The Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society

We’re taking a little summer break, but we want to share a sneak peek at what awaits listeners when they become one of our Patreon supporters! Here is a pilot for a potential Columbo podcast called A Podcast Named Dog. If you’re not familiar with Columbo , it’s a beloved 1970s (and late 80s, early 90s) television mystery series starring the great Peter Falk. One of Columbo’s many quirks was his be...

We’re taking a little summer break, but we want to share a sneak peek at what awaits listeners when they become one of our Patreon supporters! Here is a pilot for a new pod to add to the Patreon rotation:  MORLS on Movies . It’s an opportunity to discuss how movies have adapted, reimagined, or been influenced by radio’s legacy. We begin with an obvious but hopefully entertaining choice, Russell Mu...

This week we are joined by our Patreon supporter Jeff who has brought us a story of wartime espionage from Escape entitled “The Thirteenth Truck”! A group of soldiers has been assigned to infiltrate a convoy and sabotage an enemy airfield. And even if they succeed, they will still need to escape with their lives! How can they sneak a truck past the watchful eyes of the Germans? What strange circum...

According to The Suspense Project , Joan Crawford’s “mic fright” meant that “The Ten Years” needed to be created unlike any previous episode of Suspense ! The story features Crawford as Clara who promised to stay with her sister after they were both orphaned as children. But once she grows up and finds a husband, her sister Adele feels betrayed. What will Adele do to return Clara to her childhood...

Once again we’re checking out a series we’ve never featured before, Dr. Tim, Detective ! We’re listening to two 15 minute episodes, “The Mystery of the Dog That Did and Didn’t” & “The Mystery of the Guest in Number Two,” both of which feature the educational adventures of Dr. Tim and his two young companions, Jill and Sandy. How does someone catch Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever in November? What...

Escape presents “ She ,” an adaptation of H. Rider Haggard’s iconic adventure novel set in a lost world in the African interior. After his father passed away, a son inherits an ancient artifact suggesting the location of a mythic city and the god-like figure known as “She Who Must Be Obeyed” who rules over the land. For reasons the young man cannot explain, the story seems familiar to him and he f...

Our Patreon supporter Simon recommended we check out the debut episode of Nightfall , “Love and the Lonely One”! A young surgical student uses a cadaver in a grisly prank. Shortly afterwards, he finds himself caught up in a troubling romance. How will he react when he finds out the truth about his new flame? How well does this episode represent the future of Nightfall? Could we do a whole podcast...

The Mysterious Traveler has stopped by to share the story of “The Accusing Corpse”! The story features a jealous husband who shoots his unfaithful wife with the help of her brother. But not all is as it seems. What sinister plot is happening behind the scenes? How can a corpse accuse its killer? Which room is the most convenient for bitter arguments with your spouse? Listen for yourself and find o...

Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz star in this week’s episode, “The Red-Headed Woman” from Suspense! The story features a young woman who commits an impulsive crime and then crosses paths with a potentially dangerous man on the run. Does she have the nerve and the wits to get away with her crime? Who will get the better of whom in this cat-and-mouse game? Is there any job more enticing and menacing than...

We now complete our trilogy of actors who starred in  Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar  during its initial run! This time, we’re listening to “The Chicago Fraud Matter” featuring John Lund in the title role! This story features an investigation into the sudden death of a life insurance policy holder. But the dead man seemed to have not been healthy enough to be approved for his insurance. Did he fool th...

Our Patreon listener Mark recommended we pay a visit to our Listener Library to check out “The April Fool’s Day Adventure” from The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes ! Thanks, Mark! In this episode, Watson recounts one of his earliest escapades with the famed detective, in which the doctor joins a conspiracy to make Holmes the target of an April Fool’s prank. But when the joke becomes a genuine cr...

Richard Widmark stars as a drifter named Jefferson in this episode of Suspense , “Too Hot to Live”! On a blisteringly hot summer day, Jefferson wanders into a small town only to lose his shoes and find a world of trouble. Did he commit the murder that he’s accused of committing? If not, is there any way to prove his innocence? What is Eric’s favorite book of the Bible? Listen for yourself and find...

We are two-thirds of the way through our tour of actors who starred in Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar during its initial run! This time, Edmond O’Brien is our titular investigator with the action-packed expense account in a story entitled “The Queen Anne Pistols Matter.” This episode sees Dollar hired to accompany the delivery of a pair of antique pistols. Why was the original courier attacked? What m...

