The Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society

Today we present our third installment in “The Indestructible Mike Matter,” from Yours Truly Johnny Dollar! This five-part, week-long series is a treat for our listeners and a reward for our generous Patreon supporters! Johnny’s investigation into potential insurance fraud now leads him from the poorest part of town to a lavishly-furnished apartment. Will Johnny find any evidence to prove Cosgrave has returned to his felonious ways? Will this episode end with yet another attempt on Mike’s life? Is this shelter run by a professional wrestler? Listen for yourself and find out! Then tune in tomorrow for the next installment!

We continue listening to “The Indestructible Mike Matter,” as part of our week-long journey into Yours Truly Johnny Dollar! This break from our usual routine is a reward for meeting our Patreon goal! Thank you, Patreon supporters! This is the second episode in Johnny Dollar’s investigation of potential insurance fraud. Can Mike’s assailants kill him before the alcohol does? Would you think to mention it if you were stabbed with an ice pick? Would you have the good manners to wave back when someone shoots you? Listen for yourself and find out! Then tune in tomorrow for the next installment!

As a reward for meeting our Patreon goal (thank you to all our supporters!), we are dedicating this entire week to Yours Truly Johnny Dollar! Each day, we are going to post one installment of “The Indestructible Mike Matter,” a story in which insurance investigator Johnny Dollar looks into potential fraud when a homeless man’s life is insured by a wealthy stranger. Why would an insurance company authorize this? Can the city’s indigent sing well? How well do we understand the plot without going back and listening again? Listen for yourself and find out! Then tune in tomorrow for the next installment! (While you wait, check out the Breaking Walls documentary about Johnny Dollar, episode 72, and their follow-up, episode 74!)

This week’s visit to the Listener Library features an episode of the Lone Ranger recommended to us by Will. Thanks, Will! “Legacy for a Ghost” features a conspiracy to frame and murder an innocent man. But the Lone Ranger and Tonto have other plans! Will the ghost story concocted by the Masked Man bring two criminals to justice? How many times can the same man be murdered? How hard is it to pretend to be asleep? Listen for yourself and find out!

Jimmy Stewart stars in “Mission Completed,” an episode of Suspense about a veteran whose experiences in a Japanese POW camp left him paralyzed. When he sees the face of his former captor working across the street, his strength begins to return. Will he get the revenge he has longed for? Can he keep his newfound health a secret? What does Admiral Ackbar think of Colt 45? Listen for yourself and find out!

We’re listening to another episode of Mystery Playhouse, a series which repurposed other shows (in this case Inner Sanctum Mystery) for the Armed Forces Network! This story, “Murder Comes at Midnight,” depicts a woman at home alone with her child when when a dangerous stranger shows up at her door, nursing a broken arm. Why is her husband so late getting home? Who will prevail in their battle of wills? Given that this poor woman is a novelist, hasn’t she suffered enough? Listen for yourself and find out!

We’ve been listening to a lot of Lucille Fletcher-penned stories lately, and this week we check out an episode she wrote for The Clock, “Bad Dreams!” A Hungarian husband who has just immigrated to America with his wife begins suffering from terrible dreams of imprisonment and death. Why is he suddenly tormented by these nightmares? Will they ruin his ability to work and support himself and his wife? Have we listened to episodes of the The Clock before? Listen for yourself and find out!

UPDATE: The date we give for the episode’s initial broadcast is incorrect! The actual date was March 9, 1953 and was rebroadcast on November 23, 1953. This week’s visit to our Listener Library features an episode of Hall of Fantasy, “The Masks of Ashor,” recommended to us by Clarence! Thanks, Clarence! A couple receives two gold masks as a gift from a relative traveling through Istanbul. They soon learn the strange story of the masks and why they seem to stare at their new owners! Why was the merchant who owned them before so eager to sell them? What face were these treasures meant to hide? Was there a time when people just knocked on doors, looking for stamps? Listen for yourself and find out!

Horror icon Boris Karloff made a handful of appearances on Lights Out and this week, we’re listening to a peculiar example, “The Dream!” Templeton Fox joined Karloff for this story of a man who never dreams suddenly experiencing strange visions both in his sleep and while awake! What is the source of these horrific imaginings? What end are these dreams driving him toward? Is this a story written by a guy falling asleep for guys falling asleep? Listen for yourself and find out!

We pulled this episode of The Shadow from our Listener Library, recommended to us by Chris. Thanks, Chris! In “The Circle of Death,” the Shadow plays a dangerous game, manipulating the police in his hunt for a madman who is terrorizing the city! Will the Shadow’s plan lead to disaster? Is the Shadow really just a voice in someone else’s head? Who are the enigmatic powerful theater moguls presiding over the Twin Cities? Listen for yourself and find out!