What happens
The episode presents the history and politics of northern French Indochina, centred on the city of Hanoi. It describes the French colonial takeover in the late nineteenth century, the long Chinese presence before it, and the growing Anamite nationalist movement. A French engineer, Monsieur D'Amer, argues with others about whether a railroad linking Hanoi to Yunnan-Fu is worth building, and the difficulties of the project are discussed. The Pacific Story is an NBC radio drama series, and this episode first aired on March 17, 1946. The cast is not named in the transcript.
Hanoi and northern French Indochina, with the Yunnan-Fu railroad and Chinese border regions, from the 19th century through the Second World War
Characters: Monsieur D'Amer, Jock, General Lefemol, Governor K'Thru, General Luhan, General Alessandri
Listen for: The debate between D'Amer and the other engineers over whether the Yunnan-Fu railroad is needed, and the description of Hanoi as a city of perfume and gunpowder
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.