What happens
Fred Allen hosts his comedy program on the air in January 1946, with George Jessel as his guest, Portland Hoffa, Minerva Pious and Kenny Delmar joining him. The show opens with mock magazine honors and a running joke about shortages, including a national meat strike. Allen chats with characters from his fictional Allen's Alley, among them Senator Claghorn, Titus Moody and Mrs. Nussbaum, who each talk about how they are coping with the meat shortage. Later, Allen and Jessel trade jokes about a proposed film based on Allen's life, which Jessel wants to produce and which keeps getting odder in Allen's telling. The episode is broadcast on CBS and NBC.
A radio comedy studio show in January 1946, with a fictional Allen's Alley and a mock Hollywood production office.
Characters: Fred Allen, George Jessel, Portland Hoffa, Minerva Pious, Kenny Delmar, Senator Claghorn, Titus Moody, Mrs. Nussbaum
Listen for: The running jokes about the meat strike and the absurd film version of Allen's life, pitched by George Jessel.
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.