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

An old soldier must decide whether to flee with the last food or stay and face the Children who hunt them through the ruins. When a single voice calls out across the darkness, he has to choose if one fragile memory is enough to risk everything. The Chasm by Bryce Walton. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast. You can listen to every episode of The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, that’s 535 episodes, with no...

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. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast. You keep asking for Apocalyptic Sci-Fi and we do everything we can to give you what you...

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...

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...

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 That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast. Helen Huber wrote one science fiction short story. She is not the same as present day author Helen Huber who...

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. Than...

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...

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 abou...

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 mor...

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...

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 f...

Two relics of a vanished political age stumble into a town that no longer believes in either of them. When neither can accept a world that has quietly moved on, their last argument forces a reckoning no one else wanted. The Last of the Deliverers by Poul Anderson. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast. For a limited time, try Lost Sci-Fi Premium free for 30 days—enjoy every episode commercial-fre...

She got exactly what she wanted—years without a single line, a face untouched by time, a voice that never faltered. But as everything around her changed, she faced a choice no mirror could answer: remain flawless or become whole again. The Mordant by Merab Eberle. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast. Huge thanks to our amazing Spotify listeners for helping us reach 400 ratings with an incredibl...

A discovery that could rewrite medicine instead threatens to erase the man who reaches for it first. Now one decision must be made—protect the truth, or bury it forever to preserve a lifetime of belief. The Sweeper of Loray by Robert Sheckley. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast. Robert Sheckley returns to the podcast with an unusual story from Galaxy magazine in April 1959 on page 120, The Swe...

He builds the perfect opponent, then realizes the contest won’t mean anything unless it can truly cost him something. When he finally forces that moment into existence, he has to decide whether victory is still worth pulling the trigger. The Fastest Draw by Larry Eisenberg. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast. This is the first story by Larry Eisenberg featured on the podcast. He was born in th...

A seasoned trapper finds a doorway to a richer land—but something on the other side is already feeding and watching. When the hunting turns both ways, he must decide whether to claim the new world or survive it. Cat and Mouse by Ralph Williams. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast. Lost Sci-Fi Premium members can listen to Cat and Mouse and the other 520 episodes of the podcast without commercia...

A decision has to be made before the clock runs out, and every method designed to produce certainty keeps failing. With millions of lives in the balance, the only answer left may come from a man who knows how to bet when there’s no second chance. One-Shot by James Blish. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast. If you’ve been enjoying The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast and want even more stories—and a smoothe...

A quiet accountant accepts a game-show challenge that promises a fortune if he can predict the world’s headlines after months cut off from civilization. With one hundred thousand dollars on the line, the only question is whether his careful predictions will be enough to claim the prize. The Long Question by David Mason. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast. This is just the second story by David...

A brilliant alien intelligence has quietly crossed impossible distances, and Earth has no idea it has already been chosen. When one man uncovers the truth, stopping what’s coming may require more than courage—it may demand everything. The Gate to Xoran by Hal K. Wells. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast. Thanks to Bruce in Houston for buying us a coffee. Enjoy your podcast. Thanks for many hou...

An old spaceman lies dying while a rocket prepares for launch nearby. As the final countdown approaches, he fights for one last moment that proves his life in space meant something. Death of a Spaceman by Walter M. Miller Jr. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast. Someone bought us 5 coffees, “What a delight to find your podcast recently! I love these vintage stories that you have resurrected. Yo...

In a future where emotion is engineered and desire is regulated, a respected surgeon begins to sense a flaw in the system he helps enforce. When doctrine collides with instinct, the cost of perfect control becomes impossible to ignore. The Body-Masters by Frank Belknap Long. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast. Thanks to David who recently bought us two coffees. “One of my favorite podcasts, an...

Human explorers believe they’ve conquered a fading Martian village and are reshaping its future. But inside one quiet back room, a different group studies the invaders and prepares to decide whether the colonists will ever leave Mars alive. The Crowded Colony by Jerome Bixby. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast. Jerome Bixby was a busy man in the 1940s, 50s and 60s. Born in Los Angeles in 1923,...

Listen 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/ The night the moon turns an eerie green, every living creature on Earth falls into a silent paralysis—except one scientist who stumbles onto the secret too late to warn the world. Now, with alien invaders already preparing to claim t...

A powerful man on a lonely Saturnian moon believes he has found the key to ruling the Solar System. But when control slips for a single moment, the most obedient servant on Phoebe may decide the fate of them all. Failure on Titan by Robert Abernathy. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast. Your support for The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast puts a smile on my face every day. Your encouraging emails, ratings,...

Beneath the Arctic ice, a diver obsessed with life finds himself forced to choose who deserves to live when machines and men collide in silence. When one violent decision echoes upward into the political world above, he must face whether he has defended his crew—or ignited something far worse. Murder Beneath the Polar Ice by Hayden Howard. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast. Hayden Howard was...