http://escapepod.org The Science Fiction Podcast Magazine. Each week Escape Pod delivers science fiction short stories from today's best authors. Listen today, and hear the new sound of science fiction! Thu, 09 Feb 2012 22:05:07 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=7393 Copyright © 2012 Escape Pod http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0 editor@escapepod.org (Mur Lafferty) editor@escapepod.org (Mur Lafferty) science fiction 1440 science fiction, sf, stories, audiobooks, storytelling, fiction, short fiction, short story The Science Fiction Podcast Magazine The Science Fiction Podcast Magazine. Each week Escape Pod delivers science fiction short stories from todayapos;s best authors. Listen today, and hear the new sound of science fiction! Mur Lafferty Mur Lafferty editor@escapepod.org No no http://escapepod.org/wp-content/images/pod-org-icon300.jpg http://escapepod.org 144 144 http://escapepod.org/2011/07/18/one-more-hugo-post-ponies/ http://escapepod.org/2011/07/18/one-more-hugo-post-ponies/#comments Mon, 18 Jul 2011 16:27:53 +0000 Mur Lafferty http://escapepod.org/?p=2451 http://escapepod.org/2011/07/18/one-more-hugo-post-ponies/feed/ 2 http://escapepod.org/2011/07/02/soundproof-9/ http://escapepod.org/2011/07/02/soundproof-9/#comments Sun, 03 Jul 2011 03:05:10 +0000 Bill Peters http://escapepod.org/?p=2391 http://escapepod.org/2011/07/02/soundproof-9/feed/ 0 00:01:01 Click here to download the ePub version. This month wersquo;re bringing you short story and novella nominees for the Hugo awards, one of the two big ... Click here to download the ePub version. This month wersquo;re bringing you short story and novella nominees for the Hugo awards, one of the two big Science Fiction and Fantasy awards alongside the Nebula. The Nebulas are awarded by members of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, and the Hugos by the attendees of Worldcon. The Nebularsquo;s were awarded in May, and wersquo;ll find out who wins the Hugos next month at Renovation in Reno, Nevada. Itrsquo;s always been more than a bit amusing to me to see the inevitable lsquo;That got nominated? The [insert award name] is losing itrsquo; comments cropping up on our forums and elsewhere. As if the Nebulas and Hugos are awarded by some wise men up on the crags, parsing the yearrsquo;s crop of stories against the awardrsquo;s prior canon. The nominations and awards come from a large swath of fandom or onersquo;s fellow writers, and therersquo;s always going to be elements of friendship, politics, fervent loyalty, and emotion in these endeavors. And yet, the nominating crowds for both pick stories that are good, and worth reading. You wonrsquo;t like all of them, but yoursquo;ll like a lot of them, and that is really the best you can hope for. Fiction is not nearly so varied as fiction readers, and the point of these things is to make sure good stories get the biggest audience then can. Which is also the point of Soundproof. People write into us about having friends that canrsquo;t stand hearing stories, or who have a deaf spouse, or they just prefer to read. The point of Escape Pod is getting as many good stories out to as many ears and eyes (or fingers, if anyonersquo;s feeding this into one of those Braille boxes) as possible, which is why wersquo;ve worked hard to keep things free, taking advertising when we like the advertiser, and being ever thankful to those of you who donate. We couldnrsquo;t do it without you. (Which is why Dave Thompson and Wilson Fowlie have been working hard to bring those who donate the Alphabet Quartet as a thank you.) Hopefully one of the Hugo nominees in this issue will get the shiny, shiny rocket ship next month. Theyrsquo;re all worthy of it, even if they are [insert ghastly sub-genre]. --Bill E-pub,,Hugo,Awards,,Podcasts,,TheSoundproofEscapePod Mur Lafferty no No http://escapepod.org/2011/06/30/plus_or_minus/ http://escapepod.org/2011/06/30/plus_or_minus/#comments Thu, 30 Jun 2011 16:00:53 +0000 Mur Lafferty http://escapepod.org/?p=2386 http://escapepod.org/2011/06/30/plus_or_minus/feed/ 0 80:10 By James Patrick Kelly Read by: Christiana Ellis Originally appearing in Asimov's Discuss on our forums. All stories by James Patrick Kelly All stories read by Christiana Ellis Nominated for the ... By James Patrick Kelly Read by: Christiana Ellis Originally appearing in Asimov's Discuss on our forums. All stories by James Patrick Kelly All stories read by Christiana Ellis Nominated for the Hugo Award for Novelette, 2011 Rated appropriate for older teens and up for sexual situations