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

Arthur Giles helped build a civilization that believed death had been defeated, but one terrible diagnosis forces him to measure the future in years instead of centuries. When a dangerous experimental starship suddenly becomes his only chance to reclaim what time has taken away, the risk no longer seems impossible. The Dwindling Years by Lester del Rey. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.

Thank you to our Spotify listeners! We have 508 ratings on Spotify with an average rating of 4.9 out of 5. That’s awesome! Thank you. And if you listen on Spotify and you haven’t given us a rating yet it literally takes seconds to do it. We would appreciate your 5 star rating if you think we deserve it of course.

Lester del Rey had a gift for taking huge science fiction ideas and making them feel painfully personal. In The Dwindling Years, he imagines a future where humanity has defeated aging, only to ask a terrifying question: what happens when immortality suddenly stops working?

Turn to page 29 in the January 1956 issue of Galaxy Science Fiction, The Dwindling Years by Lester del Rey…

Next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, A ten-year-old boy discovers that the fantastic dangers in his comic books may be closer to reality than any scientist suspects. When a friendly voice from another star offers him an astonishing invention, Tommy must decide whether he is speaking to an ally—or helping an enemy reach Earth. From Beyond the Stars by Murray Leinster

Lost Sci-Fi Premium - https://lostscifi.supercast.com/

Buy Me a Coffee - https://lostscifi.com/coffee

Newsletter - https://lostscifi.com/free/

Facebook - https://lostscifi.com/facebook

YouTube - https://lostscifi.com/youtube

X - http://Lostscifi.com/x

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/lostscifiguy

Bluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/lostscifipodcast.bsky.social

Merchandise - https://lostscifi.creator-spring.com/

Thanks to Our Listeners Who Bought Us a Coffee

$200 Someone

$100 Tony from the Future

$75 James Van Maanenberg

$50 James Van Maanenberg, MizzBassie, Anonymous Listener

$25 Fintan Quigley, Curious Jon, David Bell, Steve, Miriam, Someone, Someone, Eaten by a Grue, Jeff Lussenden, Fred Sieber, Anne, Craig Hamilton, Dave Wiseman, Bromite Thrip, Marwin de Haan, Future Space Engineer, Fressie, Kevin Eckert, Stephen Kagan, James Van Maanenberg, Irma Stolfo, Josh Jennings, Leber8tr, Conrad Chaffee, Anonymous Listener

$15 Every Month Someone

$15 Steve, Someone, SueTheLibrarian, Joannie West, Amy Özkan, Someone, Carolyn Guthleben, Patrick McLendon, Curious Jon, Buz C., Fressie, Anonymous Listener

$10 David, Anonymous Listener

$5 Every Month Eaten by a Grue

$5 Tammy, Owen, Bruce, Someone, TLD, David, Denis Kalinin, Timothy Buckley, Andre'a, Martin Brown, Ron McFarlan, Tif Love, Chrystene, Richard Hoffman, Anonymous Listener

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/

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A well-meaning astronomy enthusiast joins an absent-minded professor on a mission that soon carries them beyond every known galaxy. Their only hope is to stop a furious scientist who would rather smash the Solar System than admit Ptolemy was wrong. Battle of the Solar System by Ray Cummings. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.

Born in New York City in 1887 Raymond King Cummings, was an influential and very prolific author from 1920 until his passing in 1957. As a pioneer of pulp science fiction, he published over 600 stories under his own name and various pen names, with roughly 350 of them published during his most prolific period between 1935 and 1942.

Today’s story was published in Thrilling Wonder Stories in the Spring 1944 issue on page 94, Battle of the Solar System by Ray Cummings…

Next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, Arthur Giles helped build a civilization that believed death had been defeated, but one terrible diagnosis forces him to measure the future in years instead of centuries. When a dangerous experimental starship suddenly becomes his only chance to reclaim what time has taken away, the risk no longer seems impossible. The Dwindling Years by Lester del Rey.

