In accordance with standards of good taste and common courtesy, Homesteader Radio confines the broadcast of potentially offensive material to between the hours of 11 pm and 4 am Central Standard Time. During these hours, listener discretion is advised.
X Minus One is an American half-hour science fiction radio drama series that broadcast from April 24, 1955 to January 9, 1958 in various timeslots on NBC. Known for high production values in adapting stories from the leading American authors of the era, X Minus One has been described as one of the finest offerings of American radio drama and one of the best science fiction series in any medium.
Note: Presented throughout the day
Originally airing between 1950 and 1951 on Mutual, Incredible But True consisted of 15 minute shows, similar in format to Ripley’s Believe It Or Not that had aired from 1930 to 1948. It was hosted/narrated by Ken Nordine and was produced by Unusual Features Syndicate. Besides the 15-minute shows, another syndication of 3-minute shows was also produced, again hosted by Ken Nordine.
Murder at Midnight was an old-time radio show featuring macabre tales of suspense, often with a supernatural twist. It was produced in New York and was syndicated beginning in 1946.
Obsession was an early 1950s syndicated anthology of thriller and suspense programs with some of Hollywood’s best radio talent. The scripts are unfortunately inconsistent, but most are good listening. Among radio collectors, this series is not well-documented, and does not appear in all radio reference directories. It was, however, a fairly big budget program. Had it appeared earlier, it might have attracted a larger audience.
Jean Parker Shepherd Jr. was an American storyteller, humorist, radio and TV personality, writer and actor. After a stint on television, he returned to radio. “Shep,” as he was known, settled in at WOR radio New York City, New York, at the end of February 1955, and on an overnight slot in 1956, where he delighted his fans by telling stories, reading poetry, and organizing comedic listener stunts.
Can You Imagine That is a show that features strange and surprising stories from newspaper columns from across the country. The stories are presented as a combination of docudrama sketches combined with vignettes about odd news items and historical oddities.
From late 1950 to late 1951, you could hear Hank Williams perform on The Mother’s Best Flour Radio Show singing and selling Mother’s Best Flour, as well as self-raising Cornmeal and Pig & Sow Feed. The show was broadcast live every morning between 7:15 and 7:30 a.m. on WSM out of Nashville, Tennessee.
This collection of radio shows is considered by many to be Hank’s best work and were done at the peak of his career. Some of the shows were pre-recorded to be played on the air when Hank was out on the road. During the 15 minute show Hank and the announcer Louie Buck would pitch the flour in between Hank’s songs. Hank even wrote a theme song for the show.
Country Hoedown was produced by the U.S. Navy Recruiting Service around 1957. It featured popular country music performers of the day such as Faron Young, Ferlin Husky, Ernest Tubb, Jimmy Dean and others, all in a peppy 15-minute format.
High Adventure — sometimes billed “The Mutual Network’s answer to Escape!” — premiered on March 1, 1947.
The High Adventure scripts were based on original stories, in contrast to the many adaptations found on Escape. The shows used little subtlety in reaching towards a masculine audience. The stories were written in a realistic, remarkably believable style. High Adventure was the defining moment in the protagonist’s life, and the outcome of the story would often hinge on his strength of character as much as his luck or expertise.
We present episodes from both the US and South African broadcasts.
Jerry of the Circus was a 1937 syndicated radio serial broadcast for a juvenile audience. It was presented in 130 15-minute episodes of which 128 are in existence today. The series followed the adventures of Jerry Dougan and his dog Rags with the Randall Brothers Circus from the time of his father’s death in the spring to the end of that year’s performance season. Jerry Dougan’s adventures continued in the 1937 serial Jerry at Fair Oaks.
Box 13 was a syndicated radio drama about the escapades of newspaperman-turned-mystery novelist Dan Holiday, played by film star Alan Ladd. Box 13 first aired in United States radio markets in October 1947.
To seek out new ideas for his fiction, Holiday ran a classified ad in the Star-Times newspaper where he formerly worked: “Adventure wanted, will go anywhere, do anything – write Box 13, Star-Times.” The stories followed Holiday’s adventures when he responded to the letters sent to him by such people as a psycho killer and various victims.
Chandu the Magician is an American supernatural radio drama that aired in the 1930s. It starred Frank Chandler, also known as Chandu, an American who had learned mystical arts, such as astral projection, which he used to fight criminals and villains. Chandu was Stan Lee’s inspiration for the more famous Marvel Comics character Doctor Strange.
Harum Scarum Theater is a grab bag of mystery, featuring episodes from several thrilling short-run series from the 1940s-1950s. Each weekly presentation is chosen by the luck of the draw from these five collections:
2000 Plus was an American radio series that ran on the Mutual Broadcasting System from March 15, 1950, to January 2, 1952. It was the first adult science fiction series on radio, airing one month prior to the better known Dimension X. More…
Dark Fantasy was an American radio supernatural thriller anthology series. It had a short run of 31 episodes, debuting on November 14, 1941, and ending on June 19, 1942. Its writer was Scott Bishop, also known for his work on The Mysterious Traveler. More…
The Hall of Fantasy was broadcast on the Mutual Broadcasting System from August 22, 1952, until September 28, 1953. “The difference between this program and its competitors was that here, man was usually the loser. The supernatural was offered as something respectable, awesome, sometimes devastating and always frightening.” More…
The Haunting Hour was a syndicated horror anthology which included supernatural, mystery and detective dramas in its collection. It aired from early-1945 until mid-1946. Little else is still known about this series.
The Sealed Book was a radio series of mystery and terror tales, produced and directed by Jock MacGregor for the Mutual network. The melodramatic anthology series was broadcast between March 18 and September 9, 1945. Scripts were by Robert Arthur, Jr. and David Kogan, who also were responsible for The Mysterious Traveler, and recycled many of the more popular stories from that parent program. More…
A half-hour stewpot of notable musical acts and hillbilly laffs from episodes of Grand Ole Opry, between 1939 and 1960.
Escape was radio’s leading anthology series of high-adventure radio dramas, airing on CBS from July 7, 1947 to September 25, 1954.
In accordance with standards of good taste and common courtesy, Homesteader Radio confines the broadcast of potentially offensive material to between the hours of 11 pm and 4 am Central Standard Time. During these hours, listener discretion is advised.
Lights Out is an American old-time radio program devoted mostly to horror and the supernatural.
Created by Wyllis Cooper and then eventually taken over by Arch Oboler, versions of Lights Out aired on different networks from January 3, 1934 to the summer of 1947. Lights Out was one of the earliest radio horror programs, predating Suspense and Inner Sanctum.
Note: Presented throughout the day (1-minute format)
Ripley’s Believe It or Not! is an American franchise, founded by Robert Ripley, which deals in bizarre events and items so strange and unusual that readers might question the claims. Originally a newspaper panel, the Believe It or Not feature proved popular and was later adapted into a wide variety of formats, including radio, television, comic books, a chain of museums, and a book series. On April 14, 1930, Ripley brought Believe It or Not to radio, the first of several series heard on NBC, CBS and the Mutual Broadcasting System.
