As Octavia Butler said, “All that you touch you change. All that you change changes you. The only lasting truth is change.”

Escape Pod is changing as our longtime Assistant Editor, Ben Kinney, leaves the bridge. Ben has been part of the crew since 2016, and he’s seen many of the changes we’ve gone through: the shift from Submittable to Moksha, from volunteer staff to paid staff, from private company to non-profit. Not to mention the co-editors transitions!

Ben has also helped to change Escape Pod for the better through his tireless work. From recruiting and overseeing the associate editors to navigating the galaxy of submissions we receive, Ben’s guidance and vision have kept our ship flying at warp speed. His knowledge of science and of what makes a good story are some of the reasons the podcast has been so successful in recent years. We will miss him.

Taking up Ben’s post is Kevin Wabaunsee. Kevin is a speculative fiction writer and a former newspaper reporter. He is a professional science news editor and the former managing editor for the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA). He is a Prairie Band Potawatomi. His short fiction has appeared in Strange Horizons, Escape Pod, PseudoPod, Apex, and the anthology Fighting for the Future. You can find him online at kevinwabaunsee.com. We’re excited to discover what changes Kevin has in store for us in the future.

A few parting words from Ben himself:

“It’s been a pleasure serving as the pod’s Assistant Editor for the last six years. Escape Pod is a fantastic project, from every story I’ve read, down to every piece of feedback I’ve sent out; and it’s a fantastic team, from the insightful co-Editors, to the inspirational co-owners, and every hard-working Associate Editor who’s joined the family. But as much as I love every week’s escape into the void, my life is stretched too thin and it’s time for me to cut back my commitments before I burn out. The pod is as amazing as ever under the hood, and I can’t wait to see where Kevin and Premee will take that engine. For the rest of you: thanks for listening and reading, and fly safe out there.”