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Episode Comments / CoW Ep. 528: Notes from a trans-inclusive gender apocalypse

« Last post by Languorous Lass on March 09, 2023, 04:37:52 AM »

Cast of Wonders 528: Notes from a trans-inclusive gender apocalypse

• Author: Ember Randall
• Narrator: Jordan Kurella
• Host: Katherine Inskip
• Audio Producer: Jeremy Carter

"Notes from a trans-inclusive gender apocalypse" is a Cast of Wonders original.

Click here to listen to Episode 528

Content Warning:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

May 10

Firestorm (12:05 PM): You know, given all the possibilities for an apocalypse, this wasn’t the one I expected us to see. At least not first.

Kazumi (12:31 PM): Did you see the good news, though? The Bureau for Magical Mismanagement think they’ve isolated the cause! Some sort of ritual gone wrong, something targeting men–and they think they’ve even identified which story the group was using for a basis for it! They’re calling for any female practitioners who are willing and able to come to Spiregate to join a ritual to undo it.

Firestorm (12:35 PM): Only female mages, huh?

Shapeshifter (12:36 PM): Fuck. I hope it works. I keep waking up and wondering if this’ll be the morning the flowers take over enough that they can’t be uprooted next time it’s a girl day.

Tags: ace/aro, apocalypse, body horror, Ember Randall, gender, gender dysphoria, gender identity, individuality, Jeremy Carter, Jordan Kurella, Katherine Inskip, LGBTQ, magic, programming, rituals, trans visibility, transformation, transgender, young adult fiction

Episode Comments / PC775: The Morthouse

« Last post by Ocicat on February 26, 2023, 02:46:55 AM »

PodCastle 775: “The Morthouse”

Author: Maria Haskins
Narrator: Eleanor R. Wood
Host: Matt Dovey
Audio Producer: Devin Martin

Previously published by The Deadlands #12

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Content Warning:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Show Notes
Rated PG-13

In her forty-two years on God’s wide Earth, Gerda has read no books other than The Bible and Luther’s Small Catechism, but once, after Sunday service, she heard the sexton say that there are places where the dead traverse a river after death, paying a boatsman to ferry them across the water. Gerda knows such a thing must be either blasphemy or fable, and she knows for certain the dead will find no passage here, not this far north in Sweden, not in January when both the creek and inlet by the village lie frozen, the murky, brackish waters of the Gulf of Bothnia slumbering below windswept ice.

Here, in winter, the dead go nowhere at all, not even into the ground.

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Episode Comments / EP 876 The Hagfish Has Three Hearts

« Last post by Nicole Parent on February 23, 2023, 02:34:58 AM »

I both really loved the concept of this episode, bio engineered diplomat has to balance small town politics with the demands of the whales who humanity has to bargain with in order to have any access to the sea, and was impressed by Noma being crossed with a hagfish of all the possible ocean creatures. I always personally thought that the hagfish was very gross, so I appreciated how this story helped me see the deep ocean creatures in a different light.

I did think that the town was really lucky, in that it seems to be able to exist without being taken over by some warring group. I would think that this would happen since the town is resource rich, and there seems to be no national government to protect it. However, the world of this story seems to have dramatically changed, and its possible that everyone else has other things to worry about.

Finally, I also thought that the fish becoming sentient was a really interesting plot twist. I liked the ending where Noma was able to successfully convince Alfreda that the fish now have the intelligence of people, and should not be eaten. I have to wonder if this will someday happen with animals like the octopus, who are so smart that they easily get bored in captivity, and often successfully escape their tanks. It did make me think, at what point does an animal get too smart to be eaten? And, should humanity be thinking about this more?

Episode Comments / PC774: Yung Lich and the Dance of Death

« Last post by Ocicat on February 19, 2023, 04:52:16 AM »

PodCastle 774: Yung Lich and the Dance of Death

Author: Alex Fox
Narrator: Eric Valdes
Host: Matt Dovey
Audio Producer: Eric Valdes

PodCastle 774: Yung Lich and the Dance of Death is a PodCastle original.

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Show Notes
Rated PG-13

My Christian name was Thomas Kanfor but ever since that bastard wizard rose me from the grave I go by Yung Lich. On that moonless night he spoke some words from a tattered grimoire over my naked, somewhat-recently-dead corpse and voila, here I am. He called me a “Young Lich”. When you’re newly risen you don’t remember much else , so I took that as my new name. I changed “Young” to “Yung” because I think it reads a bit fresher, and when you’re trying to break into the hip-hop scene, you gotta be fresh .

People can’t tell I’m dead unless I remove the mask. They think it’s part of my act. I stand outside of Times Square with my whole getup — long, black, hooded cloak, a ghastly off-brand Scream mask, an old gnarled branch. I lean and spookily sway and try to hand out my mixtapes. I mean, shoot. If there’s one cool thing about being given a second chance it’s that you know what’s important and what’s not. I never had the gall to pursue a career in music while living. Nah. Wouldn’t pay the bills, wouldn’t make my mom proud. But now? I’m free to be me . . .

