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Tonight, we’ll read the second half to “The Otter Opal”, a Snoozecast original. The first half aired in the last episode, where we met two sea otters as they floated above the kelp forest. Their days are spent sleeping, eating, napping, playing and racing. Tumma excels at all activities, except for the swim races. We also learn that sea otters often have a favorite stone that they keep in a pocket of their fur, and Tumma finds himself an extraordinary one. In many Indigenous coastal traditions, sea otters have been viewed as symbols of curiosity, transformation, and cleverness. Their habit of using tools—especially stones—makes them one of the few non-human animals known to do so. — read by 'V' — Sign up for Snoozecast+ to get expanded, ad-free access by going to snoozecast.com/plus!

Tonight, we’ll read the first half to “The Otter Opal”, a Snoozecast original. The second half will air in the next episode. In this story, we shall meet two sea otters named Tumma and Nutsnm as they float above the kelp forest. The story is set along a coastline that feels quietly enchanted, where breaching whales appear like punctuation and the sea’s rhythm gently matches the internal tide of thought. We begin, as Tumma does, suspended between waking and dreaming, wondering where the day might carry him. — read by 'V' — Sign up for Snoozecast+ to get expanded, ad-free access by going to snoozecast.com/plus!

Tonight, we’ll read a Snoozecast original, “The Great Kite Caper of Crinkle Creek.”Every March, the sky over the town of Crinkle Creek bursts with color as kites of all shapes and sizes take flight. Winnie Maple has spent all winter preparing her entry, The Sky Fox, determined to outfly the competition. But as the contest begins, Winnie learns just how unpredictable the wind can be.

Tonight, for our monthly Snoozecast+deluxe bonus episode we’ll read “The Sky Pool”.When a broken air conditioner leads Theo and Mira to spend the evening on the rooftop of their college, a passing remark sparks a conversation about an old mystery—one that stretches across lost manuscripts, whispered folklore, and the vanished notes of a long-forgotten scholar.The Sky Pool is an example of a frame story, specifically a nested story where one tale leads into another, each revealing a new layer of the legend. Some popular examples of frame stories include One Thousand and One Nights and The Turn of the Screw.— read by 'N' —Sign up for Snoozecast+ Deluxe to get expanded, ad-free access by going to snoozecast.com/plus!

Tonight, we’ll read a Snoozecast original, “Spandex Jackets (One for Everyone).” Listeners who are fans of Steely Dan may be aware that the title is a reference to Donald Fagen’s 1982 track “I.G.Y. (What a Beautiful World)”. The story itself draws inspiration from the song which paints a retro-futuristic dream of undersea rails, solar-powered cities and the promise of a gloriously bright tomorrow.The acronym in the song title I.G.Y. references the “International Geophysical Year” a real life global scientific project that ran from July 1, 1957 to December 31st 1958. It brought together scientists from 67 nations to collaborate on studying Earth’s geophysical properties, including its atmosphere, oceans, and polar regions. IGY marked significant advancements in space research, such as the launch of the first artificial satellites (Sputnik by the Soviet Union and Explorer by the United States). Its spirit of international cooperation laid the groundwork for many subsequent collaborative scientific endeavors.

Tonight, for our monthly Snoozecast Deluxe bonus episode, we’ll read a Snoozecast original story featuring the day in the life of the famous American folkhero Johnny Appleseed.Born Johnathan Chapman, Johnny was an American pioneer nurseryman who introduced trees grown with apple seeds (rather than through grafting) to large parts of many states including Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Ontario and West Virginia. He became an American legend while still alive, due to his kind, generous ways, his leadership in conservation, and the symbolic importance that he attributed to apples. He was also a missionary for The New Church and the inspiration for many museums and historical sites.The popular image is of Johnny Appleseed spreading apple seeds randomly everywhere he went. In fact, he planted nurseries rather than orchards, built fences around them to protect them from livestock and wildlife, left the nurseries in the care of a neighbor who sold trees on shares, and returned every year or two to tend the nursery. It is said that toward the end of his career he encountered a travelling missionary preaching to an open-air congregation. The sermon was long and severe on the topic of extravagance, because the pioneers were buying such indulgences as calico and imported tea. The preacher repeatedly asked "Where now is there a man who, like the primitive Christians, is traveling to heaven barefooted and clad in coarse raiment?" Finally, Johnny Appleseed walked up to him, put his bare foot on the stump that had served as a pulpit, and said, "Here's your primitive Christian!"Thank you to our premium subscribers, and we hope that our Deluxe listeners enjoy tonight’s sleep story. If you are interested in learning more about what Snoozecast+ and Snoozecast+ Deluxe offer, please go to snoozecast.com/plus— read by 'N' —Sign up for Snoozecast+ to get expanded, ad-free access by going to snoozecast.com/plus!

