Laura Pearlman
@laurasbadideas.bsky.social
My stories are in Nature, Shimmer, and a few other places. My LOLcat captions are on McSweeney's. Editor of @catscast.org. Member of Codex, SFWA.
Reposted by Laura Pearlman
If you're an Escape Artists patron, you might have noticed something fluffy in your email or podcast feed.
www.patreon.com/posts/catsca...
(Patrons get early, ad-free access to episodes; the same episode will be available with ads for everyone else next week).
www.patreon.com/posts/catsca...
(Patrons get early, ad-free access to episodes; the same episode will be available with ads for everyone else next week).
CatsCast 27: Lost in Translation by Y.M. Resnik | Escape Artists Foundation
Get more from Escape Artists Foundation on Patreon
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January 19, 2026 at 9:03 AM
If you're an Escape Artists patron, you might have noticed something fluffy in your email or podcast feed.
www.patreon.com/posts/catsca...
(Patrons get early, ad-free access to episodes; the same episode will be available with ads for everyone else next week).
www.patreon.com/posts/catsca...
(Patrons get early, ad-free access to episodes; the same episode will be available with ads for everyone else next week).
Reposted by Laura Pearlman
Do I know any scientists based in Antarctica? Or who can put me in touch with someone? Reposts gratefully accepted!
January 18, 2026 at 7:28 PM
Do I know any scientists based in Antarctica? Or who can put me in touch with someone? Reposts gratefully accepted!
In which @alasdairstuart.bsky.social's outro almost makes me cry. (P.S. CatsCast returns in January!)
Relevant greetings, sapients! It's not even Friday, and yet we're giving you a flashback: "Some Things I Should Probably Have Mentioned Earlier" by @laurasbadideas.bsky.social, read LIVE at the 2018 Worldcon! Remember what things were like, seven years ago?
Escape Pod 1024: Some Things I Should Probably Have Mentioned Earlier (LIVE) (Flashback)
Dear Kevin, I’m sorry I waited so long to tell you this, but I really hate your vacation cabin. Everything about it creeps me out. The sound of crickets at night makes my skin crawl.
escapepod.org
December 19, 2025 at 1:35 AM
In which @alasdairstuart.bsky.social's outro almost makes me cry. (P.S. CatsCast returns in January!)
Reposted by Laura Pearlman
🎃👻 PseudoPod 1001: A Coven of Cats Under the Light of the Moon & The Halloween Parade
"On this night, we escaped from our homes"
Authors: M. Halstead & Alasdair Stuart
Narrators: Laura Pearlman & Alasdair Stuart
Host: Alasdair Stuart
Audio: Chelsea Davis
These pieces are PseudoPod originals
"On this night, we escaped from our homes"
Authors: M. Halstead & Alasdair Stuart
Narrators: Laura Pearlman & Alasdair Stuart
Host: Alasdair Stuart
Audio: Chelsea Davis
These pieces are PseudoPod originals
PseudoPod 1001: A Coven of Cats Under the Light of the Moon and The Halloween Parade
On this night, we escaped from our homes—we darted through the open doors, we leaped over the privacy fences, we fled under-bush to converge on this place. Some of us have traveled many miles…
pseudopod.org
October 31, 2025 at 7:55 PM
🎃👻 PseudoPod 1001: A Coven of Cats Under the Light of the Moon & The Halloween Parade
"On this night, we escaped from our homes"
Authors: M. Halstead & Alasdair Stuart
Narrators: Laura Pearlman & Alasdair Stuart
Host: Alasdair Stuart
Audio: Chelsea Davis
These pieces are PseudoPod originals
"On this night, we escaped from our homes"
Authors: M. Halstead & Alasdair Stuart
Narrators: Laura Pearlman & Alasdair Stuart
Host: Alasdair Stuart
Audio: Chelsea Davis
These pieces are PseudoPod originals
Every time I finish watching something on Netflix, they send me an email titled "<thing I just watched> ending explained". Does Netflix think all their shows are incomprehensible? Or do they just think I'm exceptionally stupid?
July 29, 2025 at 8:15 PM
Every time I finish watching something on Netflix, they send me an email titled "<thing I just watched> ending explained". Does Netflix think all their shows are incomprehensible? Or do they just think I'm exceptionally stupid?
My favorite DIY renovation (from a house I saw when househunting but did NOT buy) was a brick bathtub. Not just a brick enclosure; the actual tub, the part you'd fill with water and sit in to bathe, was made of brick & mortar.
When househunting for the first time in…2006? I think? We looked at a house by someone who clearly enjoyed DIY renovations.
