The Molly K Matter - Ep 3: Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar (October 12, 1955)

“The Molly K Matter - Ep 3” is an episode of Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar, the old-time radio show, first broadcast October 12, 1955. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

Insurance investigator Johnny Dollar investigates the sinking of the freighter Molly K in San Francisco. Crew member Hawkins reveals suspicious circumstances: a fire was discovered before the voyage, Captain Brawley violently silenced crew member Bill Mack's warnings, and an explosion—not a collision—actually sank the ship. Dollar confronts the captain and later meets with Shanghai Lu, a mysterious woman from his past, seeking information about the missing Chinese steward Benny Wong.

San Francisco waterfront and Chinatown, 1955

Characters: Johnny Dollar, Josiah Hawkins, Bill Mack, Captain Brawley, Benny Wong, Lu Tang (Shanghai Lu), Dean Sutton

Listen for: The details about the fire aboard the Molly K, Captain Brawley's violent reaction to Bill Mack's suspicions, and the revelation that an explosion rather than a collision sank the ship. Also note Johnny's complex history with Shanghai Lu.

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.