With Rachael

This week’s story is an Estonian fairy tale, translated to English, about a young boy trying to save his town from being eaten by a roving dragon. The only way he can do that is to make sure that he has the Ring of Solomon, that has written instructions - but where is it? And how does he decipher what to do? Listen to this episode of With Rachael to find out! I hope you enjoy. Like, Comment, or Sh...

Edgar Allan Poe is practically the godfather of macabre. This story is just an example of his writing in a way that allows the readers to be fully immersed, but deeply trouble them. Although I didn’t enjoy the themes and plot of this one, I can recognize that his writing is impressive, intriguing, and bursting at the seams with details. There’s also something so honest about loving something so mu...

We as a human race are always searching for more. If we’re looking for a higher power or hunt for a better way to do something - that’s not anything new. What do we do once we learn the truth about a situation or if we build a new technology? Do we hold it for ourselves or do we innately get so excited to share about it, not thinking about potential risks? Personally, I stop and share everything I...

Today’s episode is about a woman who’s not well. Her husband/physician, since that’s a great combination, has prescribed her rest in the countryside. It’s a beautiful house with incredible gardens and greenery - grape vines, and pathways around the property. What isn’t gorgeous however, is the musty, dirty, yellow wallpaper in the room in which she is ordered to rest. The man she has trusted to be...

This is a whimsical confession to a woman who will never read it. While trying to make the trek cross country on top of a train, the protagonist comes across many people. Some may be willing to feed him, some want him to kick rocks, and some might just stare and wait for him to move past. In choosing this short story, I thought it would be a delightful way to shake off some of the funk from the la...

This episode may be short and sweet, but long after recording, I began to think. I tend to ponder ideas and concepts to the point where I’ve thought it to death and I annoy myself. This rumination has deeper implications. The biggest take away here is that there’s a man that’s tired of being poor, so he sets off to be rich, but stops to say that he’ll never make an honest penny again. Fine. I can...

“With Rachael” has quickly become a way for me to get to know classic authors, read their short stories, and expand my horizons when it comes to reading. What started as just a podcast to help me, and you (duh), go to sleep at night has me checking out more books from the library. You hear the name Ray Bradbury so often when it comes to literary greats. He’s been on every high school english curri...

You all know H.G. Wells from his exciting works like, The Invisible Man or War of the Worlds , but have you ever ventured into his other works? This short story is about a shy kid and his dad going to a Magic Shop meeting unique characters and the presence of magic in an ordinary space. This is my first time reading anything by H.G. Wells and if any of his other work is like this, I’d be happy to...

I’m not the most creative human being on the planet, but I do like to make up scenes in my head. I spent a lot of time reading books on the couch about far away places, things that could never happen in real life, and imaginary worlds filled with any type of living being that you could think of. As a chronic over thinker, Sherlock Holmes brought out a world where I could overthink and it still wou...

I’ve always wanted to start a podcast, but I’ve never had the content ideas. One of my friends is a creative and he gave me some advice that he probably heard from someone else. “Create the kind of art that you’d want to listen to. What kind of podcasts do you like?” That’s how this podcast was born. For over 10 years I’ve been listening to podcasts to fall asleep. I’ve been listening to other peo...