What happens
Luigi Basko, a young Italian immigrant in Chicago, enters a hospital to have his tonsils removed, paid for by money sent from his family. Nervous about the surgery, he is visited by his classmates from night school, including Mrs. Balding and Mr. Olsen, who bring gifts and lively debate. Luigi's friend Richard, a small boy on the children's ward, cheers him with cigars, hope and conversation. A visit from Luigi's friend Rosa and her father adds more warmth before he is taken upstairs. The episode is from the comedy series Life with Luigi, first broadcast on February 13, 1951.
A hospital in Chicago, in the early 1950s
Characters: Luigi Basko, Richard, Mrs. Balding, Mr. Olsen, Rosa, Dr. Ruben
Listen for: Luigi's letters home to his mother in Italy, and the lively exchanges with his night-school classmates during hospital visiting time
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.