Auditory Anthology

Our story this week is “The Snowbank Orbit” by Fritz Leiber. It's the story of a young spaceman grappling with the surreal and isolating vastness of space and the shadow of interstellar conflict.If you have a story you’d like to contribute to the series, you can visit https://submissions.soundconceptmedia.com/Curator: Keith Conrad linktr.ee/keithrconradNarrator: Darren Marlar https://darrenmarlar.com/Other shows hosted by Darren:Weird Darkness: https://weirddarkness.com/Paranormality Magazine: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/paranormalitymagMicro Terrors: Scary Stories for Kids: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/microterrorsRetro Radio – Old Time Radio In The Dark: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/retroradioChurch of the Undead: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/churchoftheundead Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week’s story is The Snowball Effect by Katherine MacLean. In a clash between academia and administration, a university president challenges the real-world value of sociology, prompting an experiment that could change the world forever or at the very least one sewing circle.If you have a story you’d like to contribute to the series, you can visit https://submissions.soundconceptmedia.com/Curator: Keith Conrad linktr.ee/keithrconradNarrator: Darren Marlar https://darrenmarlar.com/Other shows hosted by Darren:Weird Darkness: https://weirddarkness.com/Paranormality Magazine: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/paranormalitymagMicro Terrors: Scary Stories for Kids: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/microterrorsRetro Radio – Old Time Radio In The Dark: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/retroradioChurch of the Undead: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/churchoftheundead Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week’s story is “A Matter of Protocol” by Jack Sharkey. A lot of writers have speculated about what aliens would do here on Earth if they ever showed up, but what if humans were the aliens visiting a new world?If you have a story you’d like to contribute to the series, you can visit https://submissions.soundconceptmedia.com/Curator: Keith Conrad linktr.ee/keithrconradNarrator: Darren Marlar https://darrenmarlar.com/Other shows hosted by Darren:Weird Darkness: https://weirddarkness.com/Paranormality Magazine: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/paranormalitymagMicro Terrors: Scary Stories for Kids: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/microterrorsRetro Radio – Old Time Radio In The Dark: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/retroradioChurch of the Undead: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/churchoftheundead Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Here's a little bonus content from our narrator Darren Marlar's podcast Weird Darkness. H.G. Wells was a prolific sci-fi author, but with The Red Room he showed he could hold his own in the horror genre as well. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week’s story is “Welcome Martians” by S.A. Lombino. What if we landed on Mars and discovered people who were so much like us that they wouldn’t actually believe you were from Earth?If you have a story you’d like to contribute to the series, you can visit https://submissions.soundconceptmedia.com/Curator: Keith Conrad linktr.ee/keithrconradNarrator: Darren Marlar https://darrenmarlar.com/Other shows hosted by Darren:Weird Darkness: https://weirddarkness.com/Paranormality Magazine: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/paranormalitymagMicro Terrors: Scary Stories for Kids: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/microterrorsRetro Radio – Old Time Radio In The Dark: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/retroradioChurch of the Undead: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/churchoftheundead Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our story this week is  “Don’t Shoot” by Robert Zacks. If you invent something Earth-changing, you need to be careful who you sell the technology to. You might end up inadvertently creating a cryptid.If you have a story you’d like to contribute to the series, you can visit https://submissions.soundconceptmedia.com/Curator: Keith Conrad linktr.ee/keithrconradNarrator: Darren Marlar https://darrenmarlar.com/Other shows hosted by Darren:Weird Darkness: https://weirddarkness.com/Paranormality Magazine: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/paranormalitymagMicro Terrors: Scary Stories for Kids: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/microterrorsRetro Radio – Old Time Radio In The Dark: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/retroradioChurch of the Undead: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/churchoftheundead Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week’s story is “The Merchants of Venus” by A. H. Phelps. If you were trying to recruit people for a new colony, who would you choose? Most people would be looking for the next George Washington, or at the very least the next Neil Armstrong. History suggests, they’d be wrong.If you have a story you’d like to contribute to the series, you can visit https://submissions.soundconceptmedia.com/Curator: Keith Conrad linktr.ee/keithrconradNarrator: Darren Marlar https://darrenmarlar.com/Other shows hosted by Darren:Weird Darkness: https://weirddarkness.com/Paranormality Magazine: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/paranormalitymagMicro Terrors: Scary Stories for Kids: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/microterrorsRetro Radio – Old Time Radio In The Dark: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/retroradioChurch of the Undead: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/churchoftheundead Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week’s story is “The Undersea Tube” by L. Taylor Hansen. Back when Hansen wrote this story in 1929, a project like the Chunnel was a far off dream. Of course he envisioned things going a little differently when we started digging under the sea.If you have a story you’d like to contribute to the series, you can visit https://submissions.soundconceptmedia.com/Curator: Keith Conrad linktr.ee/keithrconradNarrator: Darren Marlar https://darrenmarlar.com/Other shows hosted by Darren:Weird