DESTINIES - THE VOICE OF SCIENCE FICTION
airs on Fridays at 11:30 PM on WUSB, 90.1 FM, the radio station of the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Hundreds of writers, artists, editors, actors, producers, directors, and musicians have appeared on the program since its debut in April, 1983. Regular features include: the Destinies Audiobook Sampler, Soundtrack Spotlight, Graphic Detail, the Destinies Radio Theater, Patrick Thomas' "Dear Cthuhlu," poetry by Christina M. Rau, the Destinies Film Review Team, and convention updates and highlights, as well as host Dr. Howard Margolin's flawless interviews. Listen Live to WUSB! Click the player to Stream Live Audio
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May 1, 2026 Destinies begins its 44th year with a Memorial Double Feature. Audiobook Sampler: Remembering author Jeffrey A. Carver with part 2 of Stefan Rudnicki's reading of Neptune Crossing: The Chaos Chronicles, Book 1. Astronaut John Bandicut continues his exploration of Neptune's moon, Triton, battling the storm of chaos that's about to blow through his life. Then, Jeffrey Carver, himself, reads the Afterword for the book. The Destinies Radio Theater honors the memory of Gerry Conway with an encore of the Power Records adaptation of his classic 1973 Spider-Man story "The Mark of the Man-Wolf."
Take the TARDIS to hear all the Destinies episodes including the September 19, 1997 episode featuring Batman Pows the Penguin
April 24, 2026 Destinies celebrates its 43rd anniversary with encore readings by authors Keith R.A. DeCandido and Marc Vun Kannon, songs by the late Peter David and Nicholas Brendan, and part 1 of Jeffrey A. Carver's Neptune Crossing, read by Stefan Rudnicki, on the Destinies Audiobook Sampler. Plus, Terry Molloy performs at the L.I. Who Cabaret, Christina M. Rau reads her poem "The Gnomes on Oak Throw a Bachelor Bash," and Patrick Thomas' "Dear Cthulhu" answers another letter from "NecroPhil," a man who really misses his dead wife.
Take the TARDIS to hear all the Destinies episodes including the April 30, 1993 episode featuring Destinies 10th anniversary Special
April 17, 2026 Destinies completes its trilogy of features about the stars of the upcoming horror film Awaken The Reaper, directed by Dave Campfield. Return to the start of filming in October, 2022, for an exclusive interview with the prolific actor Lance Henriksen, who plays Deacon Tom in the movie. You'll learn about Lance growing up in New York in the 1940s, and his early forays into acting. Find out why he accepted the role of Deacon Tom, and why he enjoys working on low budget as well as big-budget projects. Hear Lance discuss his views on having played many different types of clergymen over his career, and how he's able to reinvent himself as an actor with each new role. Discover what he learns about the craft of acting from working with both experienced and new actors. And you'll be surprised at his feelings about playing Stan Lee in the Roku Channel docuseries, "Slugfest." Plus, learn how you can receive a DVD box set signed by Lance Henriksen for your pledge of support during this Spring Radiothon special.
Take the TARDIS to hear all the Destinies episodes including the July 4, 1986 episode featuring an interview with Terry Nation
April 10, 2026 Destinies is pre-empted for the WUSB Student Lockdown
April 3, 2026 Saluting the centennial of author Anne McCaffrey (4/1/26-11/21/11). In a Destinies Audiobook Sampler Double Feature, you'll hear Dick Hill reading from Dragonflight, the first novel in McCaffrey's massive Dragonriders of Pern series, which began in 1967 and continued past her death. Then, Anne McCaffrey herself reads from the opening chapter of Powers That Be, the first book in a series of two trilogies co-written with Elizabeth Ann Scarborough. Plus, return to Northport's John W. Engeman Theater on the evening of 2/17/26 for a medley of songs from some of Broadway's biggest blockbusters, including The Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, and Miss Saigon performed by the Bachelors of Broadway.
