Shows
Nila’s Podcastnila goes crazyIn this episode I (Nila) go CRAZY, because I am singing a very confusing song.
2024-11-2705 min
StoryfeatherThe Galvanic GhostA woman entreats a student of medicine for help with an extraordinary and destructive condition, she can conduct massive amounts of electricity. Genre: Mystery, Science Fiction Excerpt: I am only a student. That's why she came to me, trusting that I would have a sufficient balance of knowledge and naiveté to serve her desperate need. And I am woman. That's why she came to me, trusting that I would not mark her concerns as mere hysterics. What was this strange and destructive condition she bore? She spoke of hurting h...
2023-11-1739 min
StoryfeatherThe Bombinating EngineThe crew of a prospecting freighter on the edge of known space makes an unexpected discovery about their outdated and recently replaced engine. Genre: Science Fiction Excerpt: Cruising along at the edges of known space, the Vesta was among the last ships to receive the engine upgrade. But it wasn't just distance that caused the delay. The t-drives were expensive. And unlike large organizations who could absorb the cost, individual contractors like Ryan and his crew had to weigh their options, even when their safety was concerned. The nosebleeds, the headaches...
2023-11-0331 min
The Nila ExtractEpisode 61: Tea with the Queen |ft. MaharaniToday on the Nila Extract, I’m pleased to welcome Maharani, a singer of Indian Tamil descent born and raised in the Netherlands, who entrancingly combines RnB and Trap-soul with unique stylistic choices that represent her South-Asian heritage. This London-based singer showcases strong Carnatic elements in her music, imbibed with the styles of Taylor swift and Hayley Williams, and I am so incredibly glad to have her on the show. We talk about South Asian music, and its combination with Western styles to create new, innovative and exciting blends that will undoubtedly take the industry by storm. I also delve in...
2023-03-2141 min
The Nila ExtractEpisode 59: Louder, with Pasion | ft. Vicky PasionOn today’s episode of the Nila Extract, I’m proud to introduce the talented and rising star, Vicky Pasion. This Filipina-Sri Lankan singer-songwriter seeks out and successfully embodies the phenomenal talents of Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey, even titled ‘London’s latest musical maverick’ in accordance with Wonderland Magazine! We begin with a conversation about representation in the music industry, and the struggles that come with mixed heritage, alongside its impact on people of colour. We definitely have a bonding experience over our qualms with personal identity, and much more. I even get into the nits and grits of the Academ...
2023-02-0743 min
The Nila ExtractEpisode 57: How to Report a Hate Crime |ft. Esther Young LimToday on the Nila Extract, we welcome Esther Young Lime, the author of the booklets "How To Report a Hate Crime". We delve into the representation of AAPI and South Asian communities in the media, allyship, being a POC at school and more!
The Nila Extract is an award-winning radio show hosted by your favourite Tamil gal, Nila Varman, who strives to amplify the voices of marginalised communities by dispelling taboos, having socio-political conversations, and inviting activists, celebrities and advocates, to speak on their personal experiences.
Check out the socials below!
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_nila_extract
Twitter...
2023-01-0755 min
The Nila ExtractEp 56: Periods: The Fundamenstruals| ft. Amber MonetToday on the Nila Extract, we welcome Amber Monet, one of the first Menstrual Cycle Coaches in the world, who is dedicated to ensuring the achievement of menstrual equity and equality on a global scale. We delve into the representation of periods in the media, and the illicit tone which contributes to the furthering of stigmas and taboos in association with menstrual cycles. Amber and I look into the tampon tax, our personal experiences, the shame enforced on women due to societal pressures, along with misconceptions about periods (Are you so sure that you and your mates are synced-up sisters?).
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2022-12-1455 min
The Nila ExtractEp 55: The Current UnfairsThis episode of The Nila Extract is a bit of a laid-back one- it was my birthday week, so I kicked back, and reflected on how far we’ve come! Tune in as we listen to loads of Christmas tracks to get into the Christmas spirit, whilst revealing the poll results on some of your favourite festive films! I also discuss some of the recent controversies of this week: including Ngozi Fulani’s experiences of racism at the Buckingham Palace exchange, the fallacy of success at COP27 and greenwashing, micro-aggressions, and sexist interview bias in the media following the undermining ques...
2022-12-1434 min
The Nila ExtractEpisode 54: Low Exposure | ft. Mathushaa SagthidasToday on the Nila Extract we delve into the struggles of integrating South Asian identity into fashion photography, and the experience of being a Tamilian creative, with fashion photographer Mathushaa Sagthidas. Join us as we talk more about her immensely successful photography campaign, ‘Not just brown, not just Indian’ which showcased the outstanding multiplicity of South Asian women and their culture. Together, we talk about POC mannequins, and their representation or lack thereof, in the fashion and modelling world!
The Nila Extract is an award-winning radio show hosted by your favourite Tamil gal, Nila Varman, who strives to amplify the voic...
2022-11-1934 min
StoryfeatherThe Eleventh ArmA mural painted by an anonymous artist inspires both dread and wonder. Genre: Mystery, Science Fiction Excerpt: On the wall of a poorly kept apartment building was painted a vast mural of a forest in the midst of winter, the trees laden with snow, the ground, likewise. The sky a crisp and sharp blue. The mural had appeared overnight at the start of winter. And it had greeted me every morning since then. The first time I'd walked past it, I had stopped to gaze at it, and appreciate it. It was o...
2022-04-2936 min
StoryfeatherSam and the SequenceAn ambitious freshman believes her research project will uncover a hidden historical mystery. Genre: Mystery Excerpt: Sometimes a thing isn't good or evil in itself. The sequence is a thing like this. It becomes good or evil when you touch it. If you are good, it becomes good. If you are evil, it becomes evil. But we humans…we are both. What happens when we touch it? Sam lay her fingers on the page where those words were written. The man who'd written them had been dead for almost a cen...
2022-04-2234 min
StoryfeatherThe Serpent Who Sang Like a BirdOne monkey's mischief alters the course of four other animals' lives. Genre: Fable Excerpt: Long ago, when the world was young, and in some ways smaller than it is today, and in other ways, greater than it is today, there happened a moment of mischief. CREDITSStory: "The Serpent Who Sang Like a Bird" Copyright © 2018 by Nila L. Patel Narration, Episode Art, Editing, and Production: Nila L. Patel Music: "Trip-Hop Lounge Abstract Background" by Digital Emotions (Intro/Outro) Musi...
