The Lester Matson Matter: Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar (September 8, 1953)

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

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What happens

Insurance investigator Johnny Dollar arrives in New York to investigate a fire at the Matson plastic factory that destroyed the building. The night watchman heard an explosion and found high-octane fuel burning, suggesting arson. The factory owner, Lester Matson, has a solid alibi—he was at a dinner party with his daughter—but Dollar senses something is troubling him, and Matson's behavior suggests he may be hiding something.

New York City and New Jersey, including police headquarters, a hotel, and the Matson family home across the river in Jersey.

Characters: Johnny Dollar, Lieutenant Ridgeway, Lester Matson, Christine Matson, Mr. James

Listen for: Johnny Dollar's growing suspicion that Lester Matson knows more about the fire than he's saying, despite Matson's insistence that it was either an accident or the work of a pyromaniac. The interaction between Dollar and Matson's daughter Christine suggests a possible connection worth pursuing.

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.