John David Duke Jr » Podcast

Please consider becoming a patron. An excerpt: Reanna says to Charles, Jr., who is trying to eat his beef stew, “They’ve both been so different since Stephanie moved to Colorado.” The storm rumbles and grumbles in the basement, and then a sharp crack: the unmistakable sound of the action of a shotgun being opened and […]

Please consider becoming a patron. An excerpt: Odd ducks sometimes find safe waters when all the swans get their tails shot off. Francois landed in Information Technology just as it was becoming a demand, while manufacturing and labor opportunities were becoming scarce. With the extra money he had, even as a young man, he bought […]

Please consider becoming a patron. An Excerpt: “Let’s move out,” said Reynolds. “If we walk straight east, we’re bound to hit the Tigris, and from there we can get our bearings.” “If we can find some shoal water, we can cross over to some higher ground and get out of this infernal swamp,” said Jenkins. […]

Please consider becoming a patron An excerpt: Carla sniffed the spray as the breeze brought it from gentle breakers, tickling her nose with a curl of her own hair, which, on occasion, she caught in her teeth, playing with her hair even as the toddler played with the sea. The sand beneath the towel was […]

Please consider becoming a patron. An Excerpt There, in the lamplight of his narrow above-ground hole, air-conditioned cool, but still damp, like the earth itself, without any television or radio, he sipped at his vodka, reminiscing, watching a water bug and a silverfish route themselves amicably to a common goal found somewhere behind the wall. […]

Please consider becoming a patron. An excerpt “Odd,” she said to herself aloud. “It’s February. Why is Willie outside riding his bicycle?” She looked out the window again. “Oh no,” she said. Her heart had corrected her mistake before her mind had allowed. “Oh dear God, no.” She dropped her potato into the sink and […]

Please consider becoming a patron Eventually… An excerpt: I waited for Lily’s father to return home. “Rescue must die soon,” I blurted out, “but I do not know how to put him to his end.” “Mercy will dictate,” said Lily’s father. “Mercy always dictates. How do you know your dog is sick to death?” “Your […]

Please consider becoming a patron. Cornered in the Office “You’re frightening me,” the Android Assistant 2100 said. “Put that thing away!” “Ha,” said Robert. “You should have seen the look on that hick’s face when I shot a glass jar sitting on a fence behind him. Oh, don’t be frightened: I rested my arm on […]

Please consider becoming a Patron Chapter 7 An excerpt: “This city belongs to your king,” he said. “And you belong to him. A corporation, you recall, protects a man from liability. You have no need for such protection—” at this, he smiled brightly, “—because your king protects you from liability.” Lily’s uncle smiled brightly, chuckling. […]

In Three Parts Please consider becoming a patron. Part 2: Hearth and Home Tuesday morning was making every attempt to brighten the master bedroom, struggling against the drawn shades to penetrate with rays of joy and hope. Spring was aging, about to yield to the Summer Solstice, so the morning was still very young. Nevertheless, […]

Please consider becoming a patron. A discussion concerning the restrictions on property ownership devolves into a rock common to two property lines and then devolves further into this song of praise: That night I imagined her body, in its full glory, without even trying to stop the image from coming into my consciousness. Hers was […]

In Three Parts Part One: The Corner Office Please consider becoming a patron. Alta Vista did not, as is commonly thought, simply fold or become absorbed into a larger tech company. It morphed, with offices in New York, into an independent research company, mostly for hire by firms looking for a competitive edge against a […]

Please consider becoming a patron. An excerpt: “How do you become an adviser to the King?” I asked. “Blood relationships, on the one hand,” he said. “And financial relationships, on the other hand. The same way one becomes king to begin with.” I stopped short again. “This is not what we were taught as children.” […]

A Life in The Day Please consider becoming a patron. An Homage to Ingmar Bergman “Bertram?” the vicar peeked around the door, scanning each hospital bed for his quarry. “Bertram?” Three beds were empty; the fourth held a sleeping figure. Bertram was laid out on his back, angled by the cruelty of hospital beds, and […]

In which our intrepid hero goes in search of supplies and finds, instead, a pub. As always, please consider becoming a patron.   “Lily,” the beer made me say, “is making things happen to me.” “Lily,” said her uncle, “Lily is a catalyst.” “A catalyst?” “A catalyst,” he said. “Your character is responding to her, […]

Finally, people get killed, and we learn the protagonist’s name and why he’s leaving town. Please consider becoming a patron. An excerpt: An army had broken through from the east two years ago. They did not destroy crops or buildings. They did murder people. They murdered brutally the leaders of the people. I had never […]

In this week’s episode, our hero learns that every good civilization is burdened by a sclerotic bureaucracy. As always, please consider becoming a patron. An excerpt: “I was more struck,” Lily’s uncle resumed, “that he calls them the Brother and the Sister.” “Why does that strike you?” Lily’s father asked. “Because it’s latterly nonsense,” Lily’s […]

Our protagonist, after experiencing a little more of Lily’s family, reacts in the only way he knows how: he drinks too much. Please consider becoming a patron. An excerpt: As for me, I was neither happy nor unhappy to leave Market Makers. The patronage was all fixed, and I was an outsider: they were there […]

A quick side-by-side comparison. In service of the world; you’re welcome. In all seriousness, demonstrating how the quality of your recording equipment really does make a subtle, but perceptible difference in your presentation of yourself.

Please consider becoming a patron, which you can do at my Patreon site. An excerpt: All the twelves saw their mighty enemy for the first time under the light of day without the distance of the heights of mountains intervening. They were a host, truly, a horde. They were like flies, swarming, without sense or […]