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

As war crushes a city into exhaustion and fear, one man begins hearing the thoughts of a killer whose violent urges grow stronger with every passing night. Each new death brings a terrible question closer to the surface: what happens when the mind receiving the murders finally becomes part of them? Time to Kill by Henry Kuttner. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.Thanks to gkeramidas for a 5 star rating and review on Apple Podcasts, “I have always liked science fiction. I have always admired the imagination of authors who manages to write all of these amazing stories. I thought I knew many different stories already.Oh my goodness, I had no idea. This podcast has brought me in contact with so many great authors, so many amazing stories, so many wonderful episodes! Thank you so much!!!”Thank you gkeramidas! We would love it if you would leave us a 5 star rating and glowing review on Apple Podcasts, if you think we deserve it. We have 429 ratings on Apple US with an average of 4.9 thanks to you!!Today’s story by Henry Kuttner was first published in Strange Stories in June 1940 on page 38, Time to Kill…Next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, Stranded alone on a forgotten asteroid, Craig Wilson survives only because a colony of strange furry creatures refuses to abandon him. When rescue finally arrives, he discovers the real danger isn’t starvation but deciding how far he will go to protect the only friends he has left. Farewell to Fuzzies by Henry Hasse.👉 💎 Lost Sci-Fi Premium - https://lostscifi.supercast.com/☕ Buy Me a Coffee - https://lostscifi.com/coffee===========================🎧 Newsletter - https://lostscifi.com/free/Facebook - https://lostscifi.com/facebookYouTube - https://lostscifi.com/youtubeX - http://Lostscifi.com/xInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/lostscifiguyBluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/lostscifipodcast.bsky.social👕 Merchandise - https://lostscifi.creator-spring.com/===========================❤️ ❤️ Thanks to Our Listeners Who Bought Us a Coffee$200 Someone$100 Tony from the Future$75 James Van Maanenberg$50 MizzBassie, Anonymous Listener$25 Fintan Quigley, Curious Jon, David Bell, Steve, Miriam, Someone, 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 Steve, Someone, SueTheLibrarian, Joannie West, Amy Özkan, Someone, Carolyn Guthleben, Patrick McLendon, Curious Jon, Buz C., Fressie, Anonymous Listener$10 David, Anonymous Listener$5 Every Month Eaten by a Grue$5 Tammy, Owen, Bruce, Someone, TLD, David, Denis Kalinin, Timothy Buckley, Andre'a, Martin Brown, Ron McFarlan, Tif Love, Chrystene, Richard Hoffman, Anonymous Listener

A strange metal cube turns a quiet neighborhood into a battlefield of scientists, preachers, and officials desperate to explain what no one can move, measure, or understand. But the most unsettling possibility is not where the cube came from — it’s who may have wanted it there in the first place. John Thomas’s Cube by John Leimert. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.Author John Leimert makes his first and last appearance on the podcast today. Why? Because he only had one story published and although we discovered the story in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in August 1951 it was first published in the August 1945 issue of The Atlantic Monthly.What else do we know about John Leimert? Nothing. Let’s turn to page 85 in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, John Thomas’s Cube by John Leimert…Next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, As war crushes a city into exhaustion and fear, one man begins hearing the thoughts of a killer whose violent urges grow stronger with every passing night. Each new death brings a terrible question closer to the surface: what happens when the mind receiving the murders finally becomes part of them? Time to Kill by Henry Kuttner.👉 💎 Lost Sci-Fi Premium - https://lostscifi.supercast.com/☕ Buy Me a Coffee - https://lostscifi.com/coffee===========================🎧 Newsletter - https://lostscifi.com/free/Facebook - https://lostscifi.com/facebookYouTube - https://lostscifi.com/youtubeX - http://Lostscifi.com/xInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/lostscifiguyBluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/lostscifipodcast.bsky.social👕 Merchandise - https://lostscifi.creator-spring.com/===========================❤️ ❤️ Thanks to Our Listeners Who Bought Us a Coffee$200 Someone$100 Tony from the Future$75 James Van Maanenberg$50 MizzBassie, Anonymous Listener$25 Fintan Quigley, Curious Jon, David Bell, Steve, Miriam, Someone, 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 Steve, Someone, SueTheLibrarian, Joannie West, Amy Özkan, Someone, Carolyn Guthleben, Patrick McLendon, Curious Jon, Buz C., Fressie, Anonymous Listener$10 David, Anonymous Listener$5 Every Month Eaten by a Grue$5 Tammy, Owen, Bruce, Someone, TLD, David, Denis Kalinin, Timothy Buckley, Andre'a, Martin Brown, Ron McFarlan, Tif Love, Chrystene, Richard Hoffman, Anonymous Listener

