Short, unsettling stories about things that seem a little bit off. If you enjoy the show and want to help incentivize episodes to come out faster, go to https://ko-fi.com/utopologist and send me a few dollars. utopologist@protonmail.com
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Edited and produced sessions of Matryoshka, a cosmic horror investigation rpg set in the USSR during the Cold War. Each season is self-contained, but they all take place in the same continuity/world. If you're new, start with season 1 episode 1! The season 0 Matryoshka episodes are non-canonical. Music from each episode and credits for episode art are listed on redgametable.com For comments, questions, or just to talk, you can email me at utopologist@protonmail.com.
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Katya and Yahyo investigate multiple sightings of an unidentified flying object. For comments or questions, email utopologist@protonmail.com. Listen to Lina's labor news podcast Work Stoppage and find Johnny's show Subversive History on his Linktree. Talk with other listeners in the Work Stoppage discord. Music used in this episode can be found at …
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The team investigates a newly uncovered island in the Aral Sea which contains a stone staircase leading into the earth. [Note: Nikolai disappears in the middle of the sesssion for a while but he does return by the end. We apologize for the inconvenience.] For comments or questions, email utopologist@protonmail.com. Listen to Lina's labor news podca…
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1
Matryoshka 4.x (interlude) - The Spacewalk
1:15:25
1:15:25
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The crew of Soviet space station Salyut 7 investigate an unexpected visitor. For comments or questions, email utopologist@protonmail.com. Listen to Lina's labor news podcast Work Stoppage and find Johnny's show Subversive History on his Linktree. Talk with other listeners in the Work Stoppage discord. Music used in this episode can be found at redg…
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1
Matryoshka 4.2 - Cave Diver, pt. II
2:17:45
2:17:45
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The team joins their KGB comrade to go into the caves underneath the cabin in the woods. For comments or questions, email utopologist@protonmail.com. Listen to Lina's labor news podcast Work Stoppage, find Johnny's show Subversive History on his Linktree, and listen to Jeremy here. Talk with other listeners in the Work Stoppage discord. Music used …
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Katya and Yahyo investigate a musical performance that caused its audience to go berserk. For comments or questions, email utopologist@protonmail.com. Listen to Lina's labor news podcast Work Stoppage and find Johnny's show Subversive History on his Linktree. Talk with other listeners in the Work Stoppage discord. Music used in this episode can be …
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The entire population of a town near the Pacific coast of the RSFSR disappears overnight and the Vladivostok branch of Division 3 is brought in to find where they went and how to bring them back. For comments or questions, email utopologist@protonmail.com. Listen to Lina's labor news podcast Work Stoppage and find Johnny's content on his Linktree. …
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1
Fragment II - Statement of Maksim Agliulovich Nurgaliev
13:15
13:15
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Taken 11 Nov 1964 by field agent K. Artemov at Clinical Hospital No. 2, Vladivostok, RSFSR (h/t R. Lentz)
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Fragment I - statement of Gennady Mikhailovich Leonov
10:37
10:37
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Taken 3 Sept 1971 by field agent N. Rostova at City Hospital No. 5, Sochi, RSFSR
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Matryoshka and their Yugoslav comrades make a plan with the Ct'kathka to drive the imperialists out of the sea. For comments or questions, email utopologist@protonmail.com. Listen to Lina and Dan's labor news podcast Work Stoppage and watch Johnny's twitch stream Subversive History. Talk with other listeners in the Work Stoppage discord. Music used…
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1
Matryoshka 3.11 - Lights From the Sea
2:02:26
2:02:26
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The squad goes to Yugoslavia to help investigate reports of a large and dangerous bird-/fish-like creature in a small Croatian town on the Adriatic. For comments or questions, email utopologist@protonmail.com. Listen to Lina and Dan's labor news podcast Work Stoppage and watch Johnny's twitch stream Subversive History. Talk with other listeners in …
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Pavel joins Mels and Emiliano as they return to the Blessed Theotokos Monastery to confront what lies beneath it. For comments or questions, email utopologist@protonmail.com. Listen to Lina and Dan's labor news podcast Work Stoppage and watch Johnny's twitch stream Subversive History. Talk with other listeners in the Work Stoppage discord. Music us…
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Mels and Emiliano go to the Tajik SSR to investigate a plane that went down near Communism Peak under very bizarre circumstances. (h/t R. Lentz) For comments or questions, email utopologist@protonmail.com. Listen to Lina and Dan's labor news podcast Work Stoppage and watch Johnny's twitch stream Subversive History. Talk with other listeners in the …
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1
Matryoshka 3.8 - The Singers of Songs
2:00:04
2:00:04
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Mels and Pavel head to the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic to find a pair of researchers who disappeared while camping on a deceptively plain-looking tract of land. (h/t R. Lentz) For comments or questions, email utopologist@protonmail.com. Listen to Lina and Dan's labor news podcast Work Stoppage and watch Johnny's twitch stream Subversive Histor…
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1
Matryoshka 3.x (interlude) - The Shadow Under Leningrad pt. II
2:10:52
2:10:52
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The special investigators, joined by a former agent who specialized in the paranormal, come up with a plan to protect the people of Leningrad from the horrors below. Featuring Jeremy from Invent The Future and A Terrible Influence. For comments or questions, email utopologist@protonmail.com, and listen to Lina and Dan's labor news podcast Work Stop…
