Tag: science fiction

Canadia 2056 and the joys of time-shifting

Jesse Willis

SFFaudio Commentary

Ben Rai’s winning entry in the CANADIA 2056 Future Graphic Contest

One of the most compelling reasons to listen to podcasts is the ability to enjoy programs where and when you want them. I’ve been listening to The Zombie Astronaut‘s unofficial podcast feed for Canadia: 2056. This is a radio drama written by comedy genius Matt Watts. The show just wrapped up its second season on CBC Radio One. The podcast feed for the show has made Canadia 2056 completely accessible on my schedule. And like any podcast the show is now completely pause-able, rewindable, and re-listenable. I had to do all three this morning!

I was listening to episode 19 of the show and I was laughing so hard I had to pause it. About three minutes later, after the convulsions had stopped, I rewound and listened to what I’d missed. Here’s the scene that got me…

But first some background… the ships’ surgeon, Doc Gaffney, attends to a suicidal crew member named Skip Connors (she’s suicidal because she’s become a mere brain in a jar), just prior to the scene’s opening she’d been left alone in the Captain’s quarters with a obedient robot and a jealous computer |MP3|.

Like I said, I had to pause it, rewind, and listen again. Because it was a podcast, I could.

My enjoyment of all 24 episodes of Canadia: 2056 would be almost impossible without the podcast feed. And I’m not alone in this. I’ve read threads all over the net about the show, and the people who’ve heard the show. The people who heard it on the radio keep saying how much they like Canadia: 2056. But, I’ve also read about how these same folks ‘missed an episode’ here or there. People wanted to catch it when it was on, but just couldn’t. They can’t re-arrange their lives to listen to the radio, that’s really not how radio works. Even if radio is not appointment listening, Canadia 2056‘s podcast is well worth listening to. Give yourself a treat, go subscribe to the unofficial podcast of Canadia 2056. It’s so kruckin’ awesome!

Subscribe via this feed:

http://thezombieastronaut.com/podcasts-only/rss2.aspx

Posted by Jesse Willis

Clarkesworld July 2008 features When The Gentlemen Go By by Margaret Ronald

Jesse Willis

SFFaudio Online Audio

Clarkesworld # 22, the July 2008 issue, has an audio short story on offer…

Clarkesworld issue #22When The Gentlemen Go By
By Margaret Ronald; Read by Cat Rambo
1 |MP3| – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Clarkesworld Magazine
Published: July 2008

So who of you’ll do a listener review of this and post a comment below?

Posted by Jesse Willis

LibriVox Science Fiction: The Highest Treason by Randall Garrett

Jesse Willis

SFFaudio Online Audio

Here’s the cover story from the January 1961 issue of Analog Science Fact & Fiction magazine. The tagline for it is:

“The highest treason of all is not so easy to define—and be it noted carefully that the true traitor in this case was not singular, but very plural . . .”

LibriVox Science Fiction Audiobook - The Highest Treason by Randall GarrettThe Highest Treason
By Randall Garrett; Read by Lee Elliot
8 Zipped MP3s or podcast – 2.5 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: June 2008
Set in a future in which humanity’s dream of total equality is fully realized and poverty in terms of material wealth has been eliminated, humanity has straight-jacketed itself into the only social system which could make this possible. Class differentiation is entirely horizontal rather than vertical and no matter what one’s chosen field, all advancement is based solely on seniority rather than ability. What is an intelligent and ambitious man to do when enslaved by a culture that forbids him from utilizing his God-given talents? If he’s a military officer in time of war, he might just decide to switch sides. If said officer is a true believer in the principles that enslave him and every bit as loyal as he is ambitious, that’s tantamount to breaking a universal law of physics, but Colonel Sebastian MacMaine has what it takes to meet the challenge.

Subscribe to this yummy podcast audiobook via this feed:

http://librivox.org/bookfeeds/the-highest-treason-by-randall-garrett.xml

Posted by Jesse Willis

BBC 7 performs James Follett’s Earthsearch

Jesse Willis

SFFaudio Online Audio

BBC Radio 7 - BBC7Rich Carlson writes in to tell us that “James Follett’s 1981 science fiction classic Earthsearch” began today with part one, and is continuing each weekday for two weeks. This was a BBC Radio 4 production from 1981. Attentive listeners will note that many of the cast member in this production also appeared in the BBC R4 adaptation of The Lord of the Rings (they were recorded the same year).

Science Fiction Radio Drama - Earthsearch by James FollettEarthsearch
By James Follett; Performed by a full cast
10 half hour parts – Approx. 5 Hours [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: BBC 7 / The 7th Dimension
Broadcast: June 30th to July 11th 2008
On a mission to find Earth-like planets for colonization the starship Challenger encountered a meteoroid shower that killed all of the adult crew and seriously damaged the ship. The only human survivors were four babies – two boys, Telson and Darv, and two girls, Sharna and Astra. The four have been raised from childhood by androids and tutored by two disembodied voices called Angel One and Angel Two.

Episodes:

1. Planetfall
2. First Footprint City
3. Sands of Kyros
4. The Solaric Empire
5. The Pools of Time
6. Across the Abyss
7. New Blood
8. Marooned
9. Star Cluster: Tersus Nine
10. Earthfall

And don’t forget, you can use the “listen again” feature to catch missed episodes for up to a week after they air!

Posted by Jesse Willis

ZBS’s Ruby 5 set to be podcast June 30th

Jesse Willis

SFFaudio Online Audio

ZBS FoundationThe ZBS Foundation, the creators of Ruby, the Galactic Gumshoe, will be podcasting all of Ruby 5, “The Land of Zoots”, starting on June 30th! Episode one is already in the feed. Jerry Stearns of Sound Affects fame describes it as: “a fun, romping story set on an archipelago on Ruby’s home planet, Summa Nulla, Crossroads of the Galaxy.”

And here’s the description from wikipedia entry on Ruby The Galactic Gumshoe:

Ruby is hired by the President Koonstar Bootstar to find out who created the Land of Zoots, a fantasy land that has stated to be made real by the inhabitants of the Awakening Archipelago.

Ruby 5 was intended as a daily continuing story for radio, so it’s gonna be podcast that way too. It will be released in daily 4-minute (or so) episodes for 64 days!

Subscribe to the podcast for it via this feed:

http://www.zbs.org/podcasts/ruby5Podcast.php

Also available, “Meatball’s Meatballs” podcasts. Which is described as “Fabulous info on the making of some of the best audio theater in the last 30 years. Great tips on music, field recording and writing for audio, and just stories full of fun.”

Subscribe to that via this feed:

http://www.zbs.org/dircast/dircaster.php

[Thanks to Jerry Stearns for the tip!]

Posted by Jesse Willis

Subterranean Online’s SPRING 2008 audios: After The Seige by Cory Doctorow

Jesse Willis

SFFaudio Online Audio

Subterranean PressA FREE audio version of Cory Doctorow’s After The Seige has just been added to the Spring 2008 issue of the Subterranean Online magazine. Doctorow described the novelette/novella as “optimistic SF.” When Doctorow was writing it he said that it took inspiration from his grandmother’s stories of living through the Siege of Leningrad. More recently, it was lauded with the Locus Award for best novella.

Subterranean Online Spring 2008After The Seige
By Cory Doctorow; Read by Mary Robinette Kowal
5 MP3s – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Subterranean Online (Spring 2008)
Published: June 2008

Part 1 |MP3| Part 2 |MP3| Part 3 |MP3| Part 4 |MP3| Part 5 |MP3|

There is also a different reading of the same story, by Cory Doctorow himself HERE.

Posted by Jesse Willis