The Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society

Richard Widmark stars as a drifter named Jefferson in this episode of Suspense, “Too Hot to Live”! On a blisteringly hot summer day, Jefferson wanders into a small town only to lose his shoes and find a world of trouble. Did he commit the murder that he’s accused of committing? If not, is there any way to prove his innocence? What is Eric’s favorite book of the Bible? Listen for yourself and find out!

We are two-thirds of the way through our tour of actors who starred in Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar during its initial run! This time, Edmond O’Brien is our titular investigator with the action-packed expense account in a story entitled “The Queen Anne Pistols Matter.” This episode sees Dollar hired to accompany the delivery of a pair of antique pistols. Why was the original courier attacked? What message are these pistols intended to send? Once we start talking about The Silence of the Lambs, can we stop? Listen for yourself and find out!

For this episode, our Patreon supporter Ryan joins your hosts Eric, Tim, Joshua, and special guest host Shanan live on stage at the Bryant-Lake Bowl! Ryan has brought us “A Shipment of Mute Fate,” an episode of Escape featuring Jack Webb as a passenger transporting dangerous cargo aboard a ship at sea! What deadly thing watches from inside this crate? What dangers threaten everyone aboard if it should escape? What has Eric been afraid of since 1966? Listen for yourself and find out!

We’re once again calling Candy Matson, YUkon 2-8209! In what may be her final case, Candy discovers that her beau, Lt. Mallard, may be the target of her investigation. After Mallard is behaving suspiciously, Candy secretly follows him only to discover a dead body! Is Mallard truly up to something illegal? Is this truly her last case? Is their love truly rooted in cold-blooded disdain for human life? Listen for yourself and find out!

Arch Oboler takes us deep into the oceanic depths for this episode of Lights Out entitled “Bathysphere,” recommended to us by our Patreon supporter, Mark. Thanks, Mark! The story features an authoritarian leader attempting to dive down to a record-breaking depth beneath the ocean’s surface. Accompanied only by a doctor experienced in such dives, his excellency finds this life and death journey, “very amusing.” What mysteries await them in deep? How will this script compare to other propaganda works written by Oboler? Should someone be checking on us to make sure we’re okay? Listen for yourself and find out!

We return to test our courage and our sanity in the mysterious dream realm of Dark Fantasy for an episode entitled, “Men Call Me Mad”! The story features a scientist who has discovered a strange other world and the means to transport himself there. What adventures await him there? What unforeseen challenges must he face when he returns? Is this the pinnacle of an uncompromising artist’s work or incoherent nonsense? Listen for yourself and find out!

Our Patreon supporter, Zach, recommended we listen to “The Thing in Cabin 105” from Beyond Midnight, and we did! Thanks, Zach! The production adapts F. Marion Crawford’s short story, The Upper Berth, which tells the story of a passenger aboard a cruise ship whose cabin seems to have unnatural effects on its inhabitants. But even after being advised to relocate, this passenger is determined to find out what’s really happening. Will he discover the truth of this room? Can he avoid the same fate of previous inhabitants? Will this finally be the episode that you hear your hosts order food for the recording? Listen for yourself and find out!

We’re diving far back into the history of Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar to listen to “The Little Man Who Wasn’t All There” featuring the first actor to play the iconic insurance investigator on the air, Charles Russell! The story features a man who claims to be taking revenge on an insurance company by killing off their clients! It’s up to Dollar to prove the crimes and put an end to the deaths! How is this man accomplishing these impossible murders? Will we enjoy Russell’s episodes as much as Bob Bailey’s episodes? What sound does the podcaster make? Listen for yourself and find out!

It’s another trip to our Listener Library! This time we’re checking out “First Contact” from X Minus One, recommended to us by our Patreon support, Mark. Thanks, Mark! The story features the initial meeting between Earthlings and aliens, who find themselves trapped in a détente, each unable to understand or trust the other. Can their mutual destruction be avoided? Can they understand each other’s jokes? Why does this episode seem so familiar to us? Listen for yourself and find out!

We’ve returned to The Chase! In this episode, an American reporter who has made himself unwelcome in Russia finds himself traveling by train to Nuremberg, sharing a car with an important figure in Soviet politics. After speaking together, the reporter soon finds himself in the custody of Russian agents. What information did he learn from that conversation? Will the Russians be able to keep him on the train until it reaches the Czech frontier? Was this guy in Negativeland? Listen for yourself and find out!