The Great Detectives of Old Time Radio

Adam Graham Radio Detective Podcasts

Are you ready for a mystery? Get ready to unleash your inner sleuth. Every day Monday-Saturday, we feature a different detective audio drama from the Golden Age of Radio. Our current mystery-solving line-up of radio detectives includes The Adventures of the Falcon, Bulldog Drummond, Broadway's My Beat, Mr. and Mrs. North, Yours Truly Johnny Dollar, and Dragnet.

Whether you want to listen to a mystery before going to sleep or enjoy some drama while driving, or just feel nostalgia for old-school radio fiction, we have you covered with six audio dramas every week.


Podcast Award finalist Host Adam Graham has been your guide through dozens of old-time radio detective series since 2009. He provides insightful commentary and humor after each episode and responds to listener questions and feedback. You can subscribe to the Great Detectives of Old Time Radio from your favorite podcast app or by visiting our website at http://www.greatdetectives.net.

We are currently in our fifteenth season of provided suspenseful mystery dramas. Our podcast feed captures the last 1,000 episodes we've released including all of seasons thirteen and fourteen, and part of season twelve. We have created two archive feeds: Volume 1, which features our first three seasons and Volume 2, which will feature seasons four through six.

Our feed includes old time radio recorded in Los Angeles, New York, and also Australia.

The current actors featured in our old time radio detective podcast include Les Damon, Bob Bailey, Anthony Ross, Alice Frost and Joseph Curtin, Ned Wever, and Jack Webb. Other actors featured within the past 1,000 include Howard Duff, Glenn Langan, Herbert Marshall, Gerald Mohr, Joel McCrea, Les Tremayne, Jackson Beck, Santos Ortega, Karl Swenson, and more. read less

Our Editor's Take

The Great Detectives of Old Time Radio is for mystery lovers. Adam Graham hosts the podcast, which brings classic detective stories to life. Each episode features a thrilling tale from long ago.

Adam, the podcast host, hails from Boise, Idaho, and has been hosting vintage radio shows since 2007. His passion for the genre is contagious, and he provides insightful commentary and humor after each episode. For nostalgic listeners, this program may be addicting.

Each series featured on the podcast follows an old-time radio detective solving complex cases. These cases often involve murder, theft, or espionage. The original air dates for these shows are the mid-1900s.

In some stories, the main idea is catching bad guys. Investigators like Joe Friday never give up. Sometimes he has to choose between right and wrong. His show explores themes of justice, morality, and the relentless pursuit of truth. Joe's methodical approach and dedication highlight the importance of law and order.

Observation and deduction play significant roles in many stories. Sherlock Holmes is a master at spotting tiny clues. He solves mysteries with his clever mind. In "The Falcon," Detective Mike Waring uses cleverness to untangle tricky plots.

The detectives sometimes find themselves in a showdown between good and evil. In "Dangerous Assignment," Steve Mitchell battles international conspiracies and espionage. "Mr. Chameleon" is a master of disguise who faces criminal masterminds to serve justice.

Adventure and excitement are integral to the show. Many cases take the gumshoes to exotic locations and involve high-stakes scenarios. The sense of adventure is also present in "Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar." He often travels the world to nab people cheating on insurance. Johnny's investigations often lead him into dangerous situations.

Listeners can immerse themselves in these captivating radio mysteries. The show is a fun way to relive the nostalgia of classic radio. The program captures the spirit of a bygone era.

The Great Detectives of Old Time Radio podcast debuted in 2021.

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Episodes

Old Time Radio Snack Wagon Smorgasboard (EP4514e)
Oct 6 2024
Old Time Radio Snack Wagon Smorgasboard (EP4514e)
In August 2023, we launched the Old Time Radio Snack Wagon, featuring a variety of short old time radio programs. In this episode, we offer five samples of the type of programs we feature on the Old Time Radio Snack Wagon.Family Doctor: False Witness"Hello there, this is the Family Doctor...."Join us as we travel back in time to a small town, where Doctor Grant Adams dispenses medicine for the body and common sense advice for the soul, in this little-known family drama series from the 1930s.In this first episode, a teenage girl becomes the subject of gossip after some church money turns up missing. Can Doc Adams prevent a tragedy?Potential series air dates for the series vary from 1932-38. The earliest I can find a record of the series being aired was in the fall of 1937. Unsolved Mysteries: The Borden MysteryOn this first syndicated episode of the 1930s series Unsolved Mysteries, we take a look at the mysterious slaying of Andrew Borden and his second wife Abby in 1892 and how suspicion fell on Andrew's daughter, Lizzie.Unsolved Mysteries not only explains the case in a nutshell but also offers a solution to the crime.While Unsolved Mysteries was a syndicated true crime series in the 1930s, it didn't start out that way.We take a look at the series's origin and the original program's sponsorship by Ken-Rad, a Kentucky-based firm selling radio tubes.The series originated from Station WLW in Cincinnati, and we talk about the station's forgotten role in the Golden Age of Radio as America's superstation, and why it was called that.Cecil B. DeMille interviews Walt Disney about Snow WhiteTwo Hollywood legends share a stage in this listener-inspired Snack Wagon.The year is 1937. A young filmmaker is about to release a groundbreaking new work, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Walt Disney was invited on the Lux Radio Theater to be interviewed Hollywood director Cecil B. DeMille about the film and about what future projects he was working on.The interview took place on December 20, 1937 in Hollywood, the day before Snow White's premiere.The Adventures of Babe Ruth: Babe Takes the BlameWhile on the road in Chicago, Babe tries to help a young boy who was pressured to steal from him by an older boy, and finds himself in plenty of trouble.Originally Aired in 1949Sponsored by US Navy Recruiting; the announcer is Jackson BeckJack Benny and Fred Allen Patch Up the Feud for ChristmasFor the special Command Performance Christmas Eve show, a serviceman requested that Jack Benny and Fred Allen patch up their feud, and this is their answer.The segment is introduced by Bob Hope who hands the show to Fred Allen and Jack Benny in New York.Original Radio Broadcast Date: December 22, 1942Subscribe to the Old TIme Radio Snack Wagon at https://www.snackwagon.net