We finally made it to an episode that shall not be numbered. Yeah... it's numbered. But never mind which number. More importantly, it's time for some Stoke the Fire stories! These are from Prompt #17: You have a dinosaur bodyguard. And as an added bonus, they're by the same author, David "Doc Blue" Wendt! "Sugar and Spikes- a Flint Redstone Story" "A Brief Excerpt from [REDACTED]" We trail that with another Mystery Meal made with your help! This one destroys The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandr...
Nov 01, 2018•31 min•Ep. 62
It's midmonth October (already?!) and we're here with another Main Ingredient story! "However Improbable" by James Silverstein. A lost file containing words written by Dr. John Watson has been found. Is this really what happened to Sherlock Holmes? We follow it with a Food Critic segment in which A. F. reviews Make Bright the Arrows by S. A. Huchton . Finally, we destroy English (and a couple other languages in the background) with a Processed Foods segment. This monologue from the movie Dogma w...
Oct 15, 2018•35 min•Ep. 61
We love so much giving new or newish writers an outlet for their words, and this is what we've got today! We bring you Brownsville Creek: A Suburban Legend by Shay Brodbeck. There's something in Brownsville Creek. Even it doesn't seem to know what it is, but it's figuring it out to the detrement of humans. We follow up with a Mystery Meal from J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit . We should be sorry, but we're not. Prompt #16 is now closed. We bring you now Prompt #18 You are informed via phone that you...
Oct 01, 2018•37 min•Ep. 60
Hey there! It's another panel from Balticon 2018, this time about Tuckerization! Along with Nobilis Reed, Val Griswold-Ford, and others, our own A. F. was on this panel! Enjoy!
Sep 16, 2018•53 min•Ep. 59
It’s been a while since we proclaimed our idiocy. It seems about time to do it again. Grillmistress Erin serves up some Botched Recipes! As if that weren’t enough, A. F. reappears magically to give a Food Critic segment for The Terra Gambit by Terry Mixon . Don’t forget to check out our Patreon , our Swag Shop , and to leave us a review on iTunes ! You can submit prompt ideas, Stoke the Fire and Main Ingredient submissions, Pot Roast ideas, and Short Order Cook ideas at themeltingpotcast@gmail.c...
Sep 02, 2018•25 min•Ep. 58
Where has August gone? We're up to midmonth already? Well, fine. Here, have a Main Ingredient story! It's based on Stoke the Fire prompt #14- A rash of people have just entered the emergency room--all of them exhibiting superpowers. ER Invasion by Scott Roche Something strange and urgent is going on in the ER. Somehow, it's the woman who fixes the copier who takes charge and sets out to protect the innocent. We come after that with another of our new Processed Foods segment. Theo reads "The Rule...
Aug 15, 2018•39 min•Ep. 57
The Melting Potcast is four years old. FOUR! We can't believe it! We're bringing you a full menu to celebrate, starting with a pair of Stoke the Fire stories. They're both based on Prompt #14 A rash of people have just entered the emergency room-- all of them exhibiting superpowers. But one of them also touches on Prompt #15- There is an expiration date for your birth certificate. It's only a few days away. "Expiry" by Christopher Michael "The Waiting Doom" by Hugh J. O'Donnell After that, we ha...
Aug 01, 2018•49 min•Ep. 56
Balticon 52's session of Dirty Mad Libs. NSFW!
Jul 15, 2018•54 min•Ep. 55
It's July 1, and the kitchen is gearing up for a hot summer. We start with a Main Ingredient story by Potcast friend James Silverstein! The Journal of the Ivory Throne Lonnie has gone missing, and friends from his seafaring village are determined to find him. But the trail leads to the Ivory Throne, an island told of in their worst stories. After that, we treat you to some rather frightening audio from A.F. and Erin's trip to Balticon, including some delirious, late-night word games. Prompt #15 ...
Jul 01, 2018•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 54
We're back in action, AND back from Balticon! Time to get the ovens back on and cooking. So we bring a triad of Stoke the Fire stories, based on Prompt #14- A rash of people have just entered the emergency room--all of them exhibiting super powers. "The Day the World Broke" by Linton Bowers "Emergent Services" by David "Doc Blue" Wendt "Untitled" by Zack Mann Follow it with a Mystery Meal, featuring the opening scene from Moby Dick or The Whale by Herman Melville . Don’t forget to check out our ...
