From the Bauer of a Larch in Autumn (Mental Health) - Story #12

A love letter to Gojira, a post-Cold War parable, a tale of confinement, escape, and approaching catastrophe. Mother Pearl and the Nuclear Disaster is all of these things and more. It is the story of a child born into nuclear winter, a community obsessed with a giant pearl, a president with a woefully short memory, and a world entirely unprepared for the end. "Gather, my neighbours, and rejoice; fear not the night that lasts the day, for Mother Pearl shall be our guiding light, our torch in darkest need!"

CW: reference to violence and birth defects from radiation

Stories from the Hearth is an experimental storytelling podcast, a free artistic space in the style of a painter's studio or writer's diary. It is a place for you to lose yourself in truly original short stories and their immersive soundscapes, written, narrated, and produced by Scottish poet Cal Bannerman.

Stories from the Hearth will be back later this year, whilst Cal takes some time to prepare the next batch of stories. In the meantime, you can support the podcast by spreading the word and joining the community on Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/storiesfromthehearthpodcast

Website: www.storiesfromthehearth.co.uk
Instagram: @storiesfromthehearth
Twitter: @Hearth_Podcast
YouTube: Stories from the Hearth
Email: storiesfromthehearthpodcast@gmail.com

Original Artwork by Anna Ferrara
Anna's Instagram: @giallosardina
Anna's Portfolio: https://annaferrara.carbonmade.com/

Thank you for listening. Please consider following, subscribing to, and sharing this episode, and please do tell your friends all about Stories from the Hearth.

Some of the recorded audio in this episode is courtesy of www.freesound.org.

Bumps in the night. Shrieks through the wall. Strange smells in the hallway. A long-empty flat suddenly occupied by a reclusive and rather... furry individual. Upstairs neighbours are - let's face it - a nuisance, an anomaly, the bane of all apartment blocks. But when an urban fox moves into the flat upstairs in a crumbling Glasgow tenement, the residents face their most unruly neighbour yet. A Scottish folktale for modern times; a whimsical look at life as a 21st century city dweller.

CW: reference to drug misuse

Stories from the Hearth is an experimental storytelling podcast, a free artistic space in the style of a painter's studio or writer's diary. It is a place for you to lose yourself in truly original short stories and their immersive soundscapes, written, narrated, and produced by Scottish poet Cal Bannerman.

Episode #19 out on 29th May (29.05.22)

Support the podcast and earn exclusive perks through my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/storiesfromthehearthpodcast

Website: www.storiesfromthehearth.co.uk
Instagram: @storiesfromthehearth
Twitter: @Hearth_Podcast
YouTube: Stories from the Hearth
Email: storiesfromthehearthpodcast@gmail.com

Original Artwork by Anna Ferrara
Anna's Instagram: @giallosardina
Anna's Portfolio: https://annaferrara.carbonmade.com/

Thank you for listening. Please consider following, subscribing to, and sharing this episode, and please do tell your friends all about Stories from the Hearth.

Some of the recorded audio in this episode is courtesy of www.freesound.org.

An old woman with her can of spray paint invokes the anger of the Argentinian government, a group of armed civilians, and an American newsroom run by some questionable characters. At the core of what becomes an international crisis lies an ancient cave painting: hundreds of human hands overlapping each other. A painting to which the old lady feels drawn, and which might just hold the key to the secret art of floating.

CW: homophobia, xenophobia, misogyny

Stories from the Hearth is an experimental storytelling podcast, a free artistic space in the style of a painter's studio or collagist's scrapbook. It is a place for you to lose yourself in truly original short stories and their immersive soundscapes, written, narrated, and produced by Scottish poet Cal Bannerman.

