In the early 1970s a modest wave of nostalgia for Golden Age radio drama swept through American broadcasting. Networks and independent producers experimented with bringing back scripted shows in an era already dominated by music, news, and talk. Among the attempts was a single experimental revival of X Minus One, the acclaimed NBC science-fiction anthology that had originally run from 1955 to 1958.

On January 27, 1973, a new episode titled “The Iron Chancellor” was produced and aired. It adapted Robert Silverberg’s 1958 Galaxy short story of the same name (sometimes later reprinted as “The Weight Watcher”). The script was adapted for radio by Donna Fonfa. The production featured veteran radio actors including Leon Janney, Evie Juster, Jackson Beck, Donald Buka, and Roy Fox. Direction was handled by Ira Shprintzen (sometime ...