and violence. Plus Or Minus By James Patrick Kelly Everything changed once Beep found out that Mariskarsquo;s mother was the famous Natalya Volochkova.nbsp;nbsp; Mariskarsquo;s life aboard the Shining Legend went immediately from bad to awful.nbsp; Even before he singled her out, she had decided that there was no way shersquo;d be spending the rest of her teen years crewing on an asteroid bucket.nbsp; Once Beep started persecuting her, she began counting down the remaining days of the run as if she were a prisoner.nbsp; She tried explaining that she had no use for Natalya Volochkova, who had never been much of a mother to her, but Beep wouldnrsquo;t hear it.nbsp; He didnrsquo;t care that Mariska had only signed on to the Shining Legend to get back at her mother for ruining her life. Somehow that hadnrsquo;t worked out quite the way she had planned. For example, there was crud duty.nbsp; With a twisting push Mariska sailed into the command module, caught herself on a handrail, and launched toward the starboard wall.nbsp; The racks ofnbsp; instrument screens chirped and beeped and buzzed; command was one of the loudest mods on the ship.nbsp; She stuck her landing in front of navigation rack and her slippers caught on the deck burrs, anchoring her in the shiprsquo;snbsp; .0006 gravity.nbsp;nbsp; Sure enough, she could see new smears of mold growing from the crack where the nav screen fit into the wall.nbsp; This was Beeprsquo;s fault, although he would never admit it.nbsp; He kept the humidity jacked up in Command, said that dry air gave him nosebleeds.nbsp; Richard FiveFord claimed they came from all the drugs Beep sniffed but Mariska didnrsquo;t want to believe that.nbsp; Also Beep liked to sip his coffee from a cup instead sucking it out of a bag, even though he slopped all the time.nbsp; Fungi loved the sugary spatters.nbsp; She sniffed one particularly vile looking smear of mold.nbsp; It smelled faintly like the worms she used to grow back home on the Moon.nbsp; She wiped her nose with the sleeve of her jersey and reached to the holster on her belt for her sponge. As she scrubbed, the bitter vinegar tang of disinfectant gel filled the mod.nbsp; Not for the first time, she told herself that this job stunk. She felt the tingle of Richard FiveFord offering a mindfeed and opened her head.nbsp; =What?= His feed made a pleasant fizz behind her eyes, distracting her. =You done any time soon?=nbsp; Distraction was Richardrsquo;s specialty =No.= =Didit is making a dream for us.= She slapped her sponge at the wall in frustration.nbsp; =This sucks.=nbsp; Mariska couldnrsquo;t remember the last time Didit or Richard FiveFord had pulled crud duty. =Should we wait for you?= =If you want.=nbsp; But she knew they wouldnrsquo;t. =Might be another hour.= ldquo;Yoursquo;re working, Volochkova.rdquo; Beeprsquo;s voice crackled over the loudspeaker.nbsp; One of his quirks was snooping their private feeds and then yelling at them over the shiprsquo;s com. ldquo;Yes, sir,rdquo; she said.nbsp; Beep liked to be called sir.nbsp; It made him feel like the captain of the Shining Legend instead of senior monkey of its maintenance crew. ldquo;Shersquo;s working, FiveFord.nbsp; Leave our sweet young thing alone.rdquo; She felt Richardrsquo;s feed pop like a bubble.nbsp; He was more afraid of Beep than she was even though the old crank hardly ever bullied Richard.nbsp; Mariska hated being called sweet young thing.nbsp; She wasnrsquo;t sweet and she wasnrsquo;t all that young.nbsp; She was already fifteen in conscious years, eighteen if you counted the time she had hibernated. When Mariska finished wiping th... 10,and,Up,,Hugo,Awards,,Podcasts James Patrick Kelly no No http://escapepod.org/2011/06/16/ep297-amaryllis/ http://escapepod.org/2011/06/16/ep297-amaryllis/#comments Fri, 17 Jun 2011 00:42:46 +0000 Mur Lafferty http://escapepod.org/?p=2327 http://escapepod.org/2011/06/16/ep297-amaryllis/feed/ 0 47:21 By Carrie Vaughn Read by: Gabrielle De Cuir Originally appearing in Lightspeed Discuss on our forums. All stories by Carrie Vaughn All stories read by Gabrielle De Cuir Nominated for the ... By Carrie Vaughn Read by: Gabrielle De Cuir Originally appearing in Lightspeed Discuss on our forums. All stories by Carrie Vaughn All stories read by Gabrielle De Cuir Nominated for the Hugo Award for Short Story, 2011 Rated appropriate for all young teens and up for reproductive concerns. Amaryllis By Carrie Vaughn I never knew my mother, and I never understood why she did what she did. I ought to be grateful that she was crazy enough to cut out