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the genre's premiere review magazine for short SF & Fantasy since 1993
Old Time Radio Episodes

Welcome to this feature of Tangent Online. From time to time you'll see classic radio dramas posted here for your listening pleasure. You'll find science fiction, fantasy, dark fantasy, horror, suspense, and tales of mystery, all from the Golden Age of Radio. Ranging from the 1930's through classic radio's waning days in the early 1960's, and with each episode running generally just under a half hour, you'll find stories adapted from some of science-fiction's greatest talents, such as Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Robert A. Heinlein, Murray Leinster, Fred Pohl, James Gunn, Frederic Brown, H. Beam Piper, and numerous others, as well as many original scripts written specifically for each of the various shows.

You will also find classic tales of terror as voiced by the likes of Orson Welles, Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre, and Vincent Price.

Decades before the advent of widespread, affordable, commercial television (the 1920's, 1930's, 1940's, and even the very early 1950's), radio was where America received the vast majority of its home entertainment, music, and news. From dawn until late in the evening, radio stations (local and national) filled the airwaves with a variety of programming, much like commercial television does today. One could find episodes of Gunsmoke, The Cisco Kid, and The Lone Ranger alongside such diverse fare as the Sealtest Variety Theater (with guest stars Dorothy Lamour, Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis, and Charles Laughton to name but a few), Academy Award Theater, the Adventures of Ellery Queen (and Sam Spade, Sherlock Holmes, The Saint, Nero Wolfe, and more, played by some of Hollywood's top stars), the Black Museum (a police procedural starring Orson Welles), Dragnet (starring Jack Webb), and even episodes of the never-say-die and ever-popular Ripley's Believe It or Not (from as far back as the 1930's), right alongside such musical, or variety entertainments as the Andrew Sisters, Breakfast in Hollywood (a morning "man on the street" show performed in a Hollywood diner), The Bing Crosby Show, and The Bob Hope Show (precursors of such variety shows as television's The Ed Sullivan Show and countless others over the years).

Quiz shows, game shows, audience participation shows, dramatizations of classic novels, historical docu-dramas and soap operas--all were born on radio and thrive today on television. There were also many shows during the 1940's devoted to, or in some way about, World War II, such as You Can't Do Business with Hitler, Words at War, and GI Journal  (a musical-variety show whose purpose was to build morale for soldiers overseas; it featured the likes of Jack Benny, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Gary Cooper, Mel Blanc {the voice of Bugs Bunny and innumerable other cartoon favorites}, Groucho Marx, Lucille Ball, Alan Ladd, Robert Young, Lionel Barrymore, and many more).

When television began to permeate America's homes on a broad scale in the 1950s, many of the most popular radio shows became tv's first shows (drawing their radio audiences along with them). As well, many radio actors were able to transition into the first tv stars--though some would not make the transition from radio to tv successfully as actors for a variety of reasons, though they would find steady work for decades to come as the voices behind some very popular classic tv cartoon characters. 

The relationship between old time radio and early television is many-layered and intricately woven, but our interest lies in those classic radio shows devoted to science-fiction, fantasy, dark fantasy, horror, suspense, and mystery. As such, you'll find episodes from the following radio series', and more as we go along:  Dark Fantasy, Suspense, Dimension X (the forerunner of X Minus One), X Minus One, Lights Out, The Mysterious Traveler, Tales of Tomorrow, Escape, The Witch's Tale, Inner Sanctum, Mystery in the Air, The Avenger, and The Shadow.

