Exploring the Post-Apocalypse with Atomic Radio
Thursday, March 10th, 2011During the early years of the Atomic Age, many became concerned not only with the effects of Atomic War, but the after effects. The power of Atomic weapons is so overwhelming that it seems logical to wonder if civilization itself would survive their use.
So what will be the result of their use? Science Fiction writers have been exploring that question since before the dawn of the Atomic Age.
X Minus One: Ray Bradbury’s Dweller’s in Silence
Ray Bradbury’s tale, “Dwellers in Silence”, was broadcast on X Minus One, and is featured in our Atomic Radio Collection. Some humans have managed to escape to Mars from the inevitability of Atomic War. Many years later they are able to mount an expedition that will return to Earth, to see what has happened to their home world. The small team of astronauts is surprised to find a single family has survived the holocaust. But curiously, while the scientist father has aged through the years since the Atomic War, his wife and children have remained youthful.
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Suspense: Report from a Dead Planet
Suspense! brings us another post-apocalyptic story, also featured in Atomic Radio. “Report from a Dead Planet” is told from the point of view of astronauts approaching what to them is a new world. From their descriptions of their landing, the listener can tell that they have landed in a New York City that has been abandoned for decades, or even centuries. Why don’t the Spacemen realize that it is Manhattan?
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