The Carnival: Richard Diamond, Private Detective (March 30, 1951)

“The Carnival” is an episode of Richard Diamond, Private Detective, the old-time radio show, first broadcast March 30, 1951. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

Private detective Richard Diamond is hired by Adam Rayburn, a seven-foot-tall carnival performer, to discover what trouble his love interest Rowena is hiding. Diamond takes Rowena out for drinks and learns she has expensive tastes, but when he questions her about her past, a fire breaks out in the carnival tent killing chorus girl Dixie Jones. The fire was deliberately set, turning the death into murder, and Diamond must uncover the connections between Rowena, the carnival owner Dave Sylvester, and the dead girl.

A traveling carnival and the surrounding town in 1951

Characters: Richard Diamond, Adam Rayburn, Rowena, Dave Sylvester, Paula Sylvester, Dixie Jones, Walt

Listen for: The vivid carnival atmosphere with barking vendors and mechanical rides, the contrasting relationship between the towering Adam Rayburn and petite Rowena, and the climactic chase through a hall of mirrors at the carnival fun house

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.