Where There's Hope

Where There's Hope by Jerome Bixby is a taut, morally charged science fiction short story that wrestles with reproductive choice, communal survival, and the fragile hopes of a new world. Set aboard the colonist ship Exodus VII and on the raw frontier of “New Earth,” Bixby frames a gripping domestic standoff—wives who refuse to bear children and the men and officials forced to reckon with the consequences—against the larger struggle to tame a hostile landscape and ensure humanity’s future. Blending incisive social commentary with speculative tension, the tale explores gender politics, duty, and what sacrifice really means when civilization must be rebuilt. Bixby’s mid-20th-century perspective—rooted in the Golden Age of science fiction—channels postwar anxieties about population, technology, and cultural change, while delivering characters whose private choices reverberate with public urgency. The writing balances human intimacy and vividly imagined peril without ever betraying its emotional core. Ideal for listeners who love classic science fiction and literary short stories that provoke thought as much as entertain, Where There's Hope offers a compact, potent listen for fans of moral dilemmas, speculative worlds, and sharp, character-driven storytelling.