pristine clean by BEE. Performed by Melissa J. Lackie.

Directed by Alex Kingsley. Theme song by Optima Noorani-Kamtekar.

Content warning: death

BEE is pursuing an undergraduate in Creative Writing with a concentration in Fiction and Children's Literature at a state university. As of date, they have no previous publications and are debuting with Strong Branch Production's podcast anthology. Anonymity aside, their heart and words buzz faster at night, with music blaring and a warm cup of tea steaming at their side.

Twitter: @BEE_wrtr

Melissa J. Lackie is a voice actor based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Along with numerous commercials, corporate videos, and video games, Melissa has contributed her voice talents to multiple audio drama podcasts, including Nicked, Survivors' Station, and Strong Branch Productions' The Stench of Adventure. When not in her booth, look for Melissa in the kitchen baking treats, on the couch stitching a sampler, or at the archery range firing off arrows. You can follow her exploits at www.melissajlackievoice.com.

Written by Josh Poole. Performed by Marnie Warner.

Directed by Alex Kingsley. Theme song by Optima Noorani-Kamtekar.

Content warning: alcohol use

Josh Poole is a visual artist and writer working out of a sleepy Virginia town. His work has appeared in The World of Myth Magazine, Air Mail Magazine, and countless other publications. His stories focus on the absurd taking place in small towns and rural communities.

Marnie Warner is a Chicago based theater and voice actor. You can hear her in podcasts across all genres, including The Way We Haunt Now,

The Soft-Boiled Detective, Starfall, Seen and Not Heard, Where the Stars Fell and The Pilgrimage Saga. When not doing theater-type things, she’s

probably reading, avoiding cleaning, or dreaming about her next vacation. For more information, visit her website at marniewarner.carrd.co/

Audit’s Abacus by Robert Bagnall. Performed by Kai Ben-Shahar.

Directed by Alex Kingsley. Theme song by Optima Noorani-Kamtekar.

Content warning: death

Robert Bagnall was born in a doubly-landlocked English county when the Royal Navy still issued a rum ration, but now lives by the sea.  He is the author of the science fiction thriller ‘2084 – The Meschera Bandwidth’ and sixty-odd published short stories, twenty-four of which are collected in the anthology ‘24 0s & a 2’.  Both are available on Amazon.  Three of his stories have also appeared in NewCon Press’ annual ‘Best of British Science Fiction’ anthologies.  He blogs at meschera.blogspot.com and can be contacted there.

Kai Ben-Shahar: “I’m Kai (they/them), a sci fi enthusiast and aspiring literary editor and voice actor.”

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This episode begins with a promo for Hot Copy Radio. 

Orikata by Briana Cox. Performed by Grace Griego.

Directed by Alex Kingsley. Theme song by Optima Noorani-Kamtekar.

Content warning: death

Briana Cox was born and raised in Tullahoma, TN — a town inexplicably found on state maps. She is the oldest of seven children and a first-generation academic, now a Swarthmore College and Purdue University alumna. Briana started out as a prose writer. You can find her works in the Swarthmore Review,  Leaf~Land Journal, HCE Review, Bookends Review Best of 2020 Anthology, and the Studio Ensemble Arts Exchange short story podcast. She began collaborative writing projects as a proud playwrighting fellow with the TN Playwrights Studio in Nashville, Tennessee and has produced stageplays in Nashville and Beverly Hills through the Wallis Annenberg Center for Performance Art. Briana has since branched out into writing for film and television for independent studios and producers.

Grace Griego (she/her) is a mixed-race woman writing queer speculative prose, comedy sketches, and stand-up. She graduated from Swarthmore College with a degree in Theater and English, she has written and starred in her own stand-up show called Mixed: A Solo/Stand Up Show, she is the co-founder, producer, and lead voice actor of Strong Branch Productions, she stars as Stella Thomas in Strong Branch Production’s The Stench of Adventure, she stars as Eshe in Aster Podcasting Network’s SkillSet, and her short story, My Favorite, was produced by the Wallis Studio Ensemble in the Ensemble Arts Exchange Podcast.

Learning To Fly by Brian MacDonald. Performed by Oliver Smith.

Directed by Alex Kingsley. Theme song by Optima Noorani-Kamtekar.

Brian MacDonald writes in the earnest hope that his words can bring joy and comfort like the books of his youth brought him.  He has returned to writing after a twenty-plus-year hiatus filled with teaching Intensive Special Education in both private and public schools in Massachusetts.  His years with his students have informed his worldview and taught him to take nothing for granted as well as to see the beauty in the chaos swirling in our minute-to-minute struggles in life.  Brian's work often includes elements of fantasy and science fiction as well as humor and fisticuffs.

Brian would like to state that he disagrees with Conan.  While he agrees that crushing one's enemies and hearing the lamentation of their loved ones is indeed enjoyable, Brian is absolutely certain that “Homemade Calzone” night at the MacDonald house with his wife, sons, and reruns of Leverage is the best thing in life.

