Jon and Stephen Recorded Readings

Stephen A. Roddewig

No ads. Ever. Stephen writes them. Jon narrates them. You listen to them(?). Limited run fiction series with seasons themed around different genres (history, humor, horror). New episodes air weekly for the duration of a season. Credits: - Voice narration by Jonathan Kilgore - Stories written by Stephen A. Roddewig unless otherwise noted - Cover photo by Matt Botsford and licensed through Unsplash All copyrights belong with their respective creators

  1. S4 E4: Lurking Shadows

    3d ago

    S4 E4: Lurking Shadows

    Content Warning: This story contains blood, graphic imagery, violence, and murder. Listener discretion is advised. A down-on-his-luck police officer finds himself assigned to the graveyard shift, casting him into the middle of a duel between exhaustion and boredom. Until one night the doldrum of patrolling the dead-end town of Hydewood is shattered when he encounters a shadow figure with glowing orange eyes. Rather than be written off as a late-night hallucination, the shadow continues to stalk the cop as the days go by. But only when it starts to whisper the name of his dead partner do its true intentions become clear. View the original story on Vocal to read along: https://vocal.media/horror/lurking-shadows-e7amad0e60 As always, please consider leaving a quick rating or review wherever you listen. Cover photo by Kelly Sikkema and licensed through Unsplash.

    34 min
  2. S4 E3: Rebirth

    Jun 19

    S4 E3: Rebirth

    Content Warning: This story contains violence, graphic imagery, depictions of war, and allusions to murder. Listener discretion is advised. A combat veteran returns home after many months away at the front. The inhabitants beyond the door of his flat are not expecting his arrival, especially since his departure from their lives was less than graceful. No matter, now he is a hero, the sins of his past burned away by the fire of war and the pardon that came with surviving them. Only one more mission remains. View the original story on Vocal to read along: https://vocal.media/fiction/rebirth-qas5a0frx The Washington Post article referenced in the Author’s Note: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/05/04/russia-prisons-recruits-criminals-ukraine/ As always, please consider leaving a quick rating or review wherever you listen. Cover photo by Arthur Podzolkin and licensed through Unsplash.

    10 min
  3. S4 E2: SEALAB IV

    Jun 12

    S4 E2: SEALAB IV

    Content Warning: This story contains blood, death, graphic imagery, and allusions to cannibalism. Listener discretion is advised. Navy divers manning a top-secret underwater lab discover they are not the only intelligent life forms plumbing the depths for knowledge. And unlike the human researchers, their contemporaries are quite well-suited to the murky blackness and crushing depths. What happens when the scientists themselves become the subjects of an experiment? View the original story on Vocal to read along: https://vocal.media/horror/sealab-iv Alternate recordings: Kaidankai PodcastThe NoSleep PodcastAs always, please consider leaving a quick rating or review wherever you listen. Cover photo by Alex Rose and licensed through Unsplash.

    21 min
  4. S4 E1: In Him, We Know Freedom

    Jun 5

    S4 E1: In Him, We Know Freedom

    Content Warning: This story contains blood, graphic imagery, violence, torture, and allusions to cannibalism. Listener discretion is advised. An escapee from the prison camp of an authoritarian state, we join our haggard protagonist as he stalks the streets of the crumbling nation’s capital. His only companion? A mirror that shows a reflection that is not his own. But with the counsel of an ancient voice that awakened at the height of his torture and guided him from the prison camp to freedom, the man of purpose and the idyllic world shown within the mirror are closer than the fugitive thinks. Even if the means to achieve this vision are less than pleasant. View the original story on Vocal to read along: https://vocal.media/horror/in-him-we-know-freedom As always, please consider leaving a quick rating or review wherever you listen. Cover photo by Ali Arif Soydaş and licensed through Unsplash.

