Snoozecast
776 episodes - English - Latest episode: 4 months ago - ★★★★★ - 758 ratingsSnoozecast is the podcast designed to help you fall asleep.
Episodes air every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Learn more about us at snoozecast.com, and learn about our premium listening options at snoozecast.com/plus, which unlocks ad-free listening to our expanded catalog, including bonus original stories.
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Episodes
Nature
June 07, 2019 05:00 - 7 minutesWe hope you enjoy this preview of an episode from our back catalog available to our premium subscribers. Tonight, we’ll read from, "Nature", an essay published in 1836 by Ralph Waldo Emerson. In the essay Emerson puts forth the foundation of transcendentalism, a belief system that espouses a non-traditional appreciation of nature. Transcendentalism suggests that the divine, or God, suffuses nature, and suggests that reality can be understood by studying nature. To unlock full episodes, ad-fre...
The Voyage Out
June 05, 2019 05:00 - 7 minutesWe hope you enjoy this preview of an episode from our back catalog available to our premium subscribers. Tonight we'll read from, "The Voyage Out" by Virginia Woolf, first published in 1915. In the story Rachael Vinrace embarks for South America on her father's ship and is launched on a course of self-discovery in a kind of modern mythical voyage. The novel also introduces Clarissa Dalloway, who would become the central character of Woolf's later novel, "Mrs Dalloway." To unlock full episode...
The Jungle Book
June 03, 2019 05:00 - 7 minutesWe hope you enjoy this preview of an episode from our back catalog available to our premium subscribers. Tonight, we'll read the opening to, "The Jungle Book", an 1894 collection by the English author Rudyard Kipling. Most of the characters are animals such as a tiger and a bear, though a principal character is the boy or "man-cub" Mowgli, who is raised in the jungle by wolves. The stories are set in a forest in India. To unlock full episodes, ad-free listening, and more, please go to snoozec...
The Island of Dr. Moreau
May 31, 2019 05:00 - 7 minutesWe hope you enjoy this preview of an episode from our back catalog available to our premium subscribers. Tonight, we’ll read from, "The Island of Dr. Moreau" an 1896, classic, early science-fiction novel, by author H. G. Wells. The novel is the earliest depiction of the science fiction motif "uplift" in which a more advanced species intervenes in the evolution of an animal species to bring the later to a higher level of intelligence. In this story, a shipwrecked man is rescued by a passing bo...
This Side of Paradise
May 29, 2019 05:00 - 7 minutesWe hope you enjoy this preview of an episode from our back catalog available to our premium subscribers. Tonight, we’ll read from “This Side of Paradise”, the 1920 debut novel from F. Scott Fitzgerald, who later wrote "The Great Gatsby". The book examines the lives and morality of post–World War I youth. The novel famously helped F. Scott Fitzgerald gain Zelda Sayre's hand in marriage; its publication was her condition of acceptance. To unlock full episodes, ad-free listening, and more, pleas...
Bamboo and the Turtle
May 27, 2019 05:00 - 7 minutesWe hope you enjoy this preview of an episode from our back catalog available to our premium subscribers. Tonight, we’ll read a classic Chinese folk tale, “Bamboo and the Turtle” from “A Chinese Wonder Book”, written by Norman Hinsdale Pitman in 1919. The tale features a boy named Bamboo and a special talking turtle. To unlock full episodes, ad-free listening, and more, please go to snoozecast.com/plus. — read by 'V' — Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Walden pt. 2
May 24, 2019 05:00 - 7 minutesWe hope you enjoy this preview of an episode from our back catalog available to our premium subscribers. Tonight, we read another snoozy excerpt from Walden, chapter 9, "The Ponds”, by transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau. Originally published in 1854, it is a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings. The work is part personal declaration of independence, social experiment, voyage of spiritual discovery, satire, and—to some degree—a manual for self-reliance. To unlock full episo...
