Episode 430: The Man Who Knew Everything

[00:00:16] Speaker A: The Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society podcast. Welcome to the Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society, a podcast dedicated to suspense, crime and horror stories from the golden age of radio. I'm Eric. [00:00:37] Speaker B: I'm Tim. [00:00:37] Speaker C: And I'm Joshua. [00:00:38] Speaker B: We love mysterious old time radio stories, but do they Stand the test of time? That's what we're here to find out. [00:00:43] Speaker C: Tonight we are celebrating our 10th anniversary. Yeah. As you can hear live at Crooner's Supper Club in front of a raucous audience of hardcore old time radio nerds. Yeah. [00:01:02] Speaker B: We are also thrilled to have a raucous special guest, the one and only Shannon Custer. [00:01:10] Speaker A: Now, before the night is through, we'll discuss the best and worst OTR episodes featured on the podcast so far. Over 450 episodes at this point. [00:01:19] Speaker D: Jesus. [00:01:23] Speaker A: We'll answer burning questions from our Patreon supporters and take a moment to reflect on what it means to spend a decade listening to and talking about old time radio. [00:01:33] Speaker E: Our live audience will also be playing bingo. That's right, we've made morals bingo cards featuring things you are likely to hear while listening to this podcast. [00:01:42] Speaker C: For example, Eric misses an important plot point. [00:01:48] Speaker B: Joshua read the book. [00:01:50] Speaker E: Yeah, [00:01:53] Speaker D: right. [00:01:53] Speaker A: I wasn't following. [00:01:57] Speaker C: Eric misses a cue. There it is. [00:02:01] Speaker A: Tim tells him stuff that's actually the free square. [00:02:05] Speaker E: But first, it wouldn't be the Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society if we didn't listen to some mysterious old radio. [00:02:12] Speaker C: So tonight I chose an episode from a series we've never discussed on the podcast before. The strange Dr. Weird. [00:02:22] Speaker B: The program was created by Robert Arthur and David Cogan, the duo behind the Mysterious Traveler and a Sealed Book. Arthur and Kogan met while studying radio production at Columbia University, which was a thing you could study and soon became one of radio's most prolific writing teams. [00:02:37] Speaker A: Arthur and Kogan also made a profitable habit of recycling and reworking their material across different radio series. Unlike the half hour Mysterious Traveler and the Sealed book, the Strange Doctor Weird packed its stories into just 15 minutes. It was, in effect, a concentrated dose of the Mysterious Traveler. Many of the same kinds of stories stripped down to their essentials and driven rapidly, rapidly towards a final twist. [00:03:02] Speaker E: Some stories appeared on both programs, although they didn't necessarily originate on the Mysterious Traveler. In fact, episode logs indicate that tonight's play, the man who Knew Everything, was presented on the Strange Doctor Weird several years before Arthur and Kogan produced a longer version for the Mysterious Traveler. [00:03:24] Speaker C: Maurice Tarplin, the voice of the mysterious traveler, also served as Dr. Weird, welcoming listeners each week into his home on the other side of the Cemetery sponsored by Adam Hatz and produced and Directed by Jock McGregor The Strange Doctor Weird debuted on November 7, 1944 and ran for 29 episodes, so please enjoy. [00:03:47] Speaker B: The man who Knew Everything first broadcast March 20, 1945. [00:03:53] Speaker A: It's late at night and a chill has set in. You're alone, and the only light you see is coming from an antique radio. Listen to the sounds coming from the speaker. Listen to the music. And listen to the voices. [00:04:14] Speaker D: The Strange Doctor Weird. Good evening. Come in, won't you? Why, what's the matter? You seem a bit pale. Have you been working too hard? Possibly A story might help relax you. A story, Say, about a man who could read other men's minds and who felt sure his strange power would make him tremendously wealthy. I call his story the man who Knew Everything. My story, the man who Knew Everything, begins in the Crystal Club, a lavish nightclub. A small man, very old, clad in robes of yellow silk, moves from table to table. He carries a small crystal ball into which he peers as he tells diners their most secret thoughts. He calls himself Randor the Mystic. Watching him from the doorway are three men. Nick Thompson, owner of the club, Rocky Brogan, his bodyguard, and Jerry Fenton, the press agent who handles Randor's affairs. That's really an act Randor has there, Jerry? What I'd like to know is, is it a gag or is it on the level? It's on the level, all right. He really can look inside your mind, Nick, and I'm staying away from him. I don't want anybody reading my mind. I know too much about myself already. If he's on the level, what's he doing working in the nightclub act? Why doesn't he use his little trick to clean up big? He says it's dangerous to use powers like that for yourself. If you ask me, I think he's bugs. Yeah, I'll say. Imagine being able to read the combination of a bank vault from the cashiest mine. It would be handy. Nick, I gotta do an errand. If Randor asks for me, tell him I'll be back before the midnight show, will you? Slipping from the club, Jerry Fenton, a few minutes later let himself into the small apartment where his employer, Randor, lived alone. Taking a sheaf of papers from a desk, he settled down to read. An hour passed, and then, unexpectedly, he heard the door open. Randall. Yes, my friend? I felt unwell. My heart pained me so. I returned to my home to find you reading my secret document. Well, so what? You have pried into my secrets. I can see it clearly in your mind. This is not the first time. All right, then I have. And listen, you nightclub swami, I found out how you do your mind reading stunt. That crystal ball you carry's got nothing to do with it. It's those cough drops you're always chewing. They're doped. True they are. Doped with a specialist Indian drug which clears up the brain so that it can receive the delicate thought waves from another mind. Yeah, And I know how to prepare those cough drops of yours. It's a very neat trick, being able to hear another man's thoughts right inside your own skull. I can do it myself now. And you intend to use your knowledge for evil. No, it must not be. Swear to me you will forget what you know, or else. Or else what? Or else you must die. So that's how it is, huh? Well, two can play at that game. What are you doing? If one of us has got to go, it won't be me. This cushion, Randor, if I hold it over your face for a minute, when they find you, they'll think your ticker gave out on you. Oh, you dare not. This power you have stolen, it will turn on you. Men's thoughts are not to be trusted. You are sorry, Randall, but nothing's stopping me now. Nothing. Do you hear? As Jerry Fenton had foretold, the death of Randor, the mystic was ascribed to natural causes. But for several days, Fenton stayed in seclusