X Minus One | Old Time Radio

X Minus One, “Protection,” originally broadcast March 20, 1957, is episode 93 of the NBC Radio Network science-fiction series. This surviving 22-minute production adapts Robert Sheckley’s short story, first published in Galaxy Science Fiction.

Columbia student Bob comes under the protection of a Valadusian Derg, an unseen alien guardian that warns him of danger. What first seems like remarkable good fortune gradually makes everyday life far more complicated in this darkly comic tale. William Redfield stars as Bob, with Elliott Reid as Charlie; the radio adaptation was written by Ernest Kinoy.

Old Time Retro Radio presents the original broadcast with a newly produced contextual introduction, a short closing announcement, and gently cleaned/mastered audio for a more consistent listening experience.

Chapters:
00:00 Victor Sterling Introduction
00:44 Original Broadcast
23:00 Closing

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/x-minus-one-old-time-radio--7222646/support.

Support Old Time Retro Radio at https://www.patreon.com/oldtimeretroradio

X Minus One presents “A Pail of Air,” episode 44, originally broadcast on NBC Radio Network on March 28, 1956. Adapted by George Lefferts from Fritz Leiber’s Galaxy Science Fiction story, the drama was directed by Daniel Sutter.

On a dark, frozen, nearly airless Earth, young Bud and his family struggle to survive in their tiny blanket-lined shelter, the Nest. Their fragile existence depends on a coal fire—and Bud’s hazardous trips into the frozen city to bring back pails of air. Featuring Ronny Liss, Richard Hamilton, and Eleanor Phelps, this is an intimate science-fiction tale of endurance, family, and hope.

Old Time Retro Radio presents the original broadcast with a newly produced contextual introduction, a short closing announcement, and gently cleaned/mastered audio for a more consistent listening experience.

Chapters:
00:00 Victor Sterling Introduction
00:51 Original Broadcast
30:49 Closing

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/x-minus-one-old-time-radio--7222646/support.

Support Old Time Retro Radio at https://www.patreon.com/oldtimeretroradio

X Minus One presents “Hello, Tomorrow,” episode 40, originally broadcast on February 29, 1956. This NBC sustaining drama was written by George Lefferts and features John Larkin and Jan Miner.

In the year 4195, humanity endures beneath Earth’s radioactive surface in a tightly controlled underground society where genetic survival governs every life. When a woman geneticist is assigned to examine a prisoner deemed physically imperfect, she confronts difficult questions about heredity, emotion, and the future of the human race.

Old Time Retro Radio presents the original broadcast with a newly produced contextual introduction, a short closing announcement, and gently cleaned/mastered audio for a more consistent listening experience.

Chapters:
00:00 Victor Sterling Introduction
00:49 Original Broadcast
25:04 Closing

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/x-minus-one-old-time-radio--7222646/support.

Support Old Time Retro Radio at https://www.patreon.com/oldtimeretroradio

X Minus One presents “Target One,” episode 123, originally broadcast on NBC on December 26, 1957. This Cold War-era science-fiction drama was adapted by George Lefferts from Frederik Pohl’s 1955 Galaxy Science Fiction story.

In a future devastated by atomic war, a desperate time-travel mission seeks to prevent catastrophe by changing the fate of Albert Einstein. Suspense and moral uncertainty shape this provocative tale of history, science, and unintended consequences. The cast includes Frank Silvera and Al “Jazzbo” Collins.

Old Time Retro Radio presents the original broadcast with a newly produced contextual introduction, a short closing announcement, and gently cleaned/mastered audio for a more consistent listening experience.

Chapters:
00:00 Victor Sterling Introduction
00:45 Original Broadcast
21:45 Closing

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/x-minus-one-old-time-radio--7222646/support.

Support Old Time Retro Radio at https://www.patreon.com/oldtimeretroradio

X Minus One presents “At the Post,” episode 107, originally broadcast on NBC Radio Network on August 15, 1957. This science-fiction drama was adapted by Ernest Kinoy from H. L. Gold’s 1953 Galaxy Science Fiction novelette.

New York race handicapper Clocker Locke applies his gift for spotting patterns to the troubling behavior of his institutionalized wife, Zelda. His search for an explanation carries him beyond the assumptions of conventional psychiatry and toward a far stranger mystery. This August 1957 broadcast re-performed an earlier adaptation from that same year with a different cast.

Old Time Retro Radio presents the original broadcast with a newly produced contextual introduction, a short closing announcement, and gently cleaned/mastered audio for a more consistent listening experience.

Chapters:
00:00 Victor Sterling Introduction
00:34 Original Broadcast
22:37 Closing

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/x-minus-one-old-time-radio--7222646/support.

