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Shoestring TV presents MAGNETAR – Day One: "Field Mice & Jumping Spiders"

High above the clouds, where sunlight dares not reach, two men are stationed at isolated observation posts—tasked with a mission they don’t understand, for a duration no one will define. Their only directive: observe and report on a seemingly abandoned cabin perched atop a remote mountain peak.

As the days blur into weeks, paranoia sets in, and the question grows louder: Why are they watching... and who is watching them?

A suspenseful blend of psychological mystery, atmospheric sci-fi, and slow-burn tension, this episode dives into the eerie unknown, where the line between duty and delusion begins to crack.

Keywords: sci-fi podcast, mystery thriller, psychological suspense, isolated surveillance, abandoned cabin, mountain observation, secret mission, high-altitude mystery

The Mission is the Mystery.

CAST:

Eric Carlino as Agent Pot Roast

Michael Cunningham as Agent Beef Stew

Brian Dahms as Tobey

Leslie Grant as Clementine

Original score:

Composed and performed by Logan Beard.

SUPPORT THE SHOW:

• Subscribe to our Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/c/ShoestringTV
  • Subscribing to our Patreon will give you total access to all episodes of Magnetar as well as core and bonus episodes of the audio horror podcast Leo Brawn.
• Donate - https://ko-fi.com/shoestringtv

• Join our Discord:
  • https://discord.gg/dkxDkX7K
• Like, share, follow, review

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Mixed, edited & directed by Larry Oblander

Created, written & produced by Jason Beard

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Shoestring TV presents MAGNETAR – Day Two: "Naturally Occurring Cows"

Agent Pot Roast recounts a recurring dream involving UFOs, little green men, and a surreal pasture filled with “naturally occurring cows”—livestock existing without fences, farmers, or interference. His bizarre vision sparks a deep (and darkly funny) conversation about humanity’s relationship with animals: Why do we cage some creatures while letting others run free? And who was the first person to look at a cow and think, “I should eat that”?

As philosophical musings collide with surveillance fatigue, a brief reprieve comes in the form of a strange virtual theater performance—staged by their AI assistant, Toby—a stylized 1950s domestic drama with sinister undertones. But things take a sharp turn when proximity alarms trigger and lightning strikes the observation target: an abandoned cabin on a remote mountain peak.

Is there a connection between dreams and physical events? Can thoughts shape reality? And what’s really happening in that cabin?

Dive into this eerie blend of sci-fi mystery, philosophical satire, and dark comedy—where cows, cabins, and cosmic questions collide.

Keywords: sci-fi podcast, surreal dreams, animal ethics, UFOs, virtual assistant AI, mysterious cabin, lightning strike, dark comedy, philosophical mystery, surveillance thriller

CAST:

Eric Carlino as Agent Pot Roast

Michael Cunningham as Agent Beef Stew

Brian Dahms as Tobey

Leslie Grant as Clementine

Original score by:

Composed and performed by Logan Beard.

SUPPORT THE SHOW:

• Subscribe to our Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/c/ShoestringTV
  • Subscribing to our Patreon will give you total access to all episodes of Magnetar as well as core and bonus episodes of the audio horror podcast Leo Brawn.
• Donate - https://ko-fi.com/shoestringtv
• Join our Discord:
  • https://discord.gg/dkxDkX7K
• Like, share, follow, review

Support the show

Mixed, edited & directed by Larry Oblander

Created, written & produced by Jason Beard

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Shoestring TV presents - Magnetar – Day Three: "Fuzzy-Trace Theory"
Genre: Sci-Fi Mystery • Dark Comedy • Futuristic Thriller

In this mind-bending episode of Magnetar, the routine turns rogue when a space window cleaner working for a secretive megacorp, the Company. While scrubbing glass on high-risk orbital research stations, Agent Pot Roast encounters an anomaly that shatters the narrative he’s been fed: fragments of a classified report suggest his mission, and even his memories, may have been engineered.

While attending a mandatory surface briefing, Agent Beef Stew grants unexpected access to his AI virtual assistant, Clementine—who reveals shocking intel to Agent Pot Roast that could unravel the truth behind their mission, their memories, and the Company’s hidden agenda. What Clementine knows will shake the foundations of everything Pot Roast thought was real.

As reality unravels and paranoia spikes, Pot Roast spirals into a mystery of memory manipulation, corporate conspiracies, and high-tech surveillance. Is he just cleaning windows—or scrubbing history itself?

