Impact: Gunsmoke (February 24, 1957)

“Impact” is an episode of Gunsmoke, the old-time radio show, first broadcast February 24, 1957. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

Listen to Gunsmoke free, live around the clock: every episode, in the order it first aired. No sign-up.

What happens

When Mrs. Larkin's young ranch hand Lonnie Wells lets slip that her property might soon be on the market, Marshal Dillon begins to suspect foul play. After discovering Lonnie's shady past in Virginia City and learning that Mrs. Larkin recently changed her will in his favor, Dillon warns him to stay away from the ranch. That night, a fire breaks out at Mrs. Larkin's place under mysterious circumstances.

Dodge City and the surrounding Kansas territory, including Mrs. Larkin's ranch west of town

Characters: Matt Dillon, Mrs. Larkin, Lonnie Wells, Doc, Chester, Doc Adams

Listen for: The tense confrontation between Marshal Dillon and Lonnie Wells at the saloon, and the dramatic fire scene at the ranch that reveals the truth about Lonnie's intentions.

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.