Opening Night

In a future London, the director of Hatcheries and Conditioning conducts a tour of the embryo bottling plant, showing students how citizens are manufactured and conditioned into their social castes. Bernard Marx, an Alpha Plus who feels out of place in this controlled society, grows restless with its rules. He takes his lover Lenina Crowne on a journey to a savage reservation in New Mexico, where they meet a woman named Linda and her son John. Radio's CBS Radio Workshop presents this first part of Aldous Huxley's adaptation of his novel Brave New World, which the author narrates.

With Bernard Marx, Lenina Crowne, Fanny Crowne, Henry Foster, Helmholtz, John, Linda, Thomas.

Listen for: The Director's tour of the bottling room and the conditioning nursery, and Bernard's journey to the reservation where he meets John and Linda.

First aired on January 27, 1956.

Episode notes written with AI from the recording itself; the audio is the original broadcast.

Free, complete and restored, no modern ads. A new episode every week: CBS Radio Workshop on Stupid Potato, every episode so far and the episode guide.

Stupid Potato restores classic radio and TV audio and runs 60 free 24/7 channels and 188 podcasts: old-time radio westerns, detectives, comedy, science fiction and suspense, vintage TV, Saturday-morning cartoons, Halloween and Christmas. No modern ads. Listen free at stupidpotato.com.

Frank Morgan and George Murphy, along with Mary Boland, Marlene Dietrich and Cliff Edwards, present a variety program on the Screen Guild Theater, first broadcast on January 29, 1939. Morgan and Murphy quarrel over who belongs on the show, and Murphy introduces a song sung by Morgan. Boland arrives and presents Professor Nizaro, who explains double talk. Dietrich then sings in a cafe scene. The program closes with a comic spy skit in which Morgan's agent is sent to arrest a spy at a hotel.

With Frank Morgan, George Murphy, Mary Boland, Professor Nizaro, Marlene Dietrich, Oscar Bradley, George Perkins.

Listen for: Frank Morgan and George Murphy trading jokes over who belongs on the show, and the explanation of double talk by Professor Nizaro.

First aired on January 29, 1939.

Episode notes written with AI from the recording itself; the audio is the original broadcast.

Free, complete and restored, no modern ads. Two new episodes a week: Screen Guild Theater on Stupid Potato, every episode so far and the episode guide.

Stupid Potato restores classic radio and TV audio and runs 60 free 24/7 channels and 188 podcasts: old-time radio westerns, detectives, comedy, science fiction and suspense, vintage TV, Saturday-morning cartoons, Halloween and Christmas. No modern ads. Listen free at stupidpotato.com.

Missouri farmers Spring Davis and his son Benji hunt foxes with their hounds, and the prized hound Bugle Anne has a voice unlike any other. Their neighbor Jake Terry, who dislikes the hunting, plans to fence his land for sheep, and a dispute grows between the families. Benji is in love with Camden Terry, which further strains relations. This is the Lux Radio Theatre production of The Voice of Bugle Anne, broadcast on July 6, 1936, starring Lionel Barrymore with Porter Hall and Ann Shirley.

With Spring Davis, Benji Davis, Jake Terry, Camden Terry, Calhoun Royster, Mr. Tanner.

Listen for: The distinctive baying voice of the hound Bugle Anne as the hunt begins, and the tense confrontation over Terry's new fence.

First aired on July 6, 1936.

Episode notes written with AI from the recording itself; the audio is the original broadcast.

Free, complete and restored, no modern ads. A new episode every day: Lux Radio Theatre on Stupid Potato, live around the clock.

Stupid Potato restores classic radio and TV audio and runs 60 free 24/7 channels and 188 podcasts: old-time radio westerns, detectives, comedy, science fiction and suspense, vintage TV, Saturday-morning cartoons, Halloween and Christmas. No modern ads. Listen free at stupidpotato.com.

Lamont Cranston and his companion Margot Lane visit Carolyn Sneed, who is unwell, at her country house. Her husband, Professor Arthur Sneed, dismisses her fears that the house is haunted by strange sounds, and Cranston senses something sinister about him. Cranston later visits Sneed's office, where a voice warns the professor that someone knows what he is planning. Two men arrive at the office, former convicts who press Sneed about his wife's money and suggest a violent scheme. The story is part of The Mercury Theatre on the Air, first broadcast on October 31, 1937, and is adapted from the Shadow character.