Keywords: sci-fi podcast, mystery audio drama, memory manipulation, space conspiracy, futuristic thriller, black comedy podcast, Magnetar podcast, corporate sci-fi, audio fiction, space station mystery, psychological sci-fi

Starring:

• Eric Carlino as Agent Pot Roast
• Michael Cunningham as Agent Beef Stew
• Leslie Grant as Clementine
• Brian Dahms as Tobey

Guest Starring:

Shaun Scott as Mordecai (Inevitable Consequence Officer)

Larry Oblander as Unknown Interrogator

Mike Pelletier as Billiard Schrodinger

& Aliana Rivera as Jody Schrodinger

Original score by:

Composed and performed by Logan Beard.

SUPPORT THE SHOW:

• Subscribe to our Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/c/ShoestringTV
  • Subscribing to our Patreon will give you total access to all episodes of Magnetar as well as core and bonus episodes of the audio horror podcast Leo Brawn.
• Donate - https://ko-fi.com/shoestringtv
• Join our Discord:
  • https://discord.gg/dkxDkX7K
• Like, share, follow, review

Support the show

Mixed, edited & directed by Larry Oblander

Created, written & produced by Jason Beard

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Episode Summary:

Agent Pot Roast is summoned to the surface—an unusual and unsettling event in itself. But what awaits him is far worse: an official inquiry known only as The Census. Following the bizarre incident involving "naturally occurring cows" and a lightning strike on the surveillance cabin, Pot Roast finds himself at the center of suspicion.

He expected a debrief.
He got an interrogation.

As questions tighten like a noose, Pot Roast begins to suspect that this is no routine review—but a deeper probe into his thoughts, memories, and loyalties. Then, without warning, the room falls silent… and the Census Taker arrives.

Regal, eerie, and utterly unreadable, the Census Taker’s presence changes everything. What was once an investigation becomes something stranger—something existential.

Who watches the watchers? And what happens when the watchers are no longer trusted?

Starring:

• Eric Carlino as Agent Pot Roast
• Michael Cunningham as Agent Beef Stew
• Jane Beverley as the Census Taker
• Larry Oblander as Director Sylvan Chapman
• Shaun Scott as Inevitable Consequence Officer Mordecai
• Astrid WS as Deborah
• Marisa Conway as Nurse Bones
• & Grace Newton as Omniscient Voice

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Mixed, edited & directed by Larry Oblander

Created, written & produced by Jason Beard

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Episode Summary:

As punishment for his recent "cows incident," Agent Pot Roast is exiled to the desolate outpost of Chora Beach—a place that sounds serene but hides a nightmare beneath the sand. Instead of soft waves and sunsets, Pot Roast finds an ocean of corrosive acid water and dunes crawling with unseen threats.

The once-bustling observation station is now abandoned and failing, its automated systems left in the unreliable hands of Axiom, a glitching virtual assistant with questionable motives and eroding sanity.

Worse still, Pot Roast discovers he's not alone. Deep within the compound, two additional prisoners await—isolated for so long that they have no assigned expiration date and no clear memory of their original mission.

What exactly is Chora Beach meant to contain... or protect? And how long can a mind survive in a place designed to erase it?

Dive into this tense, surreal chapter of Magnetar—where punishment blurs into existential horror, and freedom may be the deadliest illusion of all.

Starring:

• Eric Carlino as Agent Pot Roast
• Leslie Grant as Olivia
• Brian Dahms as Roger
• & Terry Briscoe as 'Axiom'

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Mixed, edited & directed by Larry Oblander

Created, written & produced by Jason Beard

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Synopsis:

A ruthless Census interrogation cracks open the Company’s spotless façade—forcing Agent Beef Stew to explain missing “reports,” unexplained anomalies, and the one name he never wanted to say out loud: Welsh Rabbit.

On Chora Beach, Director Chapman scrambles a chaotic taskforce to hunt down Agent Pot Roast, Olivia, and Roger after Snail Station collapses and the trio vanishes into the jungle. But Pot Roast’s escape comes at a cost—and the deeper they run, the stranger the island becomes.

Moonlit freedom turns to paranoia, hunger, and whispers in the dark… until a smug, impossible voice guides them toward the ominous Mirror Fields, where the ground crunches underfoot and the jungle may be watching back.

The mission is still the mystery—only now, everyone’s on the move.

Cast/Characters:

Eric Carlino - Agent Pot Roast

Michael Cunningham - Agent Beef Stew

Larry Oblander II - Director Chapman

Leslie Grant - Olivia

Brian Dahms - Roger

Jane Beverley - The Census Taker

Shaun Scott - Inevitable Consequence Officer Mordecai

Mike Pelletier - Second Lieutenant Kernel

Mitch Leschinski - Starfarer (Mysterious Voice)

Annabel Rosario - Intelligence Analyst Sophie Shure

Terry Briscoe - Axiom

Brendan Wreay - Intelligence Analyst Bumble

Matt Chalik - Stance Guard Levi

Derek States - Echoes Tribesman

Support the show

Mixed, edited & directed by Larry Oblander

Created, written & produced by Jason Beard