BONUS EPISODE: Best of 2023

The top five short stories from 2023. If you’re new to Meaningless Problems, this might be a good place to start.   These are the stories with the timestamps for each:   It Wasn’t Me - 1.30 - Kimi is delighted with Su-Z, a new personal assistant software that can send and respond to emails on her behalf. But her delight is punctured when her boyfriend receives a message from one of her email contacts claiming that he and Kimi have fallen in love. Will Kimi’s boyfriend believe her when she pins the blame on Su-Z? And what exactly has her personal assistant been saying in those messages?  The Guru - 17.10 - After many years searching for a guru, the narrator finally finds one in an unexpected place.  Skipping Through Life - 23.51 - Faced with the prospect of making half his workforce redundant, Mr Pomeroy is offered the chance to skip the experience by travelling twelve hours into his own future. He accepts the offer and, twelve hours later, finds he still has all the memories of having experienced the day. So how is ‘time skipping’ any different from living?  Plonker - 37.37 - On the verge of becoming a grandparent for the first time, Irene reflects on her relationship with her husband aka ‘Plonker’.   They’ll Have to Kill Me - 48.33 - The prime minister wakes up in his country residence to find that everyone thinks he’s gone completely mad. So did he really speak to those men in black raincoats who told him he needs to follow their orders? Who can you trust when you can no longer trust the voice in your own head?    If you’d like to read the script of these episodes go to https://www.fairobserver.com/author/doe-wilmann/    For information about upcoming stories and live performances of my stage plays, go to meaninglessproblems.com and sign up to my monthly newsletter. You can also email me via the contact form. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the podcast.    Let me know your thoughts on this episode or the podcast as a whole at [email protected]    This episode is part of my challenge to write, record and produce a short story every single week for a year. If you’re looking for quality, suspense and intrigue, I’m not making any promises. But if you do like one of these stories please share it with your friends.    If I complete this challenge and the podcast gets 1,000 subscribers in the process, a group of my friends have agreed to donate a combined £1000 to Alzheimer’s Research UK.    For writing tips and advice, follow me on TikTok (@meaninglessproblems)   I also have an Instagram (@meaninglessproblems) account dedicated to the podcast.    Website:   Meaninglessproblems.com    Thanks for listening    Credits:   Written and performed by Doe Wilmann   Thanks to Katie Empett and Ross Hindle for reading early versions of this episode and providing notes.    Artwork by Katie Empett   Music by Claude Debussy with permission from Pond5.    A license to use the media (Debussy Suite Bergamasque, Clair De Lune (Piano Cover) 229744340 Music ahawke99110 2023-03-02 Individual) was purchased under Pond5's Content License Agreement, a copy of which is available for review at https://www.pond5.com/legal/license. The Pond5 license authorizes the licensee to use the media in the licensee's own commercial or non-commercial production and to copy, broadcast, distribute, display, perform and monetize the production or work in any medium - including posting and monetization on YouTube - on the terms and conditions outlined therein.    Meaningless Problems with Doe Wilmann (C) 2023