Retro Radio Podcast

With the inaugral speech in the fore front of the news, the show looks at the broadcast hook ups and how they're tested. Announcers read their speeches, and mike checks are conducted.

An installment of the Mystery Playhouse. An aging woman in a flaming red wig sings on the stage, a ghost of a time gone by. Albert butters Ellie up to cover a petty debt. The kind hearted old Ellie seems to be an easy mark for people with needs, or a hand out. How much of a drain on her emotional energy can she take? What might happen when she reaches her breaking point? Ellie is good at taking up the slack for the moochers around her, and keeping their secrets. When Alfred and Lucy sneak around, looking for ways to steal just a little more from the old gal, they stumble on a few secrets that Ellie had been keeping. What skeletons have they inadvertently dredged out of her closet? What next? Blackmail? More murder? Who can be trusted? Will Lucy and Alfred be in danger over the secrets they learned?

Finally returning home after the failed trip to Texas, Abner faces troubles at home. In the store, and taking an order for groceries, Lum shares his anticipation. Squire Skimp drops in to ask if anything is wrong. He didn't see Abner at church over the weekend. As Squire leaves to handle some real estate work, grandpap enters. He gripes over not having his best checker playing buddy, and having to put up with Charlie Redfield. Abner finally arrives yto tell about trouble in the home. It seems that Lizabeth is upset that Abner caught measles on purpose, and wrecked her time to visit her relations down in Texas. Can his marriage woes be patched up? Is Lizabeth being too unreasonable in insisting Abner chop her firewood? She has been giving him the cold shoulder, and not even speaking to him. Grandpap sympathizes. Will Lum at least let Abner move in with him for a while? Will Lum's advice to be a man, and take charge help the situation?

After last weeks take over of the show by the Beverly Hills Uplifter Society, George is insistent in keeping the cackling hens away. Nothing Gracie can do will butter him up, or make him change his mind. Meredeth Willson, the honorary club member is back with his vaudeville jokes. Will Bill Goodwin agree to become an honorary woman to help out the club? Blackmail isn't beneath Gracie in making him a new recruit. Sugarthroat Burns is called on to sing to the Uplifters. Is this just a scam to butter him up? Is there anyone else besides Gracie who swoons in ecstasy? When the Happy Postman delivers the mail, he's mystified to find George wearing a dress. The ladies have stolen his clothes, but can he still keep the women out of the studio? In the studio, Gracie and the girls brief their newest member, Bill, on their ideas for woman flavored radio shows. Will the pecking order in the all girl production go off without a hitch? After a round of jokes among the biddies, the postman drops in with mail and to warn Gracie that George has plans to block the gals. With all the cross dressing fun, will George win the day?

Homicide Division. Trouble has been brewing with juvenile gangs on the street. Fights are rumored to be breaking out, but you don't know where. Learning about the gangs with partner, Ed Jacobs, Joe Friday gets briefed on the climate of gang wars. Gangs building alliances to fight other gangs. Home made knives and weapons, and ringleaders imported in from the midwest. Will it help to mobilize parents to break the hold the ringleader has over their kids? Joe describes the range of responses from parents. Approaching Mrs Lawson, the mother of the ringleader, will she be cooperative? Does she know the depth of her son's activity? How will young Robert react to Joe's warnings? Mr Lawson is even less cooperative, but Joe does his best to get word out to as many parents as he can. The call comes in.. the gang war is on. Joe describes the fighting, weapons confiscated, and ruined young lives. What about Robert? How has he fared from his denials of gang involvement? Interviewing Robert's girlfriend, details of how the gang fight started are revealed. The explosive start is a melee of confusion as knives come out to do their damage. Crime lab technicians, the coroner, and others clean up the mess, as teens are hauled in. Joe continues to report on how the survivors will be processed by juvenile bureau. And who blames the police the most for not protecting their sweet little delinquents? for not stopping them? For not caring enough to keep them from fighting? The parents of the delinquents.