    11 min
  5. S3 Bonus: Dwellers of the Underworld

    10/31/2025 ·  Bonus

    S3 Bonus: Dwellers of the Underworld

    For this bonus addition to Season 3, we present two additional stories for your listening pleasure, neither long enough to warrant its own episode and together… still not long enough to be considered a true episode. Thus we present a bonus helping of comedy to go along with the main course we have presented over the past eight regular episodes. You’re welcome. The unifying theme for our pair of vignettes is the underworld. Our first story features a private detective in touch with the seedier side of the city, the one concealed from the sight of more civilized society. Our second story centers on an unlikely protagonist and the wraith that has emerged from the shadows only to meet its match in a man with a f****d-up knee and zero f***s left to give. Plus, it’s Halloween, so why not end on a story about a shadow figure? View the original stories on Vocal to read along (ordered by appearance): “Privateyeism”: https://vocal.media/fiction/privateeyeism “A Far Greater Horror”: https://vocal.media/horror/a-far-greater-horrorCheck out Chapter 1 of A Bloody Business, a humorous rampage through history written by the same comedic genius and narrated by the same voice talent whose stylings you’ve heard in Season 3: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2I9qKhmGGhBBLfCQUcEcOg And, as always, please consider leaving a quick rating or review wherever you listen. Cover photo by Eduardo Mallmann and licensed through Unsplash.

    7 min
  6. S3 E8: My First Day (The Finale)

    10/24/2025

    S3 E8: My First Day (The Finale)

    For the eighth and final episode of Season 3, we conclude young Jason’s first assignment as junior and senior Nightingale, now armed with a plan to flush out their target, do what they do best: wanton violence. However, the golden-locked girl that confronts them turns out to be more of a mask for a golden-locked demon hiding beneath. Lusario and Jason will find themselves facing physical, magical, and psychological forces. Will all of Jason’s training hold up in this baptism of fire? View the original story on Vocal to read along: https://vocal.media/humor/my-first-day-part-3-the-finale If you enjoyed this story, don’t forget to vote in our poll or leave a comment—if you listen on Spotify—and you might just see a future book from our author centering on Jason Nightingale. That’s right, we opened Season 3 with a concept for a novel, and we have just spent the past three episodes concluding the season in epic fashion with another future book concept. Why? Because we’re just that goddamn clever, that’s why. And, as always, please consider leaving a quick rating or review wherever you listen. And stick around next week for one final chaser to close out Season 3. Specifically, a pair of flash fictions united by theme: Dwellers of the Underworld. Nothing like a little dark humor to round out our comedy tour in this bonus episode. Cover photo by Peter Robbins and licensed through Unsplash.

    21 min
  7. S3 E7: My First Day (Part 2)

    10/17/2025

    S3 E7: My First Day (Part 2)

    For the seventh episode of Season 3, we rejoin Jason Nightingale as he settles into guard duty. But our go-getter knows better than to sit idle. On the agenda: archery practice, discussions of unconventional foods, and self-esteem exercises for a certain bear cub feeling down on his romantic prospects. Jason may even make his first-ever friend—and proceed to have a panic attack at the idea of having a friend. And it might turn out that this “not-friend” is holding back critical information that our young trainee needs to ferret out. And don’t go anywhere, because next we conclude with the kickass finale of “My First Day” and Season 3. Follow the podcast so you won’t miss the final confrontation with the golden-locked antagonist, who turns out to be far from just another pretty face. Instead, she might just be a pretty face with otherworldly allies and an arsenal of magic. View the original story on Vocal to read along: https://vocal.media/humor/my-first-day-part-2 And, as always, please consider leaving a quick rating or review wherever you listen. Cover photo by Stoic Rhino and licensed through Unsplash.

    14 min
  8. S3 E6: My First Day (Part 1)

    10/10/2025

    S3 E6: My First Day (Part 1)

    For the sixth episode of Season 3, we join a youth from humble origins who is eager to climb the ranks of an up-and-coming private security firm known as the Nightingale Agency. Young Jason brings several advantages to the organization: no family, no friends, and no ties to otherwise distract him from his training. Just so long as the Nightingales continue to feed him, he’ll do whatever they ask. Follow the Nightingale apprentice as he and his mentor have been called to the home of three bears under threat by a home invader backed by nefarious corporate interests. But even with his singular focus and food-based motivation, will he have the skills needed to complete his first official assignment? So epic is this tale that we decided to split it up into three parts for our season finale. So tune in next week for Part 2! View the original story on Vocal to read along: https://vocal.media/humor/my-first-day-part-1 And, as always, please consider leaving a quick rating or review wherever you listen. Cover photo by Lene Magro and licensed through Unsplash.

    13 min
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No ads. Ever. Stephen writes them. Jon narrates them. You listen to them(?). Limited run fiction series with seasons themed around different genres (history, humor, horror). New episodes air weekly for the duration of a season. Credits: - Voice narration by Jonathan Kilgore - Stories written by Stephen A. Roddewig unless otherwise noted - Cover photo by Matt Botsford and licensed through Unsplash All copyrights belong with their respective creators

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