With Lamont Cranston, Margot Lane, Carolyn Sneed, Professor Arthur Sneed, Miss Lane, Spike Collins, Steve Wilson.

Listen for: The ghostly sounds in the Sneed house and the tense exchange in the professor's office with the two visitors.

First aired on October 31, 1937.

Episode notes written with AI from the recording itself; the audio is the original broadcast.

Free, complete and restored, no modern ads. Two new episodes a week: Orson Welles on the Air on Stupid Potato, live around the clock.

Stupid Potato restores classic radio and TV audio and runs 60 free 24/7 channels and 188 podcasts: old-time radio westerns, detectives, comedy, science fiction and suspense, vintage TV, Saturday-morning cartoons, Halloween and Christmas. No modern ads. Listen free at stupidpotato.com.

Irene O'Dare, a red-haired shop girl at a New York department store, is reprimanded by her manager, Mr. Sweeney, for reading a fashion magazine on the job. Later, Irene is sent to the home of wealthy customer Mrs. Marshall, where she meets Donald Marshall, who has been scolding her for her forward manner. Donald, who is charmed by her, proposes that she pose as a famous Irish singer and model gowns for a dressmaker, Madame Lucy, to help her escape her hard life. The episode is part of the Lux Radio Theatre series, broadcast on June 29, 1936, and stars Jeanette McDonald as Irene and Regis Toomey as Donald.

With Irene O'Dare, Mr. Sweeney, Jane, Miss Hector, Mrs. Marshall, Donald Marshall, Eleanor, Larry Bradley.

Listen for: Irene's transformation from shop girl to pretend singer, and Donald's growing interest in her.

First aired on June 29, 1936.

Episode notes written with AI from the recording itself; the audio is the original broadcast.

Free, complete and restored, no modern ads. A new episode every day: Lux Radio Theatre on Stupid Potato, live around the clock.

Stupid Potato restores classic radio and TV audio and runs 60 free 24/7 channels and 188 podcasts: old-time radio westerns, detectives, comedy, science fiction and suspense, vintage TV, Saturday-morning cartoons, Halloween and Christmas. No modern ads. Listen free at stupidpotato.com.

A naval commanding officer and his crew patrol a fog-bound northern coast during the First World War. Their warship finds a neutral Scandinavian steamer, the Coaster, hidden in the fog in a sheltered field, and the officer grows suspicious after a boarding party reports a plausible story of engine failure. He goes aboard himself to question the master, a robust Scandinavian who seems shaken and evasive. The recording is part of the Theatre Royal series, broadcast by NBC in 1953 and hosted by Laurence Olivier, with Ralph Richardson reading Joseph Conrad's story The Tale.

With Naval commanding officer, Master of the Coaster, Officer in charge of the boarding party, Scandinavian engineer.

Listen for: The commanding officer's growing suspicion as he questions the Scandinavian master aboard the Coaster.

First aired on October 18, 1953.

Episode notes written with AI from the recording itself; the audio is the original broadcast.

Free, complete and restored, no modern ads. A new episode every week: Theatre Royal on Stupid Potato, every episode so far and the episode guide.

Stupid Potato restores classic radio and TV audio and runs 60 free 24/7 channels and 188 podcasts: old-time radio westerns, detectives, comedy, science fiction and suspense, vintage TV, Saturday-morning cartoons, Halloween and Christmas. No modern ads. Listen free at stupidpotato.com.

Akaki Akakievich Bashmachin, a meek copying clerk in St. Petersburg, saves up for months to buy a new overcoat after his old one falls apart. Once it is finally made, he is proud of it and attends a party in his honour, but on the walk home across a deserted square the coat is taken from him by thieves. He goes to the local authorities and then to an important official, who dismisses him harshly. The story is adapted from Nikolai Gogol's tale The Overcoat, performed on the radio series Theatre Royal, with Sir Laurence Olivier as host and Michael Redgrave in the lead role. It first aired on October 11, 1953, on the NBC network.

With Akaki Akakievich Bashmachin, Petrovich, Baccilla, Gregoripitrovich, Vassili Iliar.

Listen for: The sound of the snow and wind on the empty square as Akaki walks home alone

First aired on October 11, 1953.

Episode notes written with AI from the recording itself; the audio is the original broadcast.