I have never seen a weirder house. There was a bathroom directly off the living room, separated by sliding mirror doors.
I have never seen a weirder house. There was a bathroom directly off the living room, separated by sliding mirror doors.
1960. The house was previously my mom’s, but the guy before her thought he was a handyman. Whenever I say that to someone who’s working on the plumbing or electrical, I always get a laugh out of them. 😂
June 2, 2025 at 3:10 AM
My favorite DIY renovation (from a house I saw when househunting but did NOT buy) was a brick bathtub. Not just a brick enclosure; the actual tub, the part you'd fill with water and sit in to bathe, was made of brick & mortar.
An earthquake after a fire just seems excessive.
March 3, 2025 at 6:20 AM
An earthquake after a fire just seems excessive.
If you see this, post something orange.
February 17, 2025 at 5:03 AM
If you see this, post something orange.
A month in, Seffie is finally taking her rightful place as queen of this airbnb.
February 16, 2025 at 12:04 PM
A month in, Seffie is finally taking her rightful place as queen of this airbnb.
My house is still standing! There's some wind damage, air quality is bad outside and maybe worse inside, there's no electricity or drinkable water, and I have the Oak Branch of Damocles in my back yard, but other than that, everything's perfect!
Seriously, this is good news. #EatonFire
Seriously, this is good news. #EatonFire
January 11, 2025 at 3:46 AM
My house is still standing! There's some wind damage, air quality is bad outside and maybe worse inside, there's no electricity or drinkable water, and I have the Oak Branch of Damocles in my back yard, but other than that, everything's perfect!
Seriously, this is good news. #EatonFire
Seriously, this is good news. #EatonFire
The worst thing about evacuating is knowing that some day you're going to need to get your cat back into her carrier.
Well, that and not knowing whether your house burned down. But mostly the cat thing. #EatonFire
Well, that and not knowing whether your house burned down. But mostly the cat thing. #EatonFire
January 9, 2025 at 9:59 PM
The worst thing about evacuating is knowing that some day you're going to need to get your cat back into her carrier.
Well, that and not knowing whether your house burned down. But mostly the cat thing. #EatonFire
Well, that and not knowing whether your house burned down. But mostly the cat thing. #EatonFire
Just a tiny bit windy here tonight.
January 7, 2025 at 1:22 PM
Just a tiny bit windy here tonight.
Reposted by Laura Pearlman
One must imagine the other reindeer excluding Rudolph from their games and cowering in their stalls, trapped with a horrible knowledge that he is lost to them and will soon hunger.
The Thing is a Christmas movie because technically The Thing could be Santa.
December 10, 2024 at 11:38 PM
One must imagine the other reindeer excluding Rudolph from their games and cowering in their stalls, trapped with a horrible knowledge that he is lost to them and will soon hunger.
Reposted by Laura Pearlman
So here comes my next story, due in March from Flame Tree Press, in which a decrepit Achilles tries to evolve into a reasonably decent guy. Chaos ensues. blog.flametreepublishing.com/fantasy-goth...
Myths, Gods & Immortals | Contents Announcement | Achilles
We’re excited to present the list of stories featured in our new Achilles book! Seventeen brand new tales by modern authors retell Achilles’ story and imagine alternative paths, richer backgrounds and...
blog.flametreepublishing.com
November 30, 2024 at 5:23 AM
So here comes my next story, due in March from Flame Tree Press, in which a decrepit Achilles tries to evolve into a reasonably decent guy. Chaos ensues. blog.flametreepublishing.com/fantasy-goth...
Arüal is a combination side table / cat toy organizer. The box it's shipped in fits perfectly between its legs.
Your IKEA product is your name spelled backwards with an umlaut.
Ëiffe is a small penguin-shaped night light.
Ëiffe is a small penguin-shaped night light.
Your IKEA product is your name spelled backwards with an umlaut.
Ëlbmow a stylish affordable bookcase that can contain an infinite number of books
Ëlbmow a stylish affordable bookcase that can contain an infinite number of books
November 29, 2024 at 8:48 AM
Arüal is a combination side table / cat toy organizer. The box it's shipped in fits perfectly between its legs.
I've seen several people compare the Crowdstrike/Microsoft outages to Y2K, but there was a relatively simple fix to this one -- just back out the previous day's changes. That wouldn't have been an option for Y2K, which is why all the bug-fixing had to happen in advance.
July 21, 2024 at 7:43 AM
I've seen several people compare the Crowdstrike/Microsoft outages to Y2K, but there was a relatively simple fix to this one -- just back out the previous day's changes. That wouldn't have been an option for Y2K, which is why all the bug-fixing had to happen in advance.