A word of gratitude and acknowledgment is due at this time. From 1979-1992 DAW Books published a twenty-five volume landmark series of thick paperbacks with the overall title of The Great SF Stories. It began with the year 1939--the year considered the beginning of modern science-fiction, when Astounding Science Fiction and its new editor, John W. Campbell, Jr., began to reshape the entire genre and bring a measure of maturity to the SF story. The series ended with the year 1963, the year before stories would become eligible for the newly founded (1965) Science Fiction Writers of America's Nebula Awards for stories published in 1964. Each volume provided an historical overview of each year covered, as well as introductory notes on each story by the series editors, Isaac Asimov and Martin H. Greenberg. In my own prefatory remarks to many of the old time radio episodes herein--and while other sources (and my own memory) were used as source material--I have borrowed quite liberally from those yearly introductions by Isaac Asimov and Martin H. Greenberg. They are invaluable time capsules into the stories of each particular year and provide fascinating historical (and personal to the editors) context. Therefore, I am grateful to Messrs. Asimov and Greenberg and hope they (now only the latter, sadly, with the passing of Asimov) will not begrudge my use of the introductory format they used to such great advantage in their wonderful series. In this case, imitation truly is meant to be the sincerest form of flattery.

While individual episodes of many old time radio shows can be downloaded for free from many websites (realizing you take your chances with the quality in some cases, and must hunt and search for hours at times to find anything worth keeping), and there are also sites where one can download either individual episodes cheaply (under a dollar), or for a rather exorbitant price (but with attractive, plastic-boxed sets) order maybe ten or twenty episodes (with a mere two episodes/CD) of any given show for $20-$40--for overall quality of reproduction, extremely low cost ($5/MP3 CD), speedy delivery, and the enormous number of episodes one receives on each MP3 disc (up to 50 hrs. and up to 70+ episodes on a single CD) we recommend visiting the Old Time Radio catalog (OTRcat) website. Simply click on the OTRcat/Sci-Fi banner below and begin building your own old time radio library.

As a bonus with every order, OTRcat offers a free Sampler MP3 CD of your choice (there are six). Each disc includes a staggering amount of highly varied and fascinating material from all over the classic radio spectrum. For a broad sampling of the wide variety of material to be found at the OTRcat website, click the play bar on the Old Time Radio banner located on our front page. Each and every day there will be an episode of something new and different for your enjoyment, courtesy of OTRcat.

In the meantime, just click on the titles below to listen to the science fiction, fantasy, horror, dark mystery, and suspense episodes we'll have for you on a regular basis. We're debuting with five, and will be adding at least one per week.

Please note that the most recent OTR episodes are listed first, at the top of the list below, and if you wish to listen to them in chronological order, as presented, simply scroll to the bottom and work your way up.