Bartleby, The Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street
May 22, 2019 05:00 - 7 minutesWe hope you enjoy this preview of an episode from our back catalog available to our premium subscribers. Tonight, we'll be reading "Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street". A short story, by Herman Melville, first serialized anonymously in two parts in 1853. In the story, a Wall St. lawyer hires a new clerk who, after an initial bout of hard work, refuses to do any task required of him. Though no great success at the time of it's publication "Bartleby, the Scrivener" is now among th...
My Father's Dragon
May 20, 2019 05:00 - 7 minutesWe hope you enjoy this preview of an episode from our back catalog available to our premium subscribers. Tonight, we read the beginning of, “My Father’s Dragon” by Ruth Stiles Gannett, first published in 1948. A Newbery Honor Book, this children’s story follows the adventures of a young boy, Elmer Elevator, who runs away to Wild Island to rescue a baby dragon. To unlock full episodes, ad-free listening, and more, please go to snoozecast.com/plus. — read by 'J' — Learn more about your ad cho...
New Hampshire
May 17, 2019 05:00 - 7 minutesWe hope you enjoy this preview of an episode from our back catalog available to our premium subscribers. We read from Robert Frost's, 1924 Pulitzer Prize winning poetry collection titled, "New Hampshire" tonight. Frost was an American poet who was much admired for his depictions of the rural life of New England, his command of American colloquial speech, and his realistic verse portraying ordinary people in everyday situations. To unlock full episodes, ad-free listening, and more, please go t...
Following the Equator
May 15, 2019 05:00 - 7 minutesWe hope you enjoy this preview of an episode from our back catalog available to our premium subscribers. Mark Twain's, "Following the Equator" (sometimes titled "More Tramps Abroad") is a non-fiction social commentary in the form of a travelogue published in 1897. Twain found himself nearly bankrupt at the age of 60 — so he took a lecture tour of the British Empire to generate funds and published this book, which was critical of Imperialism. To unlock full episodes, ad-free listening, and mor...
The Bell
May 13, 2019 05:00 - 7 minutesWe hope you enjoy this preview of an episode from our back catalog available to our premium subscribers. Tonight, we read a tale from Hans Andersen’s Fairy Tales called The Bell. In a village, everyone can hear the sounds of a mysterious bell. The townspeople set out to find the source. Hans Christian Andersen, a Danish writer, is known as one of the world’s classic storytellers. To unlock full episodes, ad-free listening, and more, please go to snoozecast.com/plus. — read by 'M' — Learn mo...
The Prophet
May 10, 2019 05:00 - 7 minutesWe hope you enjoy this preview of an episode from our back catalog available to our premium subscribers. "The Prophet" by the Lebanese American poet and writer Kahlil Gibran, was first published in 1923. "The Prophet" has been translated in over one hundred languages making it one of the most translated books in history, and it's never been out of print. To unlock full episodes, ad-free listening, and more, please go to snoozecast.com/plus. — read by 'V' — Learn more about your ad choices. V...
The Age of Innocence
May 08, 2019 05:00 - 7 minutesWe hope you enjoy this preview of an episode from our back catalog available to our premium subscribers. Tonight, we read from, "The Age of Innocence", a 1920 novel by American author Edith Wharton. It won the 1921 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, making Wharton the first woman to win the prize. The story is set in the 1870s, in upper-class, "Gilded-Age" New York City. To unlock full episodes, ad-free listening, and more, please go to snoozecast.com/plus. — read by 'M' — Learn more about your ad...
Momotaro
May 06, 2019 05:00 - 7 minutesWe hope you enjoy this preview of an episode from our back catalog available to our premium subscribers. Tonight, we read the classic Japanese folk tale, "Momotaro", or, "The Story of the Son of a Peach." The story is about a boy who comes from heaven inside a giant peach to be the son of an old childless couple. This English translation is from Yei Theodora Ozaki, who included it in her 1911 compilation, Japanese Fairy Tales. To unlock full episodes, ad-free listening, and more, please go to...
