The Opening of the Heart – FFP 0936

“RE: Theroid core shipment ++ Hypnos Protocol Addendum” by Chase Anderson Manawaker Patreon: https://patreon.com/manawaker/ Manawaker store: https://payhip.com/Manawaker Manawaker Discord: https://discord.gg/zjzA2pY9f9 More info / Contact CB Droege: https://cbdroege.taplink.ws The Flash Fiction Podcast Theme Song is by Kevin McCleod The Producer, Editor, and Narrator of the podcast is CB Droege Bio for this weeks author: Chase is a weird, queer, digital storyteller who writes weird, queer stories full of magic and monsters. He dropped out of chemical engineering to pursue a journalism degree and escape calculus. But, as he’s returned to school to study computer science and cybersecurity, he must face his old foe once again. He draws inspiration from biology, chemistry, novel attack vectors, and whatever his neurochemicals are up to today. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, where he wrangles spreadsheets and identifies his coworkers’ backyard birds. Find his writing and more at chasej.xyz

“The Coffee Pod” by Ayshan “Ash” Aliyeva Manawaker Patreon: https://patreon.com/manawaker/ Manawaker store: https://payhip.com/Manawaker Manawaker Discord: https://discord.gg/zjzA2pY9f9 More info / Contact CB Droege: https://cbdroege.taplink.ws The Flash Fiction Podcast Theme Song is by Kevin McCleod The Producer, Editor, and Narrator of the podcast is CB Droege Bio for this weeks author: Ayshan “Ash” Aliyeva is a 25-year-old researcher in neurogenetic psychiatry. Originally from Azerbaijan and now living in Germany, she’s an an alumna of Futurescapes 2025 and a member of Codex. Along with fiction, she has written science and philosophy communication articles for numerous magazines, such as The Collector. She loves all things mind-boggling and emotional (preferably at the same time).

“Unraveled” by Pauline Barmby Manawaker Patreon: https://patreon.com/manawaker/ Manawaker store: https://payhip.com/Manawaker Manawaker Discord: https://discord.gg/zjzA2pY9f9 More info / Contact CB Droege: https://cbdroege.taplink.ws The Flash Fiction Podcast Theme Song is by Kevin McCleod The Producer, Editor, and Narrator of the podcast is CB Droege Bio for this weeks author: Pauline Barmby is an astrophysicist who believes that you can’t have too many favorite galaxies. She lives in London, Canada and hopes to someday visit her namesake main belt asteroid, minor planet 281067. Her fiction has appeared in Analog, Utopia Science Fiction and the Year’s Best Canadian Fantasy and Science Fiction series. Find out more at her website, www.galacticwords.com.

“BetterMe” by Eric Fomley Manawaker Patreon: https://patreon.com/manawaker/ Manawaker store: https://payhip.com/Manawaker Manawaker Discord: https://discord.gg/zjzA2pY9f9 More info / Contact CB Droege: https://cbdroege.taplink.ws The Flash Fiction Podcast Theme Song is by Kevin McCleod The Producer, Editor, and Narrator of the podcast is CB Droege Bio for this weeks author: Eric Fomley’s fiction has appeared in Clarkesworld, Daily Science Fiction, and Flame Tree Press. More of his stories can be found on his website ericfomley.com, or in his collections, starting with Flash Futures.

“Candidate 1143172 cover letter: Junior pot scrubber” by Emma Burnett Manawaker Patreon: https://patreon.com/manawaker/ Manawaker store: https://payhip.com/Manawaker Manawaker Discord: https://discord.gg/zjzA2pY9f9 More info / Contact CB Droege: https://cbdroege.taplink.ws The Flash Fiction Podcast Theme Song is by Kevin McCleod The Producer, Editor, and Narrator of the podcast is CB Droege Bio for this weeks author: Emma Burnett is a researcher and writer. She has had stories in Nature:Futures, Mythaxis, Northern Gravy, Radon, Flash Fiction Online, Apex, Utopia, MetaStellar, Uncharted, Roi Fainéant, JAKE, and more. She’s pretty excited that her first book, Ex Partum, will be coming out in June 2026 with Atthis Arts.

