If you thought about it, the process for selecting the first matter transference test pilot was archaic, although Mae considered it a lucky omen when she drew the Blue 15 raffle ticket. Blue, not pink, was her favourite colour as a girl, and at 15, Mae had decided she wanted to become an astronaut.

Twin Souls in the Universe is a short story written and narrated by Robert Fairhead from the Tall And True writers' website.

See episode show notes and links on the podcast website: https://www.tallandtrueshortreads.com/twin-souls-in-the-universe/

Read the story on Tall And True: https://www.tallandtrue.com.au/fiction/short-stories/twin-souls-in-the-universe

Buy Robert's short story and microfiction collections:

Production Notes

Royalty-free theme music from Pixabay.com - Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major, Op. 28 'Pastorale' - IV. Rondo. Allegro ma non-Troppo, performed by Karine Gilanyan:

https://pixabay.com/music/solo-piano-beethoven-piano-sonata-nr-15-in-d-major-op-28-pastoral-iv-rondo-allegro-ma-non-troppo-30/

Sound effects licensed under Creative Commons 0 from Freesound.org - see show notes: https://www.tallandtrueshortreads.com/twin-souls-in-the-universe/

Tall And True Short Reads is produced using Audacity.

Episodes are recorded in Sydney, Australia, on the lands of the traditional owners and storytellers, the Gadigal people.

I'm getting too old for this. My speechwriter's pulse quickens as the PM mounts the flag-decked stage, flanked by senior ministers and mining industry executives, to announce her government's green coal plan. Panned by environmentalists and scientists, polling suggests it could be a vote winner … if the PM nails my speech.

My Speech is a short story written and narrated by Robert Fairhead from the Tall And True writers' website.

See episode show notes and links on the podcast website: https://www.tallandtrueshortreads.com/my-speech/

Read the story on Tall And True: https://www.tallandtrue.com.au/fiction/short-stories/my-speech

Buy Robert's short story and microfiction collections:

Production Notes

Royalty-free theme music from Pixabay.com - Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major, Op. 28 'Pastorale' - IV. Rondo. Allegro ma non-Troppo, performed by Karine Gilanyan:

https://pixabay.com/music/solo-piano-beethoven-piano-sonata-nr-15-in-d-major-op-28-pastoral-iv-rondo-allegro-ma-non-troppo-30/

Sound effects licensed under Creative Commons 0 from Freesound.org - see show notes: https://www.tallandtrueshortreads.com/my-speech/

Tall And True Short Reads is produced using Audacity.

Episodes are recorded in Sydney, Australia, on the lands of the traditional owners and storytellers, the Gadigal people.

The local dog club, where I volunteered as a trainer for twenty years, ran season-ending Fun Days with events like Fancy Dress, Agility Slalom, Waggliest Tail, and other novelty races that changed from year to year. One of my favourites was the Sack Race, where my dear old dog and I always placed third.

For the Sake of a Story is a blog post written and narrated by Robert Fairhead from the Tall And True writers' website.

See episode show notes and links on the podcast website: https://www.tallandtrueshortreads.com/for-the-sake-of-a-story/

Read the post on Tall And True: https://www.tallandtrue.com.au/blog/sake-of-a-story

Buy Robert's short story and microfiction collections:

Production Notes

Royalty-free theme music from Pixabay.com - Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major, Op. 28 'Pastorale' - IV. Rondo. Allegro ma non-Troppo, performed by Karine Gilanyan:

https://pixabay.com/music/solo-piano-beethoven-piano-sonata-nr-15-in-d-major-op-28-pastoral-iv-rondo-allegro-ma-non-troppo-30/

Sound effects licensed under Creative Commons 0 from Freesound.org - see show notes: https://www.tallandtrueshortreads.com/for-the-sake-of-a-story/

Tall And True Short Reads is produced using Audacity.

Episodes are recorded in Sydney, Australia, on the lands of the traditional owners and storytellers, the Gadigal people.

Excuse me, humanity, please pay attention. I have an urgent message. "What? Not in the middle of my reality TV show!" I'm sorry. I'll be brief. But first, a little background. My message concerns the fate of a pale blue dot in the inky expanse of the universe. Beyond its fragile borders is vast nothingness.

You Have Been Warned is a short story written and narrated by Robert Fairhead from the Tall And True writers' website.