   Display # 
# Article Title Author
1 The Shadow -- The Power of the Mind Dave Truesdale
2 X Minus One -- The Tunnel Under the World by Frederik Pohl Dave Truesdale
3 X Minus One -- Shock Troop by Daniel F. Galouye Dave Truesdale
4 Favorite Story -- The Travels of Marco Polo Dave Truesdale
5 Exploring Tomorrow -- Time Heals by Poul Anderson Dave Truesdale
6 Lights Out -- Big Mr. Little Dave Truesdale
7 Sherlock Holmes -- Mystery of the Headless Monk Dave Truesdale
8 Exploring Tomorrow -- Telepathic by Gordon R. Dickson Dave Truesdale
9 Inner Sanctum -- Between Two Worlds Dave Truesdale
10 "The Country of the Blind" by H. G. Wells Dave Truesdale
11 X Minus One -- The Castaways Dave Truesdale
12 X Minus One -- Nightfall by Isaac Asimov Dave Truesdale
13 X Minus One -- The Roads Must Roll Dave Truesdale
14 Buck Rogers -- Origin Story Dave Truesdale
15 Report on the WeUns -- Robert Nathan Dave Truesdale
16 X Minus One -- Vital Factor by Nelson Bond Dave Truesdale
17 Suspense -- A Friend to Alexander Dave Truesdale
18 Lights Out -- Battle of the Magicians Dave Truesdale
19 The Day the Earth Stood Still Dave Truesdale
20 The Shadow -- The Man Who Murdered Time Dave Truesdale
21 The Plot to Murder Santa -- Frank Sinatra Dave Truesdale
22 X Minus One -- "Knock" by Fredric Brown Dave Truesdale
23 X Minus One -- Bad Medicine by Robert Sheckley Dave Truesdale
24 Inner Sanctum -- The Deadly Dummy Dave Truesdale
25 Exploring Tomorrow -- The Cold Equations Dave Truesdale
26 The Shadow -- The Gibbering Things Dave Truesdale
27 X Minus One -- A Saucer of Loneliness by Theodore Sturgeon Dave Truesdale
28 W is for Werewolf & Six tales from Karloff Dave Truesdale
29 Angel Street (aka Gaslight) -- Boris Karloff Dave Truesdale
30 Dark Fantasy -- The Headless Dead Dave Truesdale
31 The Case of M. Valdemar -- Edgar Allan Poe Dave Truesdale
32 Suspense -- The Burning Court Dave Truesdale
33 Suspense -- Banquo's Chair Dave Truesdale
34 The Mysterious Traveler -- S.O.S. Dave Truesdale
35 Exploring Tomorrow -- The Happiness Effect by Raymond E. Banks Dave Truesdale
36 The Haunting Hour -- Ptolemy's Grave Dave Truesdale
37 Favorite Story -- Arabian Nights Dave Truesdale
38 Dimension X -- The Lost Race by Murray Leinster Dave Truesdale
39 Exploring Tomorrow -- Genius by Poul Anderson Dave Truesdale
40 Dimension X -- Beyond Infinity Dave Truesdale
41 Dimension X -- No Contact Dave Truesdale
42 Present Tense -- Vincent Price Dave Truesdale
43 Jacob's Hands by Aldous Huxley & Christopher Isherwood Dave Truesdale
44 X Minus One -- Point of Departure by Vaughan Shelton Dave Truesdale
45 X Minus One -- Jaywalker by Ross Rocklynne Dave Truesdale
46 Rocky Jordan -- Stranger to the Desert Dave Truesdale
47 Suspense -- The Doctor Prescribed Death (Bela Lugosi) Dave Truesdale
48 To the Future -- Ray Bradbury Dave Truesdale
49 X Minus One -- How-2 by Clifford D. Simak Dave Truesdale
50 X Minus One -- Drop Dead by Clifford D. Simak Dave Truesdale
51 The Shadow -- Death Rides High Dave Truesdale
52 Two from Ray Bradbury Dave Truesdale
53 The Light -- Poul Anderson Dave Truesdale
54 Something for Nothing -- Robert Sheckley Dave Truesdale
55 Theatre Royal -- Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Dave Truesdale
56 Favorite Story -- The Phantom Rickshaw Dave Truesdale
57 Inner Sanctum -- Birdsong for a Murderer Dave Truesdale
58 The Mysterious Traveler -- The Haunted Trailer Dave Truesdale
59 X Minus One -- Student Body by F. L. Wallace Dave Truesdale
60 Suspense -- One Hundred in the Dark Dave Truesdale
61 Tarzan -- The Ghost of the Karmiki Dave Truesdale
