For those of you who like audio stories, I wanted to recommend some of my favorite Escape Pod episodes. Escape Pod is a free podcast of short science fiction. Most of the stories have also been published in pro magazines and they podcast the Hugo nominees every year. I'm behind on my listening but I here are some favorites that have stuck in my mind long after listening:

The Secret Protocols of the Elders of Zion by Lavie Tidhar
This is a story about growing up, utopian communities, and marijuana. One of the little delights is getting to the end and realizing the title is a literal description of the story -- just not the way you were thinking! Also the only story on this list that didn't make me sad, FWIW.

Exhalation by Ted Chiang
There is nothing of Ted Chiang's that I've read or listened to and not loved unreservedly. His stories are often based on building alien worlds, but he explores the worlds through the emotional reality of his characters. I saw him once at a con, on a panel, and was too nervous to try to talk to him. He's a geeky looking, not particularly verbally articulate guy (as opposed to, say, China Mieville, who is hunky and fucking brilliant to listen to), but I'm such a dork I would have just flailed at him and embarrassed myself.

Tideline by Elizabeth Bear
A child and a war machine on the beach. Art, death, and artificial intelligence.

Freedom With a Small f by Jeffrey R. DeRego
This is part of the Union Dues universe, a series of connected short stories all podcast on Escape Pod. It's your standard "what superheroes might be like in the real world" re-imagining, where those with powers are pressured into joining the Union, which markets their characters and tries to mediate between the heroes and government authorities. All the stories are enjoyable, but I loved this one for its bleak depiction of a character with superpowers attempting to live on their own after spending all their adult life in the X-Men-like Union. Warning: drug use, sex work, unhappy ending.

Edward Bear and the Very Long Walk by Ken Scholes
I really can't describe this story in a way that does it justice. Let me try: an entire colony ship is incapacitated after landing and a high-tech toy based on Winnie the Pooh sets off alone on a quest to save them. Also, I cried.

Friction by Will McIntosh
Entropy, wisdom, death, friendship

The 43 Antarean Dynasties by Mike Resnick
Science fiction that involves anyone settling an occupied planet deals with colonialism implicitly (often badly). This is a story that deals explicitly, and while it's a thinly veiled metaphor for modern Earth it's well-executed.

I Look Forward To Remembering You by Mur Lafferty
Time travel and relationships.