Latest Stories

Most recently published stories on Vocal.

Your Child Won't Read if You Don't
It can’t be easy being a good parent. It requires patience, time management skills, emotional and physical endurance, and the capacity to love someone more than yourself.
By Kera Hollowabout 3 hours ago in Families
City of plague:A New Yorker’s pandemic chronicle Pt 16.
The sky that morning looked as if it had sunk into a deep gray abyss. Then, without warning, the rain began. At first the drops were scattered, but soon they grew heavier—big, bean-sized drops pounding the pavement with relentless persistence. The rain fell harder and harder until the entire city seemed swallowed by it. It had already been raining for an entire morning, stubborn and unyielding, as if the storm had made up its mind not to leave.
By Peterabout 3 hours ago in Fiction
FREE Stuff From Your Local Public Library
When was the last time you visited a public library? If it’s been a while, you’re probably missing out on tons of fun freebies beyond books. In a world where free stuff is nearly unheard of, the library is a gold mine of resources available to borrow or use with your library card.
By Criminal Mattersabout 3 hours ago in Lifehack
City of plague: A New Yorker’s pandemic chronicle Pt 15.
During the long months of lockdown, when people were asked to stay home to avoid the virus, the city seemed to lose its heartbeat.
By Peterabout 3 hours ago in Fiction
My Wife of Bath...
Note: if you do not know much about the Wife of Bath, or this Challenge, watch the above video, and look at the link below. I have decided that since this is a letter, I am going to keep it brief.
By Kendall Defoe about 3 hours ago in Fiction
Markets May Be Underestimating How the Iran War Could Hit the Global Economy. AI-Generated.
Introduction Global financial markets are often quick to react to political crises. However, they sometimes underestimate how deep the economic consequences of a war can be. The ongoing conflict involving Iran is raising exactly that concern among economists and financial analysts.
By Asad Aliabout 3 hours ago in Journal
Oscars Recap
The Oscars did nothing surprising. I can honestly say that I predicted every single thing that would be awarded so I am disappointed, but I am not surprised.
By Alexandrea Callaghanabout 3 hours ago in Geeks
Above From Below
Part One Beneath an unusually dark sky, a building in the middle of nowhere, West Texas, sits as it gets pelted by heavy rain mixed with hail. The warning systems at the National Weather Service were right, and the storm was developing into a supercell. It gave off strange atmospheric readings that kept the one person assigned to the observation post busy.
By The Man Behind The Maskabout 3 hours ago in Fiction
Piergiorgio Corallo in blue
Photography often reveals more by removing elements than by adding them. In the photographic series Nel blu dipinto di blu this idea becomes the central visual strategy. The images are built around a simple but striking rule: almost everything appears in black and white, while a single blue element remains visible inside the scene.
By The Global Vergeabout 3 hours ago in Critique
Please Stop The War.
Please Stop The War. A little girl stands at the wire, her fingers thin and dust covered, curled around the sharp barbs as if the fence is the last edge
By George’s Girl 2026 about 3 hours ago in Poets
Apple’s 2026 Gamble: 7 Surprising Takeaways From the iPhone 18 Leaks
For over a decade, the "September iPhone" has been the most predictable beat in technology. Like clockwork, Apple delivers four new models, a slightly faster chip, and a new camera trick. It is a ritual of incrementalism that has served the company’s bottom line, but perhaps not the consumer’s imagination. If the current flood of leaks from the Shenzhen supply chain and South Korean financial analysts is to be believed, 2026 is the year the clock stops.
By Tech Horizonsabout 3 hours ago in Futurism
In June
June 3 I find myself still strangely lightheaded from my purchase this afternoon. My intent upon entering the antique shop had been merely to escape the sweltering heat, yet I soon found myself in the back of the place, standing before a statue, my breath heavy and rhythmic, my hand rubbing at my wallet. I cannot recall crossing through the store.
By Aaron Morrisonabout 3 hours ago in Horror