For this episode, our Patreon supporter Ryan joins your hosts Eric, Tim, Joshua, and special guest host Shanan live on stage at the Bryant-Lake Bowl ! Ryan has brought us “A Shipment of Mute Fate,” an episode of Escape featuring Jack Webb as a passenger transporting dangerous cargo aboard a ship at sea! What deadly thing watches from inside this crate? What dangers threaten everyone aboard if it s...

We’re once again calling Candy Matson, YUkon 2-8209 ! In what may be her final case, Candy discovers that her beau, Lt. Mallard, may be the target of her investigation. After Mallard is behaving suspiciously, Candy secretly follows him only to discover a dead body! Is Mallard truly up to something illegal? Is this truly her last case? Is their love truly rooted in cold-blooded disdain for human li...

Arch Oboler takes us deep into the oceanic depths for this episode of Lights Out entitled “Bathysphere,” recommended to us by our Patreon supporter, Mark. Thanks, Mark! The story features an authoritarian leader attempting to dive down to a record-breaking depth beneath the ocean’s surface. Accompanied only by a doctor experienced in such dives, his excellency finds this life and death journey, “v...

We return to test our courage and our sanity in the mysterious dream realm of Dark Fantasy for an episode entitled, “Men Call Me Mad”! The story features a scientist who has discovered a strange other world and the means to transport himself there. What adventures await him there? What unforeseen challenges must he face when he returns? Is this the pinnacle of an uncompromising artist’s work or in...

Our Patreon supporter, Zach, recommended we listen to “The Thing in Cabin 105” from Beyond Midnight , and we did! Thanks, Zach! The production adapts F. Marion Crawford’s short story, The Upper Berth , which tells the story of a passenger aboard a cruise ship whose cabin seems to have unnatural effects on its inhabitants. But even after being advised to relocate, this passenger is determined to fi...

We’re diving far back into the history of Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar to listen to “The Little Man Who Wasn’t All There” featuring the first actor to play the iconic insurance investigator on the air, Charles Russell! The story features a man who claims to be taking revenge on an insurance company by killing off their clients! It’s up to Dollar to prove the crimes and put an end to the deaths! How...

It’s another trip to our Listener Library! This time we’re checking out “First Contact” from X Minus One , recommended to us by our Patreon support, Mark. Thanks, Mark! The story features the initial meeting between Earthlings and aliens, who find themselves trapped in a détente, each unable to understand or trust the other. Can their mutual destruction be avoided? Can they understand each other’s...

We’ve returned to The Chase ! In this episode, an American reporter who has made himself unwelcome in Russia finds himself traveling by train to Nuremberg, sharing a car with an important figure in Soviet politics. After speaking together, the reporter soon finds himself in the custody of Russian agents. What information did he learn from that conversation? Will the Russians be able to keep him on...

For our first proper episode of the new year, we left the decision to fate! We chose at random from a collection of New Years’ themed episodes and wound up listening to “The First Year,” from The Whistler ! The story features a wedded couple whose marriage began on New Year’s Eve and ended with murder exactly one year later. What legal machinations turned the wife against her husband? Is a random...

We’re starting the new year off with a sneak peek at what awaits listeners when they become one of our Patreon supporters! Our current members voted on their favorite bonus content in the past year and this episode of Frontier Gentleman , “Random Notes,” tied for the top selection! Our supporters on Patreon already know what the other bonus episode was and if you want to find out, go to patreon.co...

Happy New Year’s Eve! It’s that heartwarming time of year when we gather around the tunnel and try to discern the ghostly message being relayed from beyond. It’s another adaptation of Charles Dickens’ other famous ghost story, “The Signal-Man”! This year we gather in The Weird Circle for their version which they retitled, “The Thing in the Tunnel.” As before, this story depicts a curious stranger...

We’re spending Boxing Day with Lurene Tuttle in this Suspense episode, “The Tip”! In this production, she plays a devoted wife being held at gunpoint by a desperate man. This intruder intends to kill her husband as revenge for crimes unknown to her. As the two wait for his intended victim to come home, she engages her captor in a battle of wills. Can she outwit this man to escape? Has her husband...