Darkness: https://weirddarkness.com/Paranormality Magazine: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/paranormalitymagMicro Terrors: Scary Stories for Kids: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/microterrorsRetro Radio – Old Time Radio In The Dark: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/retroradioChurch of the Undead: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/churchoftheundead Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week’s story is “Scent Makes a Difference” by James Stamers. They say scent is so strongly tied to our memory that it can help trigger all sorts of long lost memories even years later. Now one man learns it can also help you meet different version of yourself from alternate realities If you have a story you’d like to contribute to the series, you can visit https://submissions.soundconceptmedia.com/Curator: Keith Conrad linktr.ee/keithrconradNarrator: Darren Marlar https://darrenmarlar.com/Other shows hosted by Darren:Weird Darkness: https://weirddarkness.com/Paranormality Magazine: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/paranormalitymagMicro Terrors: Scary Stories for Kids: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/microterrorsRetro Radio – Old Time Radio In The Dark: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/retroradioChurch of the Undead: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/churchoftheundead Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our story this week is“Sweet Tooth” by Robert F Young. If we ever do actually meet aliens there will be plenty of people who will be worried about ending up in a “To Serve Man”-type scenario. But it might turn out human beings aren’t the ones who have to worry about being devoured by our visitors.If you have a story you’d like to contribute to the series, you can visit https://submissions.soundconceptmedia.com/Curator: Keith Conrad linktr.ee/keithrconradNarrator: Darren Marlar https://darrenmarlar.com/Other shows hosted by Darren:Weird Darkness: https://weirddarkness.com/Paranormality Magazine: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/paranormalitymagMicro Terrors: Scary Stories for Kids: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/microterrorsRetro Radio – Old Time Radio In The Dark: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/retroradioChurch of the Undead: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/churchoftheundead Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As human beings venture out into the cosmos, it’s pretty certain they’re going to run into all sorts of unexpected threats to their health and well-being. It happened to explorers hundreds of years ago when European explorers arrived in the New World and were exposed to all sorts of new diseases… then they decided to return the favor by giving blankets infected with small pox to the people they met. Of course it’s also entirely possible that explorers out in space will run into problems that are a little more familiar. As is the case in this week’s story, Operation Distress by Lester Del Ray.If you have a story you’d like to contribute to the series, you can visit https://submissions.soundconceptmedia.com/Curator: Keith Conrad linktr.ee/keithrconradNarrator: Darren Marlar https://darrenmarlar.com/Other shows hosted by Darren:Weird Darkness: https://weirddarkness.com/Paranormality Magazine: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/paranormalitymagMicro Terrors: Scary Stories for Kids: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/microterrorsRetro Radio – Old Time Radio In The Dark: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/retroradioChurch of the Undead: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/churchoftheundead Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week’s story is “Ask a Foolish Question” by Robert Sheckley. The secret to learning the answers to life, the universe and everything is knowing the right questions to ask.If you have a story you’d like to contribute to the series, you can visit https://submissions.soundconceptmedia.com/Curator: Keith Conrad linktr.ee/keithrconradNarrator: Darren Marlar https://darrenmarlar.com/Other shows hosted by Darren:Weird Darkness: https://weirddarkness.com/Paranormality Magazine: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/paranormalitymagMicro Terrors: Scary Stories for Kids: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/microterrorsRetro Radio – Old Time Radio In The Dark: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/retroradioChurch of the Undead: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/churchoftheundead Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week’s story is “The Trap” by Betsy Curtis. People have been dreaming of living forever since the dawn of time, but there are a couple of potentially problematic details they probably didn’t consider.If you have a story you’d like to contribute to the series, you can visit https://submissions.soundconceptmedia.com/Curator: Keith Conrad linktr.ee/keithrconradNarrator: Darren Marlar https://darrenmarlar.com/Other shows hosted by Darren:Weird Darkness: https://weirddarkness.com/Paranormality Magazine: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/paranormalitymagMicro Terrors: Scary Stories for Kids: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/microterrorsRetro Radio – Old Time Radio In The Dark: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/retroradioChurch of the Undead: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/churchoftheundead Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If we’ve learned anything from pop culture, it’s that there are rules for time travel. This week’s story, “Security Plan” by Joseph Farrell introduces us to one inventor that probably should have spent a little more time watching time travel movies for educational purposes.If you have a story you’d like to contribute to the series, you can visit https://submissions.soundconceptmedia.com/Curator: Keith Conrad linktr.ee/keithrconradNarrator: Darren Marlar https://darrenmarlar.com/Other shows hosted by Darren:Weird Darkness: https://weirddarkness.com/Paranormality Magazine: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/paranormalitymagMicro Terrors: Scary Stories for Kids: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/microterrorsRetro Radio – Old Time Radio In The