Phil Nichols - Bradburymedia

Thursday, February 26, 2026

Bradbury 100 returns - new episode!

Bradbury 100 returns for 2026 with another "Chronological" episode, this time starting us off with the year 1945. In this year, Ray published no fewer than thirteen stories.

In this episode, I cover the first four stories:

"The Poems" (Weird Tales, January 1945 - online here)
"I’m Not So Dumb!" (Detective Tales, February 1945 - no online version)
"Hell’s Half Hour" (New Detective, March 1945 - no online version)
"The Tombstone" (Weird Tales, March 1945 - online here)

There's a mixture here of two genres still favoured by Ray as a professional short story writer, namely the detective story and the weird tale; none of that science fiction stuff...

In my coverage of "The Poems", I also review Ray's "about the author" text which he supplied to Weird Tales magazine. It contains some interesting insights into his writerly process back when he was a mere twenty-four years old.

In future episodes of the podcast, I will review the remaining stories from 1945, including the two short stories called "Skeleton".

You can find the new pod episode using your podcast app, or through any of the podcast platforms listed at the bottom of this post.

Or you can simply click play, right here:

Bradbury 100 · Bradbury 100 - episode 73 - Chronological Bradbury 1945 (part 1)

Please subscribe to the Bradbury 100 podcast - it's totally free on all platforms. Where to find it:

Main platforms:

Apple Podcasts - Soundcloud - Spotify

Other platforms include:

Amazon Music - Audible - Castbox - Deezer - Fountain - Listen Notes - Player FM - Pocket Casts - Podbean - Podcast Addict - Podcast Index - Podcast Republic - Podchaser - Podfriend - Podlink - TuneIn - YouTube

Tuesday, February 17, 2026

Coming Soon - a new series of Bradbury 100 pods!

It's been a while, but my Bradbury 100 podcast is returning soon!

Starting on 26th February and appearing every two weeks, I'll be bringing you a variety of topics. What I have planned so far includes the Fahrenheit 451 (1966) movie, The Illustrated Man at 75(!), and more "Chronological Bradbury".

Now would be a good time to check your podcast app and make sure you're subscribed. You should find a little trailer there very soon (although I've also put it down below).

While you're at it, make sure you're following the pod on Facebook, here!

Here's the trailer:

Bradbury 100 · Bradbury 100 Returns Soon!

Please subscribe to the Bradbury 100 podcast - it's totally free on all platforms. Where to find it:

Main platforms:

Apple Podcasts - Soundcloud - Spotify

Other platforms include:

Monday, November 17, 2025

Mars is Heaven!

I've just guested on another podcast - Postcards from a Dying World - discussing Ray Bradbury's classic Martian Chronicles tale "Mars is Heaven!" (aka "The Third Expedition"). Postcards is (among other things) working through the stories in the seminal anthology called The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, edited by Robert Silverberg.

You can listen to the pod via any good podcast player, or play it from the players below. There's an audio version, and a YouTube video version. Take your pick!

Here's the video version:

Tuesday, October 21, 2025

Ray Bradbury - Theme Parks, Rides and Experiences

My own Bradbury 100 podcast is on hiatus at present, but I've just guested on the theme park podcast The Lowdown on the Plus-Up. I talk to the co-hosts about Ray Bradbury's involvement with Disney's Epcot and Disneyland Europe Projects, and Ray's creative work on various rides and experiences - everything from World's Fairs to planetarium shows.

Find the episode using your podcast app, or use this link:

https://www.lowdown-plus-up.com/2335588/episodes/18033314-the-true-story-of-ray-bradbury-and-theme-parks-with-dr-phil-nichols-or-pete-and-kelly-become-desperate-for-validation-and-call-an-expert

Part of our discussion is in response to a prior episode of the pod, which imagined that Ray's "Electric Time Maze" proposal had become a reality. You can listen to that prior episode here: https://www.lowdown-plus-up.com/2335588/episodes/17956594-ray-bradbury-s-theme-park-the-great-electric-time-maze

Thursday, September 04, 2025

New podcast episode: Chronological Bradbury 1944 (part 3 of 3)

The "Chronological Bradbury" strand of my Bradbury 100 series continues with the third and final look at the year 1944 - which sees Ray continue to dabble with crime fiction, but still turning his hand to SF and fantasy, completing the NINETEEN short stories he had published in that single year.

