What happens
Rod Whirgan, a personnel director at the UN Off-World Commission in New York, is troubled by a wave of resignations from the Venus colony. Dave Newson, his colleague, joins him to puzzle over why settlers keep quitting and the project is failing. Their staff meeting seeks a psychological explanation, with the historian Jameson suggesting a different angle. Venus is presented as the answer to a crisis of overcrowding on Earth, where food and housing are running short. The story follows the colony project's struggles and the men trying to save it.
New York City and the Earth-based offices of the UN Off-World Commission, in a future where Earth is overcrowded and the Venus colony is being settled.
Characters: Rod Whirgan, Dave Newson, General Carlson, Jameson
Listen for: Jameson's remarks about who settled America, and the recruiting pitch aimed at the public.
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.