Episodes

  • 1. A Nice Cup of Tea

    1. A Nice Cup of Tea
    Jun 25 2022

    George Orwell has rented a Scottish cottage to complete his final novel. Unfortunately, he's been double-booked with the very last person he'd choose a holiday with. 

    The first season of Untrue Stories will visit the worlds of both H. G. Wells' The Time Machine and George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, exploring how the infamous rivalry between two of Britain's greatest speculative fiction writers culminated in an astonishing, hilarious, and entirely untrue story of meddling with causality and bicycles. 

    In this episode, tea and tempers boil over as Orwell and his inadvertent roommate H. G. Wells argue over the fate that awaits humankind. Will society develop into Wells's steam-powered dream, or Orwell's dystopian nightmare? Wells' latest engineering project may allow them to settle their bet... 

    Starring Robin Johnson as George Orwell, Patrick Spragg as H. G. Wells, and Joanna Lawrie as Mrs Watchett. Sound effects were sourced from freesound.org. 

    References: 

    • Orwell's essay on A Nice Cup of Tea

    2022-09-09: This is episode 1, reuploaded and backdated to avert a catastrophe. Apologies for any confusion. 

    A transcript of this episode is available here. 

    If you've enjoyed the show, we'd love it if you could leave us a rating on iTunes, Spotify, Podchaser or your favourite podcast site/app — and tell your friends! 

    Follow us on 

    • twitter: @untrue_stories
    • facebook: untruestoriespodcast
    • instagram: untrue.stories
    • soundcloud: untrue-stories

    If you would like to help cover our costs, you can tip us at ko-fi.com/untruestories or buy Untrue Stories merch at our zazzle store. 

    Robin can be contacted at robindouglasjohnson@gmail.com. Share and Enjoy! 
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    15 mins
  • 2. The Wheels of Chance

    2. The Wheels of Chance
    Jun 25 2022

    H. G. Wells takes a wrong turn on his time-travelling bicycle, and finds that he and Orwell have both lost their bets. 

    Continuing the adventures of George Orwell and H. G. Wells, Wells' inaugural time-travel journey takes him a bit further into the future than he intended: instead of one week, he travels nearly forty years. What he finds matches neither his own predictions nor Orwell's – but is surprising, horrifying, and completely untrue. 

    Starring Robin Johnson as George Orwell and the telescreen voice, Patrick Spragg as H. G. Wells, Joanna Lawrie as Mrs Watchett, Tara Court as Julia, and Liselle Nic Giollobhain as Captain Rutherford. Sound effects were sourced from freesound.org.

    7 September 2022: This episode has been edited to enhance audio quality.

    A transcript of this episode is available here.

    If you've enjoyed the show, we'd love it if you could leave us a rating on iTunes, Spotify, Podchaser or your favourite podcast site/app — and tell your friends! 

    Follow us on 

    • twitter: @untrue_stories
    • facebook: untruestoriespodcast
    • instagram: untrue.stories
    • soundcloud: untrue-stories

    If you would like to help cover our costs, you can tip us at ko-fi.com/untruestories or buy Untrue Stories merch at our zazzle store. 

    Robin can be contacted at robindouglasjohnson@gmail.com. Share and Enjoy!
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    17 mins
  • 3. Battle Ground

    3. Battle Ground
    Jun 25 2022

    Wells and Julia have changed the future, but can they be sure they've changed it for the better? No. 

    H. G. Wells' and Julia's tinkering with the timeline has unexpected (and, of course, untrue) results. Julia, born in the future they've just changed, experiences a strange transformation as the timeline ripples... but what does it mean? And all the while, their enemies' power grows ever stronger, leading to the arrival of a character who might finally be able to give them some answers — but if so, they'll be in the next episode. 

    Starring Robin Johnson as George Orwell, Patrick Spragg as H. G. Wells, Tara Court as Julia, Liselle Nic Giollabhain as Captain Rutherford, and Joanna Lawrie as Mrs Watchett, plus special guest appearances by Lionel Ritchie, Annie Lennox, Roger Daltry, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Peter Gabriel, Edwin Starr and Tony Fenelle. Sound effects were sourced from freesound.org. 

    2022-09-07: This episode has been updated to improve audio quality.

    A transcript of this episode is available here.