The most notable story of the batch is the timeless "The Jar", a creepy yet amusing fantasy set in the Lousiana swamps. Written when Ray was just 24 years old, it was a story which maintained a fascination for readers/listeners/viewers well into the 1990s and beyond.

Below, I provide links to most of the stories mentioned in this episode, in their original pulp appearances; these versions sometimes differ slightly from the versions in Ray's books.

Half-Pint Homicide - Detective Tales, November 1944
The Jar - Weird Tales, November 1944
It Burns Me Up - Dime Mystery, November 1944
Undersea Guardians - Amazing Stories, December 1944
Four Way Funeral - Detective Tales, December 1944 (no online version available)
Lazarus Come Forth - Planet Stories, Winter 1944

The last of these stories, "Lazarus Comes Forth" was already covered in detail in an earlier episode (no. 59) of this podcast, so the final part of this new podcast episode is repeated from that earlier episode.

And with this episode, Bradbury 100 takes a short vacation. But it will return later in 2025!

Bradbury 100 · Bradbury 100 - episode 72 - Chronological Bradbury 1944 (part 3)

Please subscribe to the Bradbury 100 podcast - it's totally free on all platforms. Where to find it:

Main platforms:

Apple Podcasts - Soundcloud - Spotify

Other platforms include:

Amazon Music - Audible - Bullhorn - Castbox - Deezer - Fountain - Listen Notes - Player FM - Pocket Casts - Podbean - Podcast Addict - Podcast Index - Podcast Republic - Podchaser - Podfriend - Podlink - TuneIn - YouTube

Friday, August 22, 2025

New podcast episode: Laurel and Hardy and Ray Bradbury!

Today is 22nd August - Ray Bradbury's birthday! He would have been 105 years young.

To celebrate, here's a new Bradbury 100 Live! in which I discuss Ray's favourite comedy act, Laurel and Hardy. Stan and Ollie turn up again and again in Ray's stories, and I've tracked down as many appearances as I can.

I decided to do this as a visual episode - hence the Bradbury 100 Live! tag - so you could see "the boys" in action, as well as see some of Ray's words as written.

HOWEVER... the occupational hazard of using movie clips within YouTube is that you get hit with copyright strikes, even if your use of said clips falls under "fair use"...

So right now, the visual version is not viewable in some parts of the world. I'll leave it below, but don't be surprised if you can't get it to work.

But right here is the AUDIO-ONLY version (very slightly modified) - and you can of course also pick it up with any decent podcast app.

Bradbury 100 · Bradbury 100 - episode 71 - Laurel & Hardy and Ray Bradbury

Please subscribe to the Bradbury 100 podcast - it's totally free on all platforms. Where to find it:

Main platforms:

Apple Podcasts - Soundcloud - Spotify

Other platforms include:

Thursday, August 07, 2025

New Podcast Episode: Chronological Bradbury 1944 (part 2)

Time for another podcast episode - another in my "Chronological Bradbury" strand, where I work through Ray Bradbury's stories in the order they were published.

This time, we continue with the year 1944, which sees Ray publishing a string of crime stories alongside the more familiar fantasy and science fiction tales.

As you will recall from last time, there are too many stories from 1944 for me to cover in a single episode, so this is the second of three episodes for 1944.

Here are the stories in this episode, with links to the original magazine appearances where they exist. (Some of this episode's stories are from rare magazines which have never appeared as online scans, so the only way you can read them is to seek them out in books! In the episode, I tell you which books the stories can be found in.)

