"Standards of Appearance" - A scifi short story about genetically altered ants - by Steven Mathes

"Standards of Appearance" - A scifi short story about genetically altered ants - by Steven Mathes

From TALL TALE TV - Sci-Fi and Fantasy Short Stories by Chris Herron

May 29, 2026 · 24 min · Episode 827

About this episode

This episode features a sci-fi short story about genetically altered ants by Steven Mathes.

Standards of Appearance ep. 827 Steven Mathes lives miles from the nearest pavement with a spouse and a dog. When he isn't writing, he tends a garden. He gardens because he likes to cook. He cooks because he is passionate about eating. He is a full member of SFWA. ---- Listen Elsewhere ---- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TallTaleTV Website: http://www.TallTaleTV.com ---- Story Submission ---- Got a short story you'd like to submit? Submission guidelines can be found at http://www.TallTaleTV.com ---- About Tall Tale TV ---- Hi there! My name is Chris Herron and I'm an audiobook narrator. In 2015, I suffered from poor Type 1 diabetes control which lead me to become legally blind for almost a year. The doctors didn't give me much hope, predicting an 80% chance that I would never see again. But I refused to give up and changed my lifestyle drastically. Through sheer willpower (and an amazing eye surgeon) I beat the odds and regained my vision. During that difficult time, I couldn't read or write, which was devastating as they had always been a source of comfort for me since childhood. However, my wife took me to the local library where she read out the titles of audiobooks to me…

People in this episode

Host: Chris Herron

Guest: Steven Mathes

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: SFWA

Places: YouTube, http://www.TallTaleTV.com

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