“Stuck Above” by Jake Stein Manawaker Patreon: https://patreon.com/manawaker/ Manawaker store: https://payhip.com/Manawaker Manawaker Discord: https://discord.gg/zjzA2pY9f9 More info / Contact CB Droege: https://cbdroege.taplink.ws The Flash Fiction Podcast Theme Song is by Kevin McCleod The Producer, Editor, and Narrator of the podcast is CB Droege Bio for this weeks author: Jake Stein lives in Portland, Oregon, where he concocts strange tales on his laptop and spends too much time at Powell’s Books. His stories have appeared in Lightspeed Magazine, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Aurealis, Kaleidotrope, and lots of other awesome publications. You can occasionally find him fumbling around bluesky at jakeiswriting.bsky.social, or check out his other stories at storiesbystein.wordpress.com.

“Stuck Above” by Jake Stein Manawaker Patreon: https://patreon.com/manawaker/ Manawaker store: https://payhip.com/Manawaker Manawaker Discord: https://discord.gg/zjzA2pY9f9 More info / Contact CB Droege: https://cbdroege.taplink.ws The Flash Fiction Podcast Theme Song is by Kevin McCleod The Producer, Editor, and Narrator of the podcast is CB Droege Bio for this weeks author: Jake Stein lives in Portland, Oregon, where he concocts strange tales on his laptop and spends too much time at Powell’s Books. His stories have appeared in Lightspeed Magazine, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Aurealis, Kaleidotrope, and lots of other awesome publications. You can occasionally find him fumbling around bluesky at jakeiswriting.bsky.social, or check out his other stories at storiesbystein.wordpress.com.

“Discerning Magic” by Andrew Akers Manawaker Patreon: https://patreon.com/manawaker/ Manawaker store: https://payhip.com/Manawaker Manawaker Discord: https://discord.gg/zjzA2pY9f9 More info / Contact CB Droege: https://cbdroege.taplink.ws The Flash Fiction Podcast Theme Song is by Kevin McCleod The Producer, Editor, and Narrator of the podcast is CB Droege Bio for this weeks author: Andrew Akers is a forest ranger and fiction writer from Pennsylvania, USA. He is also a full SFWA member. His work has appeared in Book XI, The Daily Tomorrow, Metastellar, and many others. His debut novel, Tapestry, is expected in April, 2026. When he isn’t working or writing, Andrew runs marathons, plays Dungeons & Dragons, and raises his sons with his far more talented half, Kylie. More information about Andrew’s stories can be found at www.andrew-akers.com or facebook.com/AndrewAkersAuthor.

“A Silent Aria” by Sean MacKendrick Manawaker Patreon: https://patreon.com/manawaker/ Manawaker store: https://payhip.com/Manawaker Manawaker Discord: https://discord.gg/zjzA2pY9f9 More info / Contact CB Droege: https://cbdroege.taplink.ws The Flash Fiction Podcast Theme Song is by Kevin McCleod The Producer, Editor, and Narrator of the podcast is CB Droege Bio for this weeks author: Sean MacKendrick splits his time between Colorado and Texas. When not writing fiction he writes code as a software engineer. His stories have appeared in Drabblecast, Amazing Stories, and Nature.

“Repeat After Me” by GT Korbin Manawaker Patreon: https://patreon.com/manawaker/ Manawaker store: https://payhip.com/Manawaker Manawaker Discord: https://discord.gg/zjzA2pY9f9 More info / Contact CB Droege: https://cbdroege.taplink.ws The Flash Fiction Podcast Theme Song is by Kevin McCleod The Producer, Editor, and Narrator of the podcast is CB Droege Bio for this weeks author: GT Korbin is a queer, SFF-H author from Greece, currently living in Ireland to work in medical research. When she’s not writing, she likes to yell at fictional characters that aren’t her own for a change through playing video games. Her short stories have been previously published in the NoSleep podcast, Andromeda Spaceways, and various others.