While finishing up my PhD, I spent a lot of time in the lab doing what I called ‘robot work’: pipetting tiny droplets of liquid, moving tubes, centrifuging, pipetting. In those days I got into podcasts. In particular I listened to speculative fiction podcasts. Stumbling across podcasts like PodCastle, Drabblecast, and LightSpeed Magazine was eye opening. I hadn’t read a lot of short fiction and to discover that whole worlds could be constructed in less than 10,000 words was wondrous.
Day 2 of Writing 101 asks that I compile a list so here is a list of some of my favourite short science fiction podcasts.
- Sun Dogs by Brooke Bolander
Brooke Bolander excels at tailoring her language to the story’s protagonist. In this story about a dog named Laika, Bolander crafts wonderful compound words and expressions that aptly describe the world from the perspective of a street dog. It’s a sad story especially if you understand the relevance of Laika in science history. - From the Lost Diary of TreeFrog7 by Nnedi Okorafor
I Discovered Dr. Okorafor’s work around the time I began reading Octavia Butler and so a black woman speculative fiction author this story has even more resonance for me. Aside from the personal significance, the lush descriptions and bizarre techno-organisms of the Greeny Jungle were captivating. - Electric Rains by Kathleen Ann Goonan
This is one of those stories that manages to pack a lot of world-building into <10,000. I applaud Goonan. It’s is a post-apocalypse tale about a girl names Ella on a simple mission with her Nana.
- Jupiter Wrestlerama by Marie VibbertMuscle atrophy and bone loss in microgravity is a health problem for astronauts traveling and living in space. This story hinges on those challenges faced by the people that live on a tourist station orbiting Jupiter.
- Flower, Mercy, Needle, Chain by Yoon Ha Lee
This story is about incomparably lethal guns crafted by a prisoner named Arighan. And it’s about how determinism may, in fact, run backwards. - Hindsight by Sarah Langan
This is the darkest of the stories in this list, but Langan’s description of the world literally falling apart is cinematic and visceral. The story is a bleak condemnation of what we tolerate from corporations and governments. It’s also about what people are willing to do for their families. - Walking Awake by N. K. Jemisin
I‘ll cap this list off with another woman of colour: N. K. Jemisin. This story about parasitic overlords reminds me a bit of the Animorphs universe however the origins of these ‘masters’ is revealed throughout the tale.
So this was my piece for Day 2 of Writing 101. It’s the first time I’ve written a ‘listicle’ so shout out to Kevan Lee whose post ‘How to Write a Listicle‘ was super helpful.
What do you think of the stories? Do you have any podcast stories that resonate with you? I’d love to hear your recommendations in the comments.