Jun 15, 2018•45 min•Ep. 53
Jun 01, 2018•45 min•Ep. 52
The Disaster Kitchen has reopened, and we're preheating with the last panel we had from Balticon 51 last year. Why the Storyteller Needs a Narrator- a discussion about giving your narrative a voice. As in vocal performer. This is about putting your work in audio. Also, Erin and A. F. were both ON the panel, along with some other staggeringly amazing voice artists and writers with amazing perspectives! Don’t forget to check out our Patreon , our Swag Shop , and to leave us a review on iTunes ! Yo...
May 15, 2018•53 min•Ep. 51
April kicks off with a rather poignant Main Ingredient story. "The Orb of Sakmip" by David Wendt Sakmip's new president seems a little too attached to the relic meant to remind him how not to govern... We follow that with a new Short Order Cook segment, in which Dishboy Theo details an...interesting week. Finally, we close with a Food Critic segment. A. F. reviews A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan . Spoiler alert: 5 spoons! Prompt #14 is now closed. Introducing prompt #16- The sounds...
Apr 01, 2018•51 min•Ep. 50
You know what we haven’t done in a while? Given our head Chef a vacation. So Grillmistress Erin gets the kitchen to herself for this midmonth episode, and of course, you’re getting some Botched Recipes! Follow that up with another installment of our new Short Order Cook segment, and that sounds like a good time to us! Bumper- Mike Luoma Promo- Mistletoe Radio
Mar 15, 2018•23 min•Ep. 49
This whole episode is a huge mess. The Dish Boy greets you, which is bad enough... and everything just kinda goes downhill from there. But the high points... "Countdown" by Scott Roche Barry has years left of indentured servitude as a delivery man. But one particular package may be his own deliverance. After that, we introduce our new Short Order Cook segment. A. F. has 5 minutes to plan and tell a story. The challenge came from Word Chef Jason Goodman...and A. F. did NOT see this one coming. Fi...
Mar 01, 2018•58 min•Ep. 48
Things get raunchy when panelists at Balticon 51 (including A. F. and Erin) turn sexy scenes into hilarious mad-libs with the help of the audience. NSFW!
Feb 14, 2018•58 min•Ep. 47
It’s February, and love is in the air. So we at the Disaster Kitchen are bring you a Main Ingredient story about love…sort of. “A Bad Case” by Charlie Brown When Steven wakes up with a condition that was passed to him, he’s determined to find a way to get rid of it. Unfortunately, the condition, “Gnomes,” isn’t so easy to get rid of. And it’s interfering with his everyday life. After that, we treat you to A Little Seasoning with Word Chef Chris Lester . Largely, we discuss his newly released boo...
Feb 01, 2018•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 46
January midmonth brings us a new story by Word Chef Hugh O'Donnell. True to his form, it's a Main Ingredient story based on a Stoke the Fire prompt. In this case, Prompt #13- Where did the corn go? Yes, it's a Freelance Hunters story! When a town goes missing--the whole town--only Glory, Bingo, and Joachim seem interested in investigating and claiming the reward for finding it. We follow it up with a What Boils My Pot? segment in which Erin extols the folly of infodumping unnecessary details. A....
Jan 15, 2018•52 min•Ep. 45
We start this meal with a Main Ingredient story based on like... 4 prompts. A Most Peculiar Bizarre Day Ever by Jason Goodman Some weird rain has brought a bunch of crazy people into the hospital, and Jay is just plain out having a rough day. We chase that with a Processed Foods segment including a mangled version of Valerie's letter from the movie V for Vendetta . You want to listen to this one, folks. Erin had a tough time keeping it together. Reminder that Prompt #17 closes at the end of the ...
Jan 01, 2018•42 min•Ep. 64
Happy New Year, Lexiconnoisseurs and Word Chefs! 2018 is promising some new segments from us (to be announced later this year) and of course, all kinds of new content. But enough about the future. Let’s focus on NOW! We have a Main Ingredient story by dear Word Chef James Silverstein. “World’s End” A mourning, small-town sheriff gets a visit from an FBI agent tracking down a local necromancer. Of course, it’s someone he knows. Someone close. We follow that up with A Little Seasoning with Django ...
