The Lonely Voice
Episodes
#68: 'Giantess' by David Eagleman
01 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In the afterlife, you learn about the importance of being quiet. Sound art: The Quiet Club, Mirror Walk in the Long Grass Sound FX: freesound.org, Emm...
#67: 'Descent of Species' by David Eagleman
01 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
'In the afterlife, you are treated to a generous opportunity: you can choose whatever you would like to be in the next life'. Music: Gabriel F...
#66: 'Circle of Friends' by David Eagleman
01 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
'At some point, it dawns on you that this is the afterlife: the world is only made up of people you’ve met before'. Music: Philip Glass, ...
#65: 'Egalitaire' by David Eagleman
01 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
'We can consider ourselves lucky that in death we answer to a God with deep sensitivity to the byzantine hearts of Her creations'. Music: Spin...
#64: 'Sum' by David Eagleman
01 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
'In the afterlife you relive all your experiences, but this time with the events reshuffled into a new order: all the moments that share a quality...
#63: 'Dead of Winter' by Billy O'Callaghan
01 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On the shortest day of the year, a man makes his way to his old family home and kindles the ghosts of the past. Music: Flook, 'Lalabee/Jig for Sim...
#62: 'The Thunderstorm' by Vladimir Nabokov
01 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
'The light of madness, of piercing visions, illumined the nocturnal world...' Music: Edmund Finnis, Elsewhere (featuring Daniel Pioro, violin)...
#61: 'The Tell-Tale Heart' by Edgar Allan Poe
01 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
'I was never kinder to the old man than during the whole week before I killed him'. Music: John Cage, Sonata XI, Works of Calder: II, Bacchana...
#60: 'There Will Come Soft Rains' by Ray Bradbury
01 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
'The house stood alone in a city of rubble and ashes'. Music: Andrew Rudin, Tragoedia; Donald Erb, Music for Instruments and Electronic Sounds...
#55: 'Letter to a Funeral Parlor' by Lydia Davis
01 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
'Dear Sir, I am writing to you to object to the word cremains, which was used by your representative when he met with my mother and me two days af...
#54: 'Head, Heart' by Lydia Davis
01 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A dialogue between head and heart. Music: J.S. Bach, 'Sarabande' from Cello Suite No. 5 (performed by Pieter Wispelwey)
#59: 'The Caterpillar' by Lydia Davis
01 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A minor mystery, or a tiny tragedy. Music: Christopher O'Hare, Novelty Hurry; Mayhew Lake, 'Minor Love Motif' and 'Major Love Motif...
#58: 'Absentminded' by Lydia Davis
01 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Distracted moments of being. Music: Gabriel Prokofiev and Peter Gregson, Float Dance (Subnaught Remix) Sound FX: from freesound.org
#57: 'The Other' by Lydia Davis
01 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
'She changes this thing in the house to annoy the other...' Music: Adolf Minot, Pizzicato Misterioso No. 30 (performed by The Paragon Ragtime ...
#56: 'How it is Done' by Lydia Davis
01 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
'There is a description in a child's science book of the act of love that makes it all quite clear and helps when one begins to forget'. M...
#53: 'The Landlady' by Roald Dahl
01 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
'The fact that his landlady appeared to be slightly off her rocker didn't worry Billy in the least'. Music: Bernard Herrmann, from The Twi...
#52: 'Lamb to the Slaughter' by Roald Dahl
01 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
An evening goes awry for a husband and wife. Music: The Ink Spots, 'I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire' & 'You're Breaking ...
#51: 'The Wreath' by Frank O'Connor
01 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A priest's death causes an upset for those who mourn him. Music: David Maslanka, excerpts from Quintet No. 4 (performed by Musical Arts Woowind Qu...
#50: 'First Confession' by Frank O'Connor
01 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
'With the fear of damnation in my soul I went in, and the confessional door closed of itself behind me. It was pitch-dark and I couldn't see p...
#49: 'The Star' by H.G. Wells
01 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
'A vast mass of matter it was, bulky, heavy, rushing without warning out of the black mystery of the sky into the radiance of the sun'. Music:...
#48: 'The Boatman' by Billy O'Callaghan
01 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A man, lost in grief, finds solace in fiction. Music: Excerpts from Folded Landscapes, by Erland Cooper (performed by Scottish Ensemble); 'Forever' an...
#47: 'The Outsider' by H.P. Lovecraft
31 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
'I know always that I am an outsider, a stranger...' Music: Hildur Ingveldardóttir, BJ Nilsen, and Stilluppsteypa, 'How to Catch the Night Thought' ...
#46: 'The Outing' by Lydia Davis
01 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
An emotional travelogue. Music: Ayanna Witter-Johnson, 'Rise Up Riddim'
#45: 'Fear' by Lydia Davis
01 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
'Nearly every morning, a certain woman in our community comes running out of her house with her face white and her overcoat flapping wildly'. Music: K...
