Evidently, the file format is some "bizarro" format, where it looks, acts and smells like a 64kbps MP3, but itunes won't touch it, and my Sony Walkman MP3 device says it's incapable of using that filetype.
So, i've decided to use the ever popular "brute force" approach:
Use the diskwriter plugin in winamp to "play" the files, converting them to 44,100Hz 8-bit wav files, eradicating any residual MP3 components that may be causing this (even reconverting to MP3 with winamp didn't work), then use itunes to batch-convert them back to MP3 so they're not enormous.
The show itself is by a friend and her furry friends, and i haven't listened to it yet to see what it's like, lol. The friend i know isn't a fursuiter, but i can't vouch for HER friends. I do know that they produce more furry art in a day than i did in 2 years. And it's no one from here, lol.
Ps: there are far better ways to batch-convert these files, which may be even faster than my method, but the quality is already low, and these programs are already configured to do the work quickly. I know this method works, so quantity rules over quality. This is for use in a noisy work environment anyway, quality isn't really going to make a difference. The quality has to suck pretty hard to lose voice recognition.