LIGHTSPEED MAGAZINE - Science Fiction and Fantasy Story Podcast (Sci-Fi | Audiobook | Short Stories)

Edited by bestselling anthologist John Joseph Adams, LIGHTSPEED is a Hugo Award-winning, critically-acclaimed digital magazine. In its pages, you'll find science fiction from near-future stories and sociological SF to far-future, star-spanning SF. Plus there's fantasy from epic sword-and-sorcery and contemporary urban tales to magical realism, science-fantasy, and folk tales. Each month, LIGHTSPEED brings you a mix of original short stories and flash fiction featuring a variety of authors, from the bestsellers and award-winners you already know to the best new voices you haven't heard yet. When you read LIGHTSPEED, you'll see where science fiction and fantasy have come from, where they are now, and where they're going. The LIGHTSPEED podcast, produced by Grammy Award-winning narrator and producer Stefan Rudnicki of Skyboat Media, features original audio short stories 6-8 times a month.

Last refreshed: June 25th, 2026 at 4:30 AM ⓘ

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Episodes

"The Sharing of Some Familiar Song" by Adam-Troy Castro + "Ash-Shūrā" by Beesan Odeh

This podcast presents two distinct narratives. "The Sharing of Some Familiar Song" delves into the profound challenges of interspecies communication, as an alien race attempts to comprehend human art through the lens of compressed pain, and offers their own expression of agony in return. The second story, "Ash-Shūrā," follows Nassim, a mute, traumatized young man in Jerusalem, whose life of isolation and worsening hallucinations leads him to a mysterious fortune teller. There, he confronts his past and a supernatural entity offering a dangerous form of salvation.

Jun 25, 2026•57 min

"I Cut Off a Monster's Arm. AITA?" by Marie Brennan + "The Overview Initiative" by David Marino

The episode begins with "I Cut Off a Monster's Arm. AITA?", a darkly humorous story where a man defends his wife from a toilet monster and faces unexpected consequences. The second story, "The Overview Initiative," follows Dr. Susan Lee as she passionately advocates for a program to send every high schooler into space to experience the "overview effect," hoping to foster global unity despite political opposition. The episode concludes with a meta-discussion between the author and a friend about the story's ending and the role of science fiction in inspiring hope in a cynical world.

Jun 18, 2026•35 min

"Memeostasis" by Benjamin Rosenbaum + "An Oral History of the Schooner Key Invasion" by Alex Irvine

Benjamin Rosenbaum's 'Memeostasis' delves into a unique Oort cloud civilization of star farmers who prioritize slow, sustainable ecology and protect their 'mimetic homeostasis' from external ideas. Alex Irvine's 'An Oral History of the Schooner Key Invasion' recounts a horrific interdimensional monster attack on a Florida resort, as told by survivors. It details the valiant, desperate fight of ordinary people and a young man's unexpected role in wielding ancient magic to seal the breach, leaving lasting trauma and unanswered questions about recurring threats.

Jun 11, 2026•1 hr 18 min

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