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

byScott Miller

FictionScience

The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast restores and narrates forgotten and underrated vintage science fiction short stories spanning from the 1700s through the mid-1960s. Each episode features a professionally narrated classic drawn from early speculative fiction, pioneering 19th-century tales, and the pulp magazine era that shaped modern science fiction.Released several times a week, the podcast explores timeless speculative ideas—alien encounters, artificial intelligence, time travel, dystopian futures, and the human cost of progress—through the works of legendary authors such as Philip K. Dick, Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, H. G. Wells, Harlan Ellison, and many others.Now in i...

Episodes(40 episodes)

The Vidiot by Ib Melchior

Don Hartley has stumbled upon an invention that could make him fabulously wealthy—and give anyone who controls it the power to watch anyone, anywhere. Before he cashes in, he must decide whether some discoveries are simply too dangerous to share. The Vidiot by Ib Melchior. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast. Another day, another author making his debut on the podcast. Ib Melchior was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1917. His father was a celebrated opera singer who performed throughout Europe and the Americas from the 1920s through the 1940s, including appearances with the Chicago Oper...

Published: Sep 10, 2026Duration: 26m 18s

The Watchers by George H. Smith

A lone Watcher abandons the safety of his hidden post when a human survivor falls into enemy hands. Outnumbered and almost unarmed, he must turn a frozen alien moon into a weapon before the Rumi escape with their prisoner. The Watchers by George H. Smith. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast. We are thankful for another 5-star review on Apple Podcasts in the US. This one comes from DanDanknick: “A new experience I enjoyed. Other than the Psalms I’ve never listened to anyone reading anything on a podcast. A new daily work commut...

Published: Sep 8, 2026Duration: 27m 33s

Killer by James E. Gunn

A fugitive believes he has found a world willing to give him everything he has lost, including someone who seems made for him. But the closer paradise comes to matching his deepest desires, the harder it becomes for him to trust what stands before him. Killer by James E. Gunn. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast. Author James Edwin Gunn makes his debut on the podcast today. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1923, Gunn was a science fiction writer, editor, scholar, and anthologist whose remarkable career spanned decades. Gunn wrote about 20 novels and mo...

Published: Sep 7, 2026Duration: 36m 8s

Replace the Horse by Laurence M. Janifer

Arthur Holly thinks he has found the surest bet in horse racing when a brilliant scientist discovers how to make an aging nag run like a champion. The scheme works beautifully, but every race leaves their fortune riding on one very fragile piece of technology. Replace the Horse by Laurence M. Janifer. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast. I want to take a moment to make a promise to everyone who listens to The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast. Platforms come and go. Things change, sometimes for reasons beyond our control. The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast ma...

Published: Sep 7, 2026Duration: 21m 10s

Doomsday Deferred by Murray Leinster

Deep in the Brazilian jungle, a terrified family has found a way to bargain with something no human being was meant to bargain with. When an American naturalist realizes who—or what—is demanding payment, he begins to understand how easily an army of tiny creatures could become something far more dangerous. Doomsday Deferred by Murray Leinster. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast. Murray Leinster is one of my favorite authors and this is the 12th story written by Leinster that we have featured on the podcast. First published in The Saturday Evening Post...

Published: Sep 6, 2026Duration: 33m 56s

The Remarkable Case of Davidson’s Eyes by H. G. Wells

Sidney Davidson can hear his friends in England, feel the furniture beneath his hands, and yet his eyes insist he is somewhere impossibly far away. As the vision refuses to fade, one question becomes harder to dismiss: what if the impossible scene before him is not a dream at all? The Remarkable Case of Davidson’s Eyes by H. G. Wells. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast. Today’s story was first published in the Pall Mall Budget which was a weekly British magazine published in London and served as a weekly digest of articles and ne...

Published: Sep 4, 2026Duration: 28m 39s

Back Before The Moon by S. Omar Barker

This episode of the podcast is dedicated to my Mom who passed two days ago at the age of 86. Thank you Mom, for everything 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. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast. Today’s author lived an amazing life. Squire Omar...

Published: Aug 31, 2026Duration: 29m 20s

A Difficult Time

Some of you have reached out to ask why there haven’t been any new episodes of The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast recently. My mother is nearing the end of her life, and I am traveling to be with her and spend whatever time we have left together. Right now, I don’t know when I’ll be able to return to producing new episodes of The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast. In the meantime, there are more than 600 episodes already available, and I hope you’ll continue to explore the many stories in the collection and find somethin...

