Moby’s Beautiful is a wonderfully twisted skewering of the party crowd, done at a key party with a bunch of people in animal mascot suits. It’s like a furpile on the set of Boogie Nights. The poor rabbit guy is reminiscent of William H. Macey’s character in that film.

There were cries of “fursecution” when it came out, how everyone thought he was making fun of furries. In truth it looks pretty obvious that it doesn’t have anything to do with the fandom. Instead it’s using the suits to create a cartoonish scene and an interesting take on anthropomorphism. They used the costumes to good effect here, playing on the lack of good facial expressions, to heighten the surreal drama.

While it doesn’t have any animal characters in it, the story makes good use of anthropomorphism. The computer AI is an intriguing and disturbing character which allows atrocities to be carried out first by passive limitations of  its programming and then actively with dark experimentation on the nature of the human condition.

Warning: Pseudopod is a horror podcast and the story has strong horror elements of the visceral and psychological, and is for fans of the genre and not for the faint of heart.

Ever since Saint Darwin returned with harvested seeds from an Egyptian bush that wouldn’t burn, golem constables have worked alongside human and ghost inspectors. They patrol England’s cobblestone streets together, keeping them safe from the monsters the patron saint of scientists exposed to the world. But when inanimate golems are being trafficked by a shadowy group of businessmen dressed up in wicked smiles and sharp teeth, it’s up to the Paranormal Patrol’s newest created member – Constable Lump – to go undercover in the gaslit night and learn where his missing brethren have vanished to, without sacrificing his newfound life getting the answers.

Balam the Aztec jaguar, who had been a proud prince, now finds himself a heretic hunted by the priests. He makes his escape into the night with a lowly coyote, running for his life in this tale of dark fantasy which mixes a historical setting with Mayan mysticism.

“The Crossroads” by Eric Hinkle

Read by Peter Katt

Sound effects from the FreeSound Project

gust of wind by Tony B kksm
moucho-I by galeku
nord analog howling wind storm by medialint
Rain30s by acclivity
StickCracks by CGEffex
Violent Storm by zimm
wingflap fast 2 by philberts

Music cues by Infinity Squared

Download or listen to the episode here.

Marsh Gods by Ann Leckie is in the same world as The Nalendar. Both tales deal with gods, usually in the form of animals or nature spirits, living amongst men, sometimes helping them, and always vying for their devotion. The world and the gods which inhabit them are fascinating, as our the rules governing the gods interactions with people. The stories are slightly mature due to some violence, but not more than would be seen on broadcast television.

I’ll Give In by Meghan McCarron is interesting tale of a woman meeting the new neighbor, a minotaur, and being tempted by the mythical stranger. It’s metaphor in the shape of a moving relationship drama with a fantasy twist. This story is more adult for including non-explicit sex.

Read by Peter Katt

Music elements by Infinity Squared

Download or listen to the episode here.

It has mature content due to bits of violence and horror imagery, but it also has some nice drama.