her implant so she could get pregnant. But it also meant she was crazy enough to hide the pregnancy until termination wasnrsquo;t an option, knowing the whole time that shersquo;d never get to keep the baby. That shersquo;d lose everything. That her household would lose everything because of her. I never understood how she couldnrsquo;t care. I wondered what her family thought when they learned what shersquo;d done, when their committee split up the household, scattered themmdash;broke them, because of her. Did she think I was worth it? # It was all about quotas. ldquo;Theyrsquo;re using cages up north, I heard. Off shore, anchored,rdquo; Nina said. ldquo;Fifty feet acrossmdash;twice as much protein grown with half the resources, and wersquo;d never have to touch the wild population again. We could double our quota.rdquo; I hadnrsquo;t really been listening to her. We were resting, just for a moment; she sat with me on the railing at the prow of Amaryllis and talked about her big plans. Wind pulled the sails taut and the fiberglass hull cut through waves without a sound, we sailed so smooth. Garrett and Sun hauled up the nets behind us, dragging in the catch. Amaryllis was elegant, a 30-foot sleek vessel with just enough cabin and cargo spacemdash;an antique but more than seaworthy. She was a good boat, with a good crew. The best. ldquo;Mariemdash;rdquo; Nina said, pleading. I sighed and woke up. ldquo;Wersquo;ve been over this. We canrsquo;t just double our quota.rdquo; ldquo;But if we got authorizationmdash;rdquo; ldquo;Donrsquo;t you think wersquo;re doing all right as it is?rdquo; We had a good crewmdash;we were well fed and not exceeding our quotas; I thought wersquo;d be best off not screwing all that up. Not making waves, so to speak. Ninarsquo;s big brown eyes filled with tearsmdash;Irsquo;d said the wrong thing, because I knew what she was really after, and the status quo wasnrsquo;t it. ldquo;Thatrsquo;s just it,rdquo; she said. ldquo;Wersquo;ve met our quotas and kept everyone healthy for years now. I really think we should try. We can at least ask, canrsquo;t we?rdquo; The truth was: No, I wasnrsquo;t sure we deserved it. I wasnrsquo;t sure that kind of responsibility would be worth it. I didnrsquo;t want the prestige. Nina didnrsquo;t even want the prestigemdash;she just wanted the baby. ldquo;Itrsquo;s out of our hands at any rate,rdquo; I said, looking away because I couldnrsquo;t bear the intensity of her expression. Pushing herself off the rail, Nina stomped down Amaryllisrsquo; port side to join the rest of the crew hauling in the catch. She wasnrsquo;t old enough to want a baby. She was lithe, fit, and golden, running barefoot on the deck, sun-bleached streaks gleaming in her brown hair. Actually, no, she was old enough. Shersquo;d been with the house for seven yearsmdash;she was twenty, now. It hadnrsquo;t seemed so long. ldquo;Whoa!rdquo; Sun called. There was a splash and a thud as something in the net kicked against the hull. He leaned over the side, the muscles along his broad, coppery back flexing as he clung to a net that was about to slide back into the water. Nina, petite next to his strong frame, reached with him. I ran down and grabbed them by the waistbands of their trousers to hold them steady. The fourth of our crew, Garrett, latched a boat hook into the net. Together we hauled the catch onto the deck. Wersquo;d caught something big, heavy, and full of powerful muscles. We had a ... 10,and,Up,,Hugo,Awards,,OK,for,Kids,,Podcasts Carrie Vaughn no No http://escapepod.org/2011/06/09/ep296-for-want-of-a-nail/ http://escapepod.org/2011/06/09/ep296-for-want-of-a-nail/#comments Thu, 09 Jun 2011 18:01:38 +0000 Mur Lafferty http://escapepod.org/?p=2297 http://escapepod.org/2011/06/09/ep296-for-want-of-a-nail/feed/ 0 51:25 By Mary Robinette Kowal Read by: Mur Lafferty Originally appearing in Asimov's Discuss on our forums. All stories by Mary Robinette Kowal All stories read by Mur Lafferty Nominated for the ... By Mary Robinette Kowal Read by: Mur Lafferty Originally appearing in Asimov's Discuss on our forums. All stories by Mary Robinette Kowal All stories read by Mur Lafferty Nominated for the Hugo Award for Short Story, 2011 Rated appropriate for teens and up for language. For Want of a Nail By Mary Robinette Kowal With one hand, Rava adjusted the VR interface glasses where they bit into the bridge of her nose, while she kept her other hand buried in Cordeliarsquo;s innards. There was scant room to get the flexible shaft of a mono-lens and her hand through the access hatch in the AIrsquo;s