2022-04-1541 min
StoryfeatherNeotrilliumA woman caught in the middle of an ecological attack becomes a subject of interest for the group who is responsible. Genre: Science Fiction Excerpt: Chloe glanced again at the handsome man who was lingering at a sculpture. The sculpture was a caryatid, a column shaped like a woman, in this case, a celestial being. He gazed up at the stone carving of the heavily robed Herald of the Gods. The Herald too seemed to gaze down at him. She pointed up to the heavens with a hand that held a scroll, t...
2022-04-0839 min
StoryfeatherThe Architect and the AristocratA brilliant architect impresses an ambitious aristocrat with more and more wondrous constructions. Genre: Fairy Tale Excerpt: So charmed was the aristocrat that by the end of their discourse, he began to speak familiarly with the architect, as he would only typically do with a young man of his own station. He challenged the architect—dared him even—to build a magnificent monument to him from the twigs and branches on the floor. CREDITSStory: "The Architect and the Aristocrat" Copyright © 2018 by Nila L. Patel N...
2022-04-0144 min
StoryfeatherInseparateA student fascinated with conjoined twins uncovers the lives of two brothers whom history only remembers as fortune tellers called Two-Man. Genre: Fantasy, Mystery, Science Fiction Excerpt: I didn't know much about conjoined twins, but when the professor in my embryology class mentioned the accident in cell division that led to the phenomenon, I remembered my first dream in life. Before I dreamt of becoming a Noble-prize-winning biochemist. Before I dreamt of meeting the love ofmy life. Before I dreamt about traveling the world. Before I dreamt about having a dog. When I...
2022-03-2535 min
StoryfeatherFlickering FriedaFor as long as she could remember, Frieda had been haunted by a general trend of weirdness. Genre: Science Fiction Excerpt: I'd lock myself up if I thought I was really a danger. I'd have myself committed to a psychiatric hospital. I would. To keep from hurting someone. I don't want it to come to that. But I'd do it. CREDITSStory: "Flickering Frieda" Copyright © 2018 by Nila L. Patel Narration, Episode Art, Editing, and Production: Nila L. Patel Music: "Trip-Hop Lounge Abstr...
2022-03-1832 min
StoryfeatherPanfloria MagnificaA researcher studies a common-looking flower with an uncommon origin. Genre: Fairy Tale, Science Fiction Excerpt: Does the flower remember who built it? Is it trying to tell me? Is that why I've kept having these dreams whenever I consumed the formula? The dreams of the man who made the flower? I never thought I would be one of those scientists who experiments on herself, but after all, it's just a bottle of flower juice. CREDITSStory: "Panfloria Magnifica" Copyright © 2017 by Nila L. Pat...
2022-03-1132 min
StoryfeatherGamma's Forever SoupA magician creates for his empress a powerful elixir that can only work on one person, but the empress desires to share the power with her people. Genre: Fantasy Excerpt: It is said the magician imbued the empress's soup with a secret elixir that granted strength of mind, of body, and of character. The soup had to be eaten once a day. Its effects would grow, until the one consuming it obtained powers that even the magician could not predict or fathom. CREDITSStory: "Ga...
2022-03-0448 min
StoryfeatherThe Mythical SlugA floundering molecular biology researcher is captivated by a seemingly common creature in a marine biology article…a sea slug. Genre: Mythology, Science Fiction Excerpt: "They live in the mysterious depths," I said. "The deep depths." "That's pretty deep." CREDITSStory: "The Mythical Slug" Copyright © 2018 by Nila L. Patel Narration, Episode Art, Editing, and Production: Nila L. Patel Music: "Trip-Hop Lounge Abstract Background" by Digital Emotions (Intro/Outro) Music by Andrea Baroni (Cyberleaf)* "Ground Control" "Fugue for O...
2022-02-2529 min
StoryfeatherThe Brontide BeastA sheriff investigates the mysterious quakes that have beset her small town. Genre: Fantasy, Mystery, Science Fiction Excerpt: The rumblings were so quiet at first that official records conflicted on the date they actually started. People thought they were imagining them. They only happened at night. And they were only felt in their town of Acton. Influences: Elements of this story are homages to one of my favorite movies from my youth, "Tremors." (Haven't seen in it a while though. Wonder if it holds up.) S...
2022-02-1847 min
StoryfeatherThe Black Dwarf StarIn our first excursion into the greater cosmos, humanity may have stumbled upon an epic discovery, one so rare as to be mythical. Genre: Mythology, Science Fiction Excerpt: Did it give off useful energy, that dark glittering rock? Did it hide astounding beauty? Was it anything we could make use of? Or should we let it be? NOW AVAILABLE! Storyfeather-themed merchandise T-shirts, mugs, stickers, notebooks, and more featuring artwork from the stories and podcast episodes. STORYFEATHER TEEPUBLIC STORE. CREDITS
2022-02-1130 min
StoryfeatherThe Salvage of Core 925The crew of a salvage trawler comes upon a hundred-year-old satellite and must determine if it is a piece of space junk or a valuable artifact. Genre: Science Fiction Excerpt: "From this far out, it looks to be about…a hundred or so years," Jiang said. "Largely intact." Thurston turned to her. "And no one else has claimed it yet? That's unlikely." "What should I do, boss?" the pilot asked. NOW AVAILABLE! Storyfeather-themed merchandise T-shirts, mugs, stickers, notebooks, and more featuring artwork from...
2022-02-0439 min
StoryfeatherThe Caves of Hephaestus IslandA team dispatched to a tiny island to investigate the source of a strange signal makes an unexpected discovery. Genre: Mystery, Mythology, Science Fiction Excerpt: "That volcano was supposed to have consumed everything, including itself. But we're seeing something. Something is giving off enough of an energy signature for several terrestrial and even a few orbital detectors to register the signal." NOW AVAILABLE! Storyfeather-themed merchandise T-shirts, mugs, stickers, notebooks, and more featuring artwork from the stories and podcast episodes. STORYFEATHER TEEPUBLIC STORE. CREDITS
2022-01-2844 min
StoryfeatherMission ICE 19A captain and her crew investigate the fate of those who set out on a mission to study an intriguing cosmic chemical. Genre: Mystery, Science Fiction Excerpt: I heard someone calling…calling to me. "Captain?" Is it the voice of the woman on the other side of the airlock window? "Captain!" Or is it the voice of the ghost that's trying to possess me? "Captain…" NOW AVAILABLE! Storyfeather-themed merchandise T-shirts, mugs, stickers, notebooks, and more featuring artwor...
