The Strange Recital

By Tom Newton and Brent Robison

The Strange Recital is an audio forum for short fiction. We delight in perceptions of reality that twist and fold in unexpected ways.

Each podcast episode runs about 30 minutes and includes a story r... more

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FAQs about The Strange Recital:

How many episodes does The Strange Recital have?

The podcast currently has 177 episodes available.

The Strange Recital episodes:

May 05, 2019 Beyond the Door
"That night at the dinner table he brought it out and set it down beside her plate. Doris stared at it, her hand to her mouth." A bit of early PKD madness... a selfish husband, an antique clock. Where exactly does the little cuckoo go? Can he see into your soul?
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25min
April 21, 2019 The Man Who Loved Solitude
"Terrence Murphy was a carpenter, still young but with middle age bearing down on him, and the prospect did not please him." New York 100 years ago... a mysterious girl... a man's life is transformed. What does "love" really mean, anyway?
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24min
April 07, 2019 Squid in Love
"Ramona likes Bruno ’cuz he has three arms. That’s right, three." What's a mother to do? Can she protect her son from the judgement of the "normal?" Maybe he doesn't want her to try.
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19min
March 24, 2019 Wasted
"For 24 hours after his world imploded, Nate lay in a St. Vincent’s Hospital bed, alternating between moaning like a homeless lunatic over Sheila and swearing at various masochistic Attack on America marathons..." The world looks bleak after September 11. New York is more toxic than ever. Can a man's life take a new course?
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24min
March 10, 2019 The Cloisonné Pill Box
"He has always hated that jewelry store, but something catches Marshall's eye as he passes by on his walk home from the Gray Panthers meeting...." A man's gift to his wife marks the days, and the cycle of life continues. In this jewel-like story, perhaps birds are symbols of some ultimate freedom.
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22min
February 17, 2019 Story for a Cold Night
"Ron says to Harry, 'This guy inherits an island from some benign son-of-a-bitch.' Harry presses his palms on the cement, adjusting his butt against a piece of insulation, his daybed. He watches forms passing in the street, the dusky light slanting. 'Must be six by now.'” Two stories in one: a cold alley, a tropical island... is either more real than the other? A death wish can be expressed in many ways.
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27min
February 03, 2019 Effects and Causes
"There was another table by a door, in another place at a different time. Along with the letters there was a newspaper. The headline glared at him: MAN KILLED IN A CROWD WITH POISONED UMBRELLA." Can effects precede causes? Maybe, but what does that have to do with spies in London, a Zapotec witch, and a secret basement room?
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25min
January 20, 2019 The Calling
"The moon cast eerie shadows over the body. Moonlight filtering through the shifting sycamore branches created the illusion that he was moving. Father Daniele knelt next to the man, who was lying in a pool of blood. 'Can your hear me, my son?'" A murder in an Italian village... did the priest do it? Or is this mystery novel really about something else entirely?
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23min
January 06, 2019 Sophie Last Seen
"The initial sight of the living room was always a shock, as if she’d forgotten how she’d left it.... Years’ worth of ephemera and objects were stacked in overflowing boxes that lined the perimeter of the room...." What changes inside you when a loved one disappears? Do you become a different person? Maybe this novel is all a metaphor.
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23min
December 23, 2018 A Confession of Love and Emptiness
"Living half a century is no great accomplishment; I’ve done it and more. Living through tomorrow may be something much bigger...." What thoughts would you have as you face open heart surgery? Can someone be obsessed with empty space?
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22min

FAQs about The Strange Recital:

How many episodes does The Strange Recital have?

The podcast currently has 177 episodes available.