Free, complete and restored, no modern ads. A new episode every week: Theatre Royal on Stupid Potato, every episode so far and the episode guide.

Stupid Potato restores classic radio and TV audio and runs 60 free 24/7 channels and 188 podcasts: old-time radio westerns, detectives, comedy, science fiction and suspense, vintage TV, Saturday-morning cartoons, Halloween and Christmas. No modern ads. Listen free at stupidpotato.com.

Herman, a young officer in Saint Petersburg, becomes obsessed with a secret system of three cards said to guarantee winning at gambling. He hears that his friend's grandmother, the old Countess, knows the secret, and he sets out to win her favour through her young ward, Lizaveta. Orson Welles plays Herman in this adaptation of Alexander Pushkin's story, introduced by Laurence Olivier on the Theatre Royal series. The broadcast was first aired on October 4, 1953.

With Herman, Countess Anna Fedotovna, Lizaveta Ivanovna, Tomsky, Narumov, Yeletsky, Count Saint-Germain.

Listen for: The card-game scenes at Narumov's and the scene in the Countess's bedroom, where Herman's obsession turns to desperation

First aired on October 4, 1953.

Episode notes written with AI from the recording itself; the audio is the original broadcast.

Free, complete and restored, no modern ads. A new episode every week: Theatre Royal on Stupid Potato, every episode so far and the episode guide.

Stupid Potato restores classic radio and TV audio and runs 60 free 24/7 channels and 188 podcasts: old-time radio westerns, detectives, comedy, science fiction and suspense, vintage TV, Saturday-morning cartoons, Halloween and Christmas. No modern ads. Listen free at stupidpotato.com.

Phyllis Randall, a young actress new to New York, is hired by producer Norman Perch for the poetic tragedy Hang Me on Thursday, written by Beaufort Lovejoy. Perch's assistant Albert is unhappy with the arrangement and warns Phyllis about his employer's methods. Perch readies the play for an out-of-town tryout in Boston, where he persuades the Prescott City Junior Chamber of Commerce to invest. Phyllis and Lovejoy grow close as opening night approaches, and Perch's reputation comes under question. The episode is an On Stage broadcast from January 11, 1953, and this guide covers only the opening portion of the story.

With Phyllis Randall, Norman Perch, Beaufort Lovejoy, Albert, Kathy.

Listen for: Perch's dealings with the Prescott City Junior Chamber of Commerce and the reception of the Boston tryout

First aired on January 11, 1953.

Episode notes written with AI from the recording itself; the audio is the original broadcast.

Free, complete and restored, no modern ads. A new episode every week: On Stage on Stupid Potato, every episode so far and the episode guide.

Stupid Potato restores classic radio and TV audio and runs 60 free 24/7 channels and 188 podcasts: old-time radio westerns, detectives, comedy, science fiction and suspense, vintage TV, Saturday-morning cartoons, Halloween and Christmas. No modern ads. Listen free at stupidpotato.com.

On a Mediterranean cruise ship sailing from Beirut, American schoolteacher Mildred Gideon meets Mr. Haroon, a polished fellow passenger, and is teamed with the brash Frank Grady for a sightseeing tour. Early one morning, after watching the sunrise over the city, Mildred believes she has seen a stumbling American sailor stabbed on the dock, but when the police arrive the body is gone and they doubt her. Later, at the Sultan's Turret, she is alarmed by a mysterious presence on the stairs and finds a slip of paper. Frank Grady and Mr. Haroon both become suspects in her mind as she tries to make sense of what she saw. This is a radio play from the On Stage series, first broadcast on January 8, 1953.

With Mildred Gideon, Frank Grady, Mr. Haroon, Sailor.

Listen for: The dead sailor's words "Sultan's turret, fifteen step" and the slip of paper marked with a ship and a time

First aired on January 8, 1953.

Episode notes written with AI from the recording itself; the audio is the original broadcast.

Free, complete and restored, no modern ads. A new episode every week: On Stage on Stupid Potato, every episode so far and the episode guide.

Stupid Potato restores classic radio and TV audio and runs 60 free 24/7 channels and 188 podcasts: old-time radio westerns, detectives, comedy, science fiction and suspense, vintage TV, Saturday-morning cartoons, Halloween and Christmas. No modern ads. Listen free at stupidpotato.com.