William spends years preparing himself for a moment he believes will change the city forever, while millions of exhausted strangers stumble through another suffocating summer. When the crowds suddenly fall silent and turn toward him with perfect devotion, he climbs above the city convinced he finally understands why he was chosen. The Last Friday In August by David Ely. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.David Ely makes his debut on the podcast. He was born David Eli Lilienthal Jr. in November 1927, in Chicago, Illinois.He wrote three novels, including Seconds, which was adapted into the 1966 film starring Rock Hudson. Ely also wrote the teleplay for a 1971 episode of Night Gallery.Ely wrote 21 science fiction short stories, beginning in 1961. Today’s story was only his second venture into science fiction, appearing in Fantastic Stories of Imagination in December 1961 on page 44. The Last Friday In August by David Ely.Next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, A strange metal cube turns a quiet neighborhood into a battlefield of scientists, preachers, and officials desperate to explain what no one can move, measure, or understand. But the most unsettling possibility is not where the cube came from — it’s who may have wanted it there in the first place. John Thomas’s Cube by John Leimert.👉 💎 Lost Sci-Fi Premium - https://lostscifi.supercast.com/☕ Buy Me a Coffee - https://lostscifi.com/coffee===========================🎧 Newsletter - https://lostscifi.com/free/Facebook - https://lostscifi.com/facebookYouTube - https://lostscifi.com/youtubeX - http://Lostscifi.com/xInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/lostscifiguyBluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/lostscifipodcast.bsky.social👕 Merchandise - https://lostscifi.creator-spring.com/===========================❤️ ❤️ Thanks to Our Listeners Who Bought Us a Coffee$200 Someone$100 Tony from the Future$75 James Van Maanenberg$50 MizzBassie, Anonymous Listener$25 Fintan Quigley, Curious Jon, David Bell, Steve, Miriam, Someone, 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 Steve, Someone, SueTheLibrarian, Joannie West, Amy Özkan, Someone, Carolyn Guthleben, Patrick McLendon, Curious Jon, Buz C., Fressie, Anonymous Listener$10 David, Anonymous Listener$5 Every Month Eaten by a Grue$5 Tammy, Owen, Bruce, Someone, TLD, David, Denis Kalinin, Timothy Buckley, Andre'a, Martin Brown, Ron McFarlan, Tif Love, Chrystene, Richard Hoffman, Anonymous Listener

A stubborn mountain resort owner discovers that certain tourists will go to impossible lengths to protect their favorite fishing spot. Charlie Buckner suddenly finds himself bargaining with visitors who can erase memories, burn buildings, and still care more about trout than secrecy. The One That Got Away by Chad Oliver. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.Chad Oliver was both an anthropologist and a writer. Like many authors of his era, he wrote both science fiction and western fiction. Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1928, Oliver wrote six science fiction novels, more than sixty science fiction short stories, and three western novels.It’s not unusual to discover an author who had a handful of letters published in science fiction magazines during the 1940s and 1950s. What is unusual is finding one who wrote nearly one hundred of them!Although he was born in Ohio, Oliver spent most of his life in Austin, Texas. He served twice as chairman of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Texas, balancing an academic career with a remarkably successful writing career.Today’s story first appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in May 1959, beginning on page 41. As you listen, it probably won’t surprise you to learn that Oliver was an avid fly fisherman. The One That Got Away by Chad Oliver.Next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, William spends years preparing himself for a moment he believes will change the city forever, while millions of exhausted strangers stumble through another suffocating summer. When the crowds suddenly fall silent and turn toward him with perfect devotion, he climbs above the city convinced he finally understands why he was chosen. The Last Friday In August by David Ely.👉 💎 Lost Sci-Fi Premium - https://lostscifi.supercast.com/☕ Buy Me a Coffee - https://lostscifi.com/coffee===========================🎧 Newsletter - https://lostscifi.com/free/Facebook - https://lostscifi.com/facebookYouTube - https://lostscifi.com/youtubeX - http://Lostscifi.com/xInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/lostscifiguyBluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/lostscifipodcast.bsky.social👕 Merchandise - https://lostscifi.creator-spring.com/===========================❤️ ❤️ Thanks to Our Listeners Who Bought Us a Coffee$200 Someone$100 Tony from the Future$75 James Van Maanenberg$50 MizzBassie, Anonymous Listener$25 Fintan Quigley, Curious Jon, David Bell, Steve, Miriam, Someone, 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 Steve, Someone, SueTheLibrarian, Joannie West, Amy Özkan, Someone, Carolyn Guthleben, Patrick McLendon, Curious Jon, Buz C., Fressie, Anonymous Listener$10 David, Anonymous Listener$5 Every Month Eaten by a Grue$5 Tammy, Owen, Bruce, Someone, TLD, David, Denis Kalinin, Timothy Buckley, Andre'a, Martin Brown, Ron McFarlan, Tif Love, Chrystene, Richard Hoffman, Anonymous Listener