    If you've enjoyed the show, we'd love it if you could leave us a rating on iTunes, Spotify, Podchaser or your favourite podcast site/app — and tell your friends! 

    Follow us on 

    • twitter: @untrue_stories
    • facebook: untruestoriespodcast
    • instagram: untrue.stories
    • soundcloud: untrue-stories

    If you would like to help cover our costs, you can tip us at ko-fi.com/untruestories or buy Untrue Stories merch at our zazzle store. 

    Robin can be contacted at robindouglasjohnson@gmail.com. Share and Enjoy!
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    13 mins
  • Season 1: Orwell, Wells, tea and time travel

    Season 1: Orwell, Wells, tea and time travel
    Jun 26 2022

    The infamous rivalry between two classic speculative fiction writers leads to a thrilling and bizarre story of tea, bicycles and time travel in Untrue Stories' first season, The Adventures of George Orwell and H. G. Wells. 

    Untrue Stories is a comedy-drama sci-fi serial that puts its own surreal spin on classic speculative fiction.

    Written and produced by Robin Johnson and starring Robin Johnson, Patrick Spragg, Tara Court, Joanna Lawrie and Liselle Nic Giollabhain. 

    A transcript of this trailer is available here.

    If you enjoy the show, we'd love it if you could leave us a rating on iTunes, Spotify, Podchaser or your favourite podcast site/app — and tell your friends! 

    Follow us on 

    • twitter: @untrue_stories
    • facebook: untruestoriespodcast
    • instagram: untrue.stories
    • soundcloud: untrue-stories

    If you would like to help cover our costs, you can tip us at ko-fi.com/untruestories or buy Untrue Stories merch at our zazzle store. 

    Robin can be contacted at robindouglasjohnson@gmail.com. Share and Enjoy!
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    2 mins
  • 4. How a Nation Is Exploited

    4. How a Nation Is Exploited
    Jul 9 2022
    How a power-crazed junta of 20th-century dystopian authors overthrew Western democracy — and what went wrong. In the fourth exciting instalment of the time-travelling adventures of George Orwell and H. G. Wells, 1984's Big Brother himself has appeared before our heroes to relate the story of his rise to power at the head of a team of dystopian visionaries — Ray Bradbury, Margaret Atwood, Aldous Huxley and Yevgeny Zamyatin. CAST Robin Johnson as George OrwellPatrick Spragg as H. G. WellsTara Court as JuliaLiselle Nic Giollabháin as Thought Deputy Chief RutherfordEve Morris as the security guardWITH SPECIAL GUEST DYSTOPIANS Alexander Paul Walsh as Yevgeny Zamyatin and the BBC AnnouncerSimon Beck as Aldous HuxleyDavid Court as Ray BradburyAlex Noussias as Margaret AtwoodZamyatin's We, often credited as the inspiration for dystopia as a modern genre, is in the public domain and you can find an English translation at Project Gutenberg. Huxley claimed not to have read We before he wrote Brave New World. Orwell definitely read both. Huxley really was Orwell's French teacher at Eton. The Oceanian National Anthem, Oceania, 'Tis For Thee, with lyrics extrapolated by Robin to the tune of The Internationale, can be heard on our soundcloud, sung by several of Robin and two of Eve. While this episode was in production, the US Supreme Court struck down the federally protected right to abortion. This directly endangers and removes bodily autonomy from tens of millions of Americans, and sets a terrifying example for the rest of the world. Of all the dystopian novels discussed in the episode, Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale is now the most horribly relevant. Untrue Stories is free, but if you've enjoyed it as much as something you'd pay a few dollars for, you could donate those dollars to an organisation like the National Network of Abortion Funds, and/or perhaps to an organisation that will help the queer and trans people whose rights the Court has more or less promised to dismantle next. (You can even make those donations if you haven't enjoyed the show.) Love and anger. 2022-07-27: This episode has been updated to adjust volume levels.A transcript of this episode is available here.If you've enjoyed the show, we'd love it if you could leave us a rating on iTunes, Spotify, Podchaser or your favourite podcast site/app — and tell your friends! Follow us on twitter: @untrue_storiesfacebook: untruestoriespodcastinstagram: untrue.storiessoundcloud: untrue-storiesIf you would like to help cover our costs, you can tip us at ko-fi.com/untruestories or buy Untrue Stories merch at our zazzle store. Robin can be contacted at robindouglasjohnson@gmail.com. Share and Enjoy!
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    19 mins
  • Mini-episode: Evil George Orwell

    Mini-episode: Evil George Orwell
    Jul 19 2022

    Bonus mini-episode! George Orwell meets the version of George Orwell that internet weirdos often seem to confuse him with. Starring Robin Johnson as George Orwell and Liselle Nic Giollabháin as Thought Police Officer Rutherford. 

