A mysterious delivery brings Joe Linger a device that can reshape reality itself — and suddenly the universe feels wide open. But with limitless power comes danger, curiosity, and a decision that will change his place in the cosmos forever. We’re Off to Mars! by Joe Gibson. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.

Joe Gibson, born in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1924, was a lifelong science fiction enthusiast who also worked as an illustrator, with his artwork appearing only in fanzines. Between 1948 and 1961, Gibson published roughly a dozen short stories, contributing quietly but steadily to the genre he loved. Today’s story was originally published in the September 1951 issue of Imagination, appearing on page 126 under the byline Carlton Furth, We’re Off to Mars! by Joe Gibson…

Next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, Drawn by a summons he does not understand, a solitary wanderer follows an old path back into forgotten places. What he finds there tests instinct, loyalty, and the cost of survival in a world shaped by human science. Keepers of the House by Lester del Rey.

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Far from help and beyond certainty, a returning astronaut confronts a problem that logic cannot solve. Survival depends on a forbidden experiment that could unlock impossible insight—or erase him completely. Last Resort by Stephen Bartholomew. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.

Whether you’ve been listening since day one or you’re just joining us now, we want to sincerely thank you for being part of The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast. In one short month, we’ll reach our 4th Anniversary, a milestone that still feels unreal, and we’ve set our sights on something extraordinary: Episode 500 on February 24, 2026, exactly four years after our very first episode went live.

Reaching that moment means pushing harder than ever, releasing nearly an episode every day over the next month, driven by a deep love for forgotten and underrated vintage science fiction—and by the listeners who made this journey possible. This milestone isn’t just ours; it belongs to everyone who pressed play, shared an episode, gave us a 5 star rating and review and kept these stories alive. Thank you!

An astronaut alone between Mars and Earth discovers a problem no computer can solve. Whether he makes it back to earth depends on him or does it? The publication Analog Science Fact - Science Fiction, the date April 1963 the page where it begins, 36, Last Resort by Stephen Bartholomew…

Next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, A mysterious delivery brings Joe Linger a device that can reshape reality itself — and suddenly the universe feels wide open. But with limitless power comes danger, curiosity, and a decision that will change his place in the cosmos forever. We’re Off to Mars! by Joe Gibson

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They took years to build the rocket and minutes to launch it, sending two ordinary men where others had vanished forever. Officially, it was a simple trip around the moon. Unofficially, it was a gamble born of desperation, pride, and a belief that ignorance might succeed where genius had failed. They Reached For The Moon by William Oberfield. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.

Before the Moon became a destination, it was only a dream—distant, untouchable, and forever beyond reach. Today, it’s easy to forget what an impossible idea space travel once was, no human would even orbit the earth for another 10 years after this story was written. No human being had ever seen the far side of the Moon until Apollo 8 circled it in December of 1968. For centuries, the Moon belonged to poets and storytellers—not astronauts.

Seventeen years earlier, in 1951, William Oberfield dared to imagine what had never been done. He wrote this story at a time when rockets were crude, computers barely existed, and spaceflight was a lot closer to fantasy than engineering. Yet Oberfield looked up and saw not mystery alone, but possibility.

Only four of William Oberfield’s stories were published, this was the last of them. From the November 1951 issue of Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy on page 80, They Reached For The Moon by William Oberfield…

Next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, Far from help and beyond certainty, a returning astronaut confronts a problem that logic cannot solve. Survival depends on a forbidden experiment that could unlock impossible insight—or erase him completely. Last Resort by Stephen Bartholomew.

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