
The Human Element by Leo P. Kelley
From The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast - Vintage Sci-Fi Short Stories by Scott Miller
May 29, 2026 · 21 min · Episode 563
About this episode
In a future where every craving can be simulated, one man risks humiliation to remind people of genuine joy.
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…
People in this episode
Host: Scott Miller
Topics covered
- future society
- genuine joy
- aging
- science fiction
- human experience
Keywords
- Leo P. Kelley
- The Human Element
- science fiction
- future
- genuine joy
- aging man
- sterile circus
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Lost Sci-Fi Premium, Lost Sci-Fi
Books & works: The Human Element, The Gray Cloud
Places: Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
More episodes of The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast - Vintage Sci-Fi Short Stories
- Through the Purple Cloud by Jack Williamson · June 13, 2026 · 46 min
- Cattivo by Alan Nelson · June 11, 2026 · 27 min
- Farewell to Fuzzies by Henry Hasse · June 7, 2026 · 28 min
- Time to Kill by Henry Kuttner · June 6, 2026 · 35 min
- John Thomas's Cube by John Leimert · June 5, 2026 · 27 min
- The Last Friday In August by David Ely · June 4, 2026 · 22 min
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast - Vintage Sci-Fi Short Stories podcast page.