An old woman writes for help from Box 13, but only if the owner of the box is a man, and meets her qualifications. The old woman is very wealthy and a known recluse, and of course Dan Holiday's curiosity is peaked. The eccentric lady interrogates Dan, and she's not a woman who is used to do anything but give orders with the expectation of having them followed. She is scanty with what exactly Dan is to do, other than just show up at a dinner and show no signs that any of her behavior isn't shocking to him. The dinner is one with her grandson, and his female companion. The old lady suspects the girl only wants the grandson's inheritance, and has a plan devised to force the girlfriend to show her true colors. In her own way she really cares for her grandson's happiness, and just wants him to be careful. To demonstrate, she arranges a similar situation by having Dan pose as her younger lover.The grandson suddenly gets a taste of what it feels like to have a gold digger horning in on grandma's money. When grandma wears her family jewels on the town, they come up lost, but found in Dan's apartment. There's a definite power play between grandma and grandson, and it has Dan confused as to why he is stuck in the middle. To cover the angles, Dan confronts the girlfriend. Is she really such a gold digger? Did the grandson swipe the jewels to finance his elopement? Is grandma holding back on her reasons for wearing the jewels? The whole set up involves some fake diamonds. So who did what to who? It's a matter of everybody holding a fragment of the truth, and it takes Dan to put the pieces together. In the end it all shakes out for a happy ending when Dan solves the mystery.

With his best friend still quarantined with the measles, Lum has nowhere to go for Thanksgiving. We find him on the phone, wondering who will invite him over to their feast, when Phinus enters. Does Abner's poppa know where Lum can go? Phinus is going to the Quincey's, will Lum be able to drop hints that he can also be invited? The hints are dropped, but will the polite nudges get noticed? Will the old timer think of including Lum as his last moment friend to take along? A knock at the door finds Cedric to share his meal plans for the day. Potatoes piled high, with gravy, and pies of all kinds. The mouthwatering descriptions push Lum to desperate measures. Will it be far enough for him to swallow some pride? A phone call from US Quincey to check on the whereabouts of Phinus gives Lum the break he needs. Drawing on the holiday customs of pilgrims and Indians, and friends who get together, Lum may have gone over board. Returning to the phone lines, Lum makes more calls, but finds his best chance might be with Cedric. If only it weren't for those worrisome Indians running around.

The instrument of death is introduced as Orson Wells takes us through the Black Museum. The mystery rolls the clock back to the year of 1910, and a peaceful afternoon where a man and woman spend the day together. Edward Jones is playing a dangerous game with the lady's affections. Jones has a different name, and a wife, and a plan to get rid of her for the insurance money. Orson offers narrative as the drama moves along to end up in murder. Accidental death sseems to plague the life of Edward, and his new love interest begins showing some similar symptoms of illness that appeared in his past wives. When Scotland Yard gets involved, the trial of Edward Jones explains what tipped off the cops, and brings the case to a close.

Eddie opens with a host of sports related jokes, even working a reference to today's guest. Dinah Shore, Eddie's regular vocalist on the show, is all aflutter at the prospect of meeting Phil Harris. She jokes a little with Eddie about sports, films, celebrities. Eddie has a new comedian for the show, Mr Guffy, who does his bit to misunderstand everything Eddie tells him. Dinah sings, Lullabye Lane. Harry Vonzel goes to Eddies new movie production office to get a job as a leading man, but of course is just an excuse to let the movie jokes roll. Phil enters and sweeps Dinah off her feet. Phil has been well known for his education, or lack thereof from his years on the Jack Benny show. He jokes with Eddie about his ability in the knowledge areana. After a commercial break the show continues. Eddie pitches movie ideas that Phil helps him out with. Namely that he's a old man in the hospital, and Phil helps him get well. Eddie closes with a song, a swinging version of, The Farmer in the Dell. Harry ends the show with a presidential letter to invite Eddie to participate at the upcoming inaugaral ceremonies.

A new client demands confidentiality regarding a murder case. The ever flippant Richard has his exercise routine on his stationary bike cut short, when his client says the murder hasn't been done yet. Locked in his closet for safe keeping, the client gets away. Never fear, when Richard gets out, he is met with another gun toting client, and his best gal, Helen. A yoyo trick isn't enough to get the little man to talk, and he gets away. After waking from a thump on the head, Richard finds his policeman pal, Walt hovering over him. at headquarters Richard compares notes, and looks through mug shots to try to identify the characters in his office. Richard knows a sketch artist who might be able to draw a mugshot from a description. Armed with Vladamir's drawing, Richard takes it to all the newspapers. All Richard gets for his efforts are gunshots sent his way. It's enough to make him want to punch the next little person he comes across. Will he get any closer by going to Helen's party? He now knows his Mann is John Blackwell, but can he act fast enough to stop a murder by the little guy known as big man? amzn_assoc_placement = "adunit0"; amzn_assoc_search_bar = "true"; amzn_assoc_tracking_id = "retrootr-20"; amzn_assoc_ad_mode = "manual"; amzn_assoc_ad_type = "smart"; amzn_assoc_marketplace = "amazon"; amzn_assoc_region = "US"; amzn_assoc_title = "Sam Spade on Amazon"; amzn_assoc_asins = "B00BDR8A9M,B006421JJY,1570196451,1932806229"; amzn_assoc_linkid = "d044d97d5e71edb0df9497c070c428e8";