Three desperate thieves steal a machine that promises access to a hidden realm where every invention already exists, but what waits there responds to the minds that enter it. Butch Conners sees the score of a lifetime ahead of him, unaware that some doors lead somewhere far stranger than treasure. The Thought Machine by Ray Cummings. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast keeps growing and growing like never before. We are now the #1 science fiction podcast in Italy, Vietnam, Nigeria and Germany! That’s 43 countries where we have hit #1. Thank you for taking us to new heights far greater than we ever imagined.We love narrating stories by Ray Cummings. This is the 6th story by this amazing author on our podcast.First published 103 years and 5 days ago in Argosy All-Story Weekly, May 26, 1923 on page 762, The Thought Machine by Ray Cummings…Next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, A stubborn mountain resort owner discovers that certain tourists will go to impossible lengths to protect their favorite fishing spot. Charlie Buckner suddenly finds himself bargaining with visitors who can erase memories, burn buildings, and still care more about trout than secrecy. The One That Got Away by Chad Oliver.👉 💎 Lost Sci-Fi Premium - https://lostscifi.supercast.com/☕ Buy Me a Coffee - https://lostscifi.com/coffee===========================🎧 Newsletter - https://lostscifi.com/free/Facebook - https://lostscifi.com/facebookYouTube - https://lostscifi.com/youtubeX - http://Lostscifi.com/xInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/lostscifiguyBluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/lostscifipodcast.bsky.social👕 Merchandise - https://lostscifi.creator-spring.com/===========================❤️ ❤️ Thanks to Our Listeners Who Bought Us a Coffee$200 Someone$100 Tony from the Future$75 James Van Maanenberg$50 MizzBassie, Anonymous Listener$25 Fintan Quigley, Curious Jon, David Bell, Steve, Miriam, Someone, 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 Steve, Someone, SueTheLibrarian, Joannie West, Amy Özkan, Someone, Carolyn Guthleben, Patrick McLendon, Curious Jon, Buz C., Fressie, Anonymous Listener$10 David, Anonymous Listener$5 Every Month Eaten by a Grue$5 Tammy, Owen, Bruce, Someone, TLD, David, Denis Kalinin, Timothy Buckley, Andre'a, Martin Brown, Ron McFarlan, Tif Love, Chrystene, Richard Hoffman, Anonymous Listener

Alfred Pendray has one chance to warn Earth before an enemy weapon turns the Sun into a killing firestorm, but every path home carries a price no sane man would willingly pay. Drifting alone through a shattered warship, he faces a calculation that grows more terrifying the closer he gets to solving it. The Measure of a Man by Randall Garrett. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.From the April 1960 issue of Astounding/Analog Science Fact & Fiction on page 110, The Measure of a Man by Randall Garrett…Next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, Three desperate thieves steal a machine that promises access to a hidden realm where every invention already exists, but what waits there responds to the minds that enter it. Butch Conners sees the score of a lifetime ahead of him, unaware that some doors lead somewhere far stranger than treasure. The Thought Machine by Ray Cummings.👉 💎 Lost Sci-Fi Premium - https://lostscifi.supercast.com/☕ Buy Me a Coffee - https://lostscifi.com/coffee===========================🎧 Newsletter - https://lostscifi.com/free/Facebook - https://lostscifi.com/facebookYouTube - https://lostscifi.com/youtubeX - http://Lostscifi.com/xInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/lostscifiguyBluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/lostscifipodcast.bsky.social👕 Merchandise - https://lostscifi.creator-spring.com/===========================❤️ ❤️ Thanks to Our Listeners Who Bought Us a Coffee$200 Someone$100 Tony from the Future$75 James Van Maanenberg$50 MizzBassie, Anonymous Listener$25 Fintan Quigley, Curious Jon, David Bell, Steve, Miriam, Someone, 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 Steve, Someone, SueTheLibrarian, Joannie West, Amy Özkan, Someone, Carolyn Guthleben, Patrick McLendon, Curious Jon, Buz C., Fressie, Anonymous Listener$10 David, Anonymous Listener$5 Every Month Eaten by a Grue$5 Tammy, Owen, Bruce, Someone, TLD, David, Denis Kalinin, Timothy Buckley, Andre'a, Martin Brown, Ron McFarlan, Tif Love, Chrystene, Richard Hoffman, Anonymous Listener

