What happens
Marlow, a sailor, recounts his journey up a river in Africa to find Mr. Kurtz, an ivory agent whose station has fallen silent and whom the company values highly. Marlow travels deep into the jungle, meets a wandering young Russian who speaks warmly of Kurtz, and reaches the inner station as the trip grows tense and dangerous. The story is told aloud to a companion on a ship anchored in the Thames, and the broadcast is part of The Mercury Theatre on the Air, with Orson Welles performing the drama, which aired on November 6, 1938, in a version adapted from Joseph Conrad's short novel of the same name.
The Congo River region of Africa in the late nineteenth century, and the Thames estuary in England where the tale is told
Characters: Marlow, Mr. Kurtz, The Manager, The Russian, The Brickmaker, The Accountant
Listen for: Marlow's description of the jungle journey and his first meeting with the Russian at the inner station
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.