What happens
Orson Welles delivers a reflective monologue titled Between Americans, presented on the Gulf Screen Guild Theater, the program's December 7, 1941 broadcast. Rather than a story about a few characters, the piece addresses the listener directly, asking what America means to each person. It moves through varied scenes: a gathering of delegates named for towns across the country, a discussion of free press and the Gettysburg Address, a cigarette purchase abroad, a Barn Dance, a repair mechanic working in a garage, a debate between baseball fans, and a survey of regional climates. Welles compares the nation's wine, women and song with other countries, and closes by describing the Constitution and the nation's varied landscapes and people. The broadcast is framed by commercial messages for Gulf products.
A broadcast monologue addressed to American listeners across the United States, with scenes set in various American towns, cities and regions.
Characters: Orson Welles, Roger Pryor, Bud Easton
Listen for: Welles's opening remarks to the listener, the imagined convention of delegates from towns with foreign-sounding names, and his closing reflections on what America means.
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.