The Barton Baker Matter: Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar (December 8, 1953)

“The Barton Baker Matter” is an episode of Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar, the old-time radio show, first broadcast December 8, 1953. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

Listen to Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar free, live around the clock: every episode, in the order it first aired. No sign-up.

What happens

Insurance investigator Johnny Dollar arrives in the coastal town of Newport to investigate the murder of Frank Meadows, a boat charter operator. Meadows was shot in what appears to be a confrontation with his missing partner Dave Geller. As Dollar digs deeper, he discovers a dangerous web of international intrigue involving a mysterious man named Baker and a toolkit hidden at a local garage.

Newport, a coastal town in Southern California, including a police station, Meadows' house by the bay, Carlson's Landing where the fishing boat J-Bell is moored, Bernie's garage on Maple Street, and a motel.

Characters: Johnny Dollar, Lieutenant Solomon, Frank Meadows, Dave Geller, Mrs. Meadows, Barton W. Baker, Hank, Bernie

Listen for: The revelation of what the toolkit actually contains and why it's worth killing for; the connection between Baker's identity and the smuggled goods; the confrontation at Bernie's garage.

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.