Escape Pod 861: The Pill (Part 1 of 2)

Escape Pod

Escape Artists Foundation

Fiction, Drama, Science Fiction

4.7 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 3 November 2022

⏱️ 38 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The Pill (Part 1 of 2) By Meg Elison My mother took the Pill before anybody even knew about it. She was always signing up for those studies at the university, saying she was doing it because she was bored. I think she did it because they would ask her questions about herself and listen carefully when she answered. Nobody else did that. She had done it for lots of trials; sleep studies and allergy meds. She tried signing up when they tested the first 3D printed IUDs, but they told her she was too old. I remember her raging about that for days, and later when everybody in that study got fibroids she was really smug about it. She never suggested I do it instead; she knew I wasn’t fucking anybody. How embarrassing that my own mother didn’t even believe I was cute enough to get a date at sixteen. I tried not to care. And I’m glad now I didn’t get fibroids. I never wanted to be a lab rat, anyway. Especially when the most popular studies (and the ones Mom really went all-out for) were the diet ones.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	EscapePod Episode 861. The Pill. Part 1 of 2. By Meg Ellison.
0:30.0	Hello and welcome to EscapePod, your weekly science fiction podcast. I'm your host this week, Tina Connolly, and I am here to bring you The Pill by Meg Ellison.
0:54.0	This story first appeared in the collection, Big Girl, with PM Press, which was part of the outspoken author series.
1:02.0	Now, we're bringing this novel to you in two parts, so you will get Part 1 this week and Part 2 next week.
1:11.0	Meg Ellison is a Filp K Dick and Locust Award-winning author, as well as a Hugo, Nebula, Sturgeon, and otherwise awards finalist.
1:20.0	A prolific short story writer and essayist, Ellison has been published in Slate, McSweeney's, Fantasy and Science Fiction, Vangoria, and Canny, Lightspeed, Nightmare, and many other places.
1:34.0	Ellison is a high school dropout and a graduate of UC Berkeley. You can find her on Twitter and TikTok at Meg Ellison, and on Instagram at Megan Ellison.
1:44.0	And be sure to check out their most recent book, Number 1 Fan, as well.
1:51.0	Your narrator this week is Sandy Parsons. Sandy Parsons fiction can be read in analog science fiction, in fact, EscapePod, and reckoning among others.
2:01.0	In addition to writing fiction, Sandy also narrates audio fiction. When not writing, Sandy works as an anesthetist in Georgia.
2:10.0	More information and links to stories can be found at Sandy Parsons.com.
2:15.0	Your audio producer this week is Adam Bratt.
2:19.0	This absolutely fabulous stories content includes discussion of dieting, disordered eating, and anti-fat bias.
2:28.0	Also, there's some swearing.
2:32.0	So get ready to consider if you want in on the new drug trials, because it's story time.
2:45.0	The Pill by Meg Ellison, narrated by Sandy Parsons.
2:52.0	My mother took the pill before anybody even knew about it.
2:56.0	She was always signing up for those studies at the university, saying she was doing it because she was bored.
3:02.0	I think she did it because they would ask her questions about herself, and listen carefully when she answered.
3:08.0	Nobody else did that.
3:10.0	She had done it for lots of trials, sleep studies, and allergy meds. She tried signing up when they tested the first 3D printed IUDs, but they told her she was too old.
3:21.0	I remember her raging about that for days.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Escape Artists Foundation, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Escape Artists Foundation and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.