Explore every episode of the podcast Coffee - Rockets and Battleaxes

In the near future, a new wonder-drug has emerged. Anti-Gerasone has taken the world by storm, and people are living 100+ years past their normal, healthy life expectancy. How wonderful!

Or is it?

This month's episode takes a poignant and somewhat comedic look at what ultra-long lifespans could mean for the general psyche of those individuals.

Press the PLAY button and listen to Robert give voice to Kurt Vonnegut's sardonic tale about wonder drugs, personal space, and The Big Trip Up Yonder!

**Note: There are a handful of expletives in this story, but nothing of an explicit nature.

It is the future, possibly around 25-50 years from where we are now. A crime has been committed, a rare crime, as it turns out. Who did it? Why? Who solved it and how?

This month's episode features a futuristic, fictional crime story published in the January 1962 edition of Amazing Stories.

Press that play button and let's leap forward to New York in the near future and solve The Akkra Case!

An eccentric, wealthy, older man loves copying fine art. He's not very good at it, until one of his inventions secretly brings the fine art market to its knees.

In this story by Edgar-award winning author David Ely, we'll hear the tale of old Dr. Browl, who decided he had quite enough of the status quo.

The year is 2053. You go out for a walk in the evening, much like you've done for the last several years. Except - you are the only one outside. No, you aren't the last person left on Earth, but you are the only one outside. Your name is Leonard Mead and your life is about to change.

Kick off a new season of the Coffee, Rockets, & Battleaxes podcast with a short, but poignant story by Ray Bradbury!

This is the conclusion of Episode 10. Find out the fate of the survivors of a ship that crashes on the estate of a powerful industrialist.

You're a kid and you are outside playing with your friend. You hear a crack and a boom, but the sky is clear. There is no thunderstorm. You and your friend run over to where the noise emanated and...discover an alien craft.

This episode is Part One of "YOUTH" by Isaac Asimov.

We're back! This is part 2 of our special two-part Halloween double feature. Today's short story by Poe is considered one of his classics.

You are visiting an old friend in poor health and begin experiencing odd phenomena around the manor. Is your friend losing his mind or is it YOU?

Welcome to a special part 1 of 2 Halloween edition of the podcast! Today's story is by the original American master of the macabre himself, Edgar Allan Poe. In this very short story, 'ol Ed takes us into the Western European countryside and we encounter a man in a turret painting on a canvas. Seems simple, right? Listen in to find out the twist!

A utopian community with a near-perfect balance of technology, health, philosophy...until the listener discovers a dark secret.

Join us for this quick and thought-provoking speculative fiction short story by renowned writer Ursula K. Le Guin.

The great Isaac Asimov is September's short story author and we have one of his own personal favorites in "The Last Question."

The great computer (and all its evolutions and iterations) has helped mankind achieve space travel and cover great distances throughout the cosmos. Human knowledge banks have been nearly filled to capacity until...

Is it the Universe or is it a Library??

Join me on this detailed jaunt into the cosmos as Argentinian writer, Jorge Luis Borges, weaves together a tale of the Universe as if it were a library. You might want a pencil and paper near by to attempt a sketch of "The Library." But not if you're driving a motor vehicle. No, just focus on the road and listen to the story.

In a land of wizards, dreams, and dragons, travel through the fantastical forest known as Unvanquishable and attempt to save the sanity of your village. Join Leothric in his quest as Lord Dunsany pens his famous short story, "The Forest Unvanquishable, Save For Sacnoth."

(and WHO or WHAT is a "Sacnoth?")

You could find out in less than an hour.

In this episode, we dive into a short story by Kurt Vonnegut, who pens a biting, speculative tale about population control taken to the Nth degree. Is it fiction? Or is it an alternate timeline?

What if you were the last person on Earth? Harlan Ellison published a speculative short story back in the 1950's about such an experience. Sit back, relax and pour yourself a good beverage while I let one of the voices running rampant in my head tell this story.

This episode kicks off with a succinct review of a specialty blend of Folger's coffee, followed by a brief history of the late, great, Ray Bradbury - the author of today's short story. "The Last Journey" is a tale of an elderly woman who purchases a ride on a rust-bucket rocket ship to meet God.

Enjoy!