What happens
Jor-El, a scientist on the planet Krypton, warns the governing council that the planet is doomed as the sun draws it closer. The council dismisses his calculations, so he begins building a spaceship to carry people to Earth. At home, he and his wife Lara discuss the danger and the possible escape of their infant son, Kal-El. Quakes and eruptions grow worse, and Jor-El prepares to send the boy away alone while Lara stays behind. The episode is the first chapter of the series, aired on February 12, 1940.
The planet Krypton, in the Temple of Wisdom and at Jor-El's home
Characters: Jor-El, Lara, Kal-El, Council members
Listen for: Jor-El's warnings to the council and the sounds of the quakes that grow worse across the episode
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.