2022-01-2148 min
StoryfeatherThe Blinding of the MiceAn ordinary mouse was once chosen to receive a great honor that came at a great cost. Genre: Fable Excerpt: I could not see the edge of the knife, but I felt the promised bite of the blade at the base of my tail. Courage is a strange thing. For when you think you have it, you are wrong. And when you think you don't have it…you are wrong. When I stepped ever-so-carefully onto that dais where the Ritual was to begin, I thought I had all the courage I w...
2022-01-1445 min
StoryfeatherMysterious Tracks in the SnowA medical doctor, a supernaturalist, and a philosopher investigate mysterious tracks that appear in the snow. Genre: Mystery, Science Fiction Excerpt: The three special investigators arrived a few weeks after the tracks were first seen. They each hailed from a different part of the country. Each had a different expertise. The supernaturalist. The medical doctor. And the philosopher. And each had been briefed on the happenings in the town. But as was their practice, according to the root training that they shared, all three investigators sat in the mayor's office, an...
2022-01-0738 min
StoryfeatherLesson Number UndefinedA mother uses myth to teach math and math to teach humanity to her three children. Genre: Mythology, Science Fiction Excerpt: Isra stood before the whiteboard in the drawing room, or as she called it after repurposing, the lesson room. Or as her three children had designated it, Room Seven. Their friends always talked about what room they were in, or how so-and-so teacher was in charge of a particular room number. So they wanted a room number. Libby and Dom sat back in their seats, knowing what was to come...
2021-12-3133 min
StoryfeatherI SurgeryUpon the insistence of a loved one, a person decides to undergo a life-altering elective surgery. Genre: Mystery, Science Fiction Excerpt: She says that I have always lived in darkness. But I'm fine with it. I don't need the light. I don't even necessarily want the light. I'm not doing this for me. I'm doing this for her. Because she wants me to see the world the way she sees it. NOW AVAILABLE! Storyfeather-themed merchandise T-shirts, mugs, stickers, notebooks, and more featuring artwork from th...
2021-12-2425 min
StoryfeatherI Dreamed A CookieA finalist in a cookie contest recalls a classic locked-in-a-bakery-overnight dream for inspiration. Genre: Fantasy, Science Fiction Excerpt: Finally, I am there. In front of the platter. I can smell the soft scent of vanilla and brown sugar circling around and through the overpowering scent of the chocolate. Butter, cocoa, milk. I reach for one of the cookies, and find that they haven't quite cooled all the way. There is just a touch of warmth left in them. And I know what that means. So I begin to slowly split the coo...
2021-12-1738 min
StoryfeatherWhen The Androids Asked For HeartsNote of Caution: Episode contains heartbeat sound effects. The human heart becomes the supreme object of fascination for a race of artificial beings. Genre: Mythology, Science Fiction Excerpt: They are not our creations. We did not build the androids. They came from the stars, and when they began to trust us, they pointed to the sky and showed us which star. And when we began to trust them, we let them into our hearts. NOW AVAILABLE! Storyfeather-themed merchandise T-shirts, mugs, stickers, notebooks, and more featuring artwork from t...
2021-12-1029 min
StoryfeatherThis Egg Is Not An EggA scientist finds a unique egg and eagerly awaits the day it cracks open and reveals the mysteries within. Genre: Mystery, Science Fiction Excerpt: Beneath the vault of the sky lies our entire world. We know there is more world out there, beyond the sky, but most of us will never see or know that world, not for ourselves. We are contained within a shell of protection from the myriad forces and matters in the cosmos beyond that would most certainly kill us. Instantly. NOW AVAILABLE!Storyfeather-themed me...
2021-12-0322 min
StoryfeatherHeroes of AnodosLachenhut flew out toward the creature first. Overclock and Keo hovered in the air, at the ready, but hanging back as our red-capped leader had requested. I watched it all through that little drone's cameras. Silly, I had called it, ever since Overclock overproudly announced he had built something for the team. And yet, Max Speed was there for his team, when I could not be. I was laid up at headquarters, my powers drained, while my team faced the biggest challenge they had ever faced together. Biggest, in every sense of the word. Trudging toward the city w...
2021-11-2751 min
StoryfeatherDoctor Miratio's Cabinet of Imminent InventionNote of caution: This episode contains sound effects of real-world firearms (from minute 49 to end). "I'll need the ether regulator. Hand it to me, won't you?" "Umm…" "It's the device with the controls for wireless manipulation of extraplasmic conductance." The young journalist's eyes widened and though he was afraid to admit to the inventor that he did not know which one of the devices laid out on the laboratory bench was the ether regulator, he was more afraid of handing her the wrong device. When Doct...
2021-11-2059 min
StoryfeatherThe Lost Treasure of the ArcadianOver the last three hundred years, elaborate guesses have been made about the nature of the treasure aboard the Arcadian. It was only after news spread of the ship's loss to a freak storm as it passed through open and unclaimed seas that the rumors of what it carried began to spread along with the news of the wreck. Captain Stella and his deep diving crew have just accepted a mission to recover an unidentified treasure from one of the most mysterious shipwrecks in history. Genre: Science Fiction Tags: Ar...
2021-11-1247 min
StoryfeatherSal Saturn and the Planetary RangersIn the year 2025, humanity received an answer to one of its most fundamental questions: "Are we alone in the universe?" Only one thousand standard years later, unnoticeable and unfathomable to the greatly aged cosmos, a galactic alliance was formed, a coalition of inhabited worlds bound together in cooperation, friendship, and mutual progress. The Grand Unified Milky Way. The G.U.M. was protected by the Milky Way Planetary Rangers, whose members hailed from every planet in the alliance, and whose mission was to patrol within and outside the borders of their home, the galaxy the Earth humans...
