Thirty Degrees Cattywonkus by James Bell Episode #430
James Bell | September 21, 2025-
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Thirty Degrees Cattywonkus by James Bell Episode #430
James Bell
THIRTY DEGREE CATTYWONKUS
Episode #430 · Written by James Bell · Narrated by Scott Miller
Four days after moving into their new home, Ernie Lane begins noticing something that doesn’t belong there. Some nights a narrow door appears in the hallway between the living room and the study. Other nights the wall is perfectly smooth. At first he blames the confusion of settling into a huge house with too many rooms to count.
But curiosity grows stronger than common sense. When Ernie finally investigates the mysterious doorway, he finds himself looking into a crooked, smoke-filled chamber where the floor tilts sharply and a handful of cheerful scientists run an experiment beneath his home. To them, Ernie isn’t just a curious homeowner. He is part of a carefully chosen pair meant to populate a brand-new dimension.
James Bell’s “Thirty Degrees Cattywonkus” mixes dimensional science fiction with playful satire. The story moves quickly from suburban unease to bureaucratic absurdity as Ernie learns that entire governments are involved in the project unfolding beneath his hallway. Committees are watching, observers are taking notes, and the success of a new world depends on two unsuspecting newlyweds.
The situation becomes even stranger when Ernie realizes he may not even be the only version of himself involved. In a place where physics shifts and doorways refuse to stay put, the only question left is how to get back to the life he thought he understood.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
James Bell published science fiction during the 1950s in magazines that favored imaginative concepts and humorous speculation. His stories appeared during the period when short fiction dominated the genre, often exploring unusual scientific ideas with a comic twist.
“Thirty Degrees Cattywonkus” stands out for its blend of dimensional theory, government bureaucracy, and domestic comedy. Bell’s approach places an ordinary newlywed at the center of a wildly complicated experiment, turning the creation of an entirely new world into a problem that begins with a single unexplained door in a hallway.
LISTEN TO THE STORY
Listen to Thirty Degrees Cattywonkus by James Bell — a vintage science fiction short story where a mysterious door leads to a crooked experimental world beneath a suburban house.
LOST VOICES OF VINTAGE SCI-FI
Not every science fiction writer built a long career in the field or became a widely recognized name. Some published only a handful of stories before disappearing from the magazines, leaving behind little biographical record and few surviving details. Others may be remembered for work in different genres, while their contribution to science fiction was brief.
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The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast exists in part to rediscover these voices. The stories below were written by authors who published briefly, sparingly, or whose science fiction output was small - but whose work still deserves to be heard.
- The Ultimate Paradox by Thorp McClusky
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- Welcome to Paradise by Allyn Donnelson
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- Up For Renewal by Lucius Daniel
- Patch by William Shedenhelm
- Rabbits Have Long Ears by Lawrence F. Willard
- Electronic Landslide by Clyde Hostetter
- They Reached for the Moon by William Oberfield
- Death Walks on Mars by Alan J. Ramm
- When the Moon Fell by Morrison Colladay
- Know They Neighbor by Elisabeth R. Lewis
- The Other One by A. H. Gibson
- No Evidence by Victoria Lincoln
- The Man Who Liked Lions by John Bernard Daley
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- The Short Snorter by Charles Einstein
- Your Servant Sir by Sol Boren
- The Fugitives by Malcolm B. Morehart Jr
- Leave Earthmen or Die by John Massie Davis
- And All the Girls Were Nude by Richard Magruder
- Rabbits Have Long Ears by Lawrence F. Willard
- Dust Unto Dust by Lyman D. Hinckley
- Cosmic Tragedy by Thomas S. Gardiner
- Day of Wrath by Bjarne Kirchhoff
- You Are Forbidden by Jerry Shelton
- Thirty Degrees Cattywonkus by James Bell
- The Small Bears by Gene L. Henderson
- The First Spaceman by Gene L. Henderson
ABOUT THE LOST SCI-FI PODCAST
The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast is the most listened-to vintage science fiction podcast in the world. Ranked the #1 Science Fiction Podcast in 35 countries and heard in more than 190 countries, the show has surpassed 3.9 million listens.
Each episode features carefully selected stories from the Golden Age of science fiction, professionally narrated. Timeless storytelling the way it was meant to be heard.
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