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

One careless trip into prehistory leaves Gooseneck McCarthy facing the one man stubborn enough to ruin everything—himself. Every attempt to fix the problem creates another McCarthy, and soon nobody can agree which one belongs in the present. Me, Myself and I by Philip Klass. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.

Author Philip Klass returns to the podcast today. He was born Philip Klass in London, moved to Brooklyn and his stories bear the name William Tenn most of the time.

But not today. He used the name Kenneth Putnam in the Winter 1947 issue of Planet Stories magazine. The story appears right before Failure on Titan written by Robert Abernathy which was on the podcast recently. Turn to page 48, Me, Myself and I by Philip Klass…

Next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, A desperate father races through flooded mountain wilderness toward a village chapel, convinced only a sacred symbol can save his fever-stricken daughter before nightfall. But every mile costs him time, and the strange stranger he keeps rescuing may be the very reason he returns home too late. Back Before The Moon by S. Omar Barker.

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.

Frank Ridley has been given centuries to live, but the woman he loves may have only decades. To keep her, he must ask her to accept the same extraordinary future that has already separated him from everyone else. Forever is So Long by John Jakes. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.

Today marks the debut of author John Jakes on the podcast. If his name sounds familiar it might be because of the TV Mini Series North and South which aired on ABC in 1985, Book 2 ran in 1986 and Book 3 in 1994. Book 1 had an All Star cast with Patrick Swayze, Kirstie Alley, David Carradine, Johnny Cash, Morgan Fairchild, Gene Kelly, Robert Mitchum and Elizabeth Taylor.

Long before North and South Chicago native John Jakes wrote more than 100 science fiction short stories and novels beginning in 1950. Decades before the Kent Family Chronicles and North and South, Jakes imagined a future where humanity could dramatically extend the human lifespan—and asked what that might do to two people in love.

We will find out in the April 1953 Avon Science Fiction and Fantasy Reader on page 104, Forever is So Long by John Jakes…

Next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, One careless trip into prehistory leaves Gooseneck McCarthy facing the one man stubborn enough to ruin everything—himself. Every attempt to fix the problem creates another McCarthy, and soon nobody can agree which one belongs in the present. Me, Myself and I by Philip Klass.

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 veteran Mech fighter steps into what should be another routine match, only to discover that someone has turned the arena into a death trap with thousands cheering for the bloodshed. If he survives long enough to expose the deception, he’ll have to do it against the deadliest machine he has ever faced. The Mech Fighter by Stuart McIver. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.

Another 5-star review on Apple Podcasts Canada. Mistercloth says, “Stories to enjoy while in space flight. I have been enjoying these wonderful stories just about every day as I relax in my capsule. Terrific narration!”

Thanks, Mistercloth! We’re grateful for your 5-star rating and wonderful review. Now, about that capsule… we have questions.

There is only one known science fiction story by Stuart McIver, and unfortunately, we haven’t been able to find any other information about him.

We discovered today’s story while searching for Pass the Oxygen by Frank Bryning. In the June 1955 issue of Fantastic Universe, just before Pass the Oxygen, on page 77, we found a story we had never encountered before.

It appears to be Stuart McIver’s only published science fiction story.

The Mech Fighter by Stuart McIver…

Next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, Frank Ridley has been given centuries to live, but the woman he loves may have only decades. To keep her, he must ask her to accept the same extraordinary future that has already separated him from everyone else. Forever is So Long by John Jakes.

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 routine first contact becomes far more complicated when two spacefaring expeditions discover they have misunderstood almost everything about one another. Just as genuine friendship begins to replace suspicion, a far more dangerous question demands an immediate answer: who actually lives in the abandoned city around them? The Contact Point by Jack Sharkey. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.

Thanks to our incredible listeners across Australia, The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast has climbed all the way to #3 in Science Fiction on Apple Podcasts in your country.

Every listen, every follow, every rating, and every time you tell someone about the podcast helps introduce these great vintage science fiction stories to another listener. Now there are only two spots left to climb.

Someday we will get to #1 in Australia—and when that happens, it will be because of you. Thank you, Australia. We’re incredibly grateful to have you along for the journey!

Jack Sharkey was the working name of Chicago-born author and playwright John Michael Sharkey. He wrote more than 80 plays! He entered science fiction in 1959 with “The Captain of His Soul” in Fantastic and produced roughly fifty sci-fi stories over the next several years.

Appearing in the January 1961 issue of If on page 75, The Contact Point by Jack Sharkey…

Next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, A veteran Mech fighter steps into what should be another routine match, only to discover that someone has turned the arena into a death trap with thousands cheering for the bloodshed. If he survives long enough to expose the deception, he’ll have to do it against the deadliest machine he has ever faced. The Mech Fighter by Stuart McIver.

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 young researcher risks his career, his freedom, and his sanity to prove that madness can be reversed with a single injection. But when the only way to demonstrate the cure is from inside a locked ward, he must decide whether to stake his life on the very drug that put him there. Open All Doors by Harry Harrison and Hubert Pritchard. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.

Harry Harrison is one of my favorite authors. His spacefaring sci-fi, The Stainless Steel Rat and The Misplaced Battleship are two of my favorites. And I enjoy his robot stories too, Arm of the Law, The Robot Who Wanted to Know and others.

However, this Harry Harrison story isn’t like the others. Perhaps that’s because of his co-author Hubert Pritchard. This is the first Pritchard story on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast and there won’t be many more, if any. Hubert Pritchard wrote only two science fiction stories that were published.

So how did he and Harry Harrison team up? They were friends in high school and reconnected in New York after World War II. As the story goes Pritchard was training to be a doctor but ill health prevented him from continuing his medical education.

However, he put that education to good use in this story which was published in the February 1958 issue of Fantastic Universe magazine on page 4, Open All Doors by Harry Harrison and Hubert Pritchard…

Next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, A routine first contact becomes far more complicated when two spacefaring expeditions discover they have misunderstood almost everything about one another. Just as genuine friendship begins to replace suspicion, a far more dangerous question demands an immediate answer: who actually lives in the abandoned city around them? The Contact Point by Jack Sharkey.

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.