In this episode, we’re diving into the psychological and atmospheric worlds of Alfred Coppel, a master of mid-century speculative fiction. 

First, we travel to the lunar surface in 'First Man on the Moon', originally published in a 1950 issue of Planet Stories. But this isn't a story of triumphant exploration; it is a dark, gripping look at an obsession so blinding that it leads to murder. 

Then, we shift our gaze to 'Touch the Sky', a 1955 tale of existential dread and anticipation that follows pilot Pete Moore on the final night before his own historic moonshot mission.

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Today, we’re setting sail into the deep, unpredictable waters of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. We have curated three maritime short stories centered around the wonders of ocean life.

As always we begin with a biographical look at our authors.

Our voyage begins with an unusual encounter in the waters around Bermuda in 'Gregory and the Scuttle', penned by the renowned American naturalist Charles Haskins Townsend. 

Following that, we dive into two distinct tales from the legendary Australian South Seas adventurer, Louis Becke. First, a darkly comedic look at maritime folklore in 'The Whale Cure', followed by a vivid glimpse into regional sea life in 'The Sea Salmon Season in Australia'. 

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All music courtesy of Ende.app.

Audiobooks narrated by Sally Barron can be found at:

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In this episode we're diving into the brilliant, sharp, and deeply observant world of Alice Ruth Moore—perhaps better known by her later married name, Alice Dunbar-Nelson.

• Biography of Alice Ruth Moore
• The Woman - a piece highlighting her early feminist perspectives.
• Ten Minute Musing - brief, introspective thoughts while watching boys on a playground.
• Anarchy Alley - a walk through a vibrant, atmospheric street of New Orleans
• Snow in October - delicate imagery of an pre-winter snow

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All music courtesy of Ende.app.

Audiobooks narrated by Sally Barron can be found at:

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Step back into the bustling, competitive literary world of 19th-century London with this double-feature reading from Washington Irving's classic collection, Tales of a Traveller. Through the sharp, witty chapters "Literary Life" and "A Literary Dinner," Irving pulls back the curtain on the old publishing scene to reveal how companies used to wine and dine authors to win their favors. We also kick off the episode with a beautiful, vintage biographical look at Irving's life, written by 19th-century author Faye Huntington in her book Stories of Great Men. It is a fascinating, humorous reminder that while technology changes, the ultimate hustle of the writing industry remains completely timeless.

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Audiobooks narrated by Sally Barron can be found at:

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This is final chapter of our journey through Sinclair Lewis’s sharp, satirical short story, Things. We are narrating the final two parts: Seven and Eight. 

If you missed the build-up to this finale, jump back to our last episode to catch Theo Duke’s story from the beginning before diving into the conclusion.

When we last left Theo, her quiet desperation was turning into an all-consuming resentment. Today, the twin burdens of social conformity and physical possessions press down harder than ever. The invisible walls of societal expectations close in, built entirely from a mountain of possessions. Theo is boxed in by social rules and drowned in a sea of unnecessary stuff. Today, we finally see if she can break free from this material cage, or if she will be buried alive by the very lifestyle she fought so hard to build.

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All music courtesy of Ende.app.

Audiobooks narrated by Sally Barron can be found at:

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This 2nd of a 3 part series of episodes continues Sinclair Lewis’s story “Things”.

Today, the weight of societal expectations and material objects deepen in parts Four, Five, and Six, As Lewis peels back the layers of societal expectation, we witness Theo's quiet desperation turn into resentment and determination.

If you missed the start, go back to our last episode to catch up before diving into this one. 

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All music courtesy of Ende.app.

Audiobooks narrated by Sally Barron can be found at:

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In this episode we begin a special three-part journey into the sharp, brilliant mind of Sinclair Lewis—the first American author to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Before he shook the literary world with his grand novels, Lewis penned a quieter, deeply piercing masterpiece for The Saturday Evening Post in 1919. Simply titled "Things," this atmospheric story explores a timeless truth: what happens to the human heart when the items we own begin to own us instead?

In this first episode, we step into sections I, II, and III and follow a family from their humble, adventurous beginnings near the wild shores of Lake Superior to the exact moment an immense fortune changes everything—dropping them headfirst into a world of drawing rooms, needless china, and social expectations. Turn the lights down low, pour a fresh cup of tea, and join us for a theatrical, fireside look at the early days of a gilded cage.

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All music courtesy of Ende.app.

Audiobooks narrated by Sally Barron can be found at:

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We chose today's piece, "A Message from the Flood", purely for its gripping narrative. But as we dug into the archival history, we uncovered a thrilling twist.

When this story was first published in Chambers’s Journal, it was completely anonymous. For nearly a century, readers had no clue who wrote it. But thanks to modern literary detectives digging through dusty, 19th-century publisher payment ledgers, the mystery was solved. The man behind the curtain is none other than Fred Merrick White, who also wrote “The Doom of London”.

As one of the most prolific British writers of the late Victorian era, White was the reigning king of catastrophe literature long before Hollywood invented the disaster movie.

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All music courtesy of Ende.app.

Audiobooks narrated by Sally Barron can be found at:

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Today, we are listening to one of Henry Cuyler Bunner's most famous satirical sketches, first published in his 1891 collection Short Sixes: "The Nice People." Set in a summer boarding house perched on Orange Mountain, this story explores what happens when a polite, seemingly perfect young couple arrives and turns a group of small-town gossips completely upside down. It is a clever, funny look at societal expectations, conformity, and what it truly means to be "nice".

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All music courtesy of Ende.app.

Audiobooks narrated by Sally Barron can be found at:

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In our last regular episode, we explored Guy de Maupassant’s famous masterpiece, “The Necklace”.  We witnessed Mathilde Loisel spend ten years in grueling poverty to replace a piece of costume jewelry she believed was real.

Today, we dive into a fascinating companion piece by the very same author. This short story is called “The False Gems”. It acts as a brilliant, mirrored reflection to “The Necklace”. But while The Necklace is a tragedy about a fake item mistaken for real, today's story is a dark comedy about real items mistaken for fake. It features a husband who despises his wife’s love for cheap, imitation jewelry—until she passes away, and he discovers the shocking truth about her collection.

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Thanks for listening!  Rate & Review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite podcast provider. SUBSCRIBE for at least 2 Bonus Episodes each month.

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All music courtesy of Ende.app.

Audiobooks narrated by Sally Barron can be found at:

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• ...