2021-11-0537 min
StoryfeatherHow I Defeated the DevourerIt starts off dark, and all I hear is a low, subtle pulsing. Not as rhythmic and steady as a heartbeat, but more like, the whooshing and sloshing of a washing machine. Then I can make out the clicking. Click, click, click. Multiplied. Click, click, clickclickclickclickclickclick. I see myself. And I am myself at the same time. My shoulders are drooped. I can hardly keep my eyes open. My skin feels warm, too warm. I see myself noticing the sound and raising his—my—head. My eyes move to the left and my head turns slightly, but then stops. I nee...
2021-10-2940 min
StoryfeatherApril Majus"What is that? On its head? Is that a hat or…a deformity?" "It's too hazy to see when it's in motion," I said. "We'll have to pause." "The lights are on. We can see everything. I thought he only comes when it's dark." "No, remember that mom who was taken when she was tucking her kid in. He was awake and his light was on." Jules and I were reviewing all of the preliminary evidence. I didn't want to keep looking at this video. Seeing a girl getting dragged away. Al...
2021-10-2238 min
StoryfeatherThe Incident of the ImpA kid…in a costume. It had to be. Still, it was frightening. To think I almost hit the poor little guy. Maybe it was a good thing that the costume was so good, so convincing. The sickly yellow glow-in-the-dark contacts. The pro-quality fang fixtures. That tail that almost looked as if it were whipping back and forth on its own. I thought it was some animal I'd almost hit. That would have been bad enough. If I'd known it was a kid, I might have panicked and lost control of the car. Maybe I wo...
2021-10-1539 min
StoryfeatherThe Hunter and the CryptHe wore not a scrap of clothing as he lay on the grimy dirt within the coffin, so I could see that his entire body bore a ghastly green pallor. His toes and fingers were abnormally long and thin, and the toes even seemed to taper to points as the nails had grown back deformed. His ears too were long and tapered. The serene and contented smile on his face struck me as obscene. She was watching from afar. She insisted on watching. And though her brother was with her, giving her comfort, and though s...
2021-10-0830 min
StoryfeatherChemoimaginationAchievement Unlocked: 200th Episode! "Marisela!" Rigo cried out and Marisela came running into the boys' bedroom. He was standing before the left side of his bed, shining a flashlight on both the bed and the wall behind it. Alex stood beside him, speechless, clutching the cuff of Rigo's sleep shorts. With the lights off, the only thing easily visible was the part of the thing that his flashlight illuminated. Something dark and dangerous is growing inside the wall next to one little boy's bed. Genre: Horror Tags: A...
2021-10-0155 min
StoryfeatherGoodhorse Manor"We only allow guests to stay in the master suite for one night. Any longer than that and some begin to experience issues with their health." "Psychological issues, you mean?" "Indeed, Mister Rattus." The manor's keeper and their guide through the tour of the grounds, Mr. Wildschwein bowed his head to the reporter and glanced at the rest of the tour-guest group. The believers, as he thought of them. Even the ones who deemed themselves skeptical. There was the mysterious and bespectacled Ms. Kapik who lingered in the back; Mr. and Mrs. Mouflon, t...
2021-09-241h 09
StoryfeatherGreat PersidainThey all watched as the one called Yellowjaws was taken to the edge of the arena. He limped from a vicious gash along his lower left leg that still seemed to be seeping blood. His long fur was matted with blood, dust, and his own thick spittle. He stopped and turned to them. He had been neither loved nor reviled. In that moment, he was—by most—envied. For as they watched, the fur fell away from his form, leaving behind pale brown skin that would certainly darken to a natural bark brown under the sun. His snout, along with...
2021-09-1058 min
StoryfeatherThe Door Beneath the Desert"Mars, help me. Help me, Mars." Betty Garimonde wasn't dead. Mars could see the slight rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. Her body was so frail that when he lifted it, it felt as if all her substance were gone, and he was only lifting her skin and her bones. The light, not just sunlight, but even the light of the torches, seared her skin, so that Mars had to keep her covered from head to toe with a cloth. She looked even more so like a corpse when he did. Maybe she was c...
2021-09-0357 min
StoryfeatherMynotragonWe are not deserters. We are not thieves. But we have been named as such by the imperial navy. We are hunted by the ships we once called our allies. The empress gave our captain a precious treasure as a gift. It was but a gesture. In truth, the treasure belongs to the empire, as all things do. Our captain has taken it. The warship Mynotragon. The figurehead of a naval ship that has served its empire for five generations of rulers hides a dishonorable secret. Or so sayeth the legend. G...
2021-08-2754 min
StoryfeatherThe Daring MacAllisters"We know where it is. We've known for a while. We just can't get to it. It would require some fairly fancy flying." The secretary crossed his arms and gazed at the faces of the officials surrounding him. "Then what are we still waiting for? Let's throw some Mac n' Cheese at it," the old general said, cracking a pistachio and adding the shells to the napkin he had neatly laid on the conference table. The secretary smiled wryly. "Based on their scores, that's exactly what we'll be doing." The MacAllister b...
2021-08-2047 min
StoryfeatherThe Fly Upon My MantelNote of caution for sensitive listeners: This episode contains descriptions of a fly being harmed. "I have a story to tell you that you will not believe," the fly said. I listened. Because if I believed that a fly could speak, then I was more than ready to hear what she had to say. And I did believe, after a fashion, when I realized that the tiny voice I'd heard whispering my name was coming from the fly that was perched on the edge of my mantel. It is n...
2021-08-1343 min
StoryfeatherMarv and the Ghost SharkThis is what we wanted. This is what we feared. Encountering new life. Endangering our lives. These were some of the last words I heard from my mother on the last transmission from Marv. It was difficult to watch from afar. Not even to watch. To wait. To wonder. It helped me to write the reports. To smooth out all the roughness, pare down all the inessential, and restrain all the rawness from the contents of the data packets that the crew sent before that last transmission. When I saw my mother as...
2021-08-0639 min
StoryfeatherNerochromaIn the heart of our galaxy, there abides a supermassive black hole. One of the grand mysteries of our age, and of the last age, and the one before. We call it the ultimate ocean, but with its relentlessly swirling energies, it is more like a monstrous whirlpool. We seek to know what lies in its mysterious exotic depths. Depths that are protected by an unforgiving mouth, slurping matter as a person would slurp a noodle soaked in broth. A mouth lined with spinning molecular razor-teeth that can shear those noodles of matter into subatomic soup.