Episode #18 out on 24th April (24.04.22)

Support the podcast and earn exclusive perks through my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/storiesfromthehearthpodcast

Website: www.storiesfromthehearth.co.uk
Instagram: @storiesfromthehearth
Twitter: @Hearth_Podcast
YouTube: Stories from the Hearth
Email: storiesfromthehearthpodcast@gmail.com

Original Artwork by Anna Ferrara
Anna's Instagram: @giallosardina
Anna's Portfolio: https://annaferrara.carbonmade.com/

Thank you for listening. Please consider following, subscribing to, and sharing this episode, and please do tell your friends all about Stories from the Hearth.

Some of the recorded audio in this episode is courtesy of www.freesound.org.

Water by The Kyoto Connection is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) license. Accordingly, this episode of Stories from the Hearth is also licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) license. To read more about this license, click here.

Detective-Inspector Rosa Dubois is half-magic, half-human, and ever since she got blipped up here to the City of Black Clouds she's been searching for a case. A real case. With you (Igor the guinea pig familiar) by her side, Rosa bites off more than she can chew when a mysterious witch comes to town in this neon-noir, magical crime-fighting comedy.

Guest voice work: Jen Anderson, as DI Dubois.

CW: animal abuse

Stories from the Hearth is an experimental storytelling podcast, a free artistic space in the style of a painter's studio or collagist's scrapbook. It is a place for you to lose yourself in truly original short stories and their immersive soundscapes, written, narrated, and produced by Scottish poet Cal Bannerman.

Episode #18 out on 27th March (27.03.22)

Support the podcast and earn exclusive perks through my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/storiesfromthehearthpodcast

Website: www.storiesfromthehearth.co.uk
Instagram: @storiesfromthehearth
Twitter: @Hearth_Podcast
YouTube: Stories from the Hearth
Email: storiesfromthehearthpodcast@gmail.com

Original Artwork by Anna Ferrara
Anna's Instagram: @giallosardina
Anna's Portfolio: https://annaferrara.carbonmade.com/

Thank you for listening. Please consider following, subscribing to, and sharing this episode, and please do tell your friends all about Stories from the Hearth.

Some of the recorded audio in this episode is courtesy of www.freesound.org, thanks in particular go to jsandvik.

Night on the Docks - Sax by Kevin MacLeod are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0) license. To read more about this license, click here.

It's our very first birthday! Come gather round the fire with us once more in this special birthday short story. Take a look at what the future holds for Stories from the Hearth, and learn how you can be a part of it. Wrap yourself in some fiction and hunker down by the hearth, it's getting cold out there.

The next story episode of Stories from the Hearth is out 27th February 2022.

Stories from the Hearth is an experimental storytelling experience featuring truly original fiction and thoughtfully produced soundscapes. The aim of this podcast is to rekindle its listeners' love for the ancient art of storytelling (and story-listening), and to bring some small escapism to the frantic energies of the modern world. Stories from the Hearth is the brainchild of queer punk poet, environmentalist, and anarchist Cal Bannerman. Vive l'art!

Support the podcast and earn exclusive perks through our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/storiesfromthehearthpodcast

Instagram: @storiesfromthehearth
Twitter: @Hearth_Podcast
YouTube: Stories from the Hearth
Email: storiesfromthehearthpodcast@gmail.com

Original Artwork by Anna Ferrara
Anna's Instagram: @giallosardina
Anna's Portfolio: https://annaferrara.carbonmade.com/

Thank you for listening. Please consider following, subscribing to, and sharing this episode, and please do tell your friends all about Stories from the Hearth.

Some of the recorded audio in this episode is courtesy of www.freesound.org

Avery is about to turn 28, which means that soon she'll have lived longer than her father, the legendary rock-star Kash Bauer, ever did. She's been dealing with that fact all year, and this morning she can't seem to escape it. By the boughs of a larch in autumn, Avery Bauer seeks the answers to her questions. Dealing with depression, mania, and suicide, this is a story about mental health, family, and the healing power of closure. This episode is dedicated to the memory of my friend, M.S.

