X Minus One aired Frank Quattrocchi’s story “Sea Legs” on May 1, 1956 as its 49th episode. First published in the November 1951 issue of Galaxy (an otherwise unremarkable issue save for the 3rd and final part of Robert A. Heinlein’s serialized novel The Puppet Masters), “Sea Legs” is the story of a spacer, long gone from Earth, who attempts to return home. During his absence, however, Earth has changed in ways horrifying to him. Much freedom has been usurped as an authoritarian government now controls every aspect of individual existence and it would seem all hope is lost…except for an underground movement of freedom fighters, cloaked as loyal members of the government, who are looking for a few good men–like spacers who’ve lived most of their lives out among the rough and tumble, frontier-like planets between the stars. Definitely worth a listen for its timeless message.

Play Time: 29:41

While SF fans were listening to X Minus One in May of 1956, they could also look forward to reading any number of their favorite magazines, a few of which are pictured below.

{Left: Amazing Stories, May 1956  —  Center: Astounding SF, May 1956  —  Right: F&SF, May 1956}