Night Swim
May 03, 2019 05:00 - 7 minutesWe hope you enjoy this preview of an episode from our back catalog available to our premium subscribers. Tonight, we're pleased to read a Snoozecast original story, "Night Swim" is a short, 2nd person narrative that finds you meeting an old friend to find a secret swimming spot, a lake within the hills, as the night slips away... To unlock full episodes, ad-free listening, and more, please go to snoozecast.com/plus. — read by 'M' — Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Call of the Wild
April 30, 2019 20:00 - 7 minutesWe hope you enjoy this preview of an episode from our back catalog available to our premium subscribers. "The Call of the Wild" is the classic 1903 adventure story by Jack London. The novel is set in Yukon, Canada, during the 1890s Klondike Gold Rush, when strong sled dogs were in high demand. The central character of the novel is a dog named "Buck". The story opens at a Californian ranch, when Buck is stolen from his home and sold into service as an Alaskan sled dog. The story, which was e...
Peter Pan pt. 2
April 29, 2019 05:00 - 7 minutesWe hope you enjoy this preview of an episode from our back catalog available to our premium subscribers. Tonight, we'll continue reading, "Peter Pan" the 1911 novel by J. M. Barrie. When we last left off the Darling children, Wendy, Michael and John, as well as Mrs. Darling herself were fast asleep in the nursery, while Peter Pan, the free-spirited boy from Neverland sneaks into the room. We pick up at the start of Chapter 2, "The Shadow." To unlock full episodes and ad-free listening of this...
The Mysterious Affair at Styles
April 26, 2019 05:00 - 7 minutesWe hope you enjoy this preview of an episode from our back catalog available to our premium subscribers. Tonight, we read from the detective novel "The Mysterious Affair at Styles", which is the very first published novel by Agatha Christie. She wrote it in the middle of World War I, and it was first published in 1920. The story features many of the elements that have become icons of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, largely due to Christie's influence. “The Mysterious Affair at Styles” la...
Anne of Green Gables
April 24, 2019 05:00 - 29 minutesTonight, we read from the classic 1908 novel, "Anne of Green Gables", written by Lucy Maud Montgomery. Written for all ages, it recounts the adventures of an orphan named Anne on Prince Edward Island, Canada. — read by 'M' — Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
April 22, 2019 05:00 - 7 minutesWe hope you enjoy this preview of an episode from our back catalog available to our premium subscribers. "The Hunchback of Notre Dame", is a French Gothic novel by Victor Hugo, published in 1831. Hugo wrote it largely to make his contemporaries more aware of the value of the Gothic architecture, which was neglected and often destroyed to be replaced by new buildings or defaced by replacement of parts of buildings in a newer style. The story is set in Paris in 1482 during the reign of Louis XI...
Old Fashioned Flowers
April 19, 2019 05:00 - 7 minutesWe hope you enjoy this preview of an episode from our back catalog available to our premium subscribers. Belgian author, Maurice Maeterlinck, wrote this essay collection, "Old Fashioned Flowers" in 1905. Maeterlinck, who lived from 1862-1949, was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1911. This book is an ode to flowers and springtime. To unlock full episodes, ad-free listening, and more, please go to snoozecast.com/plus. — read by 'V' — Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphon...
The Picture of Dorian Gray
April 17, 2019 05:00 - 7 minutesWe hope you enjoy this preview of an episode from our back catalog available to our premium subscribers. We read the opening to, "The Picture of Dorian Gray" written by Oscar Wilde and first published in 1890. The Gothic and philosophical story was considered offensive and indecent by Victorian English sensibilities. It was thus censored, sparking much controversy. The title character, Dorian Gray, sells his soul to make a portrait of himself age, rather than himself. To unlock full episodes,...
The Princess and the Goblin
April 15, 2019 05:00 - 7 minutesWe hope you enjoy this preview of an episode from our back catalog available to our premium subscribers. Published in 1872, "The Princess and the Goblin" is a children's fantasy novel. One of the most successful and beloved of Victorian fairy tales, George MacDonald's, "The Princess and the Goblin" tells the story of young Princess Irene and her friend Curdie, who must outwit the threatening goblins who live in caves beneath her mountain home. To unlock full episodes and ad-free listening of ...
