Episodes of “Gunsmoke,” (the radio version) air regularly on Sirius/XM “Radio Classics” (Channel 148). If you don’t subscribe, they occasionally have free periods where the channels are open to anyone with a receiver in their cars, or through the website/app.
Give the radio version of Gunsmoke a try. Easily the best western in the medium’s history and one of its finest dramas. Conrad gives Matt Dillion a slightly different spin, and the same can be said for the rest of the cast in their roles.
Sound effects (or sound patterns, as they were listed in the show’s credits) were truly outstanding. The sound department at CBS was very good at creating multi-dimensional audio (in a day when everyone was listening on “mono” AM stations, and really couldn’t appreciate their efforts). For an indoor scene at the Long Branch, you’d hear the main actors talking in the foreground, background conversation suggesting other patrons, and the sound of the bar’s piano beyond that. The radio version of Gunsmoke ran until 1961, and was one of the last network dramas to leave the air.
Paul Harvey was appointment radio for 50 years. BTW, the “Rest of the Story,” was created by his son, Paul Jr., who wrote those segments for decades, and they were compiled in at least two books. Paul Jr. was also the announcer for his father’s 7:25 am newcast.
Thanks