What happens
Jack Benny hosts an episode of his radio comedy series, first broadcast on June 2, 1940, with Mary Livingstone, Phil Harris, Dennis Day and Don Wilson. The show opens with a Jell-O commercial, then Benny talks about his contract being renewed and recalls a bingo evening with the sponsor, Mr. Mortimer. Mary teases him about a fortune teller, Madam Zuzu, who predicted his future. Benny then haggles with Dennis Day over his salary while Phil Harris and the orchestra play loudly nearby. Rochester calls to report that he has bought a racehorse and wants to keep it in the garage. The episode then turns to Don Wilson's hillbilly melodrama parody, The Code of the Hill.
A radio studio during a live broadcast, with the story then moving to a backwoods Ozark cabin in a hillbilly melodrama sketch
Characters: Jack Benny, Mary Livingstone, Phil Harris, Dennis Day, Don Wilson, Rochester, Mr. Mortimer, Madam Zuzu
Listen for: Jack haggling with Dennis Day over his salary while Phil Harris plays loudly next door
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.