ReadMultiplex.com: A 1957 Forgotten Radio Show That Shows How Job Security May Be Manufactured

From ReadMultiplex.com Podcast. by Brian Roemmele

June 6, 2026 · 23 min · Episode 53

About this episode

The episode explores a 1957 sci-fi radio show that satirizes a future where automation has rendered human jobs obsolete.

Buckle up for a thrilling blast from the Golden Age of sci-fi radio! The Category Inventor (Episode 100 of NBC’s legendary X Minus One , aired June 27, 1957) is a sharp, satirical rocket ride through a fully automated future where robots and machines have claimed nearly every job — and humanity is left scrambling to survive in the ultimate bureaucratic nightmare. The Setup: A World Where Jobs Are Extinct Imagine a sleek, hyper-efficient tomorrow: advanced robots and computers handle everything from factory floors to concert halls with mechanical precision. Human workers? They’re obsolete unless they can squeeze into a rigid, government-approved job category . No category? No work. No income. No purpose. Our hero, a talented bassoon player (voiced with perfect mid-century everyman flair by Nelson Olmsted), gets the rug brutally yanked out from under him. A superior robot musician takes his spot in the orchestra. Suddenly unemployed, he faces the cold machinery of the “Category Registration Office” — a soul-crushing bureaucracy that demands he invent an entirely new profession no one has ever conceived before. What follows is a high-stakes, darkly humorous scramble: desperate…

People in this episode

Host: Brian Roemmele

Topics covered

sci-fi
automation
job security
bureaucracy
creativity
humor

Keywords

sci-fi radio
automation
job security
bureaucracy
creativity
1957
X Minus One

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: X Minus One