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

A gifted performer turns his astonishing hands into tools for theft, but every crime leaves him more frightened of what he carries at the ends of his arms. When a fortune in emeralds and murder enters the bargain, one man discovers too late that greed can develop a life of its own.

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 ListenerListen without commercials and enjoy exclusive bonus episodes every month with Lost Sci-Fi Premium—start your free 7-day trial today. https://lostscifi.supercast.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 ListenerListen without commercials and enjoy exclusive bonus episodes every month with Lost Sci-Fi Premium—start your free 7-day trial today. https://lostscifi.supercast.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Factory workers race to meet impossible wartime production demands while hidden enemies move through the endless machinery of a spinning city in space. One man notices a detail no one else catches, and suddenly millions of lives depend on whether he acts before the shift ends. Factory In The Sky by Basil Wells. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.What can you get for 16 cents a day? Almost nothing anymore.But for less than the price of a cup of coffee once a month, you can unlock all 556 episodes of The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast completely commercial-free — plus bonus episodes you won’t hear anywhere else.Lost Sci-Fi Premium is the best way to support the podcast and enjoy uninterrupted listening.Go to LostSciFi.com/premium or just click the link in the description.Basil Wells takes us back to the Golden Age of science fiction with a strange journey high above the Earth, where industry has escaped the ground entirely and danger waits in the clouds. From page 68 in the September 1941 issue of Astonishing Stories, here’s Factory In The Sky by Basil Wells…Next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, A silent invader hangs over New York while entire buildings and war machines vanish without a sound. As governments prepare for surrender, one desperate idea forces a handful of men to walk straight toward a weapon no one has survived. The World In The Balance by J.P. Marshall. 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 ListenerListen without commercials and enjoy exclusive bonus episodes every month with Lost Sci-Fi Premium—start your free 7-day trial today. https://lostscifi.supercast.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A lawman tracks a violent fugitive to a forgotten planet where no court can reach them and no backup will ever arrive. When the outlaw realizes the detective has no intention of dragging him home, he faces a punishment far worse than a prison cell. Star Chamber by H. B. Fyfe. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.Did you know we take requests? If there is ever a story you would like to hear send us an email. We take requests and are always happy to hear from you, send your email to scott@lostscifi.com.Author H. B. Fyfe has been on the podcast only once previously with, Fee of the Frontier, episode #26 which was released on July 19th, 2022. Open your copy of Amazing Stories for March 1963 to page 114, Star Chamber by H. B. Fyfe…Next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, For one hundred and fifty years, Columbus Norton has lived untouched by disease while the world outside studies him like a miracle trapped behind glass. But when a single visitor awakens a longing no experiment can control, the man who helped humanity live longer must decide whether freedom is worth dying for. The Incubator Man by Wallace West. 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 ListenerListen without commercials and enjoy exclusive bonus episodes every month with Lost Sci-Fi Premium—start your free 7-day trial today. https://lostscifi.supercast.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A desperate young executive discovers that his office safe has become a doorway to the future, and every exchange leaves him richer than before. But when impossible money starts circulating through New York banks, Peter Merton realizes the people on the other side may not care what happens to him once their experiment is finished. Peter Merton’s Private Mint by Harlan Ellison. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.You can never have enough Harlan Ellison. Unfortunately, very few of his stories have entered the public domain, and after today’s episode there is only one more Ellison story left for us to feature. You’ll hear that final story in the coming weeks.If you went searching for a Harlan Ellison story in the October 1956 issue of Fantastic, you wouldn’t find one. Unless, of course, you knew that Ellison sometimes used the pen name Lee Archer. Open your copy of Fantastic to page 74, Peter Merton’s Private Mint by Harlan Ellison…Next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, A lonely wanderer escapes years of darkness and silence only to find that the world beyond his refuge recoils from him in terror. Every step toward warmth and companionship pulls him closer to a revelation that no living soul could endure unchanged. The Outsider by H. P. Lovecraft. 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 ListenerListen without commercials and enjoy exclusive bonus episodes every month with Lost Sci-Fi Premium—start your free 7-day trial today. https://lostscifi.supercast.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The last great city on Earth lives for one purpose: building whatever forgotten machines can still be reconstructed from the ruins of a dead world. When a Research Builder uncovers a mysterious diagram unlike anything ever found before, one reckless decision threatens to repeat the catastrophe that destroyed civilization the first time. The Builders by Fox B. Holden. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.This is the first time we’ve featured a story by Fox B. Holden. He was born in Rochester, New York, in 1923, and like many science fiction fans of his era, he eventually decided to try writing stories of his own.Between 1945 and 1956, nineteen of his stories appeared in a variety of science fiction magazines.From Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy in February 1951 on page 128, The Builders by Fox B. Holden.…Next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, Quintus Maugham built a machine meant to serve him perfectly, but each improvement left him more uneasy in his own home. When a robot begins answering commands in ways its inventor never intended, one man must decide whether he created a servant—or surrendered something far more dangerous. The Maugham Obsession by August Derleth. 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 ListenerListen without commercials and enjoy exclusive bonus episodes every month with Lost Sci-Fi Premium—start your free 7-day trial today. https://lostscifi.supercast.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The first photographs taken on Jupiter reveal towering shapes that watch the explorers’ ship through the mist. Inside the sealed cabin, the crew realizes too late that the creatures outside already know they are there. The Vibration Wasps by Frank Belknap Long. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.Thanks to our listeners in Bosnia and Herzegovina for making The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast the #1 science fiction podcast in your country!That makes 36 countries where we’ve reached #1. We’re incredibly grateful for you and every listener around the world who presses play, shares the show, and keeps vintage science fiction alive. You made this possible, and we can’t thank you enough for your support.If you are Lost Sci-Fi Premium member we will have two episodes for you tomorrow. Our Premium members listen to every story with no commercials and get exclusive bonus episodes too, all for less than 17 cents a day. Get the details at https://lostscifi.com/premium or click on the link in the description. Lost Sci-Fi Premium - https://lostscifi.supercast.com/Our story two days ago, Message from Venus by Russ Winterbotham came from the short lived sci-fi magazine Comet, in January 1941. Today’s story was in that same publication on page 82, The Vibration Wasps by Frank Belknap Long…Next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, A routine military assignment drops Hannibal Pryor onto a forgotten world where the people have built a life no crowded empire could understand. With a planet-killing weapon already on its way, Pryor must decide whether duty still matters when the price is an entire civilization. Testing 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 ListenerListen without commercials and enjoy exclusive bonus episodes every month with Lost Sci-Fi Premium—start your free 7-day trial today. https://lostscifi.supercast.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.