Lost Sci-Fi Premium - https://lostscifi.supercast.com/

Buy Me a Coffee - https://lostscifi.com/coffee

===========================

Newsletter - https://lostscifi.com/free/

Facebook - https://lostscifi.com/facebook

YouTube - https://lostscifi.com/youtube

X - http://Lostscifi.com/x

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/lostscifiguy

Bluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/lostscifipodcast.bsky.social

Merchandise - https://lostscifi.creator-spring.com/

===========================

Thanks to Our Listeners Who Bought Us a Coffee

$200 Someone

$100 Tony from the Future

$75 James Van Maanenberg

$50 James Van Maanenberg, MizzBassie, Anonymous Listener

$25 Fintan Quigley, Curious Jon, David Bell, Steve, Miriam, Someone, Someone, Eaten by a Grue, Jeff Lussenden, Fred Sieber, Anne, Craig Hamilton, Dave Wiseman, Bromite Thrip, Marwin de Haan, Future Space Engineer, Fressie, Kevin Eckert, Stephen Kagan, James Van Maanenberg, Irma Stolfo, Josh Jennings, Leber8tr, Conrad Chaffee, Anonymous Listener

$15 Every Month Someone

$15 Steve, Someone, SueTheLibrarian, Joannie West, Amy Özkan, Someone, Carolyn Guthleben, Patrick McLendon, Curious Jon, Buz C., Fressie, Anonymous Listener

$10 David, Anonymous Listener

$5 Every Month Eaten by a Grue

$5 Tammy, Owen, Bruce, Someone, TLD, David, Denis Kalinin, Timothy Buckley, Andre'a, Martin Brown, Ron McFarlan, Tif Love, Chrystene, Richard Hoffman, Anonymous Listener

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/

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Peter Kolin has spent years hiding every disloyal thought from the rulers of Haurtoz. On an uncharted planet, a strangely friendly tree offers him an escape—but Kolin may have found something far more powerful than freedom. The Talkative Tree by H. B. Fyfe. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.

Every so often someone asks why we featured a particular story. For The Talkative Tree, the answer is wonderfully obvious: it’s a talking tree! And as it turns out, it’s got quite a bit to say.

From the January 1962 issue of If Worlds of Science Fiction on page 48, The Talkative Tree by H. B. Fyfe…

Next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, A well-meaning astronomy enthusiast joins an absent-minded professor on a mission that soon carries them beyond every known galaxy. Their only hope is to stop a furious scientist who would rather smash the Solar System than admit Ptolemy was wrong. Battle of the Solar System by Ray Cummings.

Lost Sci-Fi Premium - https://lostscifi.supercast.com/

Buy Me a Coffee - https://lostscifi.com/coffee

===========================

Newsletter - https://lostscifi.com/free/

Facebook - https://lostscifi.com/facebook

YouTube - https://lostscifi.com/youtube

X - http://Lostscifi.com/x

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/lostscifiguy

Bluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/lostscifipodcast.bsky.social

Merchandise - https://lostscifi.creator-spring.com/

===========================

Thanks to Our Listeners Who Bought Us a Coffee

$200 Someone

$100 Tony from the Future

$75 James Van Maanenberg

$50 James Van Maanenberg, MizzBassie, Anonymous Listener

$25 Fintan Quigley, Curious Jon, David Bell, Steve, Miriam, Someone, Someone, Eaten by a Grue, Jeff Lussenden, Fred Sieber, Anne, Craig Hamilton, Dave Wiseman, Bromite Thrip, Marwin de Haan, Future Space Engineer, Fressie, Kevin Eckert, Stephen Kagan, James Van Maanenberg, Irma Stolfo, Josh Jennings, Leber8tr, Conrad Chaffee, Anonymous Listener

$15 Every Month Someone

$15 Steve, Someone, SueTheLibrarian, Joannie West, Amy Özkan, Someone, Carolyn Guthleben, Patrick McLendon, Curious Jon, Buz C., Fressie, Anonymous Listener

$10 David, Anonymous Listener

$5 Every Month Eaten by a Grue

$5 Tammy, Owen, Bruce, Someone, TLD, David, Denis Kalinin, Timothy Buckley, Andre'a, Martin Brown, Ron McFarlan, Tif Love, Chrystene, Richard Hoffman, Anonymous Listener

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/

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A desperate refugee believes safety waits beyond the mountains, but each mile strips away another piece of the civilized man he once knew. When fear turns into a hunger for power, he may become indistinguishable from the enemy pursuing him. Survivor by Irving Cox Jr. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.

Irving Cox Jr. wrote numerous short stories between 1951 and 1965, including The Guardians, Impact, and two stories we’ve already featured on the podcast, The Pioneer and Export Commodity. He also ventured beyond science fiction, publishing the mystery novel Murder Among Friends in 1956.

Survivor has it all—an alien invasion, relentless suspense, and one man’s desperate struggle to stay alive as the world around him collapses.

Originally printed in the April 1953 issue of Avon Science Fiction and Fantasy Reader on page 28, Survivor by Irving Cox Jr.…

Next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, Peter Kolin has spent years hiding every disloyal thought from the rulers of Haurtoz. On an uncharted planet, a strangely friendly tree offers him an escape—but Kolin may have found something far more powerful than freedom. The Talkative Tree by H. B. Fyfe.

