How to Die for Nothing: Gunsmoke (May 10, 1958)

“How to Die for Nothing” is an episode of Gunsmoke, the old-time radio show, first broadcast May 10, 1958. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

Marshal Matt Dillon arrests a drunken Texas cowboy, Zach Bueller, after he threatens Dodge City's lawmen. Zach's brother Howard, who had come to find him, has already been shot dead by Dillon in an earlier confrontation. The Bueller clan from Texas gathers to demand Zach's release, and town leaders such as Mr. Rhinehart press Dillon to free him. Dillon refuses, while his deputy Chester and the townspeople wait to see how the standoff will unfold. Gunsmoke is a long-running CBS Radio western, and this episode aired on May 10, 1958, with William Conrad, Parley Baer, Howard McNear and Sam Edwards in the lead roles.

Dodge City, Kansas, in the American West

Characters: Matt Dillon, Chester, Zach Bueller, Howard Bueller, Jacqueline, Mr. Rhinehart, Doc, Frank Parris

Listen for: Dillon's standoff with the Texas cowboys over Zach Bueller's release

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.