Let me start by saying that I think this is the best short story I’ve read so far on this podcast. Maybe ever. Not because it’s about space, which typically gives us a phenomenal look into a new landscape we don’t quite understand and makes it easier for us to imagine the possibilities. It’s so good because it takes a simple action, that I’m sure many of us have done albeit not to this extent, and it shows the very real consequences. An 18 year old girl is caught as a stowaway on an EDS ship traveling to deliver supplies to a far away planet where her brother is working. The Captain has to figure out how to keep her safe, since the ship only carries a limited amount of fuel, just enough to stop the ship from exploding during the trip through the atmosphere of the planet Woden. Her existence on the ship is detrimental to the mission where 6 people need medicine to survive living on that planet.

Raise your hand if you’ve ever snuck into a place you knew you weren’t supposed to be, and instead of getting in trouble, you were just told not to do it again. All to be set free and to go home without any serious consequences. I have! Thanks everyone at Tayamentasachta. In this case, we’re in space and trespassing has dire consequences.

It also briefly explains the differences in gender and what role that plays in this setting. Because the stowaway is a young girl, 18 years old and only 110 pounds, he feels a sense of duty towards her, where he wants to keep her safe instead of allowing himself to follow the law and dropping him into the dark abyss of space.

This episode truly makes you contemplate every piece of the situation and has you at the end of your seat trying to understand each side, wondering what you would do if you were The Captain or the girl, or maybe one of the many bodies colonizing the planets to start a new civilization. It’s also intriguing to think about how precisely they fine tuned the processes aboard the ship and if there’s a similar margin of error for rocket scientists at NASA who are trusted to send our astronauts to space and back home to their families.

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Goodnight,

Rachael

The music for this podcast was provided by Miles Agean. Check out his album, Alpenglow, on Apple Music & Spotify.

I’m sure we all know that Disney took inspiration from Brothers Grimm for some of their Princess movies! Today, we explore that by reading Briar Rose, and I challenge you (loosely because reading is fun) to find some movies that could have been based on this story.

I had always heard that the original stories had dark twists so when I read this before recording the episode, I was patiently awaiting it. Fortunately, I was wrong and this was delightful read for all ages. Briar Rose was born a princess and the only child of the King and Queen who desperately wanted children. Unfortunately she was cursed at birth and when the curse was realized, she and her family were put to sleep for a hundred years.

This really short story is the perfect first episode for anyone wanting to dip their toes into With Rachael, so make sure to share this episode with your friends!

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Goodnight,

Rachael

The music for this podcast was provided by Miles Agean. Check out his album, Alpenglow, on Apple Music & Spotify.

I miss children’s stories that teach morals and values like this one! Three sisters start chatting with each other about the husbands they’re going to have. When it’s time to pay up the youngest girl realizes that she has to actually marry the scary Black Bull of Norroway. Luckily he treats her well and she falls in love!

I was so excited to see a woman on the list of short stories, and she didn’t disappoint! This story is cute, has a great theme, and best of all on this pod, no slurs! I hope you enjoyed this episode as much as I did.

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Goodnight,

Rachael

The music for this podcast was provided by Miles Agean. Check out his album, Alpenglow, on Apple Music & Spotify.

The only reason I’m posting this episode is because it might be the most mellow I’ve ever been recording the podcast, and it shows. If you like this type of monotone, low energy delivery, let me know by leaving a comment.

Now that that’s out of the way. I have to say something. If you can’t tell by my podcast cover, I’m a minority. I walk through this world as a black woman with a vast ethnic background. O. Henry would be rolling in his putrid little hidey hole if he knew that someone like me decided to read his work, and modify his story to remove the slurs against other groups he was not a part of. Let him roll.

I think it’s important to learn about history. We need to know where we came from, what life was like, who were the people in charge, what were the general beliefs of the people at that time, what morales reigned supreme, and what advancements were made. That way we can take history and grow, we can understand what works and what doesn’t work in society. That’s why although this story was riddled with slurs and ideology I didn’t agree with, I found it important to read this story. I needed to get to know O. Henry and subsequently diss him for his stilted and bigoted view.

This story was about two men who had assets, and status in their communities but left them behind and were living at rock bottom. They then try to determine what they would do to regain some status or money to elevate themselves back up. They then come to realize that they come from two separate parts of New York and their values are different. We get to tune in.

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Goodnight,

Rachael

The music for this podcast was provided by Miles Agean. Check out his album, Alpenglow, on Apple Music & Spotify.

It’s hard to talk about the greats without hearing the name Kurt Vonnegut, and that’s what made me terrified to read this short story. Everyone talks about how great he was in science fiction or his dark humor that was infused in every piece he created. His name speaks for itself, and as someone who can never watch or listen to things during the hype (it’s never as good as people say) I really wanted to make sure I could read this without the expectations that come with reading his work.

This short story is about a massive family living in 2185 AD, from Gramps, to kids, to grandkids, to great grands, and their families and beyond. They all live in one apartment with only three rooms. Gramps has the only bedroom, obviously, and the other bed is only for his favorites of the family at that moment. The others sleep in cots and sleeping bags in the long hallway that was supposed to be used as a dining room. Gramps is temperamental and the only way the family has hopes to get their inheritance is to stay on his good side. We explore what life is like living in that home.

It’s an entertaining story, and I love the Gramps character. He’s so dramatic and it’s really fun to read. I understand why everyone likes Kurt Vonnegut, because if his novels are anything like this short story, they’re fun to read and provide a unique twist on a somewhat tangible idea. I’m excited to pick up Slaughterhouse-Five.