“Want my mixtape?” I wheeze in my dry-as-sawdust voice to a small group waiting for the crosswalk. I extend a robed arm, a white CD in my hand. Across the front is the Sharpie-scrawled label Yung Lich — The Dance of Death. They hardly look my way, and don’t seem to appreciate my pestering.

A man shoves my arm aside and fingers an earbud out of his ear. “Ain’t no one got CD players anymore, pal. Try Soundcloud.”

The crosswalk changes and the folk quickly scramble across the street. My arm falls, dejected. Even though in this “life” I can pursue my true interests, that doesn’t mean anyone is interested in what I have to say. Been standing here for weeks on end and only four people have taken my mixtape, and I think only to be nice, as I saw two of them toss the CDs in the garbage once they crossed.

And what that man said rings true: not that many people have CD players these days. Guess I’m slow to accept change, but I know I need to adapt if I want to get my music out there. I’ve got an old laptop. I can look into Soundcloud — it’s something to go on, at least.

I gather my things and hobble to the Corner Café. They know me there. They let me use the Wi-Fi even though I never buy coffee. I don’t need to eat or drink much, or at all, really — tends to leak out of my swiss-cheesed stomach.

A few people idle in the café, and they look up as I open the glass door, a small bell tinkering to announce my arrival. I keep my head down, my hands well within my long sleeves, even as I hold the obnoxiously tall wooden staff. The staff double-bangs the bell as I amble through, loud as a cymbal crash, and I shrink into myself.

“Sorry, sorry,” I mutter. Wooden chairs creak as the patrons turn to watch me, this weirdo in the horror getup. I try not to pay attention to them. I mosey on to my usual corner, sit, and pull out my laptop. Soon I’m forgotten, like all the other freaks of the city.

On my laptop screen glows a text file with the lyrics of my finest work, “The Dance of Death.” I read it once, twice.

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Episode Comments / Re: Pseudopod 285: Kill Screen

« Last post by ElrathiaKing on February 13, 2023, 04:23:03 PM »

Hello. Here I am over a decade after this was originally published to say I'm listening to the archive and it freaked me the heck out. I had it playing quietly on my phone while I walked my dog because I didn't want to pause it.

Episode Comments / PC73: Housing Problem

« Last post by Ocicat on February 11, 2023, 06:20:51 AM »

PodCastle 773: Housing Problem

Authors: C. L. Moore and Henry Kuttner
Narrator: John Bell
Host: Alex Hofelich
Audio Producer: Eric Valdes

Originally published by Charm, October 1944

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Show Notes
Rated PG

Jacqueline said it was a canary, but I contended that there were a couple of lovebirds in the covered cage. One canary could never make that much fuss. Besides, I liked to think of crusty old Mr. Henchard keeping lovebirds; it was so completely inappropriate. But whatever our roomer kept in that cage by his window, he shielded it — or them — jealously from prying eyes. All we had to go by were the noises.

And they weren’t too simple to figure out. From under the cretonne cloth came shufflings, rustlings, occasional faint and inexplicable pops, and once or twice a tiny thump that made the whole hidden cage shake on its redwood pedestal-stand. Mr. Henchard must have known that we were curious. But all he said when Jackie remarked that birds were nice to have around, was “Claptrap! Leave that cage alone, d’ya hear?”

That made us a little mad. We’re not snoopers, and after that brush-off, we coldly refused to even look at the shrouded cretonne shape. We didn’t want to lose Mr. Henchard, either. Roomers were surprisingly hard to get. Our little house was on the coast highway; the town was a couple of dozen homes, a grocery, a liquor store, the post office, and Terry’s restaurant. That was about all. Every morning Jackie and I hopped the bus and rode in to the factory, an hour away. By the time we got home, we were pretty tired. We couldn’t get any household help — war jobs paid a lot better — so we both pitched in and cleaned. As for cooking, we were Terry’s best customers.

The wages were good, but before the war we’d run up too many debts, so we needed extra dough.

And that’s why we rented a room to Mr. Henchard. Off the beaten track with transportation difficult, and with the coast dimout every night, it wasn’t too easy to get a roomer. Mr. Henchard looked like a natural. He was, we figured, too old to get into mischief.

One day he wandered in, paid a deposit; presently he showed up with a huge Gladstone and a square canvas grip with leather handles. He was a creaking little old man with a bristling tonsure of stiff hair and a face like Popeye’s father, only more human. He wasn’t sour; he was just crusty. I had a feeling he’d spent most of his life in furnished rooms, minding his own business and puffing innumerable cigarettes through a long black holder. But he wasn’t one of those lonely old men you could safely feel sorry for— far from it! He wasn’t poor and he was completely self-sufficient. We loved him. I called him grandpa once, in an outburst of affection, and my skin blistered at the resultant remarks.

