Listen on Apple Podcasts | Listen on Spotify | RSS Feed

Teen reading slumps to worst this century due to surge in screen time

They’re basically one year behind what you would expect for their age. That’s less than ideal

Older Adults Bond With AI Chatbots That Feel Genuine, Not Ones That Sound Human

I feel like that would be similar for any age group. People generally want things that are genuine. Especially these days. There’s no reason that can’t come from a chatbot

More Stories Below, but first some new content in the News Sidequest Podcast Universe…

Auditory Anthology

SCI-FI SHORT STORIES - NARRATED BY DARREN MARLAR & PRODUCED BY KEITH CONRAD

Gravit by K.C. Ozden - Ash has spent three days convincing a skeptical partner to search a stretch of empty ocean for a shipwreck he swears is carrying something impossible: cars made of a rare element the world thinks was mined to extinction decades ago. When their meter finally comes alive, it turns out Ash’s “story” might be worth more than either of them imagined.

Gravit by K.C. Ozden Keith Conrad / Darren Marlar Episode

Substack | Listen on Apple | Listen on Spotify | Listen on Amazon | RSS Feed

We love bringing you stories from listeners just like K.C. — if you’ve got a tale of your own itching to be told (sci-fi, horror, supernatural, or anything in between), we’d love to hear it. Submit your story at submissions.soundconceptmedia.com

Also Worth A Look…

• The Investor Who’s Convinced That Pokémon Cards Will Be Currency After an Apocalypse - Gotta catch ‘em all… or you won’t be able to get food. What’s another unlikely thing you’d like to see used as currency when society collapses? It would be really helpful for me if we could trade old XBox 360 games for food

• A Kentucky man with a meat allergy was craving a burger. So he got into ostrich farming - Modern problems require modern solutions

• B.C. teen chased by someone wearing Cat in the Hat costume, police investigating - That’s nightmare fuel. For entertainment value’s sake, I hope he was making whimsical, but vaguely threatening rhymes the whole time

• Michigan Man Uses Money From Returned Cans to Win $500,000 Lottery - Just in case you had some doubts that recycling pays off

• Watchdog set up Downing Street listing on Booking.com to expose security gaps - I would have been pretty upset if I booked 10 Downing Street and was suddenly told my reservation was cancelled

• Yard Work Reveals Largest Trove of Viking Silver Ever Discovered in Denmark - Do you think I’d get anywhere if I showed up in a Viking helmet and claimed it was mine?

• Coyote Actually Catches Roadrunner in Real Life - Never give up. Next thing you know, Charlie Brown will finally get to kick that football

• Frogs Make Poor Mating Choices When Overwhelmed - So basically, frogs are just like humans

• 4K-Year-Old Tomb Found Intact in Egypt - Clearly no one is taking my moratorium on opening ancient tombs seriously

• Trump’s travel halted as emergency plane slide seen deployed from Air Force One - Oops