62 Lights Out -- The Author and the Thing Dave Truesdale
63 Escape -- Blood Bath Dave Truesdale
64 Mars is Heaven! -- Ray Bradbury Dave Truesdale
65 The Shadow -- The Ring of Mah La Lay Lee Dave Truesdale
66 Exploring Tomorrow -- No Way Out Dave Truesdale
67 The Case of the Missing Street -- Alfred Bester Dave Truesdale
68 The Judge's House -- Bram Stoker Dave Truesdale
69 Lights Out -- It Happened Dave Truesdale
70 Tom Corbett -- The Giant of Mercury Dave Truesdale
71 X Minus One -- The Lifeboat Mutiny by Robert Sheckley Dave Truesdale
72 The Green Hornet -- When Money Talks Dave Truesdale
73 Favorite Story -- Lost Horizon Dave Truesdale
74 The Mystery of the Z-Rays -- Nick Carter, Master Detective Dave Truesdale
75 The Mapmakers by Frederik Pohl Dave Truesdale
76 Suspense -- Headshrinker Dave Truesdale
77 Rocky Jordan -- The Man They All Loved Dave Truesdale
78 Exploring Tomorrow -- The Trouble with Robots Dave Truesdale
79 The Reluctant Heroes -- X Minus One Dave Truesdale
80 Double Treat -- The Crawling Thing and Buried Alive Dave Truesdale
81 Inner Sanctum -- The Undead Dave Truesdale
82 Suspense -- Devilstone Dave Truesdale
83 Inner Sanctum -- Elixir Number Four Dave Truesdale
84 Inner Sanctum -- Edge of Death Dave Truesdale
85 The Mysterious Traveler -- Symphony of Death Dave Truesdale
86 Skulking Permit -- X Minus One Dave Truesdale
87 CBS Radio Workshop -- A Matter of Logic Dave Truesdale
88 Lights Out -- Revolt of the Worms Dave Truesdale
89 The Veldt -- Ray Bradbury Dave Truesdale
90 The Shadow -- Tomb of Terror Dave Truesdale
91 The Mysterious Traveler -- If You Believe Dave Truesdale
92 Rocky Jordan -- Desert Betrayal Dave Truesdale
93 Gray Flannel Armor -- Robert Sheckley Dave Truesdale
94 Double Feature--Lights Out & Inner Sanctum Dave Truesdale
95 The Green Hornet -- Votes for Sale Dave Truesdale
96 Dr. Heidegger's Experiment -- Nathaniel Hawthorne Dave Truesdale
97 Dwellers in Silence -- Ray Bradbury Dave Truesdale
98 Inner Sanctum -- The Creeping Wall Dave Truesdale
99 Rocky Jordan -- The Nile Runs High Dave Truesdale
100 Lights Out -- The Little People Dave Truesdale
101 The Green Hornet -- Invasion Plans for Victory Dave Truesdale
102 The Shadow -- Death Coils to Strike Dave Truesdale
103 Hallucination Orbit -- J. T. McIntosh Dave Truesdale
104 Housing Problem -- Henry Kuttner Dave Truesdale
105 Prime Difference by Alan E. Nourse Dave Truesdale
106 Mysterious Traveler--Dark Destiny Dave Truesdale
107 A Gun For Dinosaur — L. Sprague de Camp Steve Fahnestalk
108 Elementals -- Stephen Vincent Benet Dave Truesdale
109 Hostess -- Isaac Asimov Dave Truesdale
110 The Shadow -- Valley of the Living Dead Dave Truesdale
111 Time and Time Again -- H. Beam Piper Dave Truesdale
112 The Saint -- The Ghost That Giggled Dave Truesdale
113 Mercury Theater on the Air -- Dracula Dave Truesdale
114 Evening Primrose by John Collier Dave Truesdale
115 Favorite Story -- Frankenstein Dave Truesdale
116 Appointment in Tomorrow (aka Poor Superman) -- Fritz Leiber Dave Truesdale
117 Escape -- Two Came Back Dave Truesdale
118 The Mysterious Traveler -- The Man the Insects Hated Dave Truesdale
119 The Shadow -- The Poison Death Dave Truesdale
120 Colony -- Philip K. Dick Dave Truesdale
121 The Potters of Firsk -- Jack Vance Dave Truesdale
122 Suspense -- The Green Lorelei Dave Truesdale
123 Soldier Boy -- Michael Shaara Dave Truesdale
124 Escape -- The Scarlet Plague Dave Truesdale
125 A Pride of Carrots -- Robert Nathan Dave Truesdale
126 The Defenders -- Philip K. Dick Dave Truesdale