Published: Aug 18, 2026Duration: 44s

Back Before The Moon by S. Omar Barker

This episode of the podcast is dedicated to my Mom who passed two days ago at the age of 86. Thank you Mom, for everything 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. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast. Today’s author lived an amazing life. Squire Omar...

Published: Aug 12, 2026Duration: 29m 20s

Me, Myself and I by Philip Klass

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 issu...

Published: Aug 12, 2026Duration: 39m 20s

Forever is So Long by John Jakes

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 ca...

Published: Aug 11, 2026Duration: 29m 34s

The Mech Fighter by Stuart McIver

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...

Published: Aug 10, 2026Duration: 28m 13s

The Contact Point by Jack Sharkey

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 ti...

Published: Aug 9, 2026Duration: 26m 36s

Open All Doors by Harry Harrison and Hubert Pritchard

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 hi...

Published: Aug 8, 2026Duration: 57m 49s

Probability by Louis Trimble

A quiet man spends decades chasing an impossible invention, only to discover that success carries a responsibility far greater than wealth or fame. When the future reveals a disaster that has not happened yet, one ordinary bartender must decide whether he is willing to become the man history needs. Probability by Louis Trimble. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast. Louis Preston Trimble makes his debut on the podcast today and it’s probably the only time he will be here. Born in Seattle Washington in 1917 Trimble wrote more than 60 novels, some sci-fi, mostly westerns and myst...

Published: Aug 7, 2026Duration: 21m 50s

Pendulum by Ray Bradbury and Henry Hasse

A scientist condemned to a punishment unlike anything ever devised watches centuries slip past while every civilization around him rises, changes, and disappears. As the world transforms beyond recognition, only one question remains: what will finally bring his endless sentence to an end? Pendulum by Ray Bradbury and Henry Hasse. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast. You can never have too many 5-star reviews. Never. Every one reminds us why we do this, but some hit a little differently. This one from Apple Podcasts Canada absolutely made our day. wethesheep-not wrote:...

Published: Aug 6, 2026Duration: 31m 52s

Translator’s Error by Charles Dye

A world that should have bloomed again instead slips beyond reach, leaving one visitor to wonder whether the greatest mistake was made long before humans ever arrived. As forgotten clues begin to fit together, an unsettling possibility emerges that no one is prepared to face. Translator’s Error by Charles Dye. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast. Author Charles Dye makes his second appearance on the podcast just over 10 months after his first story, Momentum was heard. Let’s travel to Mars through the pages of the December 1952 issue of Dynamic Science Fiction. Our ma...

Published: Aug 5, 2026Duration: 20m 43s

Beyond the Wall of Sleep by H. P. Lovecraft

A dying patient speaks of impossible places no uneducated man should be able to imagine, pushing one young doctor toward an experiment that could shatter everything he believes about the sleeping mind. What answers await beyond ordinary consciousness—and what might still be searching the night sky when the experiment is over? Beyond the Wall of Sleep by H. P. Lovecraft. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast. We spend a lot of time thinking about the stories, the pacing, and giving each character a distinct voice. So this review on Apple Podcasts US from “California listen...

Published: Aug 4, 2026Duration: 35m 6s

Death of a Mutant by Charles V. De Vet

A hunted young mutant leaves a trail of unexplained deaths, yet every encounter raises a troubling question about what people think they have witnessed. As one sheriff searches for the truth, he must decide whether he is chasing a remorseless killer—or someone no one has ever truly understood. Death of a Mutant by Charles V. De Vet. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast. Charles V. De Vet made his debut on the podcast just about a week ago. It’s not uncommon for us to feature another story from a new author soon after their...

Published: Aug 3, 2026Duration: 32m 59s

The Price of Eggs by Randall Garrett

A young diplomat trapped inside an alien royal marriage learns that custom can become a death sentence when an heir fails to appear. Lieutenant Newhouse has only days to outmaneuver a suspicious queen before an Earthman disappears forever inside the laws of Oassi. The Price of Eggs by Randall Garrett. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast. There are some authors whose stories seem to get better every time I revisit them, and Randall Garrett is definitely one of those. The more of his work I narrate, the more I appreciate his knack for blending clever id...

Published: Aug 2, 2026Duration: 1h 2m 4s