written by David Steffen

Escape Pod, the original science fiction podcast, is still running more than ten years later.  It continues to be edited by Norm Sherman.  Mur Lafferty began the year as editor-at-large (whatever that means) but moved on to the sister publication Mothership Zeta.

Escape Pod published 41 stories in 2015.

The List

1. “Beyond the Trenches We Lie” by A.T. Greenblatt
Fighting a war against blobs whose only vulnerability is lying, the more novel the more effective.  The story is told in the space between the lies.

2. “Everyone Will Want One” by Kelly Sandoval
What would it be like if you had a bot to aid you in your social situations to help you get through high school?

3. “Flowers For Algernon” by Daniel Keyes
Classic science fiction, you may have read it in school, a journal story written by a mentally handicapped man who undergoes a procedure to enhance his intelligence.

4. “The Semaphore Society” by Kate Heartfield
Future user interface technology allows the paralyzed to begin a new online group, inventing a new language as they go.

5. “Adaptation and Predation” by Auston Habershaw
A shapeshifting scavenger as assassin, taking on a member of a dangerous predator species.  Really fun, interesting, action packed story.

Honorable Mention

“The Lone and Level Sands” by Marco Panessa