Tumbleweed: Gunsmoke (August 28, 1960)

“Tumbleweed” is an episode of Gunsmoke, the old-time radio show, first broadcast August 28, 1960. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

A mysterious man named Maples arrives in Dodge City with a portable gallows mounted on his wagon, claiming that swift execution is the solution to the town's violence. Marshal Dillon must decide whether to allow this self-appointed executioner to operate in his town or send him away, while the community becomes increasingly divided over Maples' methods and philosophy.

Dodge City and the surrounding territory in the American West

Characters: Matt Dillon, Chester, Tumbleweed, Maples, Kitty

Listen for: A philosophical debate about justice and punishment, and the tension between Maples' brutal efficiency and Marshal Dillon's measured approach to law and order.

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.