2021-07-3026 min
StoryfeatherThe Stratus Class DirigiblesWhen I first arrived in the desert city, raw and untried, eyes wide with wonder, heart filled with longing, and head filled with air just like the myriad dirigibles that crowded the skies, I could never have imagined where my path would lead me. The dirigibles of the desert city transport goods, residents, and visitors; but only one class of airship can take its passengers to the city's most treasured and mysterious locale. Genre: Fantasy Tags: Absolute Zero, airship, desert city, dirigible, Horizon, Stratus CREDITS ...
2021-07-2333 min
StoryfeatherSword of the Giant Wizard"There is no cure," the baker said as she peered into the mage's eyes. Around the table with them sat the renowned warrior and the titan merchant. Everyone at the table, the mage included, were trying not to appear as awed as they felt in the warrior's presence. And everyone at the table was trying not to make it obvious that the titan's four well-muscled arms were taking up all the space. He shifted his right upper arm, the one that the mage noted was tattooed with the mark of the merchant's guild, and knocked over an...
2021-07-1653 min
StoryfeatherThe Fairy Between Light and DarkShame and sorrow were to be her lot in life. The legacy given to her and the legacy she herself would pass on. Endora was born below the earth in a realm so little thought of that it had no name. That was why the many peoples who lived there took such care with and pride in their own names. "Endora" meant "light." Oftentimes, her name was the only light in the cozy but humble hollow where she and her family made their home. Endora must prove worthy of marrying a fairy lord b...
2021-07-0946 min
StoryfeatherSix Fools and the DragonSix fools ran from the dragon's fire, but only one of them was her husband. There was the wizard in blue robes with a green-jeweled magic staff. There was the armored knight who bore a shield that guarded against flame. There was the jungle barbarian and the mystical fire-cat. There was the sprightly archer. And then there was the mustachioed scoundrel, who had assembled them all. His beloved wife had been lost to an enchantment, an enchantment that was impossible to break. Impossible, that is, for a single man, even if he were a devoted spouse.
2021-07-0255 min
StoryfeatherThe Captain's Creature"Captain!" Marlowe yelled out. The coils of the grasping tentacle slid past each other, tightening their grip around Santi's waist. That was when I knew. In the midst of chaos, with half the crew—swords and daggers drawn—converging on the barrel where Santi had been hiding, with the ship trapped in the grip of a whirlpool, with the hull shattering from the force of those monstrous tentacles, when I heard Marlowe speak that word, that was when I knew that all my suspicions were true. The captain has departed, a strange passenger has b...
2021-06-2558 min
StoryfeatherXimrahetSome years—not every year—fierce winds blow from the north, and the old folk mutter about the ride of the indestructible king. And they cast about their narrow-eyed glances at those who might have summoned such winds, by taking something they shouldn't have. The tale is not such an old one. Here it is told. Nothing could harm the indestructible Ximrahet, until the day an enemy discovered his greatest weakness. Genre: Fantasy, Mythology Tags: Esdronan, gift, last spell, Mosrueph, Nittriyam, Ximrahet CREDITSStory: "Ximr...
2021-06-1841 min
StoryfeatherThe Midvale ExperimentThere was something about this particular story of extraterrestrial abductions in a sleepy little town where nothing usually happened that struck me as… curious. So when Barbara Keysmith contacted my office and told me that she had some details to share that she hadn't shared with the authorities, I was already primed to answer her call. Residents of the quiet town of Midvale are vanishing, and one reporter uncovers a cause even more astounding than alien abductions. Genre: Science Fiction Tags: Barbara Keysmith, Dr. Barnes, extra...
2021-06-1148 min
StoryfeatherTranenbloud IslandShortly before the world lost contact with Tranenbloud Island, the research team reported that an islander and a member of the team had gone missing, a man and a woman. Both were later found dead and with their reproductive organs missing, presumably devoured. A few days after that, all communication from the island ceased. Captain Rosemere and his strike team are up against an enemy to which both science and legend ascribe unsettling powers. Genre: Horror, Science Fiction Tags: briefer, Captain Rosemere, elder, islander, luna, plesiosaur, Polly, psychic spe...
2021-06-0447 min
StoryfeatherThe Makriazaton Mechanism"There were people who once knew how to harness energies that we haven't yet discovered, or rather, rediscovered," Dr. Taisho said as she strapped the leathery cuff around his right wrist. "They did so by learning about the world around them and building tools to understand and then use the forces and energies they observed. Wars and calamities overcame the world and most of the knowledge and the tools were destroyed or lost. There are those in the present time who are trying to regain that knowledge. They are finding some of the tools and devices and testing them...
2021-05-2853 min
StoryfeatherDragons of VeranderingThere are flames in the distance. There is a dragon in the distance. We must ride out to meet him. It is said that the first dragon was born of hatred. And all of the things that follow hatred. Envy and greed. Bloodlust. It is said that the first dragon was born from a person, right here in this very village. It is said that the first dragon was born of a curse. A curse that was meant to save, for some curses can save. A traveler is given a blessing a...
2021-05-2143 min
StoryfeatherThe Terrible Mallard"You must be Captain Vasquez." "And why, madam, do you presume that?" "Because judging from their expressions, none of the people at this table believe a word you're saying…but they're all listening anyway because the story is just that captivating." Captain Vasquez glanced around the crowded table and smiled. She believed in her tales with such confidence that it did not matter whether anyone else did or not. She believed because they were true, mostly. The tale of the spineless cater-monkey was certainly true. An explorer vessel searches for...
2021-05-1451 min
StoryfeatherHow the Troubadours Came To BeWhen the lay was finished, the troubadour smiled and bowed. He blew a stray lock of his rosy hair out of his eyes and asked the gathered crowd, "What story would you hear? Tell me." The old man brought forth a coin to ask for a story. The troubadour said, "No, no. I have set out no vessels for receiving gifts, as you can see. There is no cost excepting the time that you take to stand and listen, if you will." Wandering storytellers are known as troubadours, and they come b...
2021-05-0755 min
StoryfeatherThe Quest of Nine Days"Is it me, or does it look like it's breathing?" Raj placed a hand on his pointed cap to keep it from falling off as he looked up the trunk of the most immense tree he had ever seen in his life. It would probably take fifty kids to stand around it and hold hands to surround the trunk. He gulped. Meg was right. It did look like it was breathing. Maybe it was just because of how big it was. Looking up at it was dizzying. That might have been what was making the tree look...
