After spending years in isolation with her vishakanya sisters, a poison maiden is given her first deadly mission. © 2015 Roshani Chokshi, as first appeared on BookSmugglers.com. Recorded live at Variety Playhouse in Atlanta, with musical accompaniment by Anand Vyas.

While suffering through a breakup, a woman encounters a strange figure. Recorded live in Austin at the Paramount Theatre, with musical accompaniment by Peter Tran of Curved Light.

In this fantastical police procedural, detectives are perplexed when a young boy confesses to a murder. "Playing Nice with God's Bowling Ball" was originally published in the August 2008 issue of Jim Baen’s Universe. N. K. Jemisin's new collection is HOW LONG 'TIL BLACK FUTURE MONTH?

This episode is sponsored by Mythology podcast (www.parcast.com/MYTHOLOGY).

Two people reconnect in a post-apocalyptic world. © 1984 by Gardner Dozois. Originally published in OMNI. Used by permission of the author’s Estate and the Estate’s agents, the Virginia Kidd Agency, Inc.

This episode is sponsored by Bona Floor Cleaners (www.bona.com), Sierra Club (www.BeyondCoal.org/stories), The Great Courses (www.thegreatcoursesplus.com/LEVAR), and Calm (www.calm.com/LEVAR).

For a humble shopkeeper in Yiwu, it’s a living, selling lottery tickets. Until a winning ticket opens up mysteries he’d never imagined.

This episode is sponsored by Bona Floor Cleaners (www.bona.com), The Great Courses (www.thegreatcoursesplus.com/LEVAR), and Sierra Club (www.beyondcoal.org/stories).

A kindergartner travels through a portal to a fantastic and eerie new world. This story appears in Ellen's collection WICKED WONDERS.

This episode is sponsored by Sierra Club (www.beyondcoal.org/stories), Bona Floor Cleaners (www.bona.com), Calm (www.calm.com/LEVAR), and The Great Courses (www.thegreatcoursesplus.com/LeVar).

A Rosh Hashanah service is interrupted by voices clamoring for attention. This story appears in the forthcoming collection THE NEW ORDER.

This episode is sponsored by Bona Floor Cleaners (www.bona.com), The Great Courses (www.thegreatcoursesplus.com/LeVar), and the Sierra Club (www.beyondcoal.org/stories).

A brooding young man is captivated by a magical creature who dances in the firelight. This story appears in JACKALOPE WIVES AND OTHER STORIES by T. Kingfisher.

This episode is sponsored by Sierra Club (www.beyondcoal.org/stories), Bona Floor Cleaners (www.bona.com), Calm (www.calm.com/LEVAR), and The Great American Read.

In a future version of Los Angeles, a woman and her ragtag crew must repair a critical piece of technology or let the city burn to the ground.

This episode is sponsored by The Great Courses (www.thegreatcoursesplus.com/levar) and The Great American Read.

A reporter travels to Miami to investigate the fringes of science and faith. This story appears in THE ASSIMILATED CUBAN'S GUIDE TO QUANTUM SANTERIA.

This episode is sponsored by The Great Courses (www.thegreatcoursesplus.com/LEVAR) and Google Play (g.co/play/levar).