.”Thanks Tony, we appreciate your comment and sharing stories from lesser-known sci-fi authors is exactly why we started The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast! And don’t forget we take requests. Send us an email, scott@lostscifi.comEvery time we release an episode featuring a story by Isaac Asimov, it quickly becomes one of our most-listened-to episodes. You may know this story as Green Patches but when it was first published on page 34 in Galaxy Science Fiction in November 1950 it had a different name, Misbegotten Missionary by Isaac Asimov...Next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, A creature in the night hunting for fresh meat. Hunting in a way that never fails. A Prophecy of Monsters by Clark Ashton Smith.☕ Buy Me a Coffee https://www.buymeacoffee.com/scottsV===========================🎧 Join Our Newsletter - Get Free Audiobooks http://lostscifi.com/free/Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/TheLostSciFiPodcastTwitter - https://x.com/LostSciFiPodInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/lostscifiguyThreads - https://www.threads.net/@scottscifiguyBluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/lostscifipodcast.bsky.socialTikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@scottscifiguy=========================== ❤️ ❤️ Thanks to All Our Listeners Who Bought Us a Coffee$200 Someone$100 Tony from the Future$75 James Van Maanenberg$50 Anonymous Listener$25 Someone, Eaten by a Grue, 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