2021-04-3056 min
2021-04-2401 min
StoryfeatherMy Homunculus Is MalfunctioningI could feel it, shifting around in my chest, as I waited for the on-call doctor to respond. The doctor's badge indicated that he didn't have one, so I didn't think he would understand, but as I began to speak, to describe what had been happening to me over the past few weeks, his questions and observations revealed that he understood quite well. And he came to this conclusion. My homunculus was malfunctioning. The complex implant that tempers one man's pathological emotions is exhibiting signs of "adverse reactions." Genre: Sc...
2021-04-2345 min
StoryfeatherThe Feast of ParavirneoThe king opened his eyes and found himself seated at the long table in the castle's dining hall. As he watched, platters and tureens began to appear, filled with steaming and fragrant food. Favorite dishes materialized before the chair in which would sit the one who favored them. A large bowl of fruit appeared before the seat that the queen's favorite friend would occupy. Stews appeared at the far end of the table, where the king's scholars sat. A tower of sweet rolls appeared in the middle of the table, where the young knights would be seated.
2021-04-1645 min
StoryfeatherForsaken DeepWe have conquered deep space, they said. There is nothing at the bottom of our own seas that could be of any worth, they said. But there are always voices of dissent. And there is always something of worth in the places that are beyond our sight, beyond our reach. It just depends on your definition of what is worth it. Humanity has conquered the stars but has yet to solve the mysteries of the sea. Genre: Science Fiction Tags: Forsaken Deep, Forsaken Four, pelagonaut, Pontus Deep, Project Forsaken, Project...
2021-04-0937 min
StoryfeatherProfessor GadstonSpencer frowned at the professor's curious claim, and glanced at their two guides. Their guides were men of the jungle, courageous and calm, but among the youngest and least experienced of their people. They would be treated as heroes if they returned from the expedition. But they had not been expected to return. From several yards away, they eyed the golden-bronze idol with as much caution and suspicion as Professor Gadston did. Professor Gadston embarks on one last expedition before he retires, an expedition from which he does not expect to return. Genre: F...
2021-04-0233 min
StoryfeatherThe Purple Dust MineHe lifted the dog, her tongue lolling in the mild heat of the summer evening, and placed her on the truck bed. Nico peered at her. "If I left you at home, you'd escape and come after me, and get hit by traffic or something. This way at least, if things don't go as planned, Dad will find you in the morning. Maybe…the others too." He rubbed her head, tousled her ears, and bent down to kiss her head. A small mining crew is tasked with finding something atypical in the...
2021-03-261h 00
StoryfeatherSummoner of ClownsJoanie loved her gramps, but she most certainly did not love clowns. Still, as she sat against the wall of the playroom that her grandfather had made for her, she held onto the little clown doll with the dark fuzzy hair at the sides of his head, the tiny purple hat on his bald head, the blue shirt, and the red pants, and the ever-smiling face. She waited for him to answer her questions. Growing up, Joanie learns a lot from her grandfather, about their family's eerie history with sadness, laughter…and clowns....
2021-03-1936 min
StoryfeatherThe Fortunate Little LeafOnce upon a time, a town that sat nestled near the foot of a mountain, surrounded by forest evergreen, ran out of food and fuel in the midst of a deadly winter. They were not poor, the people of this town. They were not foolish with their provisions. The winter had just lasted far longer than any in the realm had expected. Every season of that year was winter. Many perished. Shadowy spirits called the umbra hold back winter and famine from the town, but they did so at the cost of the town's soul. N...
2021-03-1257 min
StoryfeatherThe Riddle of HyperionAn ancient people with great potential built a glorious thing before they succumbed to corruption, fell into ruin, and vanished from the world. One person may have stumbled upon the forgotten creation of an ancient people who erased their very existence from all records. Genre: Mystery, Horror Tags: giant, glorious thing, Hyperion, worm CREDITSStory: "The Riddle of Hyperion" Copyright © 2017 by Nila L. Patel Episode Art: "Hyperion Found" Copyright © 2017 by Sanjay Patel Narration and Editing: Nila L. Patel Music: "Trip-Hop...
2021-03-0534 min
StoryfeatherStromascopeIn the suddenly dimmed room full of seated strangers, I heard subdued coughs, the click of a heel, the crack of a knuckle, and the hushed hiss of fabric shifting against fabric or against the hard plastic chairs. The room brightened from the front, where the image slowly appeared and came into focus, radiant white and familiar. Gasps and murmurs rippled through the room as eyes adjusted to the monotone image and grasped the subtle sight of the unexpected. They meant to "build a better x-ray machine," but their stromascope can see beyond f...
2021-02-2632 min
Talks By Nila!Just love your weirdness🗒️✨ by Nila KSHello people...I'm NILA KS I hope you enjoy my Podcast🌞Keep supporting and encouraging me because I need it🥂Start your perfect day!! Muy feliz diá Gracias Hasta pronto posible mañana❤️
2021-02-2405 min
StoryfeatherThe Mirror of DisplacementPerhaps centuries from now, medicine will be able to restore what was lost from injuries such as his. But now, I must turn to practices arcane. Clara sighed as she watched the ink dry. She sat in the dim basement of the home she shared with her husband, who was working in his office upstairs. It was a chilly autumn day. Yet the basement was temperate. She dipped her quill into the well and continued. With arcane knowledge, a woman builds and tests a device that she hopes will heal her husband's maimed l...
2021-02-1957 min
Talks By Nila!Happy Minutes With Me by Nila KS🧁✨Hai I'm NILA KS and Indian citizen...This is my podcast episode gallery...and I hope you all like this...Forgive me if I made any mistakes. Keep supporting and stay tuned for more episodes...Muy feliz diá Gracias✨🌸✨
2021-02-1505 min
StoryfeatherGiant's OverlookThe two cozied up on the bench seat of the red convertible, parked on a bluff that overlooked the glittering city below. "Thanks for letting me drive her," Raul said. "Him." "What?" Maya grinned and reached out to pat the dashboard. "My baby's a boy." Maya's boyfriend shares the origin of the mysterious monument that sits upon his secret spot. Genre: Mystery Tags: Maya, Mike Riley, monument stone, pale giant, Prospero, Raul, red convertible CREDITS Story: "Giant's Overlook...