Flatland
April 12, 2019 05:00 - 7 minutesWe hope you enjoy this preview of an episode from our back catalog available to our premium subscribers. Written in 1884 by Edwin Abbott Abbott, "Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions" was written under the pseudonym, "A. Square." The book used the fictional two dimensional world of Flatland to comment on the hierarchy of Victorian Culture. The novella's more enduring contribution is it's examination of different dimensions. To unlock full episodes, ad-free listening, and more, please go to ...
Moby Dick
April 10, 2019 05:00 - 7 minutesWe hope you enjoy this preview of an episode from our back catalog available to our premium subscribers. "Ceteology" is the title of Chapter 32 of Herman Melville's 1851 "Moby Dick". This chapter is a detour from the progress of the plot, and Melville delves into the study of marine mammal like dolphins and whales. Moby Dick was a commercial flop at the time, out of print by Melville's death, and only found it's reputation as a great American novel in the 20th century. Author D.H. Lawrence ca...
The Sea Fairies pt. 2
April 08, 2019 05:00 - 7 minutesWe hope you enjoy this preview of an episode from our back catalog available to our premium subscribers. Tonight, we read another excerpt from L. Frank Baum's, "The Sea Fairies", picking up more or less where we left off. Baum is best known for, "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz". "The Sea Fairies" is a magical underwater fantasy following Mayre Griffiths, nicknamed Trot, as she fulfills her wish of seeing a mermaid for the first time. Her adventure is filled with a journey through an underwater ...
The Early History of the Airplane
April 05, 2019 05:00 - 7 minutesWe hope you enjoy this preview of an episode from our back catalog available to our premium subscribers. Tonight, we read "The Early History of the Airplane" written by Orville and Wilbur Wright. This book consists of three short essays about the beginnings of human flight. The Wright Brothers weren't the first to build and fly an aircraft, but they were the first to invent the ability to control the aircraft's wings and make modern flight possible in 1903. This is their recounting of the wor...
The Meaning of Relativity
April 03, 2019 05:00 - 7 minutesWe hope you enjoy this preview of an episode from our back catalog available to our premium subscribers. Tonight, we read from Albert Einstein’s, "The Meaning of Relativity". This compilation of Princeton lectures address the consequences of Einstein's theories of relativity. Einstein developed these theories which became one of the two pillars of modern physics (alongside quantum mechanics). Special relativity applies to elementary particles and their interactions, describing all their physi...
The Bamboo-Cutter & The Moon-Child pt. 2
April 01, 2019 05:00 - 7 minutesWe hope you enjoy this preview of an episode from our back catalog available to our premium subscribers. Tonight, we continue where we left off from a Japanese folk story called The Bamboo-Cutter and the Moon-Child. It is taken from a book originally published in 1908 by Yei Theodora Ozaki, from Tokyo. The author’s story was inspired by the Japanese classic, "Taketari Monogatari.” In the story, the father, the bamboo-cutter, beseeches his beautiful and magical moon-princess adopted daughter t...
Vistas in Sicily
March 29, 2019 05:00 - 7 minutesWe hope you enjoy this preview of an episode from our back catalog available to our premium subscribers. "Vistas in Sicily" is a 1912 travel memoir by Arthur Stanley Riggs. Riggs was an American writer and historian, in 1898 he served in the navy for the Spanish American War, and decades later served as librarian for the Office of Censorship during World War II. To unlock full episodes, ad-free listening, and more, please go to snoozecast.com/plus. — read by 'V' — Learn more about your ad c...
The Man in the Arena
March 27, 2019 05:00 - 7 minutesWe hope you enjoy this preview of an episode from our back catalog available to our premium subscribers. Tonight, we read the opening to the 1910 speech by Theodore Roosevelt entitled, "Citizenship in a Republic" at the Sorbonne in Paris. The speech is popularly known as "The Man in the Arena." To this day, someone who is heavily involved in a situation that requires courage, skill, or tenacity is sometimes referred to as "the man in the arena." To unlock full episodes, ad-free listening, and...