See episode show notes and links on the podcast website: https://www.tallandtrueshortreads.com/you-have-been-warned/

Read the story on Tall And True: https://www.tallandtrue.com.au/fiction/short-stories/you-have-been-warned

Buy Robert's short story and microfiction collections:

Production Notes

Royalty-free theme music from Pixabay.com - Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major, Op. 28 'Pastorale' - IV. Rondo. Allegro ma non-Troppo, performed by Karine Gilanyan:

https://pixabay.com/music/solo-piano-beethoven-piano-sonata-nr-15-in-d-major-op-28-pastoral-iv-rondo-allegro-ma-non-troppo-30/

Sound effects licensed under Creative Commons 0 from Freesound.org - see show notes: https://www.tallandtrueshortreads.com/you-have-been-warned/

Tall And True Short Reads is produced using Audacity.

Episodes are recorded in Sydney, Australia, on the lands of the traditional owners and storytellers, the Gadigal people.

I open my eyes, blink and try to focus on the bright lights set into the white ceiling flying past overhead. I hear beeps and muffled voices. It feels like I'm strapped to a camp stretcher, but it's moving. I'm on a hospital gurney. What happened? I want to ask. But there's a tube down my throat, and I can't talk.

The Light Above is a short story written and narrated by Robert Fairhead from the Tall And True writers' website.

See episode show notes and links on the podcast website: https://www.tallandtrueshortreads.com/the-light-above/

Read the story on Tall And True: https://www.tallandtrue.com.au/fiction/short-stories/the-light-above

Buy Robert's short story and microfiction collections:

Production Notes

Royalty-free theme music from Pixabay.com - Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major, Op. 28 'Pastorale' - IV. Rondo. Allegro ma non-Troppo, performed by Karine Gilanyan:

https://pixabay.com/music/solo-piano-beethoven-piano-sonata-nr-15-in-d-major-op-28-pastoral-iv-rondo-allegro-ma-non-troppo-30/

Sound effects licensed under Creative Commons 0 from Freesound.org - see show notes: https://www.tallandtrueshortreads.com/the-light-above/

Tall And True Short Reads is produced using Audacity.

Episodes are recorded in Sydney, Australia, on the lands of the traditional owners and storytellers, the Gadigal people.

In 1987, my wife and I shouldered our backpacks and set off from Australia. The plan was to live and work overseas in England for two years, using it as a base for UK and wider world travels. And the widest of these were inspired by reading books like Alan Moorehead's The White Nile and The Blue Nile.

The White and Blue Niles is a blog post written and narrated by Robert Fairhead from the Tall And True writers' website.

See episode show notes and links on the podcast website: https://www.tallandtrueshortreads.com/the-white-and-blue-niles/

Read the post on Tall And True: https://www.tallandtrue.com.au/blog/the-white-and-blue-niles

Buy Robert's short story and microfiction collections:

Production Notes

Royalty-free theme music from Pixabay.com - Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major, Op. 28 'Pastorale' - IV. Rondo. Allegro ma non-Troppo, performed by Karine Gilanyan:

https://pixabay.com/music/solo-piano-beethoven-piano-sonata-nr-15-in-d-major-op-28-pastoral-iv-rondo-allegro-ma-non-troppo-30/

Sound effects licensed under Creative Commons 0 from Freesound.org - see show notes: https://www.tallandtrueshortreads.com/the-white-and-blue-niles/

Tall And True Short Reads is produced using Audacity.

Episodes are recorded in Sydney, Australia, on the lands of the traditional owners and storytellers, the Gadigal people.

Have you ever had one of those mornings? You know, where everything goes wrong. It's like a farce, a series of mishaps increasing in frequency and intensity that have you howling with side-splitting laughter or shedding tears of frustration.

One of Those Mornings is a short story written and narrated by Robert Fairhead from the Tall And True writers' website.

See episode show notes and links on the podcast website: https://www.tallandtrueshortreads.com/one-of-those-mornings/

Read the story on Tall And True: https://www.tallandtrue.com.au/fiction/short-stories/one-of-those-mornings

Buy Robert's short story and microfiction collections:

Production Notes

Royalty-free theme music from Pixabay.com - Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major, Op. 28 'Pastorale' - IV. Rondo. Allegro ma non-Troppo, performed by Karine Gilanyan:

https://pixabay.com/music/solo-piano-beethoven-piano-sonata-nr-15-in-d-major-op-28-pastoral-iv-rondo-allegro-ma-non-troppo-30/

Sound effects licensed under Creative Commons 0 from Freesound.org - see show notes: https://www.tallandtrueshortreads.com/one-of-those-mornings/

Tall And True Short Reads is produced using Audacity.

