Escape Pod 16: Seamstress

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 30:05 — 20.7MB)

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Show Notes

Rated PG. Contains sexual situations and, unrelated, the loss of innocence.

Seamstress

By Sarah Prineas

So, the Godmother. She takes ragged, smudged things and turns them into beautiful Princesses. Why, I don’t know. A hobby? A calling? An obsession? Is she righting the wrongs done to her when she was young?

When I first started here, I had a fantasy. That the Godmother would pluck me out of the row of humpbacked, squinting Seamstresses and make me, too, a beautiful Princess. With a gown sewn by…well, by the poor wenches too old or ugly to catch the Godmother’s eye.

On the Radio

If you live in the New York area, you’ll get not one, but two (count ’em!) chances to hear about Escape Pod on the radio Friday night.

At 11:30 PM, WUSB on Long Island will be airing Destinies: The Voice of Science Fiction. Chris DeFilippis will be featuring us in his “De Flip Side” segment.

Then, at 5 AM on WBAI, Escape Pod narrator Deborah Green will be on Hour of the Wolf with Jim Freund. She’ll be reading from her novel Soulbound, so if you love Deb’s voice this is your chance to hear more of it.

Both radio stations offer streaming from their Web sites (and WBAI has archived streaming of recent shows) so if you’re not in New York you’ll still be able to catch these. Enjoy!

Escape Pod 15: Hell Notes

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 51:05 — 35.1MB)

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Show Notes

Rated PG. Contains graphic food-based sensuality and soulless marketing.

Hell Notes

By M.K. Hobson

They say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, so I suppose it’s no wonder that the twice-cooked pork the beautiful chef placed in that depressing buffet line kicked me in the mouth like a South American soccer superstar with bad aim. There was never twice-cooked pork like the twice-cooked pork I tasted that snowy day at the Cheerful Panda.

Escape Pod 14: Tis the Season

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 34:55 — 24.0MB)

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Show Notes

Rated R. Contains strong religious themes, graphic violence, and aggressive Zen.

Tis the Season

By K. D. Wentworth

It was Christmas Eve and that nasty, strung-out feeling of anticipation clotted the air like a cheap deodorizer. I hate Christmas the most–all that insincere, pious yap about “peace on
earth, goodwill towards men.” I was cruising down the expressway, on my way back from dismantling an illegal manger scene someone had erected at the river park, keeping an eye out
for graffiti, you know–“Where will _you_ spend eternity?” or “Buddha lives!”–that kind of crap, spray-painted on underpasses right where impressionable schoolchildren could see it. The last rays of the setting sun were painting the highway a faint rose when I spotted a broken-down van with the metal outline of a stylized fish just above the back bumper. The short hairs crawled up the back of my neck. Them fish guys have been some of my worst busts.

Administrivia

This seems to be the week for annoying problems:

  1. One of our listeners has reported to us (thanks, Paul!) that EP013 isn’t showing up in the iTunes podcast directory right now. This baffles me, because it worked when I tested it last week. No idea what the problem is, but I’m trying to kick some things to see what works. In fact this post is one attempt at kicking, to try to refresh the feed. Hopefully this is a brief glitch; please bear with us, and if you see problems like this in the future, please drop us an e-mail and let us know. Thanks.
  2. If you’ve tried to visit the TSFPN Forums in the last few days, you’ve probably noticed they’re down. Those guys are apparently having hosting difficulties, and it’s taking them some time to straighten it out. Although we’re not involved in their problems, I’d like to apologize to all Escape Pod listeners who’ve tried to access our forum and couldn’t. If their downtime extends beyond a few days, I’ll set up discussion forums here instead, because people seemed to be Having Fun with them. Thanks for your patience.
  3. Oh, and while this isn’t exactly a technical problem, there won’t be any flash this week. My wife’s been ill, and there’s been other stuff going on. We’re still on track for an Escape Pod release on Thursday, which is our primary commitment. It’ll be a fun one!

Escape Pod 13: The Once and Future Dentist

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 33:05 — 22.7MB)

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Show Notes

Rated PG. Contains violence, alcohol, and gratuitous time travel.

The Once and Future Dentist

By D. Richard Pearce

“‘He was the most skillful gambler, and the nerviest, fastest, deadliest man with a six-gun I ever saw.’ Do you know who said that, Doctor?”

He coughed politely and sat in a nearby chair. “Begging your pardon, ma’am, I’d be more interested in who they were talking about.”

She laughed softly, and seemed to turn her attention to him fully for the first time. “Wyatt Earp said those words about you, Doctor. At your funeral, I suspect, though I don’t know for sure.”

EP Flash: Friday Night Gods

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 7:02 — 3.2MB)

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Friday Night Gods

By Josh Rountree

Brodie approached the line of scrimmage and both sides of the field erupted. The red-robed fans in the visitor’s stands surged like a crimson wave, swaying in unison as they began the  Rite of Interception. They stamped their feet against the aluminum bleachers, chanting as they drew gleaming blades across the bellies of countless doomed rattlesnakes. Their blood spilled, the snakes were then hurled onto the field. The rain of reptiles sounded like bacon burning in a skillet as the animals protested their own sacrifice.

Escape Pod 12: Clean Up Your Room!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 40:15 — 18.5MB)

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Show Notes

Rated G. Contains intense maternal nagging and disturbing chorework. May not be suitable for some adults.

Clean Up Your Room!

By Laura Anne Gilman

“Jessy, put that away and come eat breakfast. You won’t get anything useful done on an empty stomach.” The voice was the usual gender-neutral computer-generated drone, and yet it sounded different to her this morning. Obviously, the tone modifiers Gregory had suggested were working, too. That was going to be a selling point for everyone yelping about the dehumanization of home life. In a few generations, they’d be able to personalize the voice, maybe even to customer order.