❌ He was an old man who fished alone in a skiff in the Gulf Stream and he had gone eighty-four days now without taking a fish.
✅ An old man was bad at fishing.
✅ An old man was bad at fishing.
❌As Gregor Samsa awoke from uneasy dreams one morning, he found himself transformed into a giant insect.
✅ Gregor’s sleep apnea was bad and he woke up feeling buggy.
✅ Gregor’s sleep apnea was bad and he woke up feeling buggy.
❌ No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality; even larks and katydids are supposed, by some, to dream.
✅ Life is hard for everyone, even birds and bugs.
✅ Life is hard for everyone, even birds and bugs.
June 30, 2024 at 10:08 PM
❌ He was an old man who fished alone in a skiff in the Gulf Stream and he had gone eighty-four days now without taking a fish.
✅ An old man was bad at fishing.
✅ An old man was bad at fishing.
Dear Earth,
Excuse me, I was TRYING to sleep in.
Sincerely,
Laura
Excuse me, I was TRYING to sleep in.
Sincerely,
Laura
June 2, 2024 at 5:01 PM
Dear Earth,
Excuse me, I was TRYING to sleep in.
Sincerely,
Laura
Excuse me, I was TRYING to sleep in.
Sincerely,
Laura
Reposted by Laura Pearlman
I've been thinking about this some more, and now I'm wondering if it would be possible to do something like @diabolicalplots.com's Long List Anthology, but for these unfairly excluded works. They're obviously some of the best stories of 2023, and deserve to be read!
So essentially the white censorship committee penalized Chinese fans for existing and discarded all of these votes as illegitimate, which instantly removed all the most popular Chinese writers from contention and allowed for a US-dominated year in standard fashion. They did TWO levels of censorship.
February 16, 2024 at 3:26 PM
I've been thinking about this some more, and now I'm wondering if it would be possible to do something like @diabolicalplots.com's Long List Anthology, but for these unfairly excluded works. They're obviously some of the best stories of 2023, and deserve to be read!
Went to the dentist today, so now my teeth are extra-clean. But now I'm hungry, and I'm just going to get food all over them. I hate that.
February 13, 2024 at 1:46 AM
Went to the dentist today, so now my teeth are extra-clean. But now I'm hungry, and I'm just going to get food all over them. I hate that.
Reposted by Laura Pearlman
Final day!
CatsCast is open for submissions, now through February 11. Send us your words! (But not more than 6000 of them).
escapeartists.net/catscast/cat...
escapeartists.net/catscast/cat...
CatsCast Submission Guidelines | Escape Artists Foundation
CatsCast is looking for speculative cat stories!
escapeartists.net
February 11, 2024 at 2:11 PM
Final day!
Reposted by Laura Pearlman
www.castofwonders.org/2024/02/cast...
Cast of Wonders is currently open to applications for new associate editors. We particularly welcome applications from younger people, and people from backgrounds which have historically been excluded from publishing.
Cast of Wonders is currently open to applications for new associate editors. We particularly welcome applications from younger people, and people from backgrounds which have historically been excluded from publishing.
February 7, 2024 at 7:32 PM
www.castofwonders.org/2024/02/cast...
Cast of Wonders is currently open to applications for new associate editors. We particularly welcome applications from younger people, and people from backgrounds which have historically been excluded from publishing.
Cast of Wonders is currently open to applications for new associate editors. We particularly welcome applications from younger people, and people from backgrounds which have historically been excluded from publishing.
How to give your cat ear medication:
1. Instill four drops of medication into ear.
2. Gently massage base of ear.
3. Allow cat to shake her head, flinging eardrops out into the universe.
4. Offer treats.
5. Earthquake! (Weird, the vet never mentioned this step).
6. Accept cat's grudging forgiveness
1. Instill four drops of medication into ear.
2. Gently massage base of ear.
3. Allow cat to shake her head, flinging eardrops out into the universe.
4. Offer treats.
5. Earthquake! (Weird, the vet never mentioned this step).
6. Accept cat's grudging forgiveness
February 9, 2024 at 10:34 PM
How to give your cat ear medication:
1. Instill four drops of medication into ear.
2. Gently massage base of ear.
3. Allow cat to shake her head, flinging eardrops out into the universe.
4. Offer treats.
5. Earthquake! (Weird, the vet never mentioned this step).
6. Accept cat's grudging forgiveness
1. Instill four drops of medication into ear.
2. Gently massage base of ear.
3. Allow cat to shake her head, flinging eardrops out into the universe.
4. Offer treats.
5. Earthquake! (Weird, the vet never mentioned this step).
6. Accept cat's grudging forgiveness