Tonight, we’ll read a Snoozcast original titled “The Root King”. Deep beneath the earth sleep The Root King, who ensures that the land is fertile and the crops grow strong. This year however, The Root King fails to rise and the fields grow barren. The village elders send a chosen one underground to wake The Root King, only to discover the secret of his slumber.— read by 'V' —Sign up for Snoozecast+ to get expanded, ad-free access by going to snoozecast.com/plus!

Tonight, for the last episode of our 6th annual “Spooky Sleep Story Series”, we shall read a Snoozecast original, “The Cat Who Speaks Once a Year.” about a young girl Lila Everwood who loves Halloween especially – because it’s the only night of the year her cat, Toby, can speak. We hoped you tuned in every Wednesday this month for sleep stories of the darker variety- like classic horror literature and ghost stories. If you prefer to avoid the mildly macabre we hope you’ll enjoy one of our many other stories available wherever you listen to podcasts.Every year Lila and Toby set out on Halloween on small adventures, solving magical mysteries and keeping their town of New Hope safe from mischievous spirits.However, this Halloween is different, as Toby seems tense, hinting that the force they’ll be up against this year has been waiting for centuries to reclaim the town…— read by 'V' —Sign up for Snoozecast+ to get expanded, ad-free access by going to snoozecast.com/plus!

Tonight, we’ll read the conclusion to a Snoozecast original sleep story titled “Max Morrow and the Train of Tomorrow.Previously on Max Morrow…Max finds a mysterious train ticket in his grandfather’s old jacket that leads him to a hidden train station platform, where he boarded a strange, time-traveling train called The Flying Yankee. Inside, he meets Professor Aldous “Tock” Tickwell, who tells him he’s a new “Guardian of Time” and whisks him off to Munich, 1893 to help set right a potential developing ripple in time centered on a young Albert Einstein.— read by 'N' —Sign up for Snoozecast+ to get expanded, ad-free access by going to snoozecast.com/plus!

Tonight, for this month’s Snoozecast+ Deluxe bonus episode, we’ll read a Snoozecast original story titled “The Goose, the Fox and the Dog”. In this tale, a quiet farmer returns from a bustling town market with his purchases: a fox, a goose, and a sack of grain. On his way home, he faces a dilemma as to how to cross the riverbank with his goods. The small boat can only carry one of his new acquisitions at a time, but to do so would surely ruin the others before they could be transported across. While the animals ceaselessly squabble and fret, the simple farmer keeps them all safe with his patience and steadiness.This story is inspired by the classic “river crossing puzzle” in which the object is to carry items from one river bank to another, usually in the fewest trips. The difficulty of the puzzle may arise from restrictions on which or how many items can be transported at the same time, or which or how many items may be safely left together. The earliest known river-crossing problems occur in a manuscript from the 9th century.This type of puzzle is also a form of recreational mathematics, which is to say it is carried out for entertainment rather than for research, formal education or professional applications. These sorts of puzzles and games are often appealing to children and untrained adults and can inspire their further study of the subject. Some of the more well-known topics in recreational mathematics are Rubik's Cubes, magic squares, fractals, logic puzzles and mathematical chess problems, the culture and aesthetics of mathematics, amusing stories and coincidences about mathematics, and the personal lives of mathematicians.— read by 'N' —Sign up for Snoozecast+ to get expanded, ad-free access by going to snoozecast.com/plus!