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Matryoshka 3.7 - The Mother of Hounds, pt. 2
1:48:05
1:48:05
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Underneath Vaduz, the team must navigate an unfamiliar and unfriendly labyrinth to accomplish their mission. For comments or questions, email utopologist@protonmail.com, and listen to Lina and Dan's labor news podcast Work Stoppage. Music used in this episode can be found at redgametable.com. The pdf of Matryoshka: Cosmic Horror Investigation in th…
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1
Matryoshka 3.x (interlude) - The Shadow Under Leningrad pt. I
1:39:19
1:39:19
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With the city of Leningrad under siege from the Nazis, a group investigates an interruption in bread delivery and discovers a much darker explanation than they could have dreamed of. Featuring Jeremy from Invent The Future and A Terrible Influence. For comments or questions, email utopologist@protonmail.com, and listen to Lina and Dan's labor news …
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Matryoshka 3.6 - The Mother of Hounds, pt. I
2:14:23
2:14:23
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The trio must go undercover in Liechtenstein to get their hands on a dangerous artifact before any other more nefarious ones can. For comments or questions, email utopologist@protonmail.com, and listen to Lina and Dan's labor news podcast Work Stoppage. Music used in this episode can be found at redgametable.com. The pdf of Matryoshka: Cosmic Horro…
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The team find themselves stranded in the Belarussian forest in the middle of a blizzard, and something is driving the animals out of their minds. For comments or questions, email utopologist at protonmail.com and listen to Lina and Dan's labor news podcast Work Stoppage. Music used in this episode can be found at redgametable.com. The pdf of Matryo…
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Matryoshka 3.4 - The Knife in the Dreaming
2:09:58
2:09:58
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After a Soviet submarine in the Mediterranean disappears while hunting for the rumored French stay-behind submarine, the team heads for its last known location in hopes of finding both it and the imperialists. For comments or questions, email utopologist at protonmail.com and listen to Lina and Dan's labor news podcast Work Stoppage. Music used in …
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Matryoshka 3.3 - Blackcurrants for the Devil
2:39:12
2:39:12
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Matryoshka investigates the disappearances of everyone on a collective farm on the border of Estonia and Russia. For comments or questions, email utopologist at protonmail.com and listen to Lina and Dan's labor news podcast Work Stoppage. Music used in this episode can be found at redgametable.com. The pdf of Matryoshka: Cosmic Horror Investigation…
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Emiliano summons Pavel and Mels to Algeria to help investigate sightings of figures coming out of the sea to take iron and steel back into the Mediterranean. For comments or questions, email utopologist at protonmail.com and listen to Lina and Dan's labor news podcast Work Stoppage. Music used in this episode can be found at redgametable.com. The p…
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Matryoshka 3.1 - His Approach Is Swift
1:58:14
1:58:14
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In September 1962, a pair of Matryoshka agents go to the forests of Cuba to help investigate a series of unexplained eclipses. For comments or questions, email utopologist at protonmail.com and listen to Lina and Dan's labor news podcast Work Stoppage. Music used in this episode can be found at redgametable.com. The pdf of Matryoshka will be downlo…
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The warmth and light promised by a house on a winter night aren't always comforting.
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Written by Mark Twain (1904)
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Matryoshka 2.9 - The Atrocity Exhibition
2:19:25
2:19:25
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A midnight conference call lets Division C know about a missing member of the team, which in turn leads them up close and personal with enemies they've only heard about until now. For comments or questions, email utopologist at protonmail.com and listen to Dan's labor news podcast Work Stoppage. As usual, music used in this episode can be found at …
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1
Matryoshka 2.8 - The Sixth Dictionary
1:16:08
1:16:08
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The gang gets a tip from an old friend that sends them to Beirut, Lebanon to get some more clues about what's going on. For comments or questions, email utopologist at protonmail.com and listen to Dan's labor news podcast Work Stoppage. As usual, music used in this episode can be found at redgametable.wordpress.com.…
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There are places only minutes away from the lights of the city that can feel completely isolated.
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Imprisoned by enemy forces, Matryoshka searches for a way to escape as well as to find out what the US Navy is protecting in the middle of the ocean as far away from land as possible. For comments or questions, email utopologist at protonmail.com and listen to Dan's labor news podcast Work Stoppage. As usual, music used in this episode can be found…
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In December 1991 amidst the chaos of the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Tselinograd branch of Matryoshka is sent to rural Kazakhstan to investigate reports of people being "replaced." For comments or questions, email utopologist at protonmail.com and listen to Dan's labor news podcast Work Stoppage. As usual, music used in this episode can be fo…
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The gang goes to interrogate their prisoner and ends up where they least expect. For comments or questions, email utopologist at protonmail.com and listen to Dan's labor news podcast Work Stoppage. As usual, music used in this episode can be found at redgametable.wordpress.com.
