Inspector Adam Monahan dusts off his deerstalker cap to investigate an 18th century Chinese screen painting. But when the screen surprisingly sells at auction for over ten times the estimated value, to a Korean bidder, the origins of the screen are suddenly thrown into question. In this ‘Roadshow Radio Mystery Special,’ Adam goes on the hunt to learn where this screen actually comes from.

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The Case of the Missing Panels

What happens to all that stuff on America’s favorite antiques show once the cameras leave town? DETOURS reveals the stories, secrets, and surprises of TV treasures which go beyond the screen. Join host Adam Monahan, a longtime producer with GBH’s Antiques Roadshow on a journey of discovery from behind the scenes of the hit PBS series. Each episode tells the deeper story of one object, amazing and amusing listeners along the way. From GBH and PRX.

History

Society & Culture

Celebrity letters provide a glimpse into what was happening in that person’s life in a particular moment in time, beyond what the newspapers were printing. When a fiery letter written by legendary star Frank Sinatra was appraised on GBH’s Antiques Roadshow in Tulsa, OK in 2018 that glimpse revealed a raw response to a letter from a prison chaplain, asking forgiveness for the two men who abducted Sinatra’s son in 1963. What was the one point around the kidnapping deemed unforgivable by the entertainer? Join host Adam Monahan as he digs into the kidnapping and its tragic and lasting aftermath.

Encore: Very Truly Yours, Frank Sinatra

News that a famous Galileo manuscript at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor was revealed to be a fake raises questions about a similar letter that appeared on GBH’s Antiques Roadshow in 2014. Did the show get it wrong? And how can a fake be so convincing it fools multiple experts? Host Adam Monahan, joined by forgery-sniffing historian Nick Wilding, dig into a world of deception to uncover if the producers are in for a letdown.

Encore: Is This a Letdown?

An early-American desk and bookcase set was appraised in 2006 at GBH’s Antiques Roadshow for a whopping $250,000. But was this coveted circa 1775 two-piece secretary a match made in heaven? Join host Adam Monahan as he discovers how a shocking secret revealed after the show making the piece even more rare, along with a powerful new market trend combine to dramatically change the value.

Encore: If it’s Brown it’s Down

Boston Red Sox fans are a committed bunch – to the game, the team, the players, and the belief that a curse from 1918 kept the team away from a World Series win until broken in 2004. So, when a guest brought a Red Sox calendar, discovered behind a barn door after almost 100 years, to GBH’s Antiques Roadshow in 2021, that fan commitment clearly shone through in the $20K-$30K appraisal value. Join host (and Red Sox fanatic) Adam Monahan as he takes a swing at tracing the events leading to the curse, how this particular long-ago brewery-sponsored calendar stopped time at the moment it began, and how fans rallied when the calendar went to the auction block!

Take Me Out to the Ballgame - How the Boston Red Sox, Babe Ruth and the long-forgotten Bunker Hill Brewery combined to make one homerun of a calendar!

Ask fans of GBH’s Antiques Roadshow if they have a favorite appraiser and you’ll hear many names, including one known for his big character, creative mustache styles and bold plaid suits. Nicholas Lowry is a poster expert and master auctioneer – two qualities that were integral to the story of a larger-than-life aquatic poster bathed in muted watery green depicting splashing swimmers and onlookers lining the balcony above, that made its way to the show during a 2004 stop in Portland. Join host Adam Monahan as he dives into the incredible story of Sutro Baths, San Francisco’s 1890 engineering marvel, playground, and entertainment spot, and the poster that more than a century after its printing was offered at auction and saw a dramatic result!

The Poster Boy Takes a Dive – How an 1890s waterpark, the power of Victorian-era advertising and one man’s unlimited dreams culminated in drama at the auction block in 2023

The Case of the Missing Panels

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