The Enigma Of Big Ed: Richard Diamond, Private Detective (April 4, 1952)

“The Enigma Of Big Ed” is an episode of Richard Diamond, Private Detective, the old-time radio show, first broadcast April 4, 1952. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

Richard Diamond takes a job as a factory worker at Big Ed Barton's metalworks to investigate a series of dangerous accidents that have spooked the workforce. Two men have been killed in the past month, and workers are quitting in fear the plant is jinxed, but Diamond suspects foul play designed to force Barton to close the business.

The Barton Metalworks factory and Richard Diamond's apartment in the city

Characters: Richard Diamond, Big Ed Barton, Steve Miller, Helen Asher, Otto Schmidt, Fred Lawson

Listen for: The revelation of who is sabotaging the plant and why, involving a long-simmering dispute over partnership and ownership

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.