Spawning Ground by Lester Del Rey Episode #279

Spawning Ground by Lester Del Rey Episode #279

SPAWNING GROUND

Episode #279 · Written by Lester Del Rey · Narrated by Scott Miller

The landing is uneasy, the air is wrong, and the silence carries weight. What begins as a routine investigation slowly reveals a truth far more disturbing than a missing ship. This world has already changed the people who tried to claim it.

As the reality unfolds, Captain Gwayne faces a choice with no clean outcome. Returning to Earth means abandoning something vital. Staying means accepting a future that breaks every familiar definition of what humanity is supposed to be. The pressure is not external but personal, and once the decision is made, it cannot be undone.

Spawning Ground builds its tension through implication rather than spectacle. Each revelation narrows the available options until only one path remains—and that path demands a permanent severing from Earth, history, and identity as it once existed.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lester del Rey published extensively in Astounding Science Fiction, Galaxy, and If, and later became one of the most influential editors in the field. His fiction repeatedly challenged comforting assumptions about human dominance, biology, and adaptability. Stories like “Nerves,” “Helen O’Loy,” and Spawning Ground reveal his willingness to follow an idea to its most unsettling conclusion, even when that conclusion denies easy heroism or return.

LISTEN TO THE STORY

Listen to Spawning Ground by Lester Del Rey — a classic science fiction tale of survival, transformation, and an irreversible choice on a hostile world.

ABOUT THE LOST SCI-FI PODCAST

The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast is the most listened-to vintage science fiction podcast in the world. Ranked the #1 Science Fiction Podcast in 34 countries and heard in more than 190 countries, the show has surpassed 3.3 million listens.

Each episode features carefully selected stories from the Golden Age of science fiction, professionally narrated. Timeless storytelling the way it was meant to be heard.

What listeners are saying:

★★★★★ “Bingeable Classic Sci-Fi. Wow. Just wow! I have put all of my other extensive podcast listening on hold, and I’m listening only to past episodes of The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast. Thanks to Scott for accompanying me on my winter runs, weight lifting sessions, and chores around the house. Scott’s selection of stories is right on the money, and his voice and characterizations are the work of a master. Thank You!”
— Doktorwoo

★★★★★ “I love this podcast. A great curated selection of Sci-Fi’s hidden gems. Great stories and top notch narration.”
— Smitty Trt

Vintage science fiction. Professionally narrated. Carefully curated.