Most of the Christmas radio programs I'm featuring are comedies or feature stories which are ultimately life-affirming and warmhearted. Something a bit stronger, however, is Jack Webb's show Dragnet. There are some very nice holiday episodes of Dragnet from over the years, but the one I've chosen to look at is a notorious episode called "A .22 Rifle for Christmas" from December 22, 1949. Two children disappear just ahead of Christmas. When one of the boys reappears, he has a tragic story to share about playing with the rifle his father bought him for Christmas.
This episode was not beloved by the NRA (to put it mildly). Like all Dragnet episodes, it's based on actual events; like most Dragnet episodes, it's grim and stark. But not entirely without heart. You can hear it at archive.org here.
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