Brian has been published in the House of Loki anthology, “Ghosts, Ghouls, and Ghastly Creatures” and the Knight Writing Press’ anthology “Mermaidens.”  Look for him and more stories from all his characters on his Facebook page: Brian MacDonald - Storytelling Scallywag

Oliver Smith is a Northern Irish voice-over artist and actor with two years of professional experience and over a decade of amateur and behind-the-scenes acting experience. Since their first role as Cleo’s Dad in ‘Cleo: A Pirate’s Tale’, Oliver has played a wide range of roles in indie and mainstream video games, audio dramas, and animations.

Oliver’s love of acting began as a teenager when they took up drama in secondary school, leading on to several roles on stage with a local amateur acting group. After joining this group, Oliver took up an interest in the behind-the-scenes running of productions and decided to move backstage. Since the age of 16, they have worked for one of Northern Ireland’s top event production companies as a lighting, audio, and rigging technician, and have worked on production for events such as BBC Proms and the Riverdance world tour.

During the lockdowns of 2020, Oliver was moved to return to their love of acting and particularly voice work. They have since built a custom acoustic-treated recording booth in their home and used their experience in sound production and acting to produce quality voice roles. Having built a solid foundation of indie work, they are now excited for the next chapter of their voice work career.

When not voice acting Oliver can be found on Twitter and Tik Tok, making comedy sketches and sharing cat pictures.

Craning by Toshiya Kamei. Performed by Rae Loy.

Directed by Alex Kingsley. Theme song by Optima Noorani-Kamtekar.

Content warning: death

Toshiya Kamei is a genderqueer writer who uses they/them pronouns. They write short fiction inspired by mythology and folklore.

Rae Loy is all things geek encapsulated and a self-dubbed 'fandom quadruple threat' as a cosplayer, voice actor, artist and fanfiction writer. Rae's passion for voice acting ignited after gaining experience as a fashion model and background talent working on set and made the transition into voice acting in 2020. Rae continues to improve their craft by working with QueerVox and The Halp Network and hopes to bring more nonby East Asian representation to media.

“Not a Bedtime Story” by Sean F. Smith. Performed by Daryl Colosi.

Directed by Alex Kingsley. Theme song by Optima Noorani-Kamtekar.

Content warning: body horror, parent death

Sean F. Smith (he, him) is a magician, games designer, dreamweaver, plus writer. He lives in London, technically, with many cats and an interest in parasitoids.

Daryl Colosi: “My name is Daryl Colosi (pronounced Dare- ul Co- low- see) and I am 24. My biggest passion lies with animation and storytelling, mainly through both animation and comics, but I also am a fan of TTRPGs, where I mostly GM. I am officially going back to school in the fall to get my Bachelors in Animation.”

“Tastes of You” by Evan Baughfman. Performed by Daniel Murphy.

Directed by Alex Kingsley. Theme song by Optima Noorani-Kamtekar.

Content warning: terminal illness, euthanasia, memory loss

Much of Evan Baughfman’s writing success has been as a playwright, his original plays finding homes in theaters worldwide. A number of his scripts are published through Heuer Publishing, YouthPLAYS, Next Stage Press, and Drama Notebook. A resident of Southern California, Evan is a theater company member with Force of Nature Productions. Evan has also been a playwriting member of PlayGround-LA since the organization’s 2020 season.

Additionally, Evan has found success writing horror fiction, his work found most recently in anthologies by No Bad Books Press, 4 Horsemen Publications, and Black Hare Press. Evan’s first short story collection, The Emaciated Man and Other Terrifying Tales from Poe Middle School, is published through Thurston Howl Publications. His spooky novella, Vanishing of the 7th Grade, was released by D&T Publishing in June 2022.

More info is available at amazon.com/author/evanbaughfman

Daniel Murphy is a 20 year old voice over artist based in Syracuse New York. He has done work for various animations, video games, and audio dramas. For over a year now, Daniel has taken workshops and courses via services like “Closing Credits” and “Voice over Network”. Daniel loves to work with and meet new people in order to provide a great voice for anyone’s needs!

Written and performed by Alexander Sheldon. Theme song by Optima Noorani-Kamtekar.

Alexander Sheldon is an LA-based actor, writer, and designer. He was classically trained at Will Geer's Theatricum Botanicum and is a founding member of The Wallis Studio Ensemble, a movement based theatre company. He is also a playwright who has written many scenes and poems for stage and podcasts. With Strong Branch Productions, he was the Narrator for The Stench of Adventure, as well as a combination of other aliens.

“o! worm!” by Shaoni C. White. Performed by Jake Chanenson, Shelby Billups, and Sean F. Smith. Directed by Alex Kingsley.

Content warnings: terminal illness

Shaoni C. White writes speculative fiction. Their short stories have appeared in Nightmare Magazine, Uncanny Magazine, PodCastle and elsewhere, and their poetry has appeared in Fantasy Magazine, smoke and mold, Speculative City and other venues. Raised in Southern California, they spend their free time swing dancing and embroidering. Find them at shaonicwhite.com or on Twitter as @shaonicwhite.