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Tune in with your feedback In an all listener preview of this subscriber-based bonus coverage, BAF peeks into the television shows of the 1960s decade that centered on espionage. Inspired by the release of the early James Bond films, spy-themeed programs began their mission with The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and continued with Get Smart, I Spy, and the sustaining Mission: Impossible . Many of these show...

Tune in with your feedback With the approach of the America's semiquincentennial (250 years), BAF takes a look back at the Bicentennial celebration in 1976 and the role televison played not just that on Sunday, July 4th of that year but months even years before.  Support the show

Tune in with your feedback With all the different types of programming the television brought, fund raising played a part and so entered the telethon. Addressing many charitable causes including medical research, support for arts and culture, and hunger relief, BAF explores how the televised appeal to masses began. Support the show

Tune in with your feedback In the 1950s, awards shows started being televised. Beginning with the Academy Awards (or Oscars) and continuing with the Emmys, Grammys, and ultimately Tonys these programs celebrating achievement in Cinema, Television, Music, and Stage laid the groundwork. BAF welcomes back James Lott, Jr. of JLJ Media, who has produced and hosted several podcasts of the history of awa...

Tune in with your feedback Revisiting bonus coverage through The Prime Time Players introduced last year, BAF presents special bonus content from last year's Super Bowl history episode that covers the evolution and emergence of America's championship game. The episode includes further details on how it came to be named the Super Bowl, some game highlights through the years, the importanc...

Tune in with your feedback The soap commercials first from the radio then television aired during daytime hours, eventually forming a genre known as soap opera and extending into Prime Time. BAF interviews podcaster James Lott, Jr. of JLJ Media, tapping into Lott's extensive knowledge of the genre and how it has shaped television drama over the decades in the way shows were presented, charact...

Tune in with your feedback With the NFL season in full grind and approaching the playoffs, BAF looks at the Dallas Cowboys and the highly visible impact and history of their popularity on the air. He is joined by longtime Cowboys fan, Kaete, who represents a solid example of how television connects loyal followers outside of Texas. Topics of discussion center on how annual Thanksgiving appearances...

Tune in with your feedback Parades are a longtime occasion to celebrate and honor. BAF explores how the presence of television has heightened the experience. This involves eliminating the factor of traveling the distance to see the spectacle, bringing amazing views close up through camera angles to see floats, inflatables, and performances plus hearing commentary from favorite on-air personalities...

Tune in with your feedback The 1950s brought science fiction to television, but in October of 1959 a new program took elements of that genre to another level with a new anthology titled "The Twilight Zone." Created, produced, and narrated by Rod Serling this program explored different situations each episode involving space, time, the mysterious and unknown, and twists inolving humanity...

Tune in with your feedback The 1970s were a changing time for television bringing in a mix of new sitcoms and variety shows involving satire and social issues along with new trends and images in action shows and crime dramas. As the curtain closed on the era of western-based shows that were popular during the 1950s and 60s, two new historical dramas focused on the everyday lives of family in rural...

Tune in with your feedback No, it's not an Olympic year and half a year away from one. But the purpose of having an Olympic Games sustains through time. BAF admits that in starting the podcast in 2024 he neglected last year's summer games in lieu of prepping introductory epsiodes. But better late than never and months ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics, the importance of their televised e...

Tune in with your feedback BAF explores a nostalgic subject for many when it comes to television programs - the opening theme. The early programs focused on the announcement of the show and its primary sponsor(s) but over time has helped introduce the setting and characters using music and visuals in different ways to set American audiences up to watch the program at hand. BAF addresses the questi...

Tune in with your feedback With this year's Wimbledon Grand Slam Tournament in the books and looking ahead to this year's U.S. Open , BAF explores the history and impact of tennis on television from its roots in the 20th Century. Loc, a well-received guest from last season, joins the show again to serve up his tennis experiences and knowledge wiith some of BAF's facts and perspectiv...

Tune in with your feedback The evolution of television programming was greatly influenced by the structure of the television season. BAF explores how it started out in experimental forms with early programming before eventually developing a fall through spring-summer model with reruns filling in. Certain programs defined the idea of the season finale through plot twists, cast and character changes...

Tune in with your feedback Commerical breaks that is! BAF explores televison advertising from its earliest days and how it has evolved and changed. From its earliest days of sponsors promoting cigarette smoking to anti-drug public service announcements. From the earlier upbeat Presidential campagin ads to those that attacked political opponents. How something as simple as a Folgers coffee products...

Tune in with your feedback BAF continues his exploration of changing comedy-variety shows with a look back at Saturday Night Live. Now in its 50th Season, the legendary sketch based program followed the a new wave of parody and issue-oriented comedy shows that came about in the late 1960s and 70s. Many of these represented a change with the times from traditional rural settings to larger cities. B...

Tune in with your feedback As Saturday Night Live celebrates 50 years, BAF explores comedy-variety sketch shows that aired in the 10 years before it premiered. Such programs themeed their content around current events of the day, popular culture, and parodies of the past, present, and future. Programs such as The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, The Carol Burnett Show, Rowan & Martin's Laug...

Tune in with your feedback With the entrance of March comes the excitiement and anticipation of the annual NCAA College Basketball Tournament, Teams qualify, brackets are formed, and eventually a national champion is declared. But of all those who compete on the court, television has been the player to bring the many shining moments to fans and viewers across the nation. Joined by a longtime spors...

Tune in with your feedback During the late 1980s, segments of a new television network started budding then blossoming into the regular lineup of shows. Before FOX television became a larger enterprise it worked its way into antenna television with some unique programs. BAF starts with its attempt at late night TV through hosts Joan RIvers and Arsenio Hall, the original Sunday programs including M...

Tune in with your feedback One of television longest running and most popular crime dramas is Law & Order, and it has given the genre a whole new meaning not to mention to concept of branding off into other series. Before it came to be though, the television airwaves were filled for decades with crime dramas featuring both police detectives and prosecuting attorneys in the shadow of defense la...

Tune in with your feedback It's more than just a championship game and BAF explores why. It doesn't need a seven-game series, home field advantage, or a dominating superstar athlete. With a blend of exciting play, diverse commercials, and engaging performance, the Super Bowl has transformed a sports championship into an event, borderline national holiday. From the early years on forward,...

Tune in with your feedback The game show has been a major player in television history throughout the many decades not just in terms of longetivity of the genre but the shows themselves. Even the most early ones starting with Truth or Consequences and You Bet Your Life  left some legacy leading to other shows that from the originals have also been reinvented including The Price is Right, Let'...

Tune in with your feedback Reality TV is more popular than ever but it is nothing new. It was there from the beginning of full TV schedules, and BAF explores the precursor shows such as Candid Camera and People are Funny that introduced the comedy of practical jokes on real people. Then the real stories of women during the 50s and 60s decades to become Queen for a Day and the beginning of relation...

Tune in with your feedback The changing of the calendar year - While an occurrence ages old, the presence of television heightened it by bringing many in different locations together for the annual celebration. Without the early music brought into househoulds by Guy Lombardo and the Royal Canadians, Auld Lang Syne would not have the pop culture meaning it does today. Then the legendary Dick Clark...

Tune in with your feedback The spirit of Chirstmas has arrived in many forms but none have been so dynamic and influentual into the households of American families as the programming of television. The holiday episodes of regularly occuring shows showcased the many moods of the season. Specials mixed star-studded entertainment with tradition. Finally, the colorful commercials pushed a variety of p...