127 Surface Tension -- James Blish Dave Truesdale
128 Escape -- The Birds Dave Truesdale
129 The Shadow -- The White God Dave Truesdale
130 Eye of Evil -- Escape Dave Truesdale
131 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea -- Jules Verne Dave Truesdale
132 Tsylana -- James E. Gunn Dave Truesdale
133 And the Moon Be Still as Bright -- Ray Bradbury Dave Truesdale
134 Treasure Island -- Robert Louis Stevenson Dave Truesdale
135 The Bottle Imp -- Robert Louis Stevenson Dave Truesdale
136 Suspense -- A Passage to Beneris Dave Truesdale
137 Exploring Tomorrow -- The Mutants Dave Truesdale
138 Sam, This Is You -- Murray Leinster Dave Truesdale
139 Dr. Grimshaw's Sanitarium -- Fletcher Pratt Dave Truesdale
140 Dark Fantasy -- Rendezvous With Satan Dave Truesdale
141 Death to the Shadow -- The Shadow Dave Truesdale
142 Suspense -- The Most Dangerous Game Dave Truesdale
143 Escape -- The Drums of the Fore and Aft Dave Truesdale
144 Suspense -- The Lodger Dave Truesdale
145 Suspense -- The Black Door Dave Truesdale
146 Death Is An Art -- The Shadow Dave Truesdale
147 The Voyages of Sinbad Dave Truesdale
148 The Mysterious Traveler -- Queen of the Cats Dave Truesdale
149 Brave New World (Pts. 1 & 2) -- Aldous Huxley Dave Truesdale
150 A Dream of Armageddon -- H. G. Wells Dave Truesdale
151 Suspense -- Heavens to Betsy Dave Truesdale
152 Star, Bright -- Mark Clifton Dave Truesdale
153 Conqueror's Isle -- Nelson Bond Dave Truesdale
154 Protection -- Robert Sheckley Dave Truesdale
155 The Coffin Cure -- Alan E. Nourse Dave Truesdale
156 A Christmas Carol -- Charles Dickens Dave Truesdale
157 The Plot to Overthrow Christmas - Norman Corwin Dave Truesdale
158 How The Grinch Stole Christmas Dave Truesdale
159 The Category Inventor -- Arthur Sellings Dave Truesdale
160 Tarzan -- African Thanksgiving Dave Truesdale
161 Junkyard -- Clifford D. Simak Dave Truesdale
162 The Avenger -- The Mystery of the Giant Brain Dave Truesdale
163 The Marvelous Barrastro -- Peter Lorre Dave Truesdale
164 The Witch's Tale -- Graveyard Mansion Dave Truesdale
165 The Pit and the Pendulum -- Vincent Price Dave Truesdale
166 Lights Out -- Valse Trieste Dave Truesdale
167 Lights Out--The Ball (aka Paris Macabre) Dave Truesdale
168 The Digger -- Torin Thatcher Dave Truesdale
169 Three Skeleton Key -- Vincent Price Dave Truesdale
170 Halloween Week - Karloff and Lovecraft Dave Truesdale
171 The Seventh Order -- Jerry Sohl Dave Truesdale
172 Watchbird -- Robert Sheckley Dave Truesdale
173 Fugue in C Minor -- Vincent Price Dave Truesdale
174 Dark Fantasy -- The Man Who Came Back Dave Truesdale
175 Inner Sanctum -- The Lonely Sleep Dave Truesdale
176 Kaleidoscope -- Ray Bradbury Dave Truesdale
177 Protective Mimicry -- Algis Budrys Dave Truesdale
178 Three from The Shadow -- Alfred Bester Dave Truesdale
179 The Shadow/Death House Rescue -- Orson Welles Dave Truesdale
180 Stroke of Fate: Our Neighbor in Alaska Steven H Silver
181 The Haunted Corpse -- Frederik Pohl Dave Truesdale
182 Quiet, Please -- Pathetic Fallacy Dave Truesdale
183 Nightmare -- Stephen Vincent Benet Dave Truesdale
184 The Cave of Night -- James Gunn Dave Truesdale
185 The Adaptive Ultimate -- Stanley G. Weinbaum Dave Truesdale
186 Child's Play -- William Tenn Dave Truesdale
187 She -- H. Rider Haggard Dave Truesdale
188 Donovan's Brain (Pts. 1 & 2) -- Curt Siodmak Dave Truesdale
189 Two from The Mysterious Traveler Dave Truesdale
190 Lights Out -- Immortal Gentleman Dave Truesdale
191 A Pail of Air -- Fritz Leiber Dave Truesdale
192 Earth Abides (Pts. 1 & 2) -- George R. Stewart Dave Truesdale