The Chronic Rift Network

Will Rogers, Jr. was an American politician, writer, and newspaper publisher. When he wasn't involved in politics, he was frequently found acting in movies, television, and even radio. Tonight we present "Rogers of the Gazette," his series where he plays a modified version of himself. Here he runs the fictional small-town newspaper, the "Illyria Weekly Gazette," and dispenses homespun common sense and aphorism-filled advice to the betterment of his readers and fellow citizens. Then on "Our Miss Brooks" what could possibly go wrong when one of Connie's students whips up a new form of egg dye?

Episodes

Rogers of the Gazette

August 12, 1953

"Land Deal"

2:13

Our Miss Brooks

April 9, 1950

"Dyeing Easter Eggs"

32:21

Here's another bonus quarantine-themed episode for you to help pass the time. We begin with "The Adventures of Horatio Hornblower." Horatio Hornblower started life in a series of adventure novels written by C. S. Forester from the 1930s to the 1960s. Hornblower is a British officer in the Royal Navy during the Age of Sail, the Napoleonic Wars of the 1800s. That's the same time period as Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin or "Master and Commander" series. If you like one, you'll like the other. Then, on "Fibber McGee and Molly," all the usual gang has been quarantined at the McGee residence for a week due to measles. Let's check in and see if everyone is still on their best behavior.

Episodes

The Adventures of Horatio Hornblower

August 18, 1952 / May 8, 1953

"Quarantined for the Plague"

2:47

Fibber McGee and Molly

March 11, 1941

"Quarantined With Measles"

24:27

“If Freedom Failed” was a radio program created by the Armed Forces Radio Service. It depicted an alternate America in the 1950s that had been taken over by Communists. Each of the 26 episodes was inspired by actual events in Communist nations, but presented filtered through the prism of American life in fictional Springfield, U.S.A. This episode centers on a museum where historical facts are being altered to suit the Party.  Then on “Duffy’s Tavern,” actor Vincent Price drops by to visit “The Ham’s Club,” a dining establishment for actors only that barkeep Archie is trying to promote.

Episodes

If Freedom Failed Episode 1, 1951 “A Matter of Fact” 2:37

Duffy’s Tavern January 26, 1951 “Actor’s Club at the Tavern” 34:55

Here’s a special bonus episode for everyone stuck inside and starved for entertainment -- two episodes on the theme of quarantine.  First up on “Have Gun Will Travel,” Paladin helps a Native American man whose sick cattle result in others enforcing a quarantine around his land with their rifles.  Then on “The Jack Benny Program,” Jack is sick in bed, and the gang is NOT practicing “social distancing” as they keep dropping by to visit.

Episodes

Have Gun Will Travel

February 22, 1959

“Winchester Quarantine”

1:43

“The Jack Benny Program”

March 18, 1951

“Jack Talks About His Illness the Previous Week”

26:36

Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day, it’s “Lux Radio Theatre” with their adaptation of the 1949 film “Top o’ the Morning.”  This tale of a singing insurance investigator – NOT Johnny Dollar – stars Dennis Day from “The Jack Benny Show.”  Academy Award-winner Barry Fitzgerald and nominee Ann Blyth reprise their roles as residents of the Emerald Isle caught up in Day’s search for the stolen Blarney Stone.

Lux Radio Theatre 

March 17, 1952

“Top o’ the Morning”

2:55

 “It Pays to Be Married” was a daytime game show aimed at housewives.  Five days a week, Jay Stewart interviewed couples from all walks of life who had faced and solved problems within their marriages. It was an inspirational, if generally light-hearted, program.  On tonight’s program, Jay interviews a Latvian war bride who had trouble adjusting to life in America.  Then Phil Harris and Alice Faye explain the marriage-centric origin of their radio show and tell the unexpectedly moving story of the birth of their first child.  Next, on “The Bob Hope Show,” Bob teams with fellow radio comedian Fred Allen.  The two bemoan television’s threat to their radio careers and decide to break into the new medium.

Episodes

It Pays to Be Married

January 27, 1954

“Guests:  Mr. and Mrs. John Scovern”

March 8, 1954

“Guests:  Phil Harris and Alice Faye”

2:31

The Bob Hope Show

February 7, 1950

“From the Vine Street Playhouse with Fred Allen”

32:30

 We start out with a very faithful adaptation of the one of the oddest short stories in American literature, Herman Melville’s “Bartleby, the Scrivener.” It’s the story of a Wall Street office clerk, Bartleby, whose job is to make copies of documents. Then one day, he doesn’t want to, saying simply "I would prefer not to."  Indeed, he would prefer not to do anything.  It’s an enigmatic tale presented by the “The NBC Theater.”  Then the cast of “The Danny Kaye Show” celebrates Valentine’s Day.  Danny portrays “Dan Cupid” in a sketch about the little cherub spreading love and sings one of his patented dialect songs about Russian acting coach Stanislavski.

Episodes

The NBC Theater

December 2, 1950

“Bartleby, the Scrivener”

2:52

The Danny Kaye Show

February 10, 1945

“A Valentine for Jack Benny”

32:52

During the Golden Age of Radio, there was almost no Afrocentric programming, and what little there was was comedy or music.  “New World A-Coming” broke that mold.  This series of docudramas was created by African-American journalist Roi Ottley and inspired by his Peabody-Award-winning book of the same name examining life in Harlem.  This episode takes on domestic service inequality as well as the inequality which took place in the armed forces during World War II.  Then on “You Bet Your Life,” Groucho grills two high school students about vocabulary they should know.  Next, a married couple sailing around the world recall how they met while in the Army.

Episodes

New World A-Coming

June 18, 1944

“The Mammy Legend”

3:04

You Bet Your Life

January 30, 1952

“The Secret Word is ‘Food’”

28:24

​SLXLM​​​

“The Jack Benny Show” starts the year off right, with talk of Christmas presents and Jack and the gang going to the Rose Bowl for the New Year’s Day game.  Then on “Information Please,” are you up on are you up on famous dinner parties, the first words of poems, and the specialized slang of obscure professions?  Get ready to stump the experts.

The Jack Benny Show

January 5, 1941

“Rose Bowl Game – Stanford vs. Nebraska”

2:13

Information Please

January 23, 1942

“Guests: and Alexander Wolcott and Deems Taylor”

32:20

 Episode 56—All Aboard the Hogwarts Express

Science fiction writer Scott Pearson’s cohost Ella Pearson recounts her many Harry Potter-themed adventures while living in England: visiting places where J. K. Rowling worked on the books, spotting filming locations from the movies, making two trips to the Harry Potter Set Tour, and seeing the stage play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

Segments

00:28 Intro

01:20 Rowling in Edinburgh

05:31 Digression: Doctor Who in Glasgow

06:21 Platform 9 3/4

08:40 Harry Potter Studio Tour

18:18 Interlude: A Wee Bit More o’ Scotland

18:58 Back in the Studio

35:15 Potter Nostalgia

37:25 Harry Potter and the Cursed Child