Viking Tale
March 25, 2019 05:00 - 7 minutesWe hope you enjoy this preview of an episode from our back catalog available to our premium subscribers. Tonight, we read from the beginning of a book called "Viking Tale", written in 1902 by Jennie Hall. This book is focused around the story of Harald Fairhair, first king of Norway around the year 900, but also draws upon other sources to produce a view of Viking life. To unlock full episodes, ad-free listening, and more, please go to snoozecast.com/plus. — read by 'M' — Learn more about y...
Viking Tales
March 25, 2019 05:00 - 28 minutes - 13 MBTonight, I’ll be reading from the beginning of a book called "Viking Tales", written in 1902 by Jennie Hall. This book is focused around the story of Harald Fairhair, first king of Norway around the year 900, but also draws upon other sources to produce a view of Viking life. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/snoozecast)
The Flower Garden
March 22, 2019 05:00 - 7 minutesWe hope you enjoy this preview of an episode from our back catalog available to our premium subscribers. "The Flower Garden", by Ida Dandridge Bennett is a 1903 "how-to" horticultural book. To unlock full episodes, ad-free listening, and more, please go to snoozecast.com/plus. — read by 'V' — Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Peter Pan
March 20, 2019 05:00 - 7 minutesWe hope you enjoy this preview of an episode from our back catalog available to our premium subscribers. Tonight, we'll read the opening to the 1911 novel, "Peter Pan" by J. M. Barrie. Peter Pan is a mischievous boy who can fly and has many adventures on the island of Neverland. To unlock full episodes and ad-free listening of this series and more, please go to snoozecast.com/plus. — read by 'V' — Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Cave Diving in Tulum
March 18, 2019 05:00 - 7 minutesWe hope you enjoy this preview of an episode from our back catalog available to our premium subscribers. "Cave Diving in Tulum", is a story by Snoozecast. Tulum is the site of a pre-Columbian Mayan walled city which served as a major port for Coba, in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo . Cave diving is a popular attraction as the area boasts thousands of cenotes, or underground caves. To unlock full episodes, ad-free listening, and more, please go to snoozecast.com/plus. — read by 'M' — Lear...
The Moonstone
March 15, 2019 05:00 - 7 minutesWe hope you enjoy this preview of an episode from our back catalog available to our premium subscribers. Generally considered to be the first detective novel, "The Moonstone", originally published in 1868, set the groundwork for the genre's format to come. The Moonstone of the title is a diamond, not to be confused with the semi-precious moonstone gem. It gained its name from its association with the Hindu god of the moon, Chandra. It was said to be protected by hereditary guardians on the ...
Song of Myself
March 13, 2019 05:00 - 7 minutesWe hope you enjoy this preview of an episode from our back catalog available to our premium subscribers. Tonight, we read part of a poem by Walt Whitman titled, "Song of Myself", found in his 1855 collection, "Leaves of Grass". "Song of Myself" is considered one of the most influential poems in American history. Rather than being written in a structured, metered form, it is written in a rhythmic, chant-like quality through a series of vignettes. To unlock full episodes, ad-free listening, and...
East of the Sun and West of the Moon
March 11, 2019 05:00 - 7 minutesWe hope you enjoy this preview of an episode from our back catalog available to our premium subscribers. Tonight, we read a story out of the "Blue Fairy Book" called, "East of the Sun and West of the Moon", edited by Andrew Lang in 1889. This story is a Norwegian fairy tale about the search for a lost husband. To unlock full episodes, ad-free listening, and more, please go to snoozecast.com/plus. — read by 'V' — Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Heidi
March 08, 2019 06:00 - 7 minutesWe hope you enjoy this preview of an episode from our back catalog available to our premium subscribers. Tonight, we'll read the classic children’s story, "Heidi" published in 1881 by Swiss author Johanna Spyri. It is a novel about the life of a young girl in her grandfather's care in the Swiss Alps. Heidi is one of the best-selling books ever written and is is among the best-known works of Swiss literature. To unlock full episodes and ad-free listening of this series and more, please go to s...