chassis. From the next compartment, drums and laughter bled through the plastic walls of the ship, indicating her sisterrsquo;s conception party was still in full swing. With only a single camera attached, the interface glasses didnrsquo;t give Rava depth perception as she struggled to replug the transmitter cable. The chassis had not been designed to need repair. At all. It had been designed to last hundreds of years without an upgrade. If Rava couldnrsquo;t get the cable plugged in and working, Cordelia wouldnrsquo;t be able to download backups of herself to her long-term memory. She couldnrsquo;t store more than a week at a time in active memory. It would be the same as a slow death sentence. The square head of the cable slipped out of Ravarsquo;s fingers. Again. ldquo;Dammit!rdquo; She slammed her heel against the shiprsquo;s floor in frustration. ldquo;If you canrsquo;t do it, let someone else try.rdquo; Her older brother, Ludoviko, had insisted on following her out of the party as if he could help. ldquo;You know, this would go a lot faster if you werenrsquo;t breathing down my neck.rdquo; ldquo;You know, you wouldnrsquo;t be doing this at all if you hadnrsquo;t dropped her.rdquo; Rava resisted the urge to pull the mono-lens out of the jack in her glasses and glare at him. He might have gotten better marks in school, but she was the AIrsquo;s wrangler. ldquo;Why donrsquo;t you go back to the party and see if you can learn something about fertility?rdquo; She lifted the cable head and tried one more time. ldquo;Why, you littlemdash;rdquo; Rage choked his voice, more than she had expected from a random slam. She made a guess that his appeal to the repro-council didnrsquo;t go well. Cordeliarsquo;s voice cut in, stopping what he was going to say. ldquo;Itrsquo;s not Ravarsquo;s fault. I did ask her to pick me up.rdquo; ldquo;Yeah.rdquo; Rava focused on the cable, trying to get it aligned. ldquo;Right.rdquo; Ludoviko snorted. ldquo;And then you dropped yourself.rdquo; Cordelia sighed and Rava could almost imagine breath tickling her skin. ldquo;If yoursquo;re going to blame anyone, blame Branson Conchord for running into her.rdquo; Rava didnrsquo;t bother answering. Theyrsquo;d been having the same conversation for the last hour and Cordelia should know darn well what Ludovikorsquo;s answer would be. Like programming, he said, ldquo;It was irresponsible. She should have said no. The room was full of intoxicated, rowdy people and you are too valuable an asset.rdquo; Rava rested her head against the smooth wood side of the AIrsquo;s chassis and closed her eyes, ignoring her brother and the flat picture in her goggles. Her fingers rolled the slick plastic head of the cable, building a picture in her mind of the white square and the flat gold cord stretching from it. She slid the cable forward until it jarred against the socket. Rotating the head, Rava focused all her attention on the tiny clues of friction vibrating up her arm. This was a simple, comprehensible problem. She didnrsquo;t want to think about what would happen if she couldnrsquo;t repair the damage. Being unable to download her old memories meant Cordelia would have to delete herself bit by bit to keep functioning. All because Rava had asked if she wanted to dance. At least Ludoviko hadnrsquo;t heard that part... 10,and,Up,,Hugo,Awards,,Podcasts Mary Robinette Kowal no No http://escapepod.org/2010/07/08/ep248-spar/ http://escapepod.org/2010/07/08/ep248-spar/#comments Thu, 08 Jul 2010 05:01:40 +0000 Mur Lafferty http://escapepod.org/?p=672 http://escapepod.org/2010/07/08/ep248-spar/feed/ 0 22:59 By Kij Johnson. Read by: Kate Baker of Clarkesworld Magazine. Discuss on our forums. Originally published in: Clarkesworld -- Download and read the text. All stories by Kij Johnson. All ... By Kij Johnson. Read by: Kate Baker of Clarkesworld Magazine. Discuss on our forums. Originally published in: Clarkesworld -- Download and read the text. All stories by Kij Johnson. All stories read by Kate Baker. The alien is not humanoid. It is not bipedal. It has cilia. It has no bones, or perhaps it does and she cannot feel them. Its muscles, or what might be muscles, are rings and not strands. Its skin is the color of dusk and covered with a clear thin slime that tastes of snot. It makes no sounds. She thinks it smells like wet leaves in winter, but after a time she cannot remember that smell, or leaves, or winter. Its Ins and Outs change. There are dark slashes and permanent knobs that sometimes distend, but it is always growing new Outs, hollowing new Ins. It cleaves