Dark: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/retroradioChurch of the Undead: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/churchoftheundead Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Did you know that in 2024 a person making the average salary in the United States can’t get qualified for the average priced home? It’s bad out there. So much so that many are giving up on the idea of owning a home all together. In this week’s story “Time Arbitrage” a couple is just about ready to give up themselves, when they learn about a company offering an unexpected solution to the problem.If you have a story you’d like to contribute to the series, you can visit https://submissions.soundconceptmedia.com/Curator: Keith Conrad linktr.ee/keithrconradNarrator: Darren Marlar https://darrenmarlar.com/Other shows hosted by Darren:Weird Darkness: https://weirddarkness.com/Paranormality Magazine: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/paranormalitymagMicro Terrors: Scary Stories for Kids: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/microterrorsRetro Radio – Old Time Radio In The Dark: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/retroradioChurch of the Undead: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/churchoftheundead Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week’s story is Man’s Best Friend by Evelyn E Smith. It’s an election year and it’s easy to get annoyed at the constant barrage of political ads and hot takes. But always remember, there are worse ways to pick our leadersIf you have a story you’d like to contribute to the series, you can visit https://submissions.soundconceptmedia.com/Curator: Keith Conrad linktr.ee/keithrconradNarrator: Darren Marlar https://darrenmarlar.com/Other shows hosted by Darren:Weird Darkness: https://weirddarkness.com/Paranormality Magazine: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/paranormalitymagMicro Terrors: Scary Stories for Kids: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/microterrorsRetro Radio – Old Time Radio In The Dark: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/retroradioChurch of the Undead: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/churchoftheundead Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week’s story is Bad Memory by Patrick Fahy. There’s nothing wrong with making big changes in your life to achieve your dreams, but if you’re going to do that, sometimes writing those goals down is a good idea for more than one reason.If you have a story you’d like to contribute to the series, you can visit https://submissions.soundconceptmedia.com/Curator: Keith Conrad linktr.ee/keithrconradNarrator: Darren Marlar https://darrenmarlar.com/Other shows hosted by Darren:Weird Darkness: https://weirddarkness.com/Paranormality Magazine: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/paranormalitymagMicro Terrors: Scary Stories for Kids: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/microterrorsRetro Radio – Old Time Radio In The Dark: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/retroradioChurch of the Undead: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/churchoftheundead Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Back in the 1950’s when Stephen Arr wrote Chain of Command, it was pretty common to imagine the worst possible unintended consequences from the atomic age. This story does revolve around animals who are forever changed by atomic radiation, but at the end of the day the message of this story is that the chain of command is the same for everyone, even radioactive mutant mice.If you have a story you’d like to contribute to the series, you can visit https://submissions.soundconceptmedia.com/Curator: Keith Conrad linktr.ee/keithrconradNarrator: Darren Marlar https://darrenmarlar.com/Other shows hosted by Darren:Weird Darkness: https://weirddarkness.com/Paranormality Magazine: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/paranormalitymagMicro Terrors: Scary Stories for Kids: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/microterrorsRetro Radio – Old Time Radio In The Dark: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/retroradioChurch of the Undead: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/churchoftheundead Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Have you ever taken the time to read the Terms of Service before you click “Accept?” Of course not. No one does. It’s basically become a meme at this point. In this week's story, An Elephant For the Prinkip by L. J. Stecher, we learn it’s probably a good idea to at least skim the fine print of any contract before you actually sign on the dotted line.If you have a story you’d like to contribute to the series, you can visit https://submissions.soundconceptmedia.com/Curator: Keith Conrad linktr.ee/keithrconradNarrator: Darren Marlar https://darrenmarlar.com/Other shows hosted by Darren:Weird Darkness: https://weirddarkness.com/Paranormality Magazine: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/paranormalitymagMicro Terrors: Scary Stories for Kids: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/microterrorsRetro Radio – Old Time Radio In The Dark: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/retroradioChurch of the Undead: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/churchoftheundead Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pop culture over the past twenty years or so is riddled with stories about pioneering scientists visiting new worlds. In the 1990’s there was Sliders, there was also Stargate SG-1 with a different planet every week. In this week’s story "Dimension of the Lost," three scientists visit three different dimensions. Two of them have life-changing experiences, while the third ends up solving a mystery that has haunted humanity for generations.Curator: Keith Conrad linktr.ee/keithrconradNarrator: Darren Marlar https://darrenmarlar.com/Other shows hosted by Darren:Weird Darkness: https://weirddarkness.com/Paranormality Magazine: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/paranormalitymagMicro Terrors: Scary Stories for Kids: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/microterrorsRetro Radio – Old Time Radio In The Dark: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/retroradioChurch of the Undead: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/churchoftheundead Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.