Yorky: Gunsmoke (October 17, 1953)

“Yorky” is an episode of Gunsmoke, the old-time radio show, first broadcast October 17, 1953. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

A rancher brings a wounded white boy named Yorky to Marshal Dillon. The boy was captured during a Comanche raid and has been living with the tribe since childhood, viewing himself as Apache and bound by tribal honor to complete a coup or face death. Dillon must decide what to do with a young man caught between two worlds.

Dodge City and a ranch in the territory

Characters: Matt Dillon, Chester, Brian Brandt, Yorky

Listen for: The tragic backstory of a white child raised by Native Americans, and the moral dilemma Dillon faces in helping a boy torn between cultures and tribal codes of honor.

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.