Jan 01, 2018•1 hr 24 min•Ep. 44
An early morning panel about authentic romance in novels, featuring panelists Nobilis Reed , Scott Roche , Starla Huchton , Bob Chase , and Ken Schrader ,
Dec 15, 2017•59 min•Ep. 42
This episode is going to be like none we’ve ever done before. We received a pair of Stoke the Fire stories that defy most description. Largely because they go above and beyond the intention of our Stoke the Fire prompts. Between two stories, a total of 12—that’s right TWELVE—of our 14 prompts to date are covered. We won’t list them all here, but the only two prompts not covered today are prompts #1 and #3. We give you: “A Potluck Podcast” by Jason Goodman “Cornjuration” by Jason Goodman We follo...
Dec 01, 2017•58 min•Ep. 43
Someone has taken over the Disaster Kitchen. The Junior Chefs! What do they do but try to embarrass the crew? The JCs bring you some Botched Recipes and cook up some sort of food dish just in time for Grillmistress Erin and Dish Boy Theo to reclaim control. While sampling this odd concoction, Erin and Theo bring a Food Critic segment where A. F. and Erin discuss My Bittersweet Summer by S. A. Huchton . Finally, they wrap this ridiculous mess up with a Mystery Meal, destroying the “To be or not t...
Nov 15, 2017•40 min•Ep. 41
Here in the Disaster Kitchen, we try to bring you real food for thought. And our Main Ingredient story today certainly brings it. Author Doc Coleman gives us a tale that strikes on not one, but TWO Stoke the Fire prompts...but it's still a Main Ingredient story. Here we have Prompt #12- Write a story featuring some kind of mystic cheese. Prompt #13- Where did the corn go? "The Blessing of the Cheese" Professor Crackle had determined that creamed corn is the best gift to bring a sufi in Istanbul,...
Nov 01, 2017•1 hr 24 min•Ep. 40
Another Balticon panel, this one very special. You've heard panels that A. F. and Erin have been on... well, this one only had A. F. in the audience, but ERIN WAS MODERATOR! That's right. Erin moderated conversation on activism in genre fiction, featuring panelists Brenda Clough , Ted Weber , Day Al-Mohamed , and Fran Wilde ....
Oct 15, 2017•58 min•Ep. 39
It’s October, and that means it’s time for another episode of The Melting Potcast! Today, the Head Chef and Grillmistress bring you a Main Ingredient story by Heath Howell! “The Long Weekend” Oliver has spent the last four months taking care of his mother. At the end of his rope, he boards a plane with her, hoping it might be the beginning of the end to the trials. We follow that with a new What Boils My Pot segment, in which Erin rants about misused foreign languages. And wrap things up with a ...
Oct 01, 2017•55 min•Ep. 38
Author readings from Balticon 51, featuring Nobilis Reed , Jennifer Povey , and a chapter of Starsigns by our very own Head Chef !
Sep 15, 2017•43 min•Ep. 36
It’s our (belated) Birthday Bash! Erin and A. F. bring you three Stoke the Fire stories based on prompt 13- Where did the corn go? One of them is from a brand-new Word Chef! “Fly-By Corn Thieves” by K. L. Koster “A Series of Blog Posts on the Conundrum of the Corn” by David “Doc Blue” Wendt “Corn Mother” by Scott Roche Did we mention this episode would have cake? While A. F. heads out for that, the Grillmistress serves up a heaping helping of Botched Recipes. Keep your ears peeled for one of the...
Sep 01, 2017•46 min•Ep. 37
The Disaster Kitchen is back and recovering from our hectic summer. More importantly, our staff is returning! Grillmistress Erin is back behind the mic, and along with A. F., bringing you some Stoke the Fire stories! These are for Prompt #12: Write a story featuring some kind of mystic cheese. "Al Fredo and the Cheese of Doom" by Scott Roche "A Transformative Experience" by Erin Kazmark "Morning Tragedy" by Val Griswold-Ford We follow it up with a Mystery Meal. That's right, we're finally gettin...
Aug 15, 2017•33 min•Ep. 35
Just A. F. again, hopefully the last time before our third anniversary on August 1! A. F. brings you a Main Ingredient story from J. K. Miles. A LITTLE TINKERING Meander has tried four times to stop this bloody war. He's wandered the time stream, but every attempt has failed. If this fifth plan doesn't work, he may have to give up altogether. Promo- STILL WATER by Justin R. Macumber Music- Rynos Theme Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://crea...
Jul 15, 2017•16 min•Ep. 32