Killer Come Back to Me
The Long Night
Yesterday I Lived
The Trunk Lady
Bang! You're Dead!
And Then - The Silence

As always, you can grab the episode using your podcast app of choice, or find it using any of the platforms listed at the bottom of this page - or play it right here. Enjoy!

Bradbury 100 · Bradbury 100 - episode 70 - Chronological Bradbury 1944 (part 2)

Please subscribe to the Bradbury 100 podcast - it's totally free on all platforms. Where to find it:

Main platforms:

Apple Podcasts - Soundcloud - Spotify

Other platforms include:

Thursday, July 24, 2025

New Podcast Episode: Chronological Bradbury 1944 (part 1)

Time for another podcast episode - and it's another in my "Chronological Bradbury" strand, where I work through Ray Bradbury's stories in the order they were published.

This time, we reach the year 1944, which sees Ray publishing "The Lake" - which he always said was the first "good" story that he ever wrote. It's also the year of "I, Rocket", the story which nabbed him a posthumous Retro Hugo Award for best short story of 1944.

There are too many stories from 1944 for me to cover in a single episode, so you can expect THREE episodes for the year in total. Here are the stories in this episode, with links to the original magazine appearances of all of them:

As always, you can grab the episode using your podcast app of choice, or find it using any of the platforms listed at the bottom of this page - or play it right here. Enjoy!

Bradbury 100 · Bradbury 100 - episode 69 - Chronological Bradbury 1944 (part 1)

Please subscribe to the Bradbury 100 podcast - it's totally free on all platforms. Where to find it:

Main platforms:

Apple Podcasts - Soundcloud - Spotify

Other platforms include:

Thursday, July 10, 2025

New Podcast Episode: Chronological Bradbury 1943 (continued)

Here's another new podcast episode, picking up the "Chronological Bradbury" thread once more, with the remaining Ray Bradbury stories which were first published in the latter part of 1943.

I cover five stories in this episode, completing the total of eleven stories Ray published in that year.

All of the stories are available online within archived copies of the original pulp magazines. Here are the stories and links:

Doodad (Astounding, September 1943)
And Watch the Fountains (Astounding, September 1943)
Promotion to Satellite (Thrilling Wonder Stories, fall 1943)
The Ducker (Weird Tales, November 1943)
King of the Gray Spaces (aka R is for Rocket) (Famous Fantastic Mysteries, December 1943)

In the following year (1944), Ray will publish a total of nineteen stories. That's a lot of stories, but he still won't have reached his peak of busy-ness!

Here's the new pod - or you can find it in your podcast app of choice. As always, there's a list of direct links to the pod on various platforms down below.

Bradbury 100 · Bradbury 100 - episode 68 - Chronological Bradbury 1943

Please subscribe to the Bradbury 100 podcast - it's totally free on all platforms. Where to find it:

Main platforms:

Apple Podcasts - Soundcloud - Spotify

Other platforms include:

Thursday, June 26, 2025

New Podcast Episode: "The Wind"

Here's a new episode of my Bradbury 100 podcast, something of a partner to the last episode where I looked at Ray Bradbury's stories from the year 1943. You may recall I talked about "The Wind".

Well, in this episode, I look at that story in more detail - and give a reading of the entire, original version.

What you will hear is the first-ever published version of the story, taken from Weird Tales magazine. This is before Ray re-wrote it for inclusion in his first book, Dark Carnival (1947).

Incidentally, the revised version of "The Wind" is the version you will find in all of Ray's books. After that Weird Tales appearance, Ray didn't give the original version any further outings.

Comparing the two versions is quite fun, and something of a lesson in how to improve a story by re-writing. After I've read the story, I give a comparison of the two versions.

If you want to read the story for yourself, you can find the Weird Tales issue online, here.

Here's the episode - and next time Bradbury 100 will be back to cover the rest of 1943!

Bradbury 100 · Bradbury 100 - episode 67 - "The Wind"

Please subscribe to the Bradbury 100 podcast - it's totally free on all platforms. Where to find it:

Main platforms:

Apple Podcasts - Soundcloud - Spotify

Other platforms include: