The Grass Asp: Gunsmoke (December 7, 1958)

“The Grass Asp” is an episode of Gunsmoke, the old-time radio show, first broadcast December 7, 1958. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

A stray bullet from celebrating cowboys wounds Red Bastion's wife during a cattle drive crew's rowdy night in town. Marshal Dillon must investigate the shooting while Red demands justice and tensions escalate between the injured woman's angry husband and trail boss Carl Willott, who insists none of his men fired at her intentionally.

Dodge City, a frontier town where a cattle drive crew has stopped during their journey north.

Characters: Matt Dillon, Chester, Carl Willott, Red Bastion, Doc, Kitty

Listen for: The investigation into a shooting that may or may not be intentional, Red Bastion's rage and desire for vengeance, and Carl Willott's defense of his men.

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.