easily in both senses. It penetrates her a thousand ways. She penetrates it, as well. Rated X - Graphic language and sexual situations. Not for kids. Seriously. Show Notes: This particular story and narration were originally recorded by Kate Baker for Clarkesworld Magazine, and is used here with their expressed permission. Thanks very much to Baker and Clarkesworld. The Escape Pod Flash Contest is over! now check out the judging! Editor's note: Thanks so much to Dave Thompson and Peter Wood for taking on this project of securing all five Hugo stories during the hiatus of Escape Pod. Most of the work was done before I joined, and this wouldn't have happened without them stepping up. Next weekhellip; We're back to our regularly scheduled programming with a story from Heather Shaw! Erotica,-,NOT,FOR,KIDS,,Featured,,Hugo,Awards,,Podcasts Kij Johnson no No http://escapepod.org/2010/07/01/ep247-bridesicle/ http://escapepod.org/2010/07/01/ep247-bridesicle/#comments Thu, 01 Jul 2010 05:01:50 +0000 Mur Lafferty http://escapepod.org/?p=668 http://escapepod.org/2010/07/01/ep247-bridesicle/feed/ 0 52:22 By Will McIntosh Read by: Amy H. Sturgis of StarShipSofa Discuss on our forums. Originally published in: Asimov's -- Download and read the text Guest Host: Ben Phillips of ... By Will McIntosh Read by: Amy H. Sturgis of StarShipSofa Discuss on our forums. Originally published in: Asimov's -- Download and read the text Guest Host: Ben Phillips of Pseudopod All stories by Will McIntosh All stories read by Amy H. Sturgis ldquo;Aw, I know yoursquo;re awake by now. Come on, sleeping beauty. Talk to me.rdquo; The last was a whisper, a loverrsquo;s words, and Mira felt that she had to come awake and open her eyes. She tried to sigh, but no breath came. Her eyes flew open in alarm. An old man was leaning over her, smiling, but Mira barely saw him, because when she opened her mouth to inhale, her jaw squealed like a sea birdrsquo;s cry, and no breath came, and she wanted to press her hands to the sides of her face, but her hands wouldnrsquo;t come either. Nothing would move except her face. Rated PG Show Notes: Starship Sofa is the first podcast ever to be nominated for a Hugo award, in the "Best Fanzine" category. If you're eligible to vote in the Hugos, you have less than a month left to put in your vote! Please consider Starship Sofa - it's a fantastic show on its own merit, and it's a HUGE credibility booster for all podcasts if it wins! The Escape Pod Flash Contest ends soon! It runs June 1- July 4, stories must be under 500 words. More information at the link. Editor's note: Thanks so much to Dave Thompson and Peter Wood for taking on this project of securing all five Hugo stories during the hiatus of Escape Pod. Most of the work was done before I joined, and this wouldn't have happened without them stepping up. Next weekhellip; Our final Hugo-nominated story! 10,and,Up,,Featured,,Hugo,Awards,,OK,for,Kids,,Podcasts Will McIntosh no No http://escapepod.org/2010/06/24/ep246-bride-of-frankenstein/ http://escapepod.org/2010/06/24/ep246-bride-of-frankenstein/#comments Thu, 24 Jun 2010 05:01:26 +0000 Mur Lafferty http://escapepod.org/?p=659 http://escapepod.org/2010/06/24/ep246-bride-of-frankenstein/feed/ 0 38:40 By Mike Resnick Read by: Julie Davis of the Forgotten Classics podcast Discuss on our forums. Originally published in: Asimov's -- Download and read the text Guest Host: Alasdair ... By Mike Resnick Read by: Julie Davis of the Forgotten Classics podcast Discuss on our forums. Originally published in: Asimov's -- Download and read the text Guest Host: Alasdair Stuart of Pseudopod All stories by Mike Resnick All stories read by Julie Davis Victor can be so annoying. He constantly whistles this tuneless song, and when I complain he apologizes and then starts humming it instead. He never stands up to that ill-mannered little hunchback that hersquo;s always sending out on errands. And hersquo;s a coward. He can never just come to me and say ldquo;I need money again.rdquo; Oh, no, not Victor. Instead he sends that ugly little toady whorsquo;s rude to me and always smells like he hasnrsquo;t washed. And when I ask what the moneyrsquo;s for this time, he tells me to ask Victor, and Victor just mumbles and stammers and never gets around to answering. Rated PG: for spousal annoyances Show Notes: The Escape Pod Flash Contest ends soon! It runs June 1- July 4, stories must be under 500 words. More information at the link. Editor's note: Thanks so much to Dave Thompson and Peter Wood for taking on this project of securing all five Hugo stories during the hiatus of Escape Pod. Most of the work was done before I joined, and this wouldn't have happened without them stepping up. Next weekhellip; Another Hugo-nominated story! 