Trust: Gunsmoke (June 11, 1955)

“Trust” is an episode of Gunsmoke, the old-time radio show, first broadcast June 11, 1955. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

Marshal Matt Dillon captures a fugitive named James Nation who killed a man in Dodge City in self-defense, or so Nation claims. After a hard pursuit, Nation surrenders peacefully, but Dillon must get him back to Dodge for trial while dealing with the challenges of frontier travel and the question of whether Nation can be trusted.

The Kansas frontier near the Smoky Hill River and along the stage route to Fort Donner, during the days of cattle ranches and stagecoach travel.

Characters: Matt Dillon, Chester, James Nation, Hank, Wells Fargo driver

Listen for: A tense discussion between Dillon and his prisoner about guilt, innocence, and the burden of a trial; the arrival of a stagecoach and its crusty driver; questions about what happened to their horses.

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.