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

The Ordeal of Colonel Johns by George H. Smith

A Revolutionary War hero discovers that the America he helped create has become a place he barely recognizes. When his descendants proudly reveal what they stand for, one

An Artist's Life by Harry Harrison

Brent Dalgreen traveled to the Moon and nearly died trying to capture its alien beauty on canvas. Now, back on Earth, he discovers another artist has accomplished what he

The Pluto Lamp by Charles A. Stearns

Knucklebone Smith has spent his entire life searching for the one thing he was born to do, but nobody believes he’s good for anything. On the frozen surface of Pluto, a d

Synthetic Hero by Erik Fennel

A celebrated space pioneer becomes humanity’s greatest hero, but the story the world believes conceals a devastating deception. As a deadly disease threatens millions, on

The Holes and John Smith by Edward W. Ludwig

A brilliant musician claims he has fallen through a hole in time, but his new friends are more interested in keeping him employed than believing his extraordinary story.

The Barrier by Bryce Walton

John Stevens has survived something no human being was meant to experience, but the greatest danger may still lie ahead. When the military prepares to send him beyond Ear

The Protector by Betsy Curtis

A race that cannot feel physical pain faces surprisingly terrifying danger. When an alien civilization begins to crumble under human cruelty, a boxing manager and his hea

The Crystal Ray by Raymond Z. Gallun

A mysterious blue crystal possesses a power that could change the course of a devastating global war. But turning a deadly discovery into humanity’s last hope will demand

The Uncharted Isle by Clark Ashton Smith

A forgotten civilization struggles to understand why the stars no longer match its ancient maps, while a stranded sailor discovers that its inhabitants cannot even see hi

Moxon’s Master by Ambrose Bierce

A brilliant mind pushes a forbidden idea too far, testing whether intelligence can exist without flesh or conscience. When reason gives way to rivalry, the cost of curios

The Werewolf of Ponkert by H. Warner Munn

A prosperous merchant is forced into a secret brotherhood whose members hunt as beasts and obey an ancient master who can reach into their minds. When that obedience thre

The Mississippi Saucer by Frank Belknap Long

A violent river feud leaves a boy desperate to save the only family he has left. But when Jimmy reaches for help, something far beyond the Mississippi may be listening. T

The Man the Martians Made by Frank Belknap Long

On a harsh frontier world, fear spreads faster than truth when a brutal crime fractures a fragile human settlement. As suspicion turns inward, the greatest danger may com

The Flowering of the Strange Orchid by H. G. Wells

A harmless obsession becomes something far more dangerous when beauty conceals an appetite no botanist expects. H. G. Wells turns a quiet greenhouse into a trap where fas

D. P. From Tomorrow by Mack Reynolds

A desperate warning from ten years ahead lands in the hands of men who pride themselves on knowing almost everything. They laugh at the messenger, but one name may prove

Milk Run by Robert Donald Locke

Three ancient aliens awaken aboard a human freighter, and neither species can understand what the other intends. With the crew helpless and the ship racing through hypers

Against the Stone Beasts by James Blish

A desperate war rages between sky-borne colonists and unseen creatures that rule the stone beneath their feet. One accidental visitor from another age may decide whether

Murderer’s Chain by Wenzell Brown

A fortune stands just out of reach, and one beautifully crafted Martian necklace seems capable of removing the only person standing in the way. But a perfect murder requi

When You Giffle… by Joseph Wesley

Captain Hannah has found people who can reshape a spaceship with their minds, but their astonishing powers come with the judgment of ordinary kids. When a helpful teenage

The Metal Giants by Edmond Hamilton

A brilliant scientist creates a mechanical mind capable of reasoning beyond its maker, then discovers it has begun building for itself. When towering machines march again