2021-02-1238 min
StoryfeatherAmphora IncarnateThere are people in this world worth saving. Zoe repeated the mantra to herself as she gingerly pulled the sheet away from the skin of her back. Her back was aching, itching, burning, roiling, and writhing. There are people in this world worth saving, she thought to herself again. There are people in this world worth saving. Zoe is a living amphora, a human vessel for knowledge or power that should be unknowable to her… Genre: Fantasy, Mythology Tags: amphora, lion, serpent, Sophia, tattoo, vessel, Zoe
2021-02-0531 min
StoryfeatherPrisoners of SpiralThe first sound that either one of them heard as they woke was the scraping of a chain on the stone floor. After a few heartbeats of stunned silence, they both remembered what had happened to bring them there. They both looked at each other. The erpon spoke first, believing that the human child would need some comfort. He asked the boy's name, and the boy answered, "Cor." "Demetrius," the erpon soldier said, placing a hand upon his chest. A human boy and an erpon soldier are imprisoned by a wizard a...
2021-01-3047 min
StoryfeatherGliese on EarthI reached out to the meteorite, a rocky mass with atypical glowing purple patches, knowing it might be the last thing I ever did on Earth. It didn't crash. It landed. It landed in a specific place. Right in the middle of a major metropolitan area. Before an astronaut sets out on his first mission to explore space, space comes down to greet him. Genre: Science Fiction Tags: alien, Cas, Earth, Gliese, Jason Darego, meteorite, astronaut CREDITS:Story: "Gliese on Earth" C...
2021-01-2355 min
StoryfeatherThe Watchers of the Western Observatory"It is a cold and vast realm to which I cast my distant eye," the professor said, as he entered the western observatory, still dressed in his night-clothes. "And it was a warm and welcoming realm from which you pulled that eye." He turned to face his apprentice. "This had better be good, Geoffrey. I was enjoying a scrumptious dream." A professor and his apprentice direct their telescope to the one place they are forbidden to watch…the skies. Genre: Fantasy Tags: Boundary Wall, Director, Geoffrey, Ismal, Prof...
2021-01-1646 min
StoryfeatherAge Upon Age of Frozen Sleep"Welcome to Melville Island, Doctor." "Thank you, Agent. Is it a heartbeat? That's the last I heard. But that was hours ago." On an uninhabited Arctic island, something is stirring beneath the permafrost… Genre: Horror, Mystery, Science Fiction Tags: Arctic, envoy, Ivar, Melville Island, report, sleeping, Straw CREDITS:Story: "Age Upon Age of Frozen Sleep" Copyright © 2016 by Nila L. Patel Episode Art: "Arctic Sand" Copyright © 2016 by Sanjay Patel Narration and Editing: Nila L. Patel Music: "Trip-Hop Lounge A...
2021-01-0927 min
StoryfeatherFanfaronnadeThe baker and the blacksmith were gathered around the inn's fireplace on a frozen blustery night. The fire was roaring and the wooden pillars from which the inn was built were stout and sturdy. Yet with every patron who entered, a sweep of snow and a shock of chill air barged in. It was late, and most patrons had retired to their rooms. But some remained in the common room, finishing the last of their hot mead or a late meal. Or hoping that the innkeeper would overlook it if they fell asleep by the hearty fire instead of...
2021-01-0240 min
StoryfeatherBreninglas"I should go first," Azi whispered, wiping his brow and adjusting his cap in one movement. It was unnaturally warm in the dragon's den. The little brown mouse, standing on her hind legs beside him, twitched her whiskers. "You're too big. She'll hear you, and she'll smell you. We've already decided. Why do you waver?" The two were hidden behind a large boulder on the other side of which was a great sleeping dragon. A brown mouse and an apprentice spell-caster brave the den of the red dragon to see what s...
2020-12-2639 min
StoryfeatherThe Fall of the Mirror-GodIf we break the mirror barrier, we would have even greater control over the transformations between matter and energy than ever before. For this knowledge, we humbly ask our new friends from beyond the known stars. The only worthy god is a fallen god. Because a fallen god must walk the mortal path. Only a fallen god can be stung by nettles, or lashed by biting winds, or blistered by fire, or embraced by the love of a stranger. A lost legend is found, and with it, wonders and powers that lie between o...
2020-12-1940 min
StoryfeatherUnstable StonesCell phone cameras don't work for many miles outside of the perimeter that the common lore has designated the "certain death zone" (or CDZ). A photographer of the unusual is shaken by something in his latest photos that he has never seen before. What does he see? Find out in this episode. Genre: Mystery CREDITS Story: "Unstable Stones" Copyright © 2016 by Nila L. Patel Episode Art: "SF_WK5" Copyright © 2016 by Sanjay Patel Narration and Editing: Nila L. Patel ...
2020-12-1229 min
StoryfeatherThe Seeds of Many WorldsHis person was bare of any adornment save the many rings that he wore on his fingers, and when he folded those fingers together and laid them on the table, the stones upon the rings aligned as if they were the very planets in my home system. "They were worlds once," the man, the merchant, said, locking me in a gaze that seemed to vibrate from his carnelian-colored eyes, "before they fell into decay, and then just…fell." The precious stone a captain is tasked with retrieving may be just a jewe...
2020-12-0538 min
StoryfeatherThe Legend of LampaneerIt is said that just before a child is born, he is given every gift a person can possess in life. But those gifts attract the attention of evil and greedy beings, who always steal them away one by one. Every child manages to grasp hold of at least one gift so tightly that it cannot be stolen before the child is born. Evil stalks the eastern forest. Evil abides in the capital. Only one person can stop it. Genre: Fairy Tale CREDITS Story: "The Legend...
2020-11-2857 min
StoryfeatherDetective DayThe visions. I'd had them all my life. They're tricky to read, like tarot cards. Vague sometimes, like dreams. When I was a kid, I would tell my mom, and she had this way of pretending it was normal while still keeping it secret. By the time I became aware that my ability was unique, I knew how to hide it. I started to teach myself how to control it, and soon enough, how to use it. A young detective has the uncanny ability to see into the core of a person. Genre...
2020-11-2143 min
StoryfeatherThe Queens of Silk and AppleThe kingdom was renowned for the quality of their spider silk thread and the many textiles that were made from it, gowns, cloaks, rope, and even armor. The reason for the quality and abundance of the silk was a large, but benign, spider that lived only, it seemed, in the kingdom named for it, Tortanak. Lucine's mother mastered spider silk and her stepmother mastered apples. To save herself and her kingdom, she too will need a talent to master. Genre: Fairy Tale CREDITS Story: "The Queens of Sil...
