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Short stories, tall ideas.....mythic to modern, grim to whimsical.

Sound Design by Brent Robison and Tom Newton.

Audio Engineering by Tom Newton.

Image above by Bryan Maloney.

The Strange Recital is also available on:  iTunes,  Soundcloud, Facebook,  TuneIn, YouTube, Spotify and iHeart Radio.

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Short stories, tall ideas.....mythic to modern, grim to whimsical.

Sound Design by:
Brent Robison and Tom Newton.

Audio Engineering by Tom Newton.

Image above by Bryan Maloney.

The Strange Recital is also available on:  iTunes, Soundcloud,  Facebook, TuneIn, YouTube and iHeart Radio.

Coming Soon

Two More Moments

by Tom Newton

Now Playing

How Lev Changed His Tune

How Lev Changed His Tune

Released on October 4 2026

Episode 26101

"Quitting cocaine was easier than quitting beer. It sounds like a faulty comparison, but it was true for me. Addiction affects individuals in different ways depending on their physiology. Even so, I was on the verge of turning my nostrils into Cream of Wheat, aka “nasal collapse.” Incidentally, Cream of Wheat was my favorite wintertime comfort breakfast as a child, with a pat of butter and a splash of maple syrup."

 

This excerpt from a longer story, both dark and funny, tracks a musician who may be hitting bottom. Can we kick our addictions without help from mysterious sources?
"Quitting cocaine was easier than quitting beer. It sounds like a faulty comparison, but it was true for me. Addiction affects individuals in different ways depending on their physiology. Even so, I was on the verge of turning my nostrils into Cream of Wheat, aka “nasal collapse.” Incidentally, Cream of Wheat was my favorite wintertime comfort breakfast as a child, with a pat of butter and a splash of maple syrup."

 

This excerpt from a longer story, both dark and funny, tracks a musician who may be hitting bottom. Can we kick our addictions without help from mysterious sources? 

Narrated by Mark Morganstern.

Narrated by Mark Morganstern.

E+P 1

Eustace and Parmenides

Released on September 6 2026

Episode 26091

"One rarely mentions them separately. They are practically a unit, Eustace and Parmenides. The pair rose to fantastic renown, their souls steeped in the labors of their calling. But what may have begun as fickle adventures in nocturnal prowling and curiosity about a bracing mystique hatched into a fateful career."

 

It seems that human nature has always included the urge for destruction. In a century long gone, a sinister partnership was formed by an obscure pair of kindred spirits. This is their story.
"One rarely mentions them separately. They are practically a unit, Eustace and Parmenides. The pair rose to fantastic renown, their souls steeped in the labors of their calling. But what may have begun as fickle adventures in nocturnal prowling and curiosity about a bracing mystique hatched into a fateful career."

 

It seems that human nature has always included the urge for destruction. In a century long gone, a sinister partnership was formed by an obscure pair of kindred spirits. This is their story.

Narrated by Tom Newton.

Narrated by Tom Newton.

girlie-audiobook

The Girlie Playhouse

Released on August 2 2026

Episode 26081

"Inside the Girlie Playhouse white afternoons are still discreetly extinguished in candlelit rooms, while outside the demonstrators have begun their second week. The street is lined with sleeping bags and coolers. Activists hoot and holler muddled slogans."

 

A newly published literary novel...but it's about strippers. Challenging genre stereotypes via nuance and complexity is always good. And what about feminism? Hear the author read and discuss her work.
"Inside the Girlie Playhouse white afternoons are still discreetly extinguished in candlelit rooms, while outside the demonstrators have begun their second week. The street is lined with sleeping bags and coolers. Activists hoot and holler muddled slogans."

 

A newly published literary novel...but it's about strippers. Challenging genre stereotypes via nuance and complexity is always good. And what about feminism? Hear the author read and discuss her work.

Narrated by V.N.Alexander.

Narrated by V.N. Alexander.

Jersey Bar

Dialogue Overheard in a Jersey Bar

Released on July 5 2026

Episode 26071

"How's your IPA?" "Not bad." "So...are your classes going okay?" "Well, yes and no. Are you finding that these students think differently than we did? It's like they take everything literally." "No sense of poetry or metaphor, you mean? I see the same thing with the math students. For instance, the idea of imaginary numbers."

 

Two men talking...but this is no normal conversation. Too many heady ideas. It's more like role-playing or something. Who are they, and what's going on?
"How's your IPA?" "Not bad." "So...are your classes going okay?" "Well, yes and no. Are you finding that these students think differently than we did? It's like they take everything literally." "No sense of poetry or metaphor, you mean? I see the same thing with the math students. For instance, the idea of imaginary numbers."

 

Two men talking...but this is no normal conversation. Too many heady ideas. It's more like role-playing or something. Who are they, and what's going on?

Narrated by Brent Robison and Tom Newton.

Narrated by Brent Robison and Tom Newton.

Fountain-audiobook

The Fountain

Released on June 7 2026

Episode 26061

"Vera is losing her grip on time. She’s been driving all night, for days even, she can’t say. She pulls over onto the shoulder of road next to the creek, her wheels rumbling across a muddy lump of plowed snow as she comes to a stop."

 

To be young forever...is it really what you want? In this excerpt from a new novel, a woman born in the Catskills over two hundred years ago returns to her home, seeking the source of her immortality. What could go wrong?
"Vera is losing her grip on time. She’s been driving all night, for days even, she can’t say. She pulls over onto the shoulder of road next to the creek, her wheels rumbling across a muddy lump of plowed snow as she comes to a stop."

 

To be young forever...is it really what you want? In this excerpt from a new novel, a woman born in the Catskills over two hundred years ago returns to her home, seeking the source of her immortality. What could go wrong?

Narrated by Casey Scieszka.

Narrated by Casey Scieszka.

The Burned Girl Image

The Burned Girl

Released on May 3 2026

Episode 26051

"I don’t remember how I heard about the burned girl. Probably it was my new friend Scot, with his spiritual leanings and whom I was seeing a lot of at that time, who told me. A new friend is useful in the kind of crisis that ensues when you are cutting your old life loose, or have had it cut loose for you."

 

A woman's intimately-told meditation on how empathy for another's suffering may be crucial in weathering personal trauma.
"I don’t remember how I heard about the burned girl. Probably it was my new friend Scot, with his spiritual leanings and whom I was seeing a lot of at that time, who told me. A new friend is useful in the kind of crisis that ensues when you are cutting your old life loose, or have had it cut loose for you." 

 

A woman's intimately-told meditation on how empathy for another's suffering may be crucial in weathering personal trauma.

Narrated by Lisa Starger.

Narrated by Lisa Starger.

To view and listen to past episodes of The Strange Recital, please visit our archives. Click the link below:

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