What happens
The Shadow, the crime-fighter who is known to the underworld only by his voice, is at the heart of this episode of The Mercury Theatre on the Air, first broadcast on June 5, 1938. Crime and a condemned man are central to the story. Dorga Khan, a dancer from an Eastern land, performs at a recital in the city while Joseph Hakeem, a man of the same background, is waiting to die in the electric chair for murder. Dorga Khan's husband is also facing execution, and his wife pleads for time. Police Commissioner Weston approaches the performers, and talk turns to the Governor, who may be leaving the state house that night. The episode sets up a plot involving the Governor's disappearance, which is still unfolding at this point in the broadcast.
A city recital hall during a dance performance, with a nearby prison where a condemned man awaits execution
Characters: The Shadow, Margot Lane, Dorga Khan, Joseph Hakeem, Commissioner Weston, Governor Barnes
Listen for: The talk of the Governor's sudden disappearance and the execution due the next morning at three
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.