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

Humanity finally reaches Mars expecting discovery, only to stumble into a revelation that quietly rewrites Earth’s entire history. What begins as triumph turns into a cosmic joke with unsettling implications no one is prepared to accept. Mimsy’s Joke by Millard Grimes. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.Millard Grimes was born in Newnan Georgia in 1930, began his long career in newspapers as a proofreader and copy boy when he was still a high school student. He attended the University of Georgia where he wrote for the student newspaper, The Red & Black all four years that he was a student, and served as editor of the then-daily newspaper in 1950.Over the next 50 years Millard Grimes bought and sold, launched and expanded more newspapers than most people have ever read. At one time or another he owned more than three dozen newspapers in Georgia and Alabama. He published one novel, The Last Linotype, which was released when he was 90 and only two years before his death.He won a Pulitzer Prize for Journalism as a member of the Columbus Ledger team for the newspaper’s coverage of corruption in Phenix City, Alabama in 1955. The previous year his only science fiction story was published in March 1954 in Planet Stories Magazine on page 31, Mimsy’s Joke by Millard Grimes…Next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, Hunted across a broken countryside, a frightened girl discovers a power that keeps her hidden—but not safe. When the men and dogs close in, she must decide whether to keep running or trust the unseen voice that promises a way out. Run, Little Monster! by Chester S. Geier.👉 💎 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

On the last surviving star, a civilization that has mastered time, matter, and life itself faces a slow extinction they cannot stop. When a newly created mind claims victory over the unstoppable force consuming the universe, one decision will determine whether anything at all remains. The Red Brain by Donald Wandrei. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.Author Donald Wandrei makes his debut on the podcast today. Born in 1908 in St. Paul, Minnesota, he built a reputation as a science fiction writer, poet, and editor—and, like many writers of his era, he shared a strong connection with H. P. Lovecraft.As a teenager, Wandrei hitchhiked from Minnesota to Rhode Island to meet Lovecraft in person. That journey led to his involvement in the Lovecraft Circle, alongside writers such as Frank Belknap Long and Clark Ashton Smith.Wandrei also played a crucial role behind the scenes. Without his intervention, The Call of Cthulhu might never have appeared in Weird Tales. He wrote directly to the magazine’s publisher, making it clear that if Lovecraft’s work wasn’t accepted, the author would take his stories elsewhere.In late 1937, after H. P. Lovecraft’s death, Donald Wandrei and August Derleth tried to publish a memorial collection of his best weird fiction. When major publishers passed, they created their own company—Arkham House—to release Lovecraft’s work in hardcover.The name comes from Lovecraft’s fictional city of Arkham, Massachusetts.Donald Wandrei went on to write nearly 100 science fiction short stories, and he was just 16 when he wrote the one you’re about to hear—his first to be published, in Weird Tales magazine in October 1927 on page 531, The Red Brain by Donald Wandrei…Next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, Humanity finally reaches Mars expecting discovery, only to stumble into a revelation that quietly rewrites Earth’s entire history. What begins as triumph turns into a cosmic joke with unsettling implications no one is prepared to accept. Mimsy’s Joke by Millard Grimes.👉 💎 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

On Mars, the future of an entire colony may depend on a herd of cattle that suddenly begin behaving like something else is thinking through their eyes. With her husband trapped millions of miles away, Lynne Marcein must confront a threat no one expected—while carrying the second child ever conceived on the Red Planet. Snowstorm on Mars by Sam Merwin Jr. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.Thanks to you we are now the #1 Science Fiction Podcast in Iceland, and that makes it 35 countries where you have made us #1. Thank you for every listen, every rating and review.Today’s story was originally published in Fantastic Universe in June 1956 on page 80, Snowstorm on Mars by Sam Merwin Jr.…Next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, A nurse and a young doctor discover something inside the newborns that will not stay small for long. If they act, they risk becoming monsters themselves—if they don’t, they send thirty killers out into the world. I’ll Kill You Tomorrow by Helen Huber.👉 💎 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

