The Clara , Lu , ‘N Em , Show was the first nationally broadcast radio soap opera. It aired at various points from in the 1930s and ‘40s. The story centered on three women who lived in a small-town duplex. Clara Roach and her family lived on one side of the duplex, Emma Krueger lived with her family on the other side, and widow Lulu Casey lived upstairs with her daughter, Florabelle.