What happens
Strange As It Seems presents two stories. In eighteenth-century Gloucester, England, the wealthy Mr. Rogerson hires cooks from across Europe to prepare rare dishes for his guests, spending his fortune on delicacies. In the second story, Francis Scott Key goes under a flag of truce to the British fleet during the War of 1812 to plead for the release of Dr. Beanes, and is held aboard the admiral's ship through a night of bombardment. Back in Baltimore, a family discusses a new song, and the tune is traced to its French and English origins.
Gloucester, England in the eighteenth century; the British fleet near Fort McHenry and Baltimore during the War of 1812
Characters: Mr. Rogerson, Mr. Le Corne, Miss Oros, Francis Scott Key, Admiral Cockburn, Eliza, Ned
Listen for: The dinner-table conversation about rare foods and Mr. Rogerson's spending, and Key's negotiation with Admiral Cockburn and his view of the flag over Fort McHenry at dawn
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.