What happens
Luigi Basko, a newcomer from Italy living in Chicago, falls behind on payments for a midget radio he bought on installment. The radio company threatens to take him to small claims court unless he pays twenty dollars. His friend Pasquale, his neighbors and a local alderman offer advice that proves unhelpful or unreliable. Luigi keeps writing letters home to his mother in Italy, describing his struggles and his small adventures in America. Pressed for money, he turns to a pawnbroker to raise cash, and his efforts to resolve the debt become increasingly tangled.
Chicago, 1949, in the neighborhood where Luigi Basko lives and works, including his shop and a nearby pawnshop on Dearborn Street.
Characters: Luigi Basko, Pasquale, Rosa, Mama Basko, Mr. Schultz, Alderman Johnson, Squidgy Mitchell, Miss Paulin
Listen for: Luigi's letters to his mother and the escalating exchanges over the unpaid radio debt, including the small claims summons and his dealings with the pawnbroker.
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.