Ted Chiang's short story Division by Zero was first published in Full Spectrum 3 in 1991 and reprinted in Stories of Your Life and Others. Division by Zero tells the story of a couple dealing with their individual worldviews being pulled fro

054 - Samantha Murray - Of Sight, Of Mind, Of Heart (2016)

Nov 29th, 2016 2m 58s

Samantha Murray's short story Of Sight, Of Mind, Of Heart was published by Clarkesworld in November 2016. Of Sight, Of Mind, Of Heart tells the story of a mother coping with her child going to war against alien invaders. I now have a Face

053 - T. R. Napper - An Advanced Guide to Successful Price-Fixing in Extraterrestrial Betting Markets (2015)

Nov 10th, 2016 4m 12s

T. R. Napper's short story An Advanced Guide to Successful Price-Fixing in Extraterrestrial Betting Markets was originally published in the January-February 2015 issue of Interzone magazine. I listened to on the StarShipSofa podcast, from Novem

052 - Mary Robinette Kowal - Evil Robot Monkey (2008)

Oct 28th, 2016 2m 23s

Mary Robinette Kowal's short story Evil Robot Monkey was first published in the Solaris Book of New Science Fiction Volume Two from 2008, edited by George Mann. Evil Robot Monkey is the story of an uplifted chimp trying to understand the wor

051 - Robert Coover - Invasion of the Martians (2016)

Oct 17th, 2016 4m 27s

Robert Coover's short story Invasion of the Martians was first published in the September 2016 issue of the New Yorker magazine. Invasion of the Martians is a comic satire that uses the tropes of science fiction B-movies to comment on Americ

050 - Mary Anne Mohanraj - Communion (2014)

Oct 10th, 2016 1m 59s

Mary Anne Mohanraj's short story Communion was first published by Clarkesworld Magazine in 2014. It is the story of a human and alien mourning the loss of someone important to both of them. Have you read this story? What did you think? Yo

049 - Robert Reed - Eight Episodes (2006)

Oct 3rd, 2016 3m 2s

Robert Reed's short story Eight Episodes was first published in the June 2006 issue of Asimov's Magazine. I listened to it on EscapePod 107. Eight Episodes is a story about an alien invasion that occurred during the earliest days of the eart

048 - Megan Arkenberg - Like All Beautiful Places (2015)

Sep 22nd, 2016 2m 27s

Megan Arkenberg's short story Like All Beautiful Places was first published in the 2015 anthology The End Has Come, edited by John Joseph Adams. Like All Beautiful Places tells the story of a survivor in post-apocalyptic San Francisco.Hav

047 - J. G. Ballard - Billenium (1962)

Sep 19th, 2016 2m 32s

J. G. Ballard's short story Billenium was first published in Amazing Stories in 1962. I read it in the Oxford Book of SF Stories (1992). Billenium tells the story of two roommates who discover a secret room in their new home. Have you rea

046 - Madeleine Ashby - By the Time we get to Arizona (2014)

Sep 8th, 2016 3m 54s

Madeleine Ashby's short story By the Time we get to Arizona was first published in the Hieroglyph: Stories and Visions for a Better Future anthology, edited by Ed Finn.By the Time we get to Arizona tells the story of a couple trying to emigr

045 - Robert A. Heinlein - All You Zombies (1959)

Aug 31st, 2016 4m 15s

Robert Heinlein's short story All You Zombies was first published in the March 1959 issue of Fantasy and Science Fiction magazine. All You Zombies is a time travel paradox story about a man writes confessional fiction as an 'unmarried mother

044 - Ellen Klages - Goodnight Moons (2011)

Aug 26th, 2016 3m 40s

Ellen Klages' short story Goodnight Moons was first published in 2011 anthology Life on Mars: Tales from the New Frontier, edited by Jonathan Strahans.Goodnight Moons tells the story of the first child to be born on Mars. Have you read it

043 - Charles Yu - Standard Loneliness Package (2010)