#43: 'Lost Things' by Lydia Davis
01 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
'They are lost, but also not lost but somewhere in the world'. Music: David Lang, I Lost a Sock (performed by Bang on a Can)
#42: 'Insomnia' by Lydia Davis
01 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Nocturnal torment. Music: Maurice Ravel, Boléro (Don Hennig, percussion); Hannah Peel & Paraorchestra, 'Passage' (from The Unfolding)
#44: 'Odd Behaviour' by Lydia Davis
01 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
L'enfer, c'est les autres. Music: Michael Jackson, 'Black or White' & 'Why You Wanna Trip on Me?'
#41: 'The Mice' by Lydia Davis
01 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
'Mice live in our walls, but do not trouble our kitchen'. Music: Johann Strauss, Pizzicato Polka (performed by Philadelphia Orchestra)
#40: 'From the Point of View of a Cat' by Karel Čapek
01 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A cat observes its master. Music: Thomas Bloch, Sweet Suite (II. 'A Name' & III. 'Item'); Olivier Messiaen, Feuillet inedit No. 4 (performed by Thomas...
#39: 'Wildflowers' by Billy O'Callaghan
01 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A man reflects on his life on a summer evening. Music: Clannad, 'A Gentle Place' (from Banba), 'Lady Marion' & '...
#38: 'Happy Endings' by Margaret Atwood
01 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
'John and Mary meet. What happens next?' Music: Extracts from Jacques Loussier, The Best of Play Bach
#37: 'Widows' by Margaret Atwood
01 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A widow writes a letter to a younger correspondent. Music: Penguin Cafe Orchestra 'Nothing Really Blue', 'Hugebaby', 'Zopf: Milk&#...
#36: 'One Evening' by Samuel Beckett
06 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
'She may say to herself it is too much strangeness for a single March or April evening'. Music: Richard Chartier, How Things Change & series 01; John ...
#35: 'The Hand' by Guy de Maupassant
09 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A tale of a severed hand, and the man who severed it. Music: Joseph Haydn, String Quartet No. 18 (I) (performed by the Kodály Quartet); Gerald Fried,...
#34: 'A Vendetta' by Guy de Maupassant
10 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
An old woman seeks revenge for the death of her son. Music: E. Neff, 'A View to an Improvisation'; 'Arú' (featuring Germán Díaz), f...
#33: 'Signs and Symbols' by Vladimir Nabokov
07 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A mother and father fret about their son, who lives in his own mad world. Music: Excerpts from Quartet for the End of Time by Olivier Messiaen; Brian ...
#32: 'Christmas' by Vladimir Nabokov
03 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A father mourns his son on Christmas Eve. Music: Ryuichi Sakamoto, '20220123', '20220207', '20220304' from 12; John Tavener, The Protecting Veil (I) (...
#31: 'Darkness' by Lord Byron
18 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A dream of a world without the sun. Music: 'Locust', by a-ha
#30: 'The Raven' by Edgar Allan Poe
12 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A bird speaks only one word. Music: Excerpts from Béla Bartók, String Quartet No. 2 (performed by the Hungarian String Quartet)
#29: 'The Pigeon' by Patrick Süskind (Part 5)
01 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A man encounters a pigeon and comes undone. Part 5 of 5. Music: Béla Bartók, 'The Night's Music' (performed by Zoltán Kocsis); Iannis Xenakis, à r...
#28: 'The Pigeon' by Patrick Süskind (Part 4)
17 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A man encounters a pigeon and comes undone. Part 4 of 5. Music: Erik Satie, excerpt from Complete Piano Works (performed by Cristina Ariagno); Dm...
#27: 'The Pigeon' by Patrick Süskind (Part 3)
10 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A man encounters a pigeon and comes undone. Part 3 of 5. Music: Erik Satie, excerpts from Complete Piano Works (performed by Cristina Ariagno)
#26: 'The Pigeon' by Patrick Süskind (Part 2)
27 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A man encounters a pigeon and comes undone. Part 2 of 5. Music: Erik Satie, Vexations; Satie: excerpts from Complete Piano Works (perfo...
#25: 'The Pigeon' by Patrick Süskind (Part 1)
13 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A man encounters a pigeon and comes undone. Part 1 of 5. Music: Erik Satie, Vexations; Satie: excerpts from Complete Piano Works (performed by Cristin...
#24: 'The Star' by Arthur C. Clarke
24 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the far reaches of the universe, an astronaut makes a discovery that shakes his faith in a merciful God. Sound design: 'NASA Voyager Space Sounds –...
#23: 'The Sniper' by Liam O'Flaherty
26 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
For a soldier in the Irish Civil War it's kill or be killed. Music: Massive Attack, 'Angel'; Psilonaut, 'Third from the Sun' (from the π soundtrack) ...