Lost Sci-Fi Premium - https://lostscifi.supercast.com/

Buy Me a Coffee - https://lostscifi.com/coffee

===========================

Newsletter - https://lostscifi.com/free/

Facebook - https://lostscifi.com/facebook

YouTube - https://lostscifi.com/youtube

X - http://Lostscifi.com/x

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/lostscifiguy

Bluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/lostscifipodcast.bsky.social

Merchandise - https://lostscifi.creator-spring.com/

===========================

Thanks to Our Listeners Who Bought Us a Coffee

$200 Someone

$100 Tony from the Future

$75 James Van Maanenberg

$50 James Van Maanenberg, MizzBassie, Anonymous Listener

$25 Fintan Quigley, Curious Jon, David Bell, Steve, Miriam, Someone, Someone, Eaten by a Grue, Jeff Lussenden, Fred Sieber, Anne, Craig Hamilton, Dave Wiseman, Bromite Thrip, Marwin de Haan, Future Space Engineer, Fressie, Kevin Eckert, Stephen Kagan, James Van Maanenberg, Irma Stolfo, Josh Jennings, Leber8tr, Conrad Chaffee, Anonymous Listener

$15 Every Month Someone

$15 Steve, Someone, SueTheLibrarian, Joannie West, Amy Özkan, Someone, Carolyn Guthleben, Patrick McLendon, Curious Jon, Buz C., Fressie, Anonymous Listener

$10 David, Anonymous Listener

$5 Every Month Eaten by a Grue

$5 Tammy, Owen, Bruce, Someone, TLD, David, Denis Kalinin, Timothy Buckley, Andre'a, Martin Brown, Ron McFarlan, Tif Love, Chrystene, Richard Hoffman, Anonymous Listener

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/

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A breakthrough meant to open the stars threatens to shatter the world before anyone understands what it can really do. One exhausted inventor must decide whether to bury his work—or prove it in front of the very people who want to control it. Passage to Anywhere by Sam Merwin Jr. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.

Sam Merwin Jr. made his debut on the podcast just five months ago and you like his stories so much you keep asking for more so here we are, his fifth story in those five months.

The year was 1956, in February of that year Elvis Presley released Heartbreak Hotel which would become his first #1 pop hit. It stayed at #1 for 7 weeks and topped the country and western charts for an amazing 17 weeks.

Sci-Fi fans in February 1956 went to the newsstands and paid 35 cents for Fantastic Universe magazine which included today’s story on page 54, Passage to Anywhere by Sam Merwin Jr.…

Next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, A desperate refugee believes safety waits beyond the mountains, but each mile strips away another piece of the civilized man he once knew. When fear turns into a hunger for power, he may become indistinguishable from the enemy pursuing him. Survivor by Irving Cox Jr.

Lost Sci-Fi Premium - https://lostscifi.supercast.com/

Buy Me a Coffee - https://lostscifi.com/coffee

===========================

Newsletter - https://lostscifi.com/free/

Facebook - https://lostscifi.com/facebook

YouTube - https://lostscifi.com/youtube

X - http://Lostscifi.com/x

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/lostscifiguy

Bluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/lostscifipodcast.bsky.social

Merchandise - https://lostscifi.creator-spring.com/

===========================

Thanks to Our Listeners Who Bought Us a Coffee

$200 Someone

$100 Tony from the Future

$75 James Van Maanenberg

$50 James Van Maanenberg, MizzBassie, Anonymous Listener

$25 Fintan Quigley, Curious Jon, David Bell, Steve, Miriam, Someone, Someone, Eaten by a Grue, Jeff Lussenden, Fred Sieber, Anne, Craig Hamilton, Dave Wiseman, Bromite Thrip, Marwin de Haan, Future Space Engineer, Fressie, Kevin Eckert, Stephen Kagan, James Van Maanenberg, Irma Stolfo, Josh Jennings, Leber8tr, Conrad Chaffee, Anonymous Listener

$15 Every Month Someone

$15 Steve, Someone, SueTheLibrarian, Joannie West, Amy Özkan, Someone, Carolyn Guthleben, Patrick McLendon, Curious Jon, Buz C., Fressie, Anonymous Listener

$10 David, Anonymous Listener

$5 Every Month Eaten by a Grue

$5 Tammy, Owen, Bruce, Someone, TLD, David, Denis Kalinin, Timothy Buckley, Andre'a, Martin Brown, Ron McFarlan, Tif Love, Chrystene, Richard Hoffman, Anonymous Listener

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/

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.