Support Old Time Retro Radio at https://www.patreon.com/oldtimeretroradio

X Minus One presents “Jaywalker,” episode 47, originally broadcast on NBC on April 17, 1956. Adapted by George Lefferts from Ross Rocklynne’s 1950 Galaxy Science Fiction story, the drama features Bob Hastings, Raymond Edward Johnson, and Terri Keane.

A rocket pilot and his estranged wife face the pressures of interplanetary travel when she boards his passenger ship under another traveler’s clearance. In this future, a “jaywalker” is someone who knowingly takes a flight despite being unfit to travel—and the consequences can be serious.

Old Time Retro Radio presents the original broadcast with a newly produced contextual introduction, a short closing announcement, and gently cleaned/mastered audio for a more consistent listening experience.

Chapters:
00:00 Victor Sterling Introduction
00:43 Original Broadcast
28:59 Closing

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/x-minus-one-old-time-radio--7222646/support.

Support Old Time Retro Radio at https://www.patreon.com/oldtimeretroradio

X Minus One, “Skulking Permit” — episode 101, originally broadcast July 4, 1957. Adapted by Ernest Kinoy from a Robert Sheckley story, this NBC science-fiction satire stars Bob Hastings, Santos Ortega, and Dean Olmquist.

On the isolated colony world of New Delaware, Earth makes its first contact in two centuries by sending an inspector to evaluate the peaceful settlement. Concerned that their crime-free community may not meet official expectations, the townspeople scramble to create the appearance of a properly civilized society.

Old Time Retro Radio presents the original broadcast with a newly produced contextual introduction, a short closing announcement, and gently cleaned/mastered audio for a more consistent listening experience.

Chapters:
00:00 Victor Sterling Introduction
00:48 Original Broadcast
22:49 Closing

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/x-minus-one-old-time-radio--7222646/support.

Support Old Time Retro Radio at https://www.patreon.com/oldtimeretroradio

X Minus One, “Childs Play,” originally broadcast October 20, 1955, is episode 21 of NBC’s classic science-fiction series. Adapted by George Lefferts from William Tenn’s 1947 short story, this sharply comic tale stars John Gibson as struggling lawyer Sam Weber, with Peggy Lubin and Bob Hastings.

When Weber accidentally receives a remarkable Build-A-Man kit sent from the future, he sees a chance to change his circumstances. But the strange biological construction set soon draws him, his acquaintances, and an unexpected visitor into a fantastic mid-century science-fiction dilemma.

Old Time Retro Radio presents the original broadcast with a newly produced contextual introduction, a short closing announcement, and gently cleaned/mastered audio for a more consistent listening experience.

Chapters:
00:00 Victor Sterling Introduction
00:52 Original Broadcast
24:00 Closing

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/x-minus-one-old-time-radio--7222646/support.

Support Old Time Retro Radio at https://www.patreon.com/oldtimeretroradio

X Minus One, “Chain of Command,” originally broadcast November 21, 1956, is episode 76. Adapted for radio by George Lefferts from Stephen Arr’s Galaxy Science Fiction story, this NBC Radio Network drama stars Alan Bunce as night watchman Charlie Boyle.

At an atomic laboratory, Charlie is approached by George—a talking mouse with a grievance about a mousetrap threatening his family. His effort to help sends the complaint through increasingly official channels in this brisk Cold War-era satire of security and bureaucracy.

Old Time Retro Radio presents the original broadcast with a newly produced contextual introduction, a short closing announcement, and gently cleaned/mastered audio for a more consistent listening experience.

Chapters:
00:00 Victor Sterling Introduction
00:50 Original Broadcast
29:17 Closing

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/x-minus-one-old-time-radio--7222646/support.

Support Old Time Retro Radio at https://www.patreon.com/oldtimeretroradio

Old Time Retro Radio presents X Minus One, “The Castaways,” originally broadcast on NBC on September 15, 1955. This is episode 18, written by Ernest Kinoy and directed by Daniel Sutter.

On the remote Tahani Atoll in the South Pacific, General Frank Gadosh’s military command prepares for an atomic-bomb test. Before Operation Destruction can proceed, the island’s residents must be evacuated—but the Tahani people refuse to abandon the ancestral land they hold sacred. Adapted from an earlier Dimension X play by Ernest Kinoy and George Lefferts, this atomic-age drama features Staats Cotsworth, Karl Weber, and Bob Hastings.

Old Time Retro Radio presents the original broadcast with a newly produced contextual introduction, a short closing announcement, and gently cleaned/mastered audio for a more consistent listening experience.

Chapters:
00:00 Victor Sterling Introduction
00:55 Original Broadcast
23:01 Closing

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/x-minus-one-old-time-radio--7222646/support.

Support Old Time Retro Radio at https://www.patreon.com/oldtimeretroradio