Snakebite: Gunsmoke (August 12, 1956)

“Snakebite” is an episode of Gunsmoke, the old-time radio show, first broadcast August 12, 1956. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

Marshal Dillon confronts two rowdy newcomers in Dodge City after they shoot a small dog belonging to Pony Thompson, an elderly drifter who visits town once a year to get drunk. When Dillon confiscates their guns, Thompson vows to discover who shot his dog and take his own justice.

Dodge City, Kansas - the streets, saloon, and marshal's office

Characters: Matt Dillon, Chester, Walt Gorman, Jod Heaks, Pony Thompson, Kitty, Sam

Listen for: The encounter between Marshal Dillon and the two gunmen over the dead dog, and Pony Thompson's determination to learn the names of those responsible

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.