10,and,Up,,Featured,,Hugo,Awards,,OK,for,Kids,,Podcasts Mike Resnick no No http://escapepod.org/2010/06/17/ep245-the-moment/ http://escapepod.org/2010/06/17/ep245-the-moment/#comments Thu, 17 Jun 2010 05:01:21 +0000 Mur Lafferty http://escapepod.org/?p=642 http://escapepod.org/2010/06/17/ep245-the-moment/feed/ 0 00:01:01 By Lawrence M. Schoen Read by: Graeme Dunlop Discuss on our forums. Originally published in: Footprints Guest Host: Norm Sherman of Drabblecast All stories by Lawrence M. Schoen All stories read ... By Lawrence M. Schoen Read by: Graeme Dunlop Discuss on our forums. Originally published in: Footprints Guest Host: Norm Sherman of Drabblecast All stories by Lawrence M. Schoen All stories read by Graeme Dunlop One of the first generation of Krenn had lived long enough to reach the site, though none had expected to. The very first Krenn had conceived of this journey in the distant past, dedicating his life and his posterity to the pilgrimage with an ever recycling population of clones. Like their clone-father, each was an optimized collection of smart matter no bigger than a speck. Hundreds of generations of Krenn had lived and died during the voyage, their remains enshrined into niches in the very walls of the vessel that now lay shattered at its destination. The survivors flooded out upon the steppes of the heel, rejoicing despite the crushing weight that gravity forced upon them. They settled in, constructing mansions of haze and shadow, and waited for enlightenment to come. The mission and purpose of the first Krenn remained with each of them. This place had been the site of the greatest triumph of the greatest archaeocaster in all of history. Before the beginning of the quest, Krennmdash;the original Krennmdash;had felt drawn to it. He had cultivated the tales, sifted myth from coincidence, mastered the lost language of the interview-eschewing, spatial curmudgeons of the ancient dark times, and recreated the route through dimensional puzzles to this theoretical location. The odds of success had been so absurd not a single entelechy of Krenn's cregrave;che dared invest time or expense in the project. And yet, here they were, nearly three hundred unique individuals sharing the template of Krenn. Rated PG: for Space Exploration and Looking into the Abyss Show Notes: Enter the Escape Pod Flash Contest! It runs June 1- July 4, stories must be under 500 words. More information at the link. Editor's note: Thanks so much to Dave Thompson and Peter Wood for taking on this project of securing all five Hugo stories during the hiatus of Escape Pod. Most of the work was done before I joined, and this wouldn't have happened without them stepping up. Next weekhellip; Another Hugo-nominated story! 10,and,Up,,Featured,,Hugo,Awards,,OK,for,Kids,,Podcasts Lawrence M. Schoen no No http://escapepod.org/2010/06/10/ep244-non-zero-probabilities/ http://escapepod.org/2010/06/10/ep244-non-zero-probabilities/#comments Thu, 10 Jun 2010 05:01:33 +0000 Mur Lafferty http://escapepod.org/?p=640 http://escapepod.org/2010/06/10/ep244-non-zero-probabilities/feed/ 0 00:01:01 By N.K. Jemisin Originally recorded by Kate Baker for Clarkesworld Magazine, and is used here with their expressed permission. Discuss on our forums. Guest Host: Dave Thompson of ... By N.K. Jemisin Originally recorded by Kate Baker for Clarkesworld Magazine, and is used here with their expressed permission. Discuss on our forums. Guest Host: Dave Thompson of Podcastle All stories by N.K. Jemisin All stories read by Kate Baker Her neighbor mdash; the other one, across the hall mdash; helped her figure it out, long before the math geeks finished crunching their numbers. "Watch," he'd said, and laid a deck of cards facedown on her coffee table. (There was coffee in the cups, with a generous dollop of Bailey's. He was a nice-enough guy that Adele felt comfortable offering this.) He shuffled it with the blurring speed of an expert, cut the deck, shuffled again, then picked up the whole deck and spread it, still facedown. "Pick a card." Adele picked. The Joker. "Only two of those in the deck," he said, then shuffled and spread again. "Pick another." She did, and got the other Joker. "Coincidence," she said. (This had been months ago, when she was still skeptical.) Rated R: for Lucky Streaks and Getting Lucky. Show Notes: Enter the Escape Pod Flash Contest! It runs June 1- July 4, stories must be under 500 words. More information at the link. Editor's note: Thanks so much to Dave Thompson and Peter Wood for taking on this project of securing all five Hugo stories during the hiatus of Escape Pod. Most of the work was done before I joined, and this wouldn't have happened without them stepping up. Next weekhellip; Another Hugo-nominated story! 