One of the podCasts I've been listening to is Escape Pod, "the Science Fiction Podcast magazine." Stephen Ely reads (or has someone else read) a new science fiction short story a few times a week. They're usually around a half hour long, though he also throws in "flash" fiction which can be as short as 5 minutes. Ely has also rebroadcast a couple of interviews that he's appeared on, but that's rare, and not the point of the podcast.
I don't remember any clunkers, and there have been a few really good stories. Some of the stories take standard settings or well-known situations and give them a new twist. I particularly liked Seamstress, which took another look at the work that gets done behind the scenes in order to keep a Fairy Godmother stocked with gossamer dresses, glass slippers, and tantalizing appetizers.
Ely's taste is consistently good, and his readers do a good job of animating the text. I haven't had to replay segments in order to hear what was going on, and any stumbling over words has been edited out very professionally. He's aiming for upbeat stories, since he expects a lot of his audience to be listening during their commute, and he doesn't want to leave us on a down note to start the day. It seems like he has hit the mark with this focus.
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