#22: 'The Cow's Death' by Liam O'Flaherty
29 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Birth was the death of it. Music: Mark Anthony Turnage, 'GG part II', performed by The G Project; Henry Cowell, 'Ostinato Pianissimo', performed by th...
#21: 'Blood Lust' by Liam O'Flaherty
24 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A man has murder in mind. Music: Tansy Davies, 'Neon' (performed by Azalea Ensemble)
#20: 'The Fairy Goose' by Liam O'Flaherty
27 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A goose leads a charmed existence, for a while. Music: Maurice Ravel, Mother Goose Suite (performed by Ensemble Q); Gabriel Prokofiev, String Quartet ...
#19: 'The Piano Teacher's Pupil' by William Trevor
30 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A young pianist provokes rapture and mystery. Music: Johannes Brahms, Intermezzo in A major, op. 118 no. 2 (performed by Stephen Kovacevich); Frédér...
#18: 'Sinners' by Seán Ó Faoláin
26 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A canon has a trying time in a confessional. Music: César Franck, Andantino in G Moll; J.S. Bach, Trio Sonatas & Toccata and Fugue in D Minor; En...
#17: 'The Devil' by Guy de Maupassant
29 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
'A few minutes before death...the Devil always appeared to the dying'. Music: Modest Mussorgsky, 'The Old Castle' from Pictures at an Exhibition (perf...
#16: 'Christmas Morning' by Frank O'Connor
19 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
'I jumped out of bed to feel my stocking, well knowing that the worst had happened'. Music: Trio Mio, 'Pigeon Scottish' from Stories Around a Holy Goa...
#15: 'Amnesia in Litteris' by Patrick Süskind
27 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
'The old sickness has me in its grip again: amnesia in litteris, the total loss of literary memory'. Music: Erik Satie, Gnossiennes 1-6, performed by ...
#14: 'Godfather Death' by the Brothers Grimm & Philip Pullman
30 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
'I'm Death, and I make everyone equal'. Music: Peter Gabriel, 'San Jacinto (Instrumental)' & 'Diggin in the Dirt (Instrumental)' from New Blood (2...
#13: 'The Mouse, The Bird and the Sausage' by the Brothers Grimm & Philip Pullman
25 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
'A mouse, a bird and a sausage decided to set up home together...' Music: Penguin Cafe Orchestra, 'Dirt' from Signs of Life (1987)
#12: 'The Moon' by Wilhelm Grimm & Philip Pullman
29 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
'It's just as dark down among the dead as it ever was.' Music: Beethoven, Moonlight Sonata (1st mvt.) & Tchaikovsky, Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy...
#10 & #11: 'A Little Fable' & 'The Trees' by Franz Kafka
22 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
'Alas', said the mouse, 'the world is getting smaller every day'.Music: Bernard Herrmann,Psycho Suite[Tippett Quartet ]-----'For we are like tr...
#10: 'A Little Fable' by Franz Kafka
14 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
'Alas', said the mouse, 'the world is getting smaller every day'. Music: Bernard Herrmann, Psycho Suite [Tippett Quartet ]
#9: 'The Angel' by Franz Kafka
07 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
'An angel, then!' I thought; 'it has been flying toward me all the day and in my disbelief I did not know it'. Music: John Metcalfe & Matthew Barl...
#8: 'The Helmsman' by Franz Kafka
31 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
'What kind of people are these? Do they ever think, or do they just shuffle pointlessly over the earth?' Music: Mouth Music, 'Whaling Ship', from Seaf...
#7: 'Fellowship' by Franz Kafka
24 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
'And what is the point of this continual being together anyhow?' Music: (1) Leroy Anderson, Plink, Plank, Plunk (2) The Typewriter Orchestra Perf...
#6: 'The Top' by Franz Kafka
17 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
'A certain philosopher used to hang about wherever children were at play. And whenever he saw a boy with a top, he would lie in wait.' Music: Martin M...
#5: 'Hands' by Franz Kafka
10 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
'My two hands began a fight'. Music: Poulenc, Concerto for Two Pianos, first movement
#4: 'A Crossbreed' by Franz Kafka
03 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
'I have a curious animal, half kitten, half lamb'. Music: Cirque Plume, 'Bateleurs' from Plic Ploc; 'Jumeau Jumelle' & 'Nestor Tango' from L'harmo...
#3: 'Home-coming' by Franz Kafka
26 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
'The longer one hesitates before the door, the more estranged one becomes'. Music: Bernard Herrmann, Souvenirs de Voyage for clarinet quintet, first m...
#2: 'The Bridge' by Franz Kafka
19 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
'I was stiff and cold. I was a bridge'. Music: Shostakovich, String Quartet No. 8, first and second movements [Éder Quartet]
#1: 'The Vulture' by Franz Kafka
13 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
'A vulture was hacking at my feet'. Music: Shostakovich, String Quartet No. 8, third movement [Éder Quartet]