    A transcript of this episode is available here.
    There's also a (slightly shortened) version of it as an illustrated, subtitled social media video here.

    If you've enjoyed the show, we'd love it if you could leave us a rating on iTunes, Spotify, Podchaser or your favourite podcast site/app — and tell your friends! 

    Follow us on 

    • twitter: @untrue_stories
    • facebook: untruestoriespodcast
    • instagram: untrue.stories
    • soundcloud: untrue-stories

    If you would like to help cover our costs, you can tip us at ko-fi.com/untruestories or buy Untrue Stories merch at our zazzle store. 

    Robin can be contacted at robindouglasjohnson@gmail.com. Share and Enjoy!
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    2 mins
  • Mini-episode: Exile to Hell

    Mini-episode: Exile to Hell
    Jul 31 2022

    Big Brother makes an unofficial visit to the Inner Hebrides joycamp to pay his personal respects to a special prisoner.

    This is a mini-episode taking place some time between the events of episode 4 "How a Nation is Exploited". Starring Robin Johnson as George Orwell, Alexander Walsh as Isaac Asimov, Eve Morris as the joycamp commander, Patrick Spragg as H. G. Wells, and Lionel Ritchie, Bill Withers and Curt Smith as Sonny Walk-Man.

    References

    • Isaac Asimov's review of Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four can be read here.

    A transcript of this episode is available here.

    If you've enjoyed the show, we'd love it if you could leave us a rating on iTunes, Spotify, Podchaser or your favourite podcast site/app — and tell your friends! 

    Follow us on 

    • twitter: @untrue_stories
    • facebook: untruestoriespodcast
    • instagram: untrue.stories
    • soundcloud: untrue-stories

    If you would like to help cover our costs, you can tip us at ko-fi.com/untruestories or buy Untrue Stories merch at our zazzle store. 

    Robin can be contacted at robindouglasjohnson@gmail.com. Share and Enjoy!
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    7 mins
  • Classic sci-fi authors in their own worlds (1-minute trailer)

    Classic sci-fi authors in their own worlds (1-minute trailer)
    Aug 4 2022

    What happens when two giants of speculative fiction double-book a getaway cottage... 

    A one-minute trailer for Season 1 of Untrue Stories, in which George Orwell and H. G. Wells argue about tea, go time travelling, and sort of accidentally-on-purpose overthrow western democracy. Includes material from episodes one through five. 

    Untrue Stories is a comedy-drama sci-fi serial that puts its own surreal spin on classic science fiction. 

    Written and produced by Robin Johnson. Starring Robin Johnson as George Orwell and the voiceover; Patrick Spragg as H. G. Wells; Joanna Lawrie as Mrs Watchett; Tara Court as Julia; Alexander Walsh as the BBC announcer and Isaac Asimov; Liselle Nic Giollabhain as Thought Captain Rutherford; and Canavan Connolly as the Morlock.  The music was composed and performed by Robin Johnson on kalimba, mountain dulcimer and electric bass, and sound effects were sourced from freesound.org (all effects used were released under a CC0 "no rights reserved" licence.)

    A transcript of this trailer is available here. 

    If you enjoy the show, we'd love it if you could leave us a rating on iTunes, Spotify, Podchaser or your favourite podcast site/app — and tell your friends! 

    Follow us on 

    • twitter: @untrue_stories
    • facebook: untruestoriespodcast
    • instagram: untrue.stories
    • soundcloud: untrue-stories

    If you would like to help cover our costs, you can tip us at ko-fi.com/untruestories or buy Untrue Stories merch at our zazzle store. 

    Robin can be contacted at robindouglasjohnson@gmail.com. Share and Enjoy!
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    1 min