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Ron’s Amazing Stories is a weekly podcast. We play classic short stories, old-time radio and much more. Do you have a story that you want to tell? Ron will read it on the show or you can tell it for yourself! Also, we do interviews with authors, radio personalities, actors and even an NBA all-star. 

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  2. RAS #736 - The End of Solitude: An X Minus One Double Feature

RAS #736 - The End of Solitude: An X Minus One Double Feature

May 21, 2026

This episode of Ron’s Amazing Stories presents a chilling double feature from the legendary science fiction radio series X Minus One. Tonight we explore two very different visions of imprisonment — one through unbearable loneliness and the other through the terrifying loss of privacy itself.

In “Knock,” adapted from the famous two-sentence story by Frederick Brown, the last surviving man on Earth faces alien conquerors and the crushing weight of solitude. Then in Theodore Sturgeon’s unsettling “Mr. Costello, Hero,” a charismatic manipulator transforms an entire colony into a place where being alone is considered a crime.

Two stories. Two futures. One haunting question:

What happens when humanity loses the freedom to simply be human?

In this Episode

  • Knock (5/22/1955) – Adapted from the Frederick Brown story. After aliens conquer Earth, the last surviving man struggles against impossible odds to avenge humanity and reclaim his world. 
  • Mr. Costello, Hero (7/3/1956) – Adapted from the Theodore Sturgeon story. A colony discovers the horrifying consequences of a society where solitude and privacy have become punishable offenses.
  • A look back at the history and legacy of X Minus OneThoughts on loneliness, surveillance, freedom, and why these stories still resonate today

Join Ron for a journey into the strange futures imagined by radio’s golden age — where the stars are beautiful, the future is uncertain, and freedom is never guaranteed.

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Music Used In This Podcast: Most of the music you hear on Ron’s Amazing Stories has been composed by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0. Other pieces are in the public domain. You can find great free music at FreePd.com which is a site owned by Kevin.

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