An author of a child psychology book wants to examine Cedric. Today we find him and Lum discussing their expectations as they wait for their psychology test. Cedric gets confused over the test, words that Lum uses, and coming up with the right answers. Mr Fulton arrives and finally meets Cedric. The psychology exam is the kind where there aren't any right answers, though Cedric whips out the ones he has prepared. Can Cedric match up the animal to the correct tails? Is there something the matter with the animals? They aren't feeling sick, are they? More pictures are examined. What kind of food needs to be cracked before it can be eaten? Cedric is too distracted by his worries over that animal in the first test. Then there's his lack of concentration when he needs to leave and do chores. Will the psychologist ever get enough data for his notes?

Rochester, Jack, and Mary drive downtown and talk about the films playing. Might Jack win an Oscar for his work in A Horn Blows at Midnight? Mary talks about Jack's recent appearance on a radio show that dramatized his life. As Jack and Mary walk through the studio, they meet Charlie McCarthy and Edgar Bergen. Actjually an impersonator who does their voices. Phil and the band play a tune. What was it? I don't know, let's ask the band. The play is a spoof of the big film, State Fair. Larry sings, It Might as Well Be Spring. Jack and his pal Zeke, actually Phil, see the sights at the fair. Crazy events with the prize hog, and moonshine ensue.

Though Gildy is feeling fine, Birdie has bad news about breakfast. In the office, his high spirits meet more set backs when Bessie points out the piles of undone paperwork. Shouldn't a good secretary already have most of that done? Handbills for insurance, rapid advancement in selling insurance, isn't there anything related to the water department? At home, Leroy has roped Ben into his war games. The former sailor seems to be teaching Leroy a few Navy Seal moves. What kind of moves has he been putting on Marjorie? Gildy wonders what plans Ben has, now that he's out of the Navy. Gildy is just the little problem solver today, and points Ben towards the lucrative industry of selling insurance. Later, Gildy goes to offer his advice to Peavey. What is thee druggist doing to support the returning troops? Though he's busy with running his own business to pay much attention, Gildy gets in the pitch that folks owe veterans a debt to put them back to work. Meanwhile, how's it going with Ben's new job? Gildy tries to grease the skids, and introduce him to all his cronies to buy insurance. With a little coaching, Ben has potential as a salesman. Judge Hooker even helps iron out a few kinks in Ben's technique.

George has aspirations of making it to the society page, but Gracie jokes about his chances. The cast, namely Artie Shaw and Senor Lee give George a hard time and try his patience. Gracie has a letter from home with some confusing news. With a little input from Senor Lee, The Smoothies sing, There'll be Some Changes Made. alt="Bubbling over with Mirth and Melody: National Barn Dance Old Time Radio Show " Once George spills the beans that his guest will be the famous social column writer, Cubina Wright, Gracie and the cast go all out to make an impression on her. The Harvard sound man offers his advice for George. Artie Shaw plays his version of the old spiritual, Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen. Cobina appears, and the social journalist fits right in with the cutting up. She's tired of all her stuffy society men and likes being around George and his casual cast.

The always serious, and straight laced Doctor Danfield puts his skill at criminal psychology against the world of radio comedy. He and his secretary, Rusty Fairfax, visit a radio studio, but they have special arrangements to watch the live show. Listen in as Doc Danfield describes the happenings at the rehearsal. Suddenly, a cry comes out that someone has been killed. Dan and Rusty rush to the scene to start gathering clues. The players in the story include the show producer who discovered the murdered woman, and launched her career. He tells how she was ungrateful to him for her success. What do the rest of the show's cast think of her? Get their opinions, and their whereabouts when the crime was committed. What will Doc Danfield be able to dig up? Using his analytical process, he filters through all the emotional smoke and mirrors to prove who the real killer is. Lies are exposed as he applies some practical experiments to the situation, and recreates the event as best as he can. The lies help him put the finger on the guilty person, and in the conclusion of the show, Dan tells all. Listen in to learn how he figured it all out.