Aug 24th, 2016 3m 50s

After an issue with a broken laptop, I'm finally back with a new episode! Charles Yu's short story Standard Loneliness Package was originally published by Lightspeed Magazine in 2010. It is a story about a person whose job it is to experi

042 - Nnedi Okorafor - Binti (2015)

Jul 20th, 2016 3m 44s

Nnedi Okorafor's novella Binti was first published by Tor.com in 2015. Binti tells the story of a sixteen-year-old who leaves her tribe to embark on a trip to a university in a different part of the galaxy. Have you read this story? What

041 - M. John Harrison - Tourism (2004)

Jul 13th, 2016 3m 59s

M. John Harrison's short story Tourism was first published in 2004. I read this in the Mammoth Book of New SF, Eighteenth Annual Edition, edited by Gardner Dozois. Tourism is a bizarre space opera story which gives a brief glimpse into a bar

040 - Molly Gloss - Lambing Season (2002)

Jul 6th, 2016 2m 47s

Molly Gloss's short story Lambing Season was first published by Asimov's Magazine in July 2002. I read it in The Year's Best Science Fiction, Twentieth Annual Collection, from 2003, edited by Gardner Dozois. Lambing Season is a first contact

039 - Chris Beckett - Peacock Cloak (2010)

Jul 1st, 2016 3m 28s

Chris Beckett's short story Peacock Cloak was first published by Asimov's Magazine in June 2010. I listened to this on the Clarkesworld podcast from October 2015. Peacock Cloak is a science fantasy about a god-like being with a powerful cloa

038 - Anne McCaffrey - Velvet Fields (1973)

Jun 26th, 2016 3m 20s

Anne McCaffrey's short story was first published in Worlds of If in 1973. I read it on the Lightspeed Magazine website, reprinted in 2011. Velvet Fields tells the story of human colonists moving onto an alien world and the unintended consque

037 - Philip K. Dick - The Minority Report (1956)

Jun 20th, 2016 3m 43s

Philip K. Dick's short story The Minority Report was first published by Fantasic Fiction in 1956. I read it as part of Dick's 2002 collection The Minority Report and Other Stories. The Minority Report tells the story of a dystopian future wher

036 - Carrie Vaughn - Bannerless (2015)

Jun 14th, 2016 3m 42s

Carrie Vaughn's short story Bannerless was first published in the 2015 anthology The End has Come, part of the Apocalypse Tryptich, edited by John Joseph Adams. Bannerless is set is a postapocalyptic world where fertility is controlled by th

035 - Greg Egan - Steve Fever (2007)

Jun 10th, 2016 2m 57s

Greg Egan's short story Steve Fever was first published in the November/December 2007 edition of Technology Review. I read it the Year's Best Science Fiction 2008, edited by Gardner Dozois. Steve Fever tells the story of nanobots that have t

034 - Vandana Singh - Delhi (2004)

Jun 7th, 2016 2m 24s

Vandana Singh's short story Delhi was first pubished in the 2004 anthology So Long Been Dreaming: Postcolonial Science Fiction and Fantasy, edited Nalo Hopkinson and Uppinder Mehan. I read it in The Year's Best Science Fiction 2005, edited by G

033 - Arthur C. Clarke - The Star (1955)

Jun 2nd, 2016 2m 50s

Arthur C. Clarke's Hugo Award-winning short story The Star was first published by Infinity magazine in 1955. I read it in the anthology The Hugo Winners 1955-1960, edited by Isaac Asimov. The Star tells the story of Jesuit astronomers examin

032 - Susan Palwick - The Fate of Mice (2005)

May 28th, 2016 2m 13s

Susan Palwick's short story The Fate of Mice was first published by Asimov's Science Fiction magazine in January 2005. I read this in Best Science Fiction 2006 edited by Rich Horton. The Fate of Mice tells the story of a lab mouse that has h

031 - Kurt Vonnegut Jr - 2BR02B (1962)

May 26th, 2016 3m 33s

Kurt Vonnegut's short story 2BR02B was first published in If Science Fiction in January 1952. I listened to this as a free audiobook through Librivox. 2BR02B is set in a future world where population is controlled, death is voluntary and dis