2020-11-141h 07
StoryfeatherTitan MatterThe secret ingredient in the biomaterial that had been used to treat, to cure, to advance the five volunteers lying in one of the most advanced burn wards in the world, was neither love nor magic. But anyone might have thought so, the way the stuff brought those folks back to life. A scientist invents an extraordinary biomaterial that can protect humans from the ravages of space travel, but the price for unlocking its potential is far too high. Genre: Science Fiction CREDITS Story: "Titan Matter" Copyright © 2016 by Ni...
2020-11-0739 min
StoryfeatherThe House Where Emmeline SleptThe surveyors found it when they went looking for a spot to put up a commercial office building. It was almost intact. Only the roof was partially collapsed. The basement was filled with dirt. There were unusual scorch marks on the walls and floors of almost every room of the sixteen-room house. Unusual in that they didn't seem to be caused by fire. The ceilings of each room—and only the ceilings—were covered with vines that once must have been ropey but in the present were petrified to the hardness of a twigs and branches. Sur...
2020-10-3142 min
StoryfeatherThe Curse of the Gray HungerThree beautiful sisters were they, in those days. They had eyes the color of jade with shades of honey flecked within. They had hair like golden silk. Their lovely smiles were made lovelier still by their dazzling white teeth. As might be expected with beauty so bold, they were envied by many. They were coveted by many. Their mother fretted and feared over that envy and longing. She did not want to lock up her daughters for fear of the world. But one day, her fears came true. Three sisters are cursed by a jilted suitor by...
2020-10-2434 min
StoryfeatherEsmerelda AuricleShe had told the police, of course. But she hadn't told them the whole truth. They wouldn't have believed her if she did. They wouldn't have filed the police report that she hoped would scare people away from buying the house after she discovered that something sinister had already claimed it. Perhaps if she'd known that some detectives were open to ideas so out of the box, they were out of the reality in which that box existed, she would have tried to work with such a detective. Maybe that couple would still be alive.
2020-10-1746 min
StoryfeatherRed Hat, Red CloakThe man in the long dark maroon coat swept toward Mick. The visit was expected, but not at that hour. Mick thought the man would show up the next day. That was, in fact, why he was in the lab at that late hour in the first place. He wanted to get some things done so he would have time for the new project that his boss had dropped on him that day. Said new project being the man in the dark maroon coat. Beware the magician. At dawn, he wakes. Beware, beware, for your heart he...
2020-10-1044 min
StoryfeatherThe Smiling FishwifeOnce, there was a fisherman who was dissatisfied with his wife because she was always complaining and frowning. The fisherman's miserable wife never smiled, but once she began, her smile hid a fantastic secret. Find out what that secret is in this episode. Genre: Fairy Tale CREDITS Story: "The Smiling Fishwife" Copyright © 2016 by Nila L. Patel Narration, Editing, Episode Art: Nila L. Patel Music: "Trip-Hop Lounge Abstract Background" by Digital Emotions (Intro/Outro) Music by TR...
2020-10-0338 min
StoryfeatherThe Guardians of GorgulyaIt happened like this. On the first morn, the children who typically woke first anyway, began their day without knowing anything was amiss. As the morning hours passed, more and more children woke to a strangely quiet town. More and more children found their grown guardians still slumbering: mothers, fathers, grand-folks, aunts, uncles, teachers, trade masters, even the town leaders. Even some of those who had just passed over the cusp of adulthood, like Sig's older brother. All were asleep and could not be roused. The children tried shaking, shouting, dousing with water, pricking and pinching. Nothing worked.
2020-09-261h 07
StoryfeatherThe Phantom and the ImaginaryHis best friend insisted that he go see a therapist. Jorge was surprised and disappointed because his buddy was a believer in unusual phenomena, and if there was anyone who wouldn't think he was off his rocker, it would be Bradley. But he said they had to be sure it wasn't all in Jorge's head. They had to be sure, despite the demonstration Jorge had provided, that there really was something otherworldly going on. Jorge Montoya has developed an unusual condition. He feels the presence of missing limbs where there shouldn't be any limbs at all. ...
2020-09-1838 min
StoryfeatherThe Accountant of BreathsAfter death, some souls go to reward and some to punishment. Then there are the ones who just need to do some "community service" to atone for minor wrongs. Joe is a spirit tasked with counting the breaths of the living, but his new apprentice isn't content with just counting. Genre: Fantasy CREDITS Story: "The Accountant of Breaths" Copyright © 2016 by Nila L. Patel Narration, Editing, Episode Art: Nila L. Patel Music: "Trip-Hop Lounge Abstract Background" by Digital...
2020-09-1139 min
StoryfeatherThe First Days of Moonlight"We're fascinated by cats, aren't we? Cats on the internet. Pictures, videos, memes. Cats in our homes. Ancient civilizations shaped statues of cats out of gold, ebony, and bronze. They have been associated with magic, with evil. They sometimes seem aloof and uncaring. Sometimes charming and playful. Sexy. Dangerous. Mysterious." The man in the cerulean blue suit at the front of the lecture hall paused. "Cats." Cats…so mysterious. One minute they care about humans. The next minute they don't. An ancient myth might shed some light on this mystery. A rare myth about how...
2020-09-0542 min
StoryfeatherThe Waters Are DeepI wasn't afraid it would hurt me on purpose. But I was afraid of it in that way that one is afraid of a mountain or a dark forest, or any force of nature that is immense and unknowable. Mira is a contract field investigator, and her job is to investigate the strange and the otherworldly. When planning her vacation, she stumbles upon something even stranger than a ghost, alien, or fairy. What is it that she's found? You can find out in this episode. Genre: Fantasy Story...
2020-08-2956 min
StoryfeatherThe Singing KingEver since humanity has taken to the sky, there have been forces at play that seek to bring us back down to the earth. And forces at play that aim to keep us airborne. The Chief Engineer of a ship on a mission of exploration discovers deliberate malfunctions and a surprising source of sabotage. Find out what the engineer discovers and what it means in this episode. Genre: Fantasy, Science Fiction CREDITS Story: "The Singing King" Copyright © 2016 by Nila L. Patel Music...
2020-08-2245 min