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Goodnight,

Rachael

The music for this podcast was provided by Miles Agean. Check out his album, Alpenglow, on Apple Music & Spotify.

The only thing I knew about Arthur Conan Doyle before launching this podcast was that he’s the creator of Sherlock Holmes. That detective we had to read about in high school. My first story was “The Hounds of Baskerville”, and it was pretty good.

While searching for the next short story I saw there was a title that was unlike the others, “B24”. The title alone intrigued me, and I wanted to learn more about it. Now that I’ve read the story, I have two thoughts.

* There is no place in the short story where B24 is mentioned. I don’t know where this title came from or why he decided to name it this. I also refuse to search to find out why it’s titled a such.

* Arthur Conan Doyle seems as though he refused to use a thesaurus when writing this short story. Queer was used multiple times to describe something strange. He wanted to make sure we knew that Lady Mannering was white and pale.

Regardless of these two thoughts, I thoroughly enjoyed the story. This one did not explicitly tell us what exactly happened. We have to use our brains to understand the character and determine for ourselves if he was the one who did the crime, or if the story he tells is 100 percent true, as he says it is. And if it is true, we have to figure out why we think he went to jail or if the lawyer he writes to can get him out.

After listening, what do you think happened? Leave me a comment to let me know and subscribe for free to be updated when new episodes are released.

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Goodnight,

Rachael

The music for this podcast was provided by Miles Agean. Check out his album, Alpenglow, on Apple Music & Spotify.

This one is on the favorites list! It feels morbid if you take it at face value. Yeah, everyone’s buying a casket. It’s the new most exciting purchase. It takes over the airwaves, tv screens and department stores all over the country, even worldwide! It’s a farfetched idea that most would never put together, let alone expect from a short story.

If you look at this story through the 2026 lens, influencer culture, the marketing budgets of big companies, there’s a glaring theme. The more you inundate a person with an item through ads on different platforms, the more they’re going to want to buy or use that item. If someone hears the ad on multiple channels and then sees their neighbor buying that item, they’re going to run to it too. We see it all the time. You can’t count the “I’m obsesssssedddd”s in each TikTok or YouTube on your hands and feet. It might take multiples sets of extremities. These items get sold out frequently! Hailey Bieber Jeans anyone?

I’m not here to diss Hailey Bieber or the influencer economy. The comparison was just too close that I couldn’t help but to draw it, and there are many other examples. Stanley Cups, Starbuck Bear Cups, Parke at Target. It’s crazy how this story is an exaggeration of the effect of marketing, but it’s actually happening in a similar capacity right now.

What do you think about this story or the themes it presents? Do you disagree with my thoughts? Have you bought the Hailey Bieber jeans? Let me know!

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Goodnight,

Rachael

The music for this podcast was provided by Miles Agean. Check out his album, Alpenglow, on Apple Music & Spotify.

Richard Connell is a repeat author on the With Rachael Podcast, and like the first episode featuring his work (episode 12) this short story has to do with a Prince.. kinda.

Today’s story features a man who leaves New York City on the railroad without a destination in mind. When the train stops and he sees someone strange, he gets off of the train to investigate a city in which it seems the residents are speaking a new, potentially made up language.

This episode, and story, is so short and lacks depth, but it was nice. Personally, I would prefer to listen to the other Richard Connell stories. What are your thoughts on this episode? Let me know in the comments!

I hope you enjoy this episode.

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Goodnight,

Rachael

The music for this podcast was provided by Miles Agean. Check out his album, Alpenglow, on Apple Music & Spotify.

Welcome back to The With Rachael Podcast! The first episode this season is actually one of my favorites.

This story follows our narrator that invents a “negative gravity” device that lives inside of a knapsack he can carry around with him. Because of the attention that may come with inventing something of this caliber, he and his wife decide to keep it a secret until they die and to allow their son, Herbert, to make a decision on what to do with the machine. Until then, they use it and a replica, to explore, take longer walks, jump over things, and enjoy what life could be like carrying less weight. The decision to not patent this machine and to use it in private causes a few side eyes and becomes harder to navigate.

What would you do if you invented something the world has never seen before? Would you keep it to yourself to maintain your privacy or would you patent and try to make money off of it?

Me, personally? I’m going straight to the PTO (Patent & Trademark Office) to file that paperwork. I’ll camp out in a lawn chair if I have to. I’m not one for fame or recognition, but it would be so nice to be able to afford more experiments or make sure my family is taken care of.

Let me know what you would do in that situation in the comments!

I hope you enjoy this episode.

Be sure to Like, Comment, or Share this episode with your friends!

Goodnight,

Rachael

The music for this episode was provided by Miles Agean. Check out the album, Alpenglow, on Apple Music & Spotify.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman gave us “The Yellow Wallpaper”, and now she’s back with a different story. Mollie Mathewson wishes she were a man. Almost immediately after she makes that wish, she gets transported into her husband’s mind. In that mind he quickly forgets why they had a little argument, and runs to catch the train. As the men on the train are chatting, the train is moving, and she finds that a mans thoughts are a lot different than she’s always believed - not in a bad way, but a different way.

As she lives further in further in her husband’s head she realizes how much she doesn’t know and continues to learn about him and his way of thinking. We don’t get to know if she eventually finds herself back in her own head, but we don’t need that to be satisfied with this story.

Tell me, would you like to spend a few minutes in your partner’s head?

I hope you enjoy this episode.

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Goodnight,

Rachael

The music for this podcast was provided by Miles Agean. Check out his album, Alpenglow, on Apple Music & Spotify.