Breakdown: Tales of the Texas Rangers (March 25, 1951)

“Breakdown” is an episode of Tales of the Texas Rangers, the old-time radio show, first broadcast March 25, 1951. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

When Constable Jim Wiley discovers a stranded motorist on Good Friday 1937, he offers assistance—but the stranger shoots and kills him. Texas Rangers Jay Pearson and Steve Clark are called to investigate, and fingerprints on the abandoned car reveal the killer is Rex Lang, a violent escaped convict with a trail of murders across multiple states.

Rural Texas, Good Friday 1937, beginning near the town of Roemer and expanding to a statewide manhunt

Characters: Jay Pearson, Captain Stinson, Steve Clark, Jim Wiley, Rex Lang

Listen for: The tense confrontation between Constable Wiley and the killer at the roadside; discussion of Rex Lang's violent past and his pattern of murders; the Rangers' determination to end his trail in Texas

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.