CW: mental health, suicide, reference to drug use

Stories from the Hearth is an experimental storytelling experience ft. truly original fiction and thoughtfully produced soundscapes. The aim of this podcast is to rekindle its listeners' love for the ancient art of storytelling (and story-listening), and to bring some small escapism to the frantic energies of the modern world. Stories from the Hearth is the brainchild of queer punk poet, environmentalist, and anarchist Cal Bannerman. Vive l'art!

Stories from the Hearth is taking a short break, but will return in February 2022. Happy holidays!

Support the podcast and earn exclusive perks through my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/storiesfromthehearthpodcast

Instagram: @storiesfromthehearth
Twitter: @Hearth_Podcast
YouTube: Stories from the Hearth
Email: storiesfromthehearthpodcast@gmail.com

Original Artwork by Anna Ferrara
Anna's Instagram: @giallosardina
Anna's Portfolio: https://annaferrara.carbonmade.com/

Thank you for listening. Please consider following, subscribing to, and sharing this episode, and please do tell your friends all about Stories from the Hearth.

Some of the recorded audio in this episode is courtesy of www.freesound.org.

少しずつの世界 / So Little Of The World and 広島 / Hiroshima by Pierce Murphy are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licenses. To read more about these licenses, click here.

Exlibris by Kosta T is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. To read more about this license, click here.

An extra special episode of The Wandering Bard on Stories from the Hearth, in which Cal holds a conversation on storytelling with Joe Fisher, creator of the popular sci-fi audio drama Midnight Burger. Cal and Joe chat about Prince, Shakespeare, and the Devil; the terrors of the Metaverse, the safety of the multiverse, and the future of storytelling. This episode marks the first creator-to-creator interview hosted on Stories from the Hearth.

The Wandering Bard is a bonus mini-series on the fiction anthology podcast Stories from the Hearth, and is a space for host Cal Bannerman to explore the history of storytelling, as well as the people behind it. In this episode Cal meets a writer, podcaster, director and producer at the forefront of the independent fiction podcast scene: Joe Fisher of Midnight Burger.

Watch the full interview with Joe on YouTube, here.

Listen to Joe's podcast Midnight Burger, here.

Support Stories from the Hearth on Patreon, here.

Support Midnight Burger on Patreon, here.

Instagram: @storiesfromthehearth
Twitter: @Hearth_Podcast
YouTube: Stories from the Hearth
Email: storiesfromthehearthpodcast@gmail.com

Fire Daemon Character Artwork by Anna Ferrara
Anna's Instagram: @giallosardina
Anna's Portfolio: https://annaferrara.carbonmade.com/

Thank you for listening. Please consider following, subscribing to, and sharing this bonus episode, and please do tell your friends all about Stories from the Hearth.

In a loch in the lee of a mountain in the Scottish Highlands there lives an ancient king. Banished by his people millennia ago, these days he survives on trickery, deceit... and the flesh of human men. This Halloween, a group of friends meet a stranger on the mountain trail. Together, they take shelter in a ramshackle bothy on the edges of the loch. But, are the legends really true? And will these four friends last the night? This bone-chilling tale is based on Scottish folklore, and is a Stories from the Hearth Halloween special.

Stories from the Hearth is an immersive storytelling experience featuring truly original fiction backed by thoughtfully produced soundscapes. The aim of this podcast is to rekindle its listeners' love for the ancient art of storytelling (and story-listening), and to bring some small escapism to the frantic energies of the modern world. Stories is the brainchild of queer punk poet, environmentalist, and anarchist Cal Bannerman. Vive l'art!

Episode #15 out on Sunday 28th November (28.11.21)

Support the podcast and earn exclusive perks through my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/storiesfromthehearthpodcast

Instagram: @storiesfromthehearth
Twitter: @Hearth_Podcast
YouTube: Stories from the Hearth
Email: storiesfromthehearthpodcast@gmail.com

Original Artwork by Anna Ferrara
Anna's Instagram: @giallosardina
Anna's Portfolio: https://annaferrara.carbonmade.com/

Thank you for listening. Please consider following, subscribing to, and sharing this episode, and please do tell your friends all about Stories from the Hearth.

