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Theresa Anne has spent years watching her mother tell fortunes and work magical spells. But when she asks to protect the girl she loves, she learns the true cost and sacrifice involved in magical requests.   Find more from the author at www.clpolk.com.   Content advisory: Violence See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In a post-pandemic future where scientists have made great strides in eliminating disease, a young boy faces his fears and ventures out to his grandfather's island to give him an important vaccine.   This story appears in the anthology Make Shift: Dispatches from the Post-Pandemic Future, edited by Gideon Lichfield and available for pre-order from The MIT Press. Content advisory: Discussion of pandemics, near-drowning See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A getaway driver and her crew are hired to steal a mysterious artifact, and inadvertently get locked into a time loop. Find more from Nicole Kornher-Stace at www.nicolekornherstace.com or on Twitter @wirewalking. Content advisory: Gun violence, gore, death See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A teenage girl is exiled to a penal colony on an icy, inhospitable island.  But the island contains secrets, and so does the girl.    Content Advisory: Death See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hoping to make their fortune (or at least climb out of debt), a trio of space traders travel on a dangerous hunt for a space whale.   "An Equal Share of the Bone" was originally published at Escape Pod. Find more of Karen Osborne's work at www.karenosborne.com.   Content Advisory: Animal death See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Guided by an angel, a writer pens his greatest -- and perhaps most dangerous -- work.   "Killer of Kings" appears in Anjali Sachdeva's collection ALL THE NAMES THEY USED FOR GOD. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Adolescent boys are faced with the reality of friendships, old and new, as they work on plans to build their own airplane.   "Flyboys" appears in Tobias Wolff's collection OUR STORY BEGINS, published by Vintage Books, and is available in audio from Blackstone Audio.    Content advisory: discussion of death See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A woman helps to test the artificial intelligence based on the mind of her mother, a brilliant thinker. "The Regression Test" appears in Wole Talabi's collection INCOMPLETE SOLUTIONS from Luna Press. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A government contractor deals with everyday frustrations in a small town. "Alluvial Deposits" appears in Percival Everett's collection DAMNED IF I DO. Check out other titles from Graywolf Press, including WILD SWIMS and BRING ME THE HEAD OF QUENTIN TARANTINO, at graywolfpress.org. Content advisory: racial slur, hateful language See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A woman struggles to understand why her elderly father has begun to spontaneously teleport.    Content advisory: drug addiction, illness, death See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A teenage thief embarks on a mission to reclaim her people's sacred treasures. First published in A UNIVERSE OF WISHES in 2020 in the United States by Crown Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC, New York. Find more from Rebecca at www.rebeccaroanhorse.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A waitress is jolted from her morning routine when she's visited by a mysterious child. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The wait is nearly over! Join us for Season 8 of LeVar Burton Reads, beginning next week and featuring stories from Rebecca Roanhorse, Tobias Wolff, Bishop Garrison, Damion Wilson and more. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

LeVar talks to Africanfuturist Nnedi Okorafor about the visceral nature of her writing, writing a beautiful and green future for the Niger Delta, and how human-AI relationships can feel like parent-child relationships. Plus, she'll tell us what she thinks happens after those final tense moments in "Mother of Invention". See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Join us for the conclusion of this smart house story set in a future Nigeria. Will Anwuli and her child survive the storm? Content advisory: blood See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A young woman in a future Nigeria finds herself in a deadly pollen storm, alone but for her smart home. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

LeVar announces a special three-part series featuring one of his favorite authors! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A 200-year-old gnome desperately wants to become a father.   "Little Man" is from A WILD SWAN AND OTHER TALES by Michael Cunningham, illustrated by Yuko Shimizu. Text copyright © 2015 by Mare Vaporum Corp. Used by permission of Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, © 2015 by Mare Vaporum Corp See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A recently widowed woman vanishes overnight. Content advisory: violence, death “The Story We Used to Tell” is from DARK TALES by Shirley Jackson, published by Penguin Classics, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A chance encounter in a bar leads to an eventful Good Friday for a devout woman and a playboy. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.