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It changes depending on where in its elliptical rotation it is, but the average distance the moon is from Earth is 382,500 kilometers, or 238,855 miles. With gratitude to Kris Straub of Local 58.
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Donatas and Pavel go to investigate what appears to be the victim of a fatal industrial accident coming back to life during his funeral. For comments or questions, email utopologist at protonmail.com and listen to Dan's labor news podcast Work Stoppage. As usual, music used in this episode can be found at redgametable.wordpress.com.…
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Matryoshka 2.? (interlude) - Archangel
1:54:26
1:54:26
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In 1919, the British and the Americans have invaded Russia to support the White Russians in putting down the new socialist government. What's left of a Red Army machine gun unit make their way to Arkhangelsk to help take it back from the Whites and the imperialists, but along the way they encounter a fearsome mechanical foe that may be more than it…
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Matryoshka 2.4 - Gretchen's First Experience with the Sun
2:29:52
2:29:52
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Matryoshka goes to Geneva to meet with a possible ally and ends up having to plan an art heist. There are all kinds of weird audio things happening with Dan and M; sorry about that. For comments or questions, email utopologist at protonmail.com and listen to Dan's labor news podcast Work Stoppage. As usual, music used in this episode can be found a…
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If we knew all the legends about our area, we would feel differently about home.
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Matryoshka 2.3 - The Dreamer of Dreams
1:47:16
1:47:16
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Pavel and Donatas head to the Arctic to find out why a Soviet research station went silent. Apologies for the audio artifacts in Dan's audio; we don't know what caused it and minimized it as much as we could. For comments or questions, email utopologist at protonmail.com and listen to Dan's labor news podcast Work Stoppage. As usual, music used in …
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Matryoshka is sent to the German Democratic Republic to investigate the appearance of some bodies burned in a ritual manner. Apologies for the audio artifacts in Dan's audio; we don't know what caused it and minimized it as much as we could. For comments or questions, email utopologist at protonmail.com and listen to Dan's labor news podcast Work S…
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1
Matryoshka 2.1 - The Nine Doors of Consciousness
1:28:54
1:28:54
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GRU Division C is back! It's 1969. While making plans to deal with some of the unsolved mysteries from the previous year, Matryoshka's home office undergoes some bizarre changes. For comments or questions, email utopologist at protonmail.com As usual, music used in this episode can be found at redgametable.wordpress.com. At the time of recording I …
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written by Gabriel Costantino Mountain roads at night sometimes feel like they don't follow the same rules as the rest of the world.
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(This was supposed to be released in the middle of some December holidays, but various factors including some COVID scares prevented this. However, I've been told that on the liturgical calendar, it's Christmas until Epiphany on January 6, so I'm clear.) Matryoshka is sent to Arkhangelsk to investigate the mysterious disappearance of some children …
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The season finale. The team, along with their new ally Jurgen, track down De Visser once and for all and settle some old scores with Rainer Frosch. For comments or questions, email utopologist at protonmail.com As usual, music used in this episode can be found at redgametable.wordpress.com.
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In any metropolitan area, there are any number of abandoned buildings just full of secrets and surprises.
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Matryoshka 1.6 - Cycles, Awakenings
1:26:59
1:26:59
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Division C gets the chance to interrogate an early figure from the case, finally gets some answers to some questions about what's been going on, and gets a lead that might take them to the source of all this. For comments or questions, email utopologist at protonmail.com As usual, music used in this episode can be found at redgametable.wordpress.co…
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One of the things kids experience if they move away for school can be confusion and unease at returning to what used to be their home.
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The average running speed of a human in good shape is between 10 and 15 miles per hour. People have been documented sprinting short distances at almost twice that speed.
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The team goes to a small town to investigate a simple ghost sighting in the woods. Of course, the forests are old and may hold more than ghosts. (M's audio has an odd background sound for the first 20 or so minutes but it does improve.) For comments or questions, email utopologist at protonmail.com As usual, music used in this episode can be found …
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If you're expecting a quiet night at home by yourself, someone else coming around can be an extremely unwelcome surprise.
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Division C follows a thread from an earlier case to a small village north of the Arctic Circle whose citizens have a bizarre secret. For comments or questions, email utopologist at protonmail.com As usual, music used in this episode can be found at redgametable.wordpress.com.
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A skeleton crew of Matryoshka is sent behind enemy lines to the Aleutian Islands to track down a missing Soviet nuclear submarine. As usual, music used in this episode can be found at redgametable.wordpress.com.
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Matryoshka is sent to rural northern Russia to investigate several sightings of an ominous figure around a group of quiet farming villages. (Taylor's mic has some weird feedback throughout, but especially near the end. We apologize for the inconvenience.) Music can be found at redgametable.wordpress.com…
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