Some of the recorded audio in this episode is courtesy of www.freesound.org.

Lucid Coma by Kevin Hartnell is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. To read more about this license, click here.

/////letal\\\\\ c .......? and Exlibris by Kosta T are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. To read more about this license, click here.

Moorland by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license. To read more about this license, click here.

In the Stories from the Hearth minisode series - normally exclusive to Patreon - Calum reads a classic story from the public domain; be it fable, fairy-tale, or moral; European, or International. Sometimes they perform them as they were first told, sometimes they rewrite them in their own style, and sometimes they perform bits and pieces from their own body of work. In minisode seven, they read their very own, original version of 'The Merwife of Shetland', an ancient folktale regarding the seal-people (or selkies) of the seas surrounding Scotland.

Stories from the Hearth minisodes are exclusive to Patreon, where the reading of a new bonus story will be released monthly. To gain access to every minisode, as well as a slew of other exciting perks, consider supporting the podcast by becoming a patron: https://www.patreon.com/storiesfromthehearthpodcast

Keep up to date, by following and subscribing to Stories from the Hearth wherever you listen to podcasts, and as always, please do download, like and share this episode. Every wee thing you do helps immensely. 

Instagram: @storiesfromthehearth
Twitter: @Hearth_Podcast
YouTube: Stories from the Hearth

Original Artwork by Anna Ferrara

Anna's Instagram: @giallosardina
Anna's Portfolio:  https://annaferrara.carbonmade.com

Ludoslaw Dragon is a lonely drunk. Ludoslaw Dragon has a hole in his heart. Ludoslaw Dragon has disappeared... In the aftermath of World War Two, a once-picturesque Polish town hides a dark secret beneath its air-raid rubble. A photograph of a young pianist is found amongst Ludoslaw's clothes. A heart-breaking love affair comes to the surface.

Stories from the Hearth is an immersive storytelling experience featuring truly original fiction backed by thoughtfully produced soundscapes. The aim of this podcast is to rekindle its listeners' love for the ancient art of storytelling (and story-listening), and to bring some small escapism to the frantic energies of the modern world. Stories is the brainchild of queer punk poet, environmentalist, and anarchist Cal Bannerman. Vive l'art!

Episode #14 out on Halloweeeeen! (31.10.21)

Support the podcast and earn exclusive perks through my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/storiesfromthehearthpodcast

Instagram: @storiesfromthehearth
Twitter: @Hearth_Podcast
YouTube: Stories from the Hearth
Email: storiesfromthehearthpodcast@gmail.com

Original Artwork by Anna Ferrara
Anna's Instagram: @giallosardina
Anna's Portfolio: https://annaferrara.carbonmade.com/

Thank you for listening. Please consider following, subscribing to, and sharing this episode, and please do tell your friends all about Stories from the Hearth.

Some of the recorded audio in this episode is courtesy of www.freesound.org. Special thanks go to miastodzwiekow and xserra.

Track: Mussorgsky - Night on Bald Mountain [Copyright Free] Music provided by Classical Music Copyright Free [https://tinyurl.com/visit-cmcf] Watch: https://youtu.be/j4AggzA8fJg

Track: Chopin - Nocturne in E flat major, Op. 9 no.2 [Copyright Free] Music provided by Classical Music Copyright Free [https://tinyurl.com/visit-cmcf] Watch: https://youtu.be/F5hhdLUuLB0

Track: Tchaikovsky - 1812 Overture by Tchaikovsky Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported— CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... Music provided by FreeMusic109 https://youtube.com/FreeMusic109

Track: Romsky-Korsakov - Flight of the Bumblebee [Copyright Free] Music provided by Your Soundtrack on YouTube. Watch: https://youtu.be/f7n5y3418v4