Some people are born under lucky stars. Mr. Henchard was like that. He was always finding money in the street. The few times we shot craps or played poker, he made passes and held straights without even trying. No question of sharp dealing — he was just lucky.

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Episode Comments / CoW Ep. 527: Both Hope and Breath

« Last post by Languorous Lass on February 10, 2023, 06:08:24 AM »

Cast of Wonders 527: Both Hope and Breath

• Author: Riley Tao
• Narrator: Hugo Jackson
• Host: Katherine Inskip
• Audio Producer: Jeremy Carter

"Both Hope and Breath" is a Cast of Wonders original.

Click here to listen to Episode 527

Content Warning:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

It’s perfectly normal for breath to fog up mirrors. Everyone knows that. For most of my childhood, I never thought twice about the way mirrors went cloudy when I drew near. The only time it really mattered was when Dad flew me to school; even well into my upper school years, I never could sit in the front seat without frosting over the rearview mirrors, much less pilot an aerostat myself.

In my senior year at Ettwood Upper, I was the only person still flown to school by a parent–and Dad never let me forget it.

Tags: families, flying cars, friendship, gender identity, high school, Hugo Jackson, Jeremy Carter, Katherine Inskip, LGBTQ, magic, prejudice, Riley Tao, shopping, steampunk, teen protagonist, transphobia, young adult fiction, young author

Episode Comments / PC772: Mama uat-ur

« Last post by Ocicat on January 31, 2023, 01:12:44 PM »

PodCastle 772: “Mama uat-ur”

Author: Z. K. Abraham
Narrator: C. L. Clark
Host: Matt Dovey
Audio Producer: Devin Martin

PodCastle 772: “Mama uat-ur” is a PodCastle original.

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Content Warning:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Show Notes
Rated PG-13

Pressing her forearms against the first-floor window’s metal frame, Temesghen watched aegean-blue waves splash against the concrete walls, searching for another flash of the being’s presence in the sea below. The stars were partially shrouded by the clouds; the sky was a milky greenish swirl like rotting leaves and tree sap, while the taste of sour algae and salt hung in the air. In the distance, several tall, concrete structures loomed: the Stacks, all that was left in a now-drowned world. Every Stack was the same inside as hers — at least, that’s what the overseers assured them. No way to tell for sure, since they weren’t allowed to sail or swim to the other buildings.

A flicker in the sea below: she perked up, but it was only a silverfish. The yellow beam of a flashlight danced over the waves. Temesghen dove to the ground, cursing herself for losing track of the time between patrols. The guards opened the windows above, searching for any illicit activity in the water, their torches passing over the windows of the lower level where she now hid, hoping she’d left no trace of her presence. A bloom of sweat drenched her chest under a loose tunic. Pushing down gurgling nausea, she leaned back against the gritty stone wall and crouched as still as possible. Wandering alone at night on the upper floors was considered trespassing, punishable by only a few months malnutrition and some light torture in the barracks, but those who went down to the forbidden lower floors were often never seen again. Her elderly parents were hard of hearing; she was able to sneak out without disturbing them. As long as she wasn’t caught by the patrols now, no one would ever find out about her desperate desires.

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Episode Comments / Poor volume normalization

« Last post by JustCallBenAgain on January 29, 2023, 02:11:56 PM »

The most recent double episode (872 & 873) had horrible volume variance. So much so that it I couldn't listen to them. I've heard stories narrated by Amy Kelly before and have not experienced this issue before by her.

Could it be a technical glitch? It sounds as if she is moving near and far from the mic but I doubt that she would be that active during a recording session. Maybe a problem with gain input or something...

I'm searching for a third-party tool that will normalize the volume and allow me to enjoy the story. I verified that it was not Spotify causing the issue as the web version does the same behavior.

Episode Comments / Re: PseudoPod 792: The Rocking-Horse Winner

« Last post by Gary on January 27, 2023, 11:18:11 PM »

When I was in the 5th or 6th grade, we were made to read this story and I remember not being at all impressed.
It has a slow build and sure, a kid dies but it wasn't that creepy. The problem was I was too young to appreciate it. I was an avid reader but I read stories that had action and adventure and didn't require nuance in my interpretation. When I read it I was hearing it in MY inner voice and at that age I just wasn't a good narrator. (I have a whole other rant on how people are turned off from literature by being forced to read it before they are individually, mentally ready for it but that is not why I am here now). Sadly, my poor reading of that story coloured the way I viewed D. H. Lawrence from then on.
Until now.
Alasdair has fixed all of that. His reading had me transfixed. It's the length and placement of the pauses, the inflection, the vocal dynamics ... ITS ACTING. This is the same story I read a lifetime ago but now I think it is brilliant and that is all due to this narration.
Thank you Alasdair.

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