March 27, 2026 In a Destinies Musical Theater special, travel to Northport's John W. Engeman Theater for a full-length set of genre music from the Bachelors of Broadway. Using 3-part harmony, this trio of troupers performs songs from Wicked, Man of La Mancha, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Aladdin, The Lion King, Hercules, and Jekyll and Hyde. Plus, learn how you can receive your choice of 340 different Destinies exclusive premiums for your pledge of support during this Radiothon episode.
March 20, 2026 Return to I-Con 23 for part 2 of "Science Fiction on Radio," a discussion of the state of the genre with Howard Margolin (continuing the celebration of his 42nd anniversary with Destinies), Mike Sargent of WBAI's "Niteshift," Tony Tellado of "Sci-Fi Talk," Craig Wichman of Quicksilver Radio Theater, and I-Con's Film Track Leader, Jim Knusch, a.k.a. Professor Kinema. Learn about the science fiction radio of the late 20th and early 21st century, including BBC adaptations of Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, and Doctor Who, as well as American productions of "Twilight Zone," "Seeing Ear Theater," and the Radio Repertory Company of America's "Anne Manx." And you'll hear what the panelists offer for listeners of their own shows.
March 13, 2026 Host Howard Margolin celebrates his 42nd anniversary on Destinies with part 1 of "Science Fiction on Radio," a 2-part panel recorded on March 27, 2004, at I-Con 23. Joining this discussion tracing the history of the genre within the medium, from the 1930s to the 21st century, you'll hear Mike Sargent, host of WBAI's "Niteshift," Tony Tellado of "Sci-Fi Talk," Craig Wichman of Quicksilver Radio Theater, and Jim Knusch a.k.a. Professor Kinema, I-Con's Media Track Coordinator. You'll learn what radio dramas intrigued and influenced the panel in childhood, and how they developed that interest into projects that have involved them throughout their adult lives, in both audio drama and talk radio.
March 6, 2026 Saluting singer/actor Matthew Morrison's March 7, 2026 concert at Stony Brook's Staller Center with selections of his songs from the 2015 Broadway musical Finding Neverland. Return to the 2024 Long Island Doctor Who convention for a Who-Related twist on a classic Monty Python sketch performed by Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant. Patrick Thomas' "Dear Cthulhu" answers a letter from a man who really misses his dead wife. And, Christina M. Rau reads her poem "Where All Things Coincide."
February 27, 2026 Remembering composer Mark Snow (8/26/46-7/4/25) with a Soundtrack Spotlight Memorial Special, featuring selections from The X-Files, and their feature films Fight the Future and I Want to Believe, as well as music from the series Smallville and Millennium, the films Disturbing Behavior and The New Mutants, the mini-series 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and even Snow's lost theme for Max Headroom.
February 20, 2026 Celebrating the centennial of Richard Matheson, the writer of such memorable stories as I Am Legend, Somewhere In Time, What Dreams May Come, The Shrinking Man, and some of the best-remembered episodes of The Twilight Zone. Destinies Audiobook Sampler: Grover Gardner reads Matheson's short story "Button, Button," which was adapted for The Twilight Zone in 1986, and as the feature film The Box in 2009. From the DVD Special Features of The Box, Richard Matheson speaks about his career, including how he got started, writing the original story, as well as writing for TV and for Playboy Magazine, "In His Own Words." Plus, the Destinies Soundtrack Spotlight shines on James Newton Howard's score for 2007's I Am Legend.
February 13, 2026 Destinies Audiobook Sampler: Author Jeffrey A. Carver (8/25/49-2/6/26) is remembered with Jonathan Davis reading from Carver's novelization of 2003's Battlestar Galactica reboot. In memory of actor Danny Seagren (11/15/43-11/10/25), who played the first live-action Spider-Man on TV, the cast of The Electric Company performs "Spidey and the Sandman" on the Destinies Radio Theater. Christina M. Rau reads her poem "Things Are Getting Weird Around Here." At the L.I. Who Cabaret, jazz pianist Jess Jurkovik plays his interpretations of Dudley Simpson's Doctor Who music. Plus, Nitin Sawhney's "Main Title" from the Audible adaptation of "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets."