17,and,Up,,Featured,,Hugo,Awards,,Podcasts N.K. Jemisin no No http://escapepod.org/2009/04/30/episode-197-from-babels-falln-glory-we-fled/ http://escapepod.org/2009/04/30/episode-197-from-babels-falln-glory-we-fled/#comments Thu, 30 Apr 2009 19:59:54 +0000 JeremyT http://escapepod.org/?p=365 http://escapepod.org/2009/04/30/episode-197-from-babels-falln-glory-we-fled/feed/ 30 59:00 By Michael Swanwick Read by Sarah Tolbert First appeared in Asimov's Feb 2008 Imagine a cross between Byzantium and a termite mound. Imagine a jeweled mountain, ... By Michael Swanwick Read by Sarah Tolbert First appeared in Asimov's Feb 2008 Imagine a cross between Byzantium and a termite mound. Imagine a jeweled mountain, slender as an icicle, rising out of the steam jungles and disappearing into the dazzling pearl-grey skies of Gehenna. Imagine that Gaudiacute;mdash;he of the Segrada Familia and other biomorphic architectural whimsiesmdash;had been commissioned by a nightmare race of giant black millipedes to recreate Barcelona at the height of its glory, along with touches of the Forbidden City in the eighteenth century and Tokyo in the twenty-second, all within a single miles-high structure. Hold every bit of that in your mind at once, multiply by a thousand, and yoursquo;ve got only the faintest ghost of a notion of the splendor that was Babel. Now imagine being inside Babel when it fell. Rated PG. Contains the destruction of cities, a lack of trust, and sentient suits. 10,and,Up,,Flash,,Hugo,Awards,,OK,for,Kids,,Podcasts,,Site,News Mur Lafferty no No http://escapepod.org/2009/04/18/ep195-26-monkeys-also-the-abyss/ http://escapepod.org/2009/04/18/ep195-26-monkeys-also-the-abyss/#comments Sat, 18 Apr 2009 18:30:24 +0000 SFEley http://escapepod.org/?p=363 http://escapepod.org/2009/04/18/ep195-26-monkeys-also-the-abyss/feed/ 23 32:40 By Kij Johnson. Read by Diane Severson (of The Diva's Divine Days). Discuss on our forums. First appeared in Asimov's Science Fiction, July 2008. All stories by Kij Johnson. All ... By Kij Johnson. Read by Diane Severson (of The Diva's Divine Days). Discuss on our forums. First appeared in Asimov's Science Fiction, July 2008. All stories by Kij Johnson. All stories read by Diane Severson. Narration first appeared at and produced by Starship Sofa. Special thanks to Tony Smith and Diane Severson for their kind permission to resyndicate this award nominee. She sets a stepladder next to it. She claps her hands and the 26 monkeys onstage run up the ladder one after the other and jump into the bathtub. The bathtub shakes as each monkey thuds in among the others. The audience can see heads, legs, tails; but eventually every monkey settles and the bathtub is still again. Zeb is always the last monkey up the ladder. As he climbs into the bathtub, he makes a humming boom deep in his chest. It fills the stage. And then there's a flash of light, two of the chains fall off, and the bathtub swings down to expose its interior. Empty. Rated PG. Contains 26 monkeys. Also, the abyss. 10,and,Up,,Hugo,Awards,,OK,for,Kids,,Podcasts Kij Johnson no No http://escapepod.org/2009/04/10/ep194-exhalation/ http://escapepod.org/2009/04/10/ep194-exhalation/#comments Fri, 10 Apr 2009 05:00:49 +0000 SFEley http://escapepod.org/?p=362 http://escapepod.org/2009/04/10/ep194-exhalation/feed/ 51 51:24 2009 Hugo Nominee! By Ted Chiang. Read by Ray Sizemore (of X-Ray Visions). First appeared in Eclipse 2, ed. Jonathan Strahan. Narration first appeared at and produced by Starship ... 2009 Hugo Nominee! By Ted Chiang. Read by Ray Sizemore (of X-Ray Visions). First appeared in Eclipse 2, ed. Jonathan Strahan. Narration first appeared at and produced by Starship Sofa. Special thanks to Tony Smith and Ray Sizemore for their kind permission to resyndicate this award nominee. Audible.com Promotion! Get your free audiobook at: http://audiblepodcast.com/escapepod But in the normal course of life, our need for air is far from our thoughts, and indeed many would say that satisfying that need is the least important part of going to the filling stations. For the filling stations are the primary venue for social conversation, the places from which we draw emotional sustenance as well as physical. We all keep spare sets of full lungs in our homes, but when one is alone, the act of opening onersquo;s chest and replacing onersquo;s lungs can seem little better than a chore. In the company of others, however, it becomes a communal activity, a shared pleasure. Rated PG. Contains entropy, eschatology, and empirical evisceration. 