Short and interesting

On Short and Interesting we read to you strange and curious things. This week is the poetry of Caves of Qud, winner of the 2025 Hugo Award for Best Game or Interactive Work. This sci-fi far future has many wonders, yet even the most mundane object is still full of deep intrigue. Listen to these descriptions of desks, tables, rocks, tools, creatures, and corpses.Please buy Caves of Qud on Steam or any other platform. This is a special game and really fun. https://store.steampowered.com/app/333640/Caves_of_Qud/. Or, you could read more of its writing on the wiki, https://wiki.cavesofqud.com/wiki/Caves_of_Qud_Wiki.Music by Dan Mason. Check out and buy his music at https://danmason.bandcamp.com. For this podcast we’re using clips of three tracks from his 2019 album Hypnagogia. Available under the Creative Commons License, Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported. Creative Commons License details at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/Check out our website at www.plutocrat.biz. Donations are gratefully accepted. Find us on Bluesky, @shortinteresting. If you’d like to discuss copyright, contact us at copyright@plutocrat.biz. All other inquiries received at podcast@plutocrat.biz.

Welcome to Short and Interesting – the podcast that reads to you short excerpts from old, weird, interesting books. Happy Thanksgiving – why not make a classic midcentury salad from 1969? All you need is water, gelatin, pork, spaghetti, celery, gumdrops, and of course mayonnaise. It’s all here in this absolutely deranged “Salads Cookbook” from 1969. Believe me when I tell you these recipes are utterly demented.I couldn’t even begin to tell you where to find this book to read, but I did find a copy on eBay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/234866473118And while you’re at it, check out pictures of the Candlestick Salad. People really made these back then, huh? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candle_saladMusic by Dan Mason. Check out and buy his music at https://danmason.bandcamp.com. For this podcast we’re using clips of three tracks from his 2019 album Hypnagogia. Available under the Creative Commons License, Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported. Creative Commons License details at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/Check out our website at www.plutocrat.biz. Donations are gratefully accepted. Find us on Bluesky, @shortinteresting. If you’d like to discuss copyright, contact us at copyright@plutocrat.biz. All other inquiries received at podcast@plutocrat.biz.

Welcome to Short and Interesting – the podcast that reads to you short excerpts from old, weird, interesting books. ‘The Prince’ by Niccolo Machiavelli is kind of the perfect book for this project: well-written and highly-specific but with a lot of boring stuff that needs to be cut out. This week we’re just covering one short section about how mercenaries are just no good, and no sane prince would ever hire them.Download this public domain book for free from Project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1232Music by Dan Mason. Check out and buy his music at https://danmason.bandcamp.com. For this podcast we’re using clips of three tracks from his 2019 album Hypnagogia. Available under the Creative Commons License, Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported. Creative Commons License details at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/Check out our website at www.plutocrat.biz. Donations are gratefully accepted. Find us on Bluesky, @shortinteresting. If you’d like to discuss copyright, contact us at copyright@plutocrat.biz. All other inquiries received at podcast@plutocrat.biz.

Welcome to Short and Interesting – the podcast that reads to you short excerpts from old, weird, interesting books. What if you had a great big book full of every dream there is, so that when you have a dream, you can look up in a book to figure out what it means? In the early 20th century a businessman named Gustavus Hindman Miller set out to do this, and he wrote this book. Did he succeed? Judge for yourself.Download this public domain book for free from Project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/926The author was an interesting historical figure. If you want some more details, you could simply start with Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustavus_Hindman_MillerMusic by Dan Mason. Check out and buy his music at https://danmason.bandcamp.com. For this podcast we’re using clips of three tracks from his 2019 album Hypnagogia. Available under the Creative Commons License, Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported. Creative Commons License details at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/Check out our website at www.plutocrat.biz. Donations are gratefully accepted. Find us on Bluesky, @shortinteresting. If you’d like to discuss copyright, contact us at copyright@plutocrat.biz. All other inquiries received at podcast@plutocrat.biz.