After years away, a man returns to the world he fought to remember—only to find it quietly changing into something he thought he’d left behind. Faced with a future he can’t accept, he must decide where he truly belongs before that choice is taken from him. Pink Grass Planet by Sam Merwin Jr. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.We have two episodes for you today if you are a Lost Sci-Fi Premium Member. For less than 17 cents a day you can listen to more than 530 episodes commercial free and enjoy bonus episodes too. Go to https://lostscifi.com/premium or click on the link in the description.Today’s story was published in the May 1955 issue of Fantastic Universe on page 122, Pink Grass Planet by Sam Merwin Jr.…Next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, On Mars, the future of an entire colony may depend on a herd of cattle that suddenly begin behaving like something else is thinking through their eyes. With her husband trapped millions of miles away, Lynne Marcein must confront a threat no one expected—while carrying the second child ever conceived on the Red Planet. Snowstorm on Mars by Sam Merwin Jr.👉 💎 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

She thinks she’s found someone who understands her after years of isolation, someone waiting just a few decks below with a voice that feels closer than touch. But as she follows him deeper into the ship, she has to decide whether to trust what she cannot see—or turn back before the truth closes in. The Passenger by Kenneth Harmon. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.The only thing we know about author Kenneth Harmon is that he had one published story, which can be found on page 113 in the February 1954 issue of Galaxy Science Fiction, The Passenger by Kenneth Harmon…Next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, an apocalyptic sci-fi bonus episode for Lost Sci-Fi Premium members and After years away, a man returns to the world he fought to remember—only to find it quietly changing into something he thought he’d left behind. Faced with a future he can’t accept, he must decide where he truly belongs before that choice is taken from him. Pink Grass Planet by Sam Merwin Jr.👉 💎 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 machine older than recorded history hums in the darkness of Titan, and the longer humanity studies it, the more it begins to feel watched. When the final pattern snaps into focus, the question is no longer what it does—but what it has already done to Earth. The Towers of Titan by Ben Bova. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.After our first story by Ben Bova, you made it clear you wanted more—so we went digging and found another. From the January 1962 issue of Amazing Stories, starting on page 10… The Towers of Titan by Ben Bova…Next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, She thinks she’s found someone who understands her after years of isolation, someone waiting just a few decks below with a voice that feels closer than touch. But as she follows him deeper into the ship, she has to decide whether to trust what she cannot see—or turn back before the truth closes in. The Passenger by Kenneth Harmon.👉 💎 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

An expedition returns from the Third Planet with its numbers broken and its confidence shaken. What was once a routine operation has turned into something far more dangerous, and the surviving officer must explain how a familiar world became a battlefield without warning. This Means War! by A. Bertram Chandler. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.If you are a Lost Sci-Fi Premium member we have two episodes for you today. Premium members get every episode with no commercials in addition to at least 4 bonus episodes every month all for less than 17 cents a day. Ben Bova wrote our bonus episode available now on Lost Sci-Fi Premium and for a limited time you can get a 30 day free trial. There’s a link in the description. 👉 💎 Lost Sci-Fi Premium - https://lostscifi.supercast.com/The world was at war when A. Bertram Chandler released his very first story in the May 1944 issue of Astounding Science Fiction on page 29, This Means War! by A. Bertram Chandler…Next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, A machine older than recorded history hums in the darkness of Titan, and the longer humanity studies it, the more it begins to feel watched. When the final pattern snaps into focus, the question is no longer what it does—but what it has already done to Earth. Then Towers of Titan by Ben Bova.👉 💎 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 man desperate for freedom from his own finances makes a decision he can’t undo. But when control finally slips into his hands, he discovers too late what his guardian chose to protect—and how far that protection went. The Miserly Robot by R. J. Rice. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.We don’t know anything about today’s author. Perhaps it was a pseudonym, maybe not, the only story we can find written by R. J. Rice was published in October 1958 on page 112 of Imagination, The Miserly Robot by R. J. Rice…Next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, An expedition returns from the Third Planet with its numbers broken and its confidence shaken. What was once a routine operation has turned into something far more dangerous, and the surviving officer must explain how a familiar world became a battlefield without warning. This Means War! by A. Bertram Chandler👉 💎 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 Listenerhttps://lostscifi.com/podcast/the-miserly-robot-by-r-j-rice/