What happens
On an unnamed alien planet, a survey crew led by Ed encounters strange cow-sized creatures that drop dead near them. Ed, Max Weber the biologist and Carl Parsons the ecologist find the animals have no brains, no nervous systems, and a single bacteria species shared across their bodies. When food runs short, the crew begins eating the creatures, and Ed's diet kit, carried against his ulcers, becomes a point of unease among them. The story is from X Minus One, a radio science fiction series, and this episode aired on August 22, 1957, adapted from a Clifford D. Simak story with Lawson Zerbe as Ed, Ralph Camargo as Max Weber and Joseph Bell as Carl Parsons.
An unexplored alien planet, a survey camp near the landed ship
Characters: Ed, Max Weber, Carl Parsons
Listen for: Ed's reaction to the creatures and to the crew's growing reliance on them
Written from the episode itself; it never gives away the ending. Every recording is remastered for the stream: cleaned of rumble, hiss and mains hum (and the old TV whine where we found it), then levelled in two passes to steady broadcast loudness, so one show is never quieter than the next.