10,and,Up,,Best-Of,,Hugo,Awards,,OK,for,Kids,,Podcasts Mur Lafferty no No http://escapepod.org/2008/05/01/ep156-distant-replay/ http://escapepod.org/2008/05/01/ep156-distant-replay/#comments Fri, 02 May 2008 03:59:39 +0000 SFEley http://escapepod.org/2008/05/01/ep156-distant-replay/ http://escapepod.org/2008/05/01/ep156-distant-replay/feed/ 43 35:00 By Mike Resnick. Read by Steve Anderson (of SGA Creative and Great Tales Live). Discuss on our forums. First appeared in Asimov's Science Fiction, April/May 2007. All stories by ... By Mike Resnick. Read by Steve Anderson (of SGA Creative and Great Tales Live). Discuss on our forums. First appeared in Asimov's Science Fiction, April/May 2007. All stories by Mike Resnick. All stories read by Steve Anderson. "Let me show you," I said, pulling out my wallet. I took my Deirdre's photo out and handed it to her. "It's uncanny," she said, studying the picture. "We even sort of wear our hair the same way. When was this taken?" "Forty-seven years ago." "Is she dead?" I nodded. Rated PG. Contains mature themes and wistfulness. Referenced Sites: 2008 Hugo Awards "First of May" by Jonathan Coulton (Not work-safe) 10,and,Up,,Hugo,Awards,,OK,for,Kids,,Podcasts Mur Lafferty no No http://escapepod.org/2008/04/24/ep155-tideline/ http://escapepod.org/2008/04/24/ep155-tideline/#comments Thu, 24 Apr 2008 16:19:49 +0000 SFEley http://escapepod.org/2008/04/24/ep155-tideline/ http://escapepod.org/2008/04/24/ep155-tideline/feed/ 52 36:47 2008 Hugo Nominee! By Elizabeth Bear. Read by Stephen Eley. Closing Music: "The Fall" by Red Hunter. They would have called her salvage, if there were anyone left to ... 2008 Hugo Nominee! By Elizabeth Bear. Read by Stephen Eley. Closing Music: "The Fall" by Red Hunter. They would have called her salvage, if there were anyone left to salvage her. But she was the last of the war machines, a three-legged oblate teardrop as big as a main battle tank, two big grabs and one fine manipulator folded like a spider's palps beneath the turreted head that finished her pointed end, her polyceramic armor spiderwebbed like shatterproof glass. Unhelmed by her remote masters, she limped along the beach, dragging one fused limb. She was nearly derelict. The beach was where she met Belvedere. Rated PG. Contains implied violence and themes of death. Referenced Sites: 2008 Hugo Awards WisCon May 23-26, Madison, WI 10,and,Up,,Hugo,Awards,,OK,for,Kids,,Podcasts Elizabeth Bear no No http://escapepod.org/2007/05/10/ep105-impossible-dreams/ http://escapepod.org/2007/05/10/ep105-impossible-dreams/#comments Thu, 10 May 2007 09:26:33 +0000 SFEley http://escapepod.org/?p=215 http://escapepod.org/2007/05/10/ep105-impossible-dreams/feed/ 101 47:15 2007 Hugo Nominee! By Tim Pratt. Read by Matthew Wayne Selznick (of Brave Men Run and Writers Talking). First appeared in Asimov's Science Fiction, July 2006. All stories by ... 2007 Hugo Nominee! By Tim Pratt. Read by Matthew Wayne Selznick (of Brave Men Run and Writers Talking). First appeared in Asimov's Science Fiction, July 2006. All stories by Tim Pratt. All stories read by Stephen Eley. He went to the Sci-Fi shelfsbquo;Auml;icirc;and had another shock. I, Robot was there, but not the forgettable action movie with Will Smithsbquo;Auml;icirc;this was older, and the credits said "written by Harlan Ellison." But Ellison's adaptation of the Isaac Asimov book had never been produced, though it had been published in book form. "Must be some bootleg student production," he muttered, and he didn't recognize the name of the production company. Butsbquo;Auml;icirc;butsbquo;Auml;icirc;it said "winner of the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay." That had to be a student director's little joke, straight-facedly absurd box copy, as if this were a film from some alternate reality. Worth watching, certainly, though again, he couldn't imagine how he'd never heard of this. Maybe it had been done by someone local. He took it to the counter and offered his credit card. She looked at the card dubiously. "Visa? Sorry, we only take Weber and FosterCard." Rated G. Contains excessive movie trivia; some of it true. Today's Sponsor: Referenced Sites: Balticon 2007 For,Kids,,Hugo,Awards,,OK,for,Kids,,Podcasts Mur Lafferty no No