RUSC MAILING

Written by Ned Norris

Ned here, tuning in with some very good news from the charged, low-lit corridors of old-time radio.

Defense Attorney is one of radio’s quietly radical achievements: a legal drama that centers the presumption of innocence and hands the microphone to a woman whose intelligence is never treated as novelty. It doesn’t go in for fireworks—it listens. People under pressure, memories bending, fear fogging motive. The endings don’t snap shut; they breathe.

So much of that comes from Mercedes McCambridge as Martha Ellis Bryant—steel without swagger. She cross-examines like a surgeon and turns gentle when someone’s scared or wronged. It’s advocacy as both craft and calling, and it feels remarkably current.

Here’s the miracle: I’m adding nine new episodes to RUSC, bringing the available set to 13. As far as I can tell, that’s likely the full surviving run. If you know otherwise—if a reel’s sleeping in a shoebox or a transcription disc’s mislabeled in a private stash—drop me a line. I’d love to help get it heard.

Listening in 2026, you hear more than period atmosphere. You hear a defense of defense itself: investigate, corroborate, doubt. In a time that still tilts toward outrage over rigor, this show’s steady standards feel bracing.

The new programs are going live now—ready for your listening so be sure to check in to www.rusc.com And if you’ve got a lead on a wayward episode, I would love to hear from you.

Happy listening, my friends,

RUSC Old Time Radio
www.rusc.com

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