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

The last great city on Earth lives for one purpose: building whatever forgotten machines can still be reconstructed from the ruins of a dead world. When a Research Builder uncovers a mysterious diagram unlike anything ever found before, one reckless decision threatens to repeat the catastrophe that destroyed civilization the first time. The Builders by Fox B. Holden. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.

This is the first time we’ve featured a story by Fox B. Holden. He was born in Rochester, New York, in 1923, and like many science fiction fans of his era, he eventually decided to try writing stories of his own.

Between 1945 and 1956, nineteen of his stories appeared in a variety of science fiction magazines.

From Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy in February 1951 on page 128, The Builders by Fox B. Holden.…

Next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, Quintus Maugham built a machine meant to serve him perfectly, but each improvement left him more uneasy in his own home. When a robot begins answering commands in ways its inventor never intended, one man must decide whether he created a servant—or surrendered something far more dangerous. The Maugham Obsession by August Derleth.

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A routine military assignment drops Hannibal Pryor onto a forgotten world where the people have built a life no crowded empire could understand. With a planet-killing weapon already on its way, Pryor must decide whether duty still matters when the price is an entire civilization. Testing by Sam Merwin Jr. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.

Yesterday The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast became the #1 science fiction podcast in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The 36th country where we hit #1. Today we moved to the top of the charts in Brazil! That’s country #37!

Thank you to our new and long time listeners in Brazil, and all of you around the world for everything you do to support us.

We enjoy narrating stories by Sam Merwin Jr., so he’s back, with a story from March 1956. Published on page 110 in Fantastic Universe Magazine, Testing by Sam Merwin Jr.…

Next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, The last great city on Earth lives for one purpose: building whatever forgotten machines can still be reconstructed from the ruins of a dead world. When a Research Builder uncovers a mysterious diagram unlike anything ever found before, one reckless decision threatens to repeat the catastrophe that destroyed civilization the first time. The Builders by Fox B. Holden.

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The first photographs taken on Jupiter reveal towering shapes that watch the explorers’ ship through the mist. Inside the sealed cabin, the crew realizes too late that the creatures outside already know they are there. The Vibration Wasps by Frank Belknap Long. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.

Thanks to our listeners in Bosnia and Herzegovina for making The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast the #1 science fiction podcast in your country!

That makes 36 countries where we’ve reached #1. We’re incredibly grateful for you and every listener around the world who presses play, shares the show, and keeps vintage science fiction alive. You made this possible, and we can’t thank you enough for your support.

If you are Lost Sci-Fi Premium member we will have two episodes for you tomorrow. Our Premium members listen to every story with no commercials and get exclusive bonus episodes too, all for less than 17 cents a day. Get the details at https://lostscifi.com/premium or click on the link in the description.

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Our story two days ago, Message from Venus by Russ Winterbotham came from the short lived sci-fi magazine Comet, in January 1941. Today’s story was in that same publication on page 82, The Vibration Wasps by Frank Belknap Long…

Next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, A routine military assignment drops Hannibal Pryor onto a forgotten world where the people have built a life no crowded empire could understand. With a planet-killing weapon already on its way, Pryor must decide whether duty still matters when the price is an entire civilization. Testing by Sam Merwin Jr.

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A reporter spends ten years chasing evidence that certain men do not stay dead, only to discover that every attempt to expose them pushes him closer to losing his own mind. When the last piece of proof vanishes before his eyes, Dane Phillips faces a far worse possibility than failure. Dead Ringer by Lester Del Rey. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.

The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast continues to grow rapidly thanks to you. Sharing the podcast with your friends, leaving 5 star ratings on Spotify and Apple Podcasts are just a few of the ways you continue to help us grow like never before. We recently hit #2 in Sweden, #4 in the UK and #6 in the US which are the highest ranking we have ever achieved in those countries.

Thank you!

We have narrated one great sci-fi story after another written by Lester Del Rey. And there are more to come. Today’s tale was published in Galaxy Science Fiction in November 1956 on page 36, Dead Ringer by Lester Del Rey…

Next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, The first photographs taken on Jupiter reveal towering shapes that watch the explorers’ ship through the mist. Inside the sealed cabin, the crew realizes too late that the creatures outside already know they are there. The Vibration Wasps by Frank Belknap Long.

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Two exhausted spacemen gamble their lives on an impossible return from Venus while an isolated outpost waits for rescue that may never come. As Earth races closer by the second, one reckless landing idea stands between them and a fireball over the Pacific. Message from Venus by Russ Winterbotham. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.

Although he isn’t remembered as a major contributor to science fiction Russ Winterbotham’s career lasted more than three decades. He wrote seven novels and more than 60 short stories beginning in 1935.

Winterbotham was paid $44.55 for the story back in 1941. Adjusted for inflation that would be about $570 today. How do we know how much he was paid? Comet magazine paid a penny per word for every story it published. Which may not seem like a lot but two competing science fiction magazines that got their start about the same time didn’t pay anything at all.

Those two magazines combined for only seven issues before they ceased publication. Russ Winterbotham’s story was published in the January 1941 issue of Comet magazine which lasted for only 5 issues. Turn to page 21, Message from Venus by Russ Winterbotham…

Next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, A reporter spends ten years chasing evidence that certain men do not stay dead, only to discover that every attempt to expose them pushes him closer to losing his own mind. When the last piece of proof vanishes before his eyes, Dane Phillips faces a far worse possibility than failure. Dead Ringer by Lester Del Rey.

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