Welcome to Short and Interesting – the podcast that reads to you short excerpts from old, weird, interesting books. Is there such a thing as free will? Do your choices matter? Can you be held responsible for your actions, good or bad? Weighty questions are covered in a quick and breezy manner in Thomas Nagel’s “What Does It All Mean,” from 1987.This book published by Oxford University Press, all rights reserved. Why not purchase a copy for yourself? You can do that here: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/what-does-it-all-mean-thomas-nagel/1111620615Music by Dan Mason. Check out and buy his music at https://danmason.bandcamp.com. For this podcast we’re using clips of three tracks from his 2019 album Hypnagogia. Available under the Creative Commons License, Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported. Creative Commons License details at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/Check out our website at https://www.plutocrat.biz. Donations are gratefully accepted. Find us on Bluesky, @shortinteresting. If you’d like to discuss copyright, contact us at copyright@plutocrat.biz. All other inquiries received at podcast@plutocrat.biz.

Welcome to Short and Interesting – the podcast that reads to you short excerpts from old, weird, interesting books. For Halloween, we’re reading the single best story from Charles MacKay’s 19th “Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds,” about alchemists throughout history. The notorious Gilles de Rais wanted gold, so he turned to alchemy, and then the devil. He became one of history’s earliest and most notorious serial killers, but as far as we know he never ended up turning lead into gold.Download this public domain book for free from Project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/24518There’s plenty more about this historical figure out there. If you want some more gnarly details, you could simply start with Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilles_de_RaisMusic by Dan Mason. Check out and buy his music at https://danmason.bandcamp.com. For this podcast we’re using clips of three tracks from his 2019 album Hypnagogia. Available under the Creative Commons License, Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported. Creative Commons License details at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/Check out our website at podcast.plutocrat.biz. Donations are gratefully accepted. Find us on Bluesky, @shortandinteresting. If you’d like to discuss copyright, contact us at copyright@plutocrat.biz. All other inquiries received at podcast@plutocrat.biz.

You’re listening to Short and Interesting – the podcast that reads to you short excerpts from old, weird books. This week is the game plan for Matthew Hopkins, self-proclaimed Witch-Finder, from 1698. When you go into town to find witches, some villagers will try to stop you. Here’s how you respond to all their arguments and win the debate. Some men really do know everything.Download this public domain book for free from Project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/14015Music by Dan Mason. Check out and buy his music at https://danmason.bandcamp.com. For this podcast we’re using clips of three tracks from his 2019 album Hypnagogia. Available under the Creative Commons License, Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported. Creative Commons License details at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/Check out our website at podcast.plutocrat.biz. Donations are gratefully accepted. Find us on Bluesky, @shortandinteresting. If you’d like to discuss copyright, contact us at copyright@plutocrat.biz. All other inquiries received at podcast@plutocrat.biz.

You’re listening to Short and Interesting – the podcast that reads to you short excerpts from old, weird books. Like this declassified memo from the CIA to the FBI about communist brainwashing techniques. Of course, they still work even if you aren’t communist.This memo dated April 25, 1956 was formerly classified but was approved for release on February 8, 1984. I found this online a few years ago, but I’m currently unable to find a copy via web search … wonder when that changed? If I find it online again, I’ll post a link.Music by Dan Mason. Check out and buy his music at https://danmason.bandcamp.com. For this podcast we’re using clips of three tracks from his 2019 album Hypnagogia. Available under the Creative Commons License, Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported. Creative Commons License details at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/Check out our website at podcast.plutocrat.biz. Donations are gratefully accepted. Find us on Bluesky, @shortandinteresting. If you’d like to discuss copyright, contact us at copyright@plutocrat.biz. All other inquiries received at podcast@plutocrat.biz.

You’re listening to Short and Interesting – the podcast that reads to you short excerpts from old, weird, interesting books. You’ve heard the saying about the three types of falsehoods: there are lies, damn lies, and statistics. Well, Darrell Huff wrote “How to Lie With Statistics” (1954) to teach you how it works. A great little dose of skepticism and media literacy goes a long way in 2025.Music by Dan Mason. Check out and buy his music at https://danmason.bandcamp.com. For this podcast we’re using clips of three tracks from his 2019 album Hypnagogia. Available under the Creative Commons License, Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported. Creative Commons License details at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/Check out our website at podcast.plutocrat.biz. Donations are gratefully accepted. Find us on Bluesky, @shortandinteresting. If you’d like to discuss copyright, contact us at copyright@plutocrat.biz. All other inquiries received at podcast@plutocrat.biz.