Episode
ReadMultiplex.com: The Downside To The Age Of Abundance From A 1956 Radio Show.
- Podcast
- ReadMultiplex.com Podcast.
- Published
- Apr 2, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 1704
- Processing state
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- https://rss.com/podcasts/readmultiplex-com-podcast/2684430
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Summary
A 1956 radio prophecy that maps directly onto the middle years of the our interregnum over the next 5000 das is: the X Minus One adaptation of Clifford D. Simak’s “How-2.” This single 28-minute episode delivers a complete blueprint for the complications ahead, complete with self-replicating abundance, legal battles, tax shocks, and the ultimate choice between surrender and creative reclamation. Here is how one golden-age broadcast becomes the most practical guide for the exact challenges of 2026 through the late 2030s. Clifford D. Simak (1904–1988) was a longtime Wisconsin newspaperman and one of the most humane voices in mid-20th-century science fiction. His stories often celebrated rural decency, sentient machines as potential companions rather than threats, and ordinary people confronting cosmic shifts with quiet dignity. “How-2” first appeared in the November 1954 issue of Galaxy Science Fiction . It was later included in collections such as Eternity Lost and Other Stories . Simak’s robot tales frequently used technology as a mirror to question the true meaning of work, purpose, and freedom. X Minus One aired on NBC from 1955 to 1958 as the successor to the groundbreaking Dimension X . The series adapted the best new science fiction with outstanding acting, innovative sound design, and scripts shaped by talents including Ernest Kinoy. Episode 045, “How-2,” originally broadcast on April 3, 1956. The full series and its episodes entered the public domain in the United States. The broadcasts predate 1963 and copyrights were not renewed. Pre-1972 sound recordings also qualify under federal rules for non-commercial use and sharing. Explore this with us. Read more at ReadMultiplex.com Support this work and buy a coffee for me: https://ko-fi.com/brianroemmele