The Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society

This week, we’re taking our place once again in the Weird Circle! This episode, “The Old Nurse’s Story” features an adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell’s short story of the same name. In this tale, a daughter’s ill-conceived marriage drives a wedge between her and her father, leading to a bitter grudge and a promise of revenge. What death will lead to a second oath? Will this family ever be reconciled? How hard would it be to use child actors borrowed from a Victorian orphanage? Listen for yourself and find out!

Special guest Laura Zabel joins us for this week’s episode recorded in front of a live audience at the Bryant-Lake Bowl! We’re listening to “A Thing of Beauty” from Suspense! Angela Lansbury stars as a reclusive woman recounting the days of her youth to two clergymen. She tells them of her time as a renowned actress and the accusation of murder that led to her marriage. What happened to take her from a life on the stage to her current reclusive state? Who did kill her rival? How can you tell if you’re less popular than your spouse? Listen for yourself and find out!

Boris Karloff stars in this week’s episode, “The Final Reckoning” from Creeps by Night! After a convict has his life sentence commuted, his long-planned path of revenge can begin. Soon the man who put him in prison finds a dead rat on his doorstep and is looking for someplace to hide! Will this quest for vengeance be fulfilled? What is the plan? Would you be willing to stay longer in prison if there were tasty snacks? Listen for yourself and find out!

We’ve been compelled to revisit Obsession! This time for a story entitled “Shadow of Huntley House” (also known as “On the Wild Seas”), a story about a woman reuniting with her estranged twin sister, who was recently widowed. But rather than familial support, the reunion is thick with jealousy and plotting that might result in murder! How could an obsession drive someone to such an extreme? Would such a crime be truly unsolvable? Have beer salesmen always been cool and affluent? Listen for yourself and find out!

This week we’re listening to “Wild Jack Rhett,” an episode of Escape set in a small frontier town in the Old West! When the town’s previous sheriff dies, the citizens need to decide what kind of man they want to hire to replace him. But electing to a hire a steely-eyed killer like Wild Jack Rhett may be more than the town can bear. Will Rhett bring order to this town? How does this compare with Gunsmoke, which in part drew its inspiration from this episode? Should experienced drivers be above the law? Listen for yourself and find out!

This sci-fi themed episode of Quiet Please was recommended to us by our Patreon supporter Lance. Thanks, Lance! Appropriate to the story’s title, “The Pathetic Fallacy” is the story of a scientist who has created a machine capable of computing fantastically complex mathematical problems, but the device seems to willfully be making errors. Soon the public is more interested in the machine’s apparently human-like behavior than its computing power! Is the machine truly alive? Are the scientist and press just indulging in the pathetic fallacy? Do podcast hosts have “real” feelings? Listen for yourself and find out!

Our Patreon supporter Simon recommended we make another Appointment with Fear for an episode entitled, “The Clock Strikes Eight”! Thanks, Simon! John Dickson Carr’s corpulent detective, Gideon Fell, is summoned to meet a woman about to be executed for murder. But this woman has lost all her memories, starting with the victim’s death! Can Fell uncover the truth before the fatal hour arrives? What caused this woman to lose her memories? Would you like to go on a vacation with Gideon Fell? Listen for yourself and find out!

The seas aren’t safe while a madman commands the crew of a submarine, sinking whatever ships it finds! But Lamont Cranston is on the case as The Shadow in this episode entitled “Death from the Deep!” But before he can stop this submarine, the Shadow will need to find it! What motivates the killer to do what he does? Will the Shadow be able to outwit his cunning opponent? Is this in any way appropriate for children? Listen for yourself and find out!

This episode was recorded live at the Bryant-Lake Bowl in Minneapolis with special guest, Shanan Custer! We’re listening to “The Wailing Wall” from Inner Sanctum Mystery, starring Boris Karloff! The story features a murderous husband who can’t seem to escape his crimes! What is the source of the keening sound that haunts him? Is he truly being plagued by a ghost? Is that really how the police investigate unidentified corpses? Listen for yourself and find out!

A violent series of robberies have Joe Friday and the entire L.A. police force on high alert in this episode of Dragnet, “The Red Light Bandit”! According to his victims, the assailant approached them pretending to be a policeman. Even as a city-wide manhunt fails to stop him, his crimes grow more brutal by the day! How will the police track him down? Is the story you about to hear actually true? Would Dragnet be improved with more pigeon-related content? Listen for yourself and find out!