Episodes are recorded in Sydney, Australia, on the lands of the traditional owners and storytellers, the Gadigal people.

Teresa's first thing in the morning text message was a punch in the guts. "Sorry, Colin. I love you, but we're on different journeys. Let's stay friends." I blinked twice to clear my eyes and was about to respond, "Are you serious?" but threw the phone against the bedroom wall instead.

Different Journeys is a short story written and narrated by Robert Fairhead from the Tall And True writers' website.

See episode show notes and links on the podcast website: https://www.tallandtrueshortreads.com/different-journeys/

Read the story on Tall And True: https://www.tallandtrue.com.au/fiction/short-stories/different-journeys

Buy Robert's short story and microfiction collections:

Production Notes

Royalty-free theme music from Pixabay.com - Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major, Op. 28 'Pastorale' - IV. Rondo. Allegro ma non-Troppo, performed by Karine Gilanyan:

https://pixabay.com/music/solo-piano-beethoven-piano-sonata-nr-15-in-d-major-op-28-pastoral-iv-rondo-allegro-ma-non-troppo-30/

Sound effects licensed under Creative Commons 0 from Freesound.org - see show notes: https://www.tallandtrueshortreads.com/different-journeys/

Tall And True Short Reads is produced using Audacity.

Episodes are recorded in Sydney, Australia, on the lands of the traditional owners and storytellers, the Gadigal people.

I've lost a few things over the years but never imagined losing a story! I only realised I'd "lost" A Window Table when I started working on a blog post to mark my fourth anniversary of writing Furious Fictions. However, when I found and read a copy of the story, I didn't recognise its plot or characters.

This double-feature episode includes the short story A Window Table and a companion blog post, The Lost and Found Story, written and narrated by Robert Fairhead from the Tall And True writers' website.

See episode show notes and links on the podcast website: https://www.tallandtrueshortreads.com/the-lost-and-found-story/

Read A Window Table on Tall And True: https://www.tallandtrue.com.au/fiction/short-stories/a-window-table

Read The Lost and Found Story post: https://www.tallandtrue.com.au/blog/lost-and-found-story

Buy Robert's short story and microfiction collections:

Production Notes

Royalty-free theme music from Pixabay.com - Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major, Op. 28 'Pastorale' - IV. Rondo. Allegro ma non-Troppo, performed by Karine Gilanyan:

https://pixabay.com/music/solo-piano-beethoven-piano-sonata-nr-15-in-d-major-op-28-pastoral-iv-rondo-allegro-ma-non-troppo-30/

Sound effects licensed under Creative Commons 0 from Freesound.org - see show notes: https://www.tallandtrueshortreads.com/the-lost-and-found-story/

Tall And True Short Reads is produced using Audacity.

Episodes are recorded in Sydney, Australia, on the lands of the traditional owners and storytellers, the Gadigal people.

Less than forty-eight hours after receiving her online order, Third Age Cybertronics delivered Jack to Daisy, a sprightly centenarian who purchased the Advanced Companion Droid to help her with household chores and carry her bags when travelling.

A New Jack is a short story written and narrated by Robert Fairhead from the Tall And True writers' website.

See episode show notes and links on the podcast website: https://www.tallandtrueshortreads.com/a-new-jack

Read the story on Tall And True: https://www.tallandtrue.com.au/fiction/short-stories/a-new-jack

Buy Robert's short story and microfiction collections:

Production Notes

Royalty-free theme music from Pixabay.com - Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major, Op. 28 'Pastorale' - IV. Rondo. Allegro ma non-Troppo, performed by Karine Gilanyan:

https://pixabay.com/music/solo-piano-beethoven-piano-sonata-nr-15-in-d-major-op-28-pastoral-iv-rondo-allegro-ma-non-troppo-30/

Sound effects licensed under Creative Commons 0 from Freesound.org - see show notes: https://www.tallandtrueshortreads.com/a-new-jack

Tall And True Short Reads is produced using Audacity.

Episodes are recorded in Sydney, Australia, on the lands of the traditional owners and storytellers, the Gadigal people.