Mysticism and Logic
March 06, 2019 06:00 - 7 minutesWe hope you enjoy this preview of an episode from our back catalog available to our premium subscribers. Tonight, we read the opening to a 1918 collection of essays titled, "Mysticism and Logic", by Bertrand Russell. Russell, a Nobel Prize winner, is one of the world’s best-known authorities on logic. In it, he challenges the romantic mysticism of the 19th century, positing instead his theory of logical atomism. To unlock full episodes, ad-free listening, and more, please go to snoozecast.com...
The Bamboo-Cutter & The Moon-Child
March 04, 2019 06:00 - 7 minutesWe hope you enjoy this preview of an episode from our back catalog available to our premium subscribers. Tonight, we read a Japanese folk story called, "The Bamboo-Cutter and the Moon-Child". It is taken from a book originally published in 1908 by Yei Theodora Ozaki, from Tokyo. The author’s story was inspired by the Japanese classic, "Taketari Monogata." To unlock full episodes, ad-free listening, and more, please go to snoozecast.com/plus. — read by 'V' — Learn more about your ad choices....
Drifting North
March 01, 2019 06:00 - 7 minutesWe hope you enjoy this preview of an episode from our back catalog available to our premium subscribers. "Cattle Brands" by Andy Adams is a collection of short stories best heard around a campfire. This tale, called "Drifting North" is a brief anecdote of the troubles a band of cow punchers run into while moving a herd through some dangerous country. The author, whose most famous work "Log of a Cowboy", writes from personal experience. Adams spent ten years driving cattle on western trails ...
Folk-Tales of Ceylon
February 27, 2019 06:00 - 7 minutesWe hope you enjoy this preview of an episode from our back catalog available to our premium subscribers. "Village Folk-Tales of Ceylon, Volume 3" was written by a British engineer living in colonial Ceylon during the Victorian era named Henry Parker. During his work as an engineer he developed an admiration for the skills displayed by the ancient Sinhalese at the time of the construction of their reservoirs. To unlock full episodes, ad-free listening, and more, please go to snoozecast.com/plu...
The Sea Fairies
February 25, 2019 06:00 - 7 minutesWe hope you enjoy this preview of an episode from our back catalog available to our premium subscribers. While L. Frank Baum is best known for the 14 novels in the “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” series the prolific children’s author explored other fantastical worlds. “The Sea Fairies” is an magical underwater fantasy following Mayre Griffiths, nicknamed Trot or occasionally "Tiny Trot” as she fulfills her wish of seeing a mermaid for the first time. Her adventure is filled with a journey thro...
The Kentish Coast
February 22, 2019 06:00 - 7 minutesWe hope you enjoy this preview of an episode from our back catalog available to our premium subscribers. “The Kentish Coast” by Charles G. Harper is one of many self-illustrated travel books, exploring the regions, roads, coastlines, literary connections, old inns and more - of Britain. To unlock full episodes, ad-free listening, and more, please go to snoozecast.com/plus. — read by 'V' — Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Our Family Affairs
February 20, 2019 06:00 - 7 minutesWe hope you enjoy this preview of an episode from our back catalog available to our premium subscribers. Originally published in 1920, “Our Family Affairs, 1867-1896” by E. F. Benson is a memoir by the precocious and prolific British author. Many of his works are famed for their wry and dry camp humor and social observation. To unlock full episodes, ad-free listening, and more, please go to snoozecast.com/plus. — read by 'V' — Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Our Family Affairs, 1867-1896
February 20, 2019 06:00 - 22 minutes - 10.1 MBOriginally published in 1920, “Our Family Affairs, 1867-1896” by E. F. Benson is a memoir by the precocious and prolific British author. Many of his works are famed for their wry and dry camp humor and social observation. — read by 'V' — Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/snoozecast)
The Toboggan Nationals
February 18, 2019 06:00 - 7 minutesWe hope you enjoy this preview of an episode from our back catalog available to our premium subscribers. Tonight we read a Snoozecast original titled, "The Toboggan Nationals" - the story is a second person narrative that takes you on a cold winter car ride through Maine's coastal landscape from owls head to your destination at The Toboggan National Championships in Camden. To unlock full episodes, ad-free listening, and more, please go to snoozecast.com/plus. — read by 'M' — Learn more abo...