February 6, 2026 Destinies is pre-empted by WUSB's semi-annual Ragnarok Marathon.
Thorry...er, Sorry, that should be Reggae Marathon.
January 30, 2026 41st annual memorial to the crews of the space shuttles Challenger and Columbia, featuring part 16 of High Calling: The Courageous Life and Faith of Space Shuttle Columbia Commander Rick Husband, on the Destinies Audiobook Sampler. Evelyn Husband describes how her family spent the days leading up to the final mission of the Columbia. Christina M. Rau reads her poem "The Goldilocks Condition." Patrick Thomas' "Dear Cthulhu" returns to answer a letter from a woman who thinks she is very accomplished in a number of fields. Plus, the Destinies Debut Soundtrack Spotlight shines on Nitin Sawhney's score for the full-cast Audible adaptation of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone."
January 23, 2026 The Destinies Radio Theater presents a 74-year-flashback with "In His Father's Footsteps," as originally aired on the January 23rd, 1952 episode of "The Lone Ranger." Mike Pickens, a notorious gunslinger and his gang terrorize the town of Graystone and Ted Carver, the son of its wounded sheriff, who is trying to fill his father's shoes. Will the sharpshooting skills of the Lone Ranger be enough to help the tenderfoot sheriff?
January 16, 2026 Author Marc Vun Kannon returns for his 7th appearance to discuss and read from his latest novel, The Flame in the Bowl: Out of Nowhere. The fifth book in the series, this deals with Korrien Thar, minion of Death, dispatched into the lands of the unbodied to find the Hero, Tarkas, and return him to the realm of the living. But, while Tarkas' son, Jasec, remains trapped in Death's throne, mounted atop a giant stone hand, Thar's vile other-self rampages among those she calls friends. Can he be stopped? Can Jasec be freed? And what magic can the forces of Life bring to bear?
January 9, 2026 Honoring the memory of composer Lalo Schifrin (6/21/1932-6/26/2025) with a Soundtrack Spotlight Memorial Special. Concentrating on his work within the genre, you'll hear Schifrin's theme and incidental music from the TV series Mission: Impossible, including a piece featuring a piano solo by Schifrin, and a concert recording conducted by him. You'll also listen to themes from his action/adventure films Black Moon Rising and F/X 2, and the horror movies Amityville 2: The Possession and Abominable.
January 2, 2026 In its 41st annual review of the year in films, the Destinies Film Review Team (Howard Margolin, Audrey Dettmering, Dave Campfield, Justin Paul, Dave Kingsley, Evan Iervalino, and Alex Blaut) in conjunction with the crew of "Threat Level Midnight," assembles live to list their favorite and least favorite science fiction, fantasy, adventure, horror, super-hero, and genre-adjacent movies of 2025. Will there be a consensus among the group? Will any of the year's biggest blockbusters make the lists? Were any small-scale releases good enough to reach Top 5 status? And, what films of 2026 are the crew most looking forward to seeing?
December 26, 2025 Soundtrack Spotlight Special featuring music from some of this year's most memorable science fiction, fantasy, horror, and super-hero movies, including Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Superman, Sinners, Tron: Ares, Wicked: For Good, and Avatar: Fire and Ash.
Dr. Howard Margolin
You can write to Howard Margolin to offer comments about the show or to request copies of Destinies episodes on CD by emailing
DestiniesVoice@aol.com or write:
Destinies c/o WUSB Radio
Attn: Howard Margolin
2nd Floor West Side Dining
Stony Brook University
Stony Brook, NY 11794-3200
To contact Destinies Webmaster, Captain Phil click the Captain's Lunchbox
May 1, 2026