A brilliant scientist uncovers evidence that humanity’s greatest technological triumph may already have marked Earth for execution. As governments race toward bigger weapons and tighter control, one terrifying question remains: what happens if the planet itself wants the infection destroyed? The Gray Cloud by Walter Kubilius. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.You are listening to the #1 science fiction podcast in Russia! That makes 39 countries where we have hit #1. Thank you for all that you do! For the 5 star ratings and reviews, for sharing The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast on social media and with your friends. You have made us #1 in 39 countries and we will continue to do our best to honor these amazing authors and incredible stories by narrating every story to the best of our ability. Thank you!Walter Kubilius is making his Lost Sci-Fi Podcast debut. He was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania in 1918 which wouldn’t normally be weird, except for the fact that the author of yesterday’s story, Leo P. Kelley was also born in Wilkes-Barre. We didn’t plan it that way.Kubilius wrote 25 sci-fi short stories from 1941 to 1953. Published in the pages of the March 1951 issue of Future Combined with Science Fiction Stories on page 44, The Gray Cloud by Walter Kubilius…Next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, Alfred Pendray has one chance to warn Earth before an enemy weapon turns the Sun into a killing firestorm, but every path home carries a price no sane man would willingly pay. Drifting alone through a shattered warship, he faces a calculation that grows more terrifying the closer he gets to solving it. The Measure of a Man by Randall Garrett.👉 💎 Lost Sci-Fi Premium - https://lostscifi.supercast.com/☕ Buy Me a Coffee - https://lostscifi.com/coffee===========================🎧 Newsletter - https://lostscifi.com/free/Facebook - https://lostscifi.com/facebookYouTube - https://lostscifi.com/youtubeX - http://Lostscifi.com/xInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/lostscifiguyBluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/lostscifipodcast.bsky.social👕 Merchandise - https://lostscifi.creator-spring.com/===========================❤️ ❤️ Thanks to Our Listeners Who Bought Us a Coffee$200 Someone$100 Tony from the Future$75 James Van Maanenberg$50 MizzBassie, Anonymous Listener$25 Fintan Quigley, Curious Jon, David Bell, Steve, Miriam, Someone, 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 Steve, Someone, SueTheLibrarian, Joannie West, Amy Özkan, Someone, Carolyn Guthleben, Patrick McLendon, Curious Jon, Buz C., Fressie, Anonymous Listener$10 David, Anonymous Listener$5 Every Month Eaten by a Grue$5 Tammy, Owen, Bruce, Someone, TLD, David, Denis Kalinin, Timothy Buckley, Andre'a, Martin Brown, Ron McFarlan, Tif Love, Chrystene, Richard Hoffman, Anonymous Listener

In a future where every craving can be simulated and every discomfort erased, one aging man risks humiliation to remind people what genuine joy once felt like. What begins as a desperate act inside a sterile circus quickly forces an audience to rediscover something they didn’t realize they had lost. The Human Element by Leo P. Kelley. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.Never heard of Leo P. Kelley? Neither had I. But once I started digging into his work, I discovered he was far more prolific than I expected. Born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, in 1928, Kelley wrote ten science fiction novels and roughly thirty-five short stories.Science fiction wasn’t his only genre. He also penned more than twenty Western novels during his writing career.From If Worlds of Science Fiction in June 1957 on page 106, The Human Element by Leo P. Kelley…Next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, A brilliant scientist uncovers evidence that humanity’s greatest technological triumph may already have marked Earth for execution. As governments race toward bigger weapons and tighter control, one terrifying question remains: what happens if the planet itself wants the infection destroyed? The Gray Cloud by Walter Kubilius.👉 💎 Lost Sci-Fi Premium - https://lostscifi.supercast.com/☕ Buy Me a Coffee - https://lostscifi.com/coffee===========================🎧 Newsletter - https://lostscifi.com/free/Facebook - https://lostscifi.com/facebookYouTube - https://lostscifi.com/youtubeX - http://Lostscifi.com/xInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/lostscifiguyBluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/lostscifipodcast.bsky.social👕 Merchandise - https://lostscifi.creator-spring.com/===========================❤️ ❤️ Thanks to Our Listeners Who Bought Us a Coffee$200 Someone$100 Tony from the Future$75 James Van Maanenberg$50 MizzBassie, Anonymous Listener$25 Fintan Quigley, Curious Jon, David Bell, Steve, Miriam, Someone, 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 Steve, Someone, SueTheLibrarian, Joannie West, Amy Özkan, Someone, Carolyn Guthleben, Patrick McLendon, Curious Jon, Buz C., Fressie, Anonymous Listener$10 David, Anonymous Listener$5 Every Month Eaten by a Grue$5 Tammy, Owen, Bruce, Someone, TLD, David, Denis Kalinin, Timothy Buckley, Andre'a, Martin Brown, Ron McFarlan, Tif Love, Chrystene, Richard Hoffman, Anonymous Listener