What happens
Clyde Beatty, a wild animal trainer with a circus, prepares to perform a new and dangerous trick before a large afternoon crowd in Omaha. His wife Harriet has a bad feeling about the act, and the circus's cage man, Hayes, has been careless with the equipment after drinking. Tension grows between Harriet and trapeze performer Joe Miranda, whose wife Mae wants him to retire and buy a farm. During the performance, the lion Simba turns on Beatty and carries him around the arena, and Beatty realizes he feels unusually slow and weak. The story continues to a discovery about the cause of his drowsiness.
A circus in Omaha, Nebraska, during a hot July afternoon, including the menagerie tent, the dressing rooms, and the steel arena under the big top.
Characters: Clyde Beatty, Harriet Beatty, Hayes, Joe Miranda, Mae Miranda, Simba, Ganges, Hank
Listen for: Listen for Harriet's warning about the new trick, the argument between Joe and Mae about retiring, and the moment Simba seizes Beatty and carries him around the arena while Ganges waits at the tunnel gate.
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.