The Strange Gift of the New Star: Space Patrol (February 28, 1953)

Space Patrol, old-time radio on Stupid Potato

“The Strange Gift of the New Star” is an episode of Space Patrol, the old-time radio show, first broadcast February 28, 1953. Listen free on Stupid Potato: no sign-up, no app.

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What happens

Space Patrol officers Buzz Corey and Happy investigate a damaged spaceship drifting beyond the orbit of Pluto. They rescue an unconscious man aboard and bring him to Terra for treatment. The man identifies himself as West Pence, a name linked to an old case involving a missing partner, Joe O'Malley. Buzz begins to suspect that the man's story and the ship's cargo are tied to something unusual far from the solar system. The episode is part of the Space Patrol radio series, which aired on February 28, 1953.

Outer space beyond the orbit of Pluto, and later the planets Terra and Mars

Characters: Buzz Corey, Happy, West Pence, Joe O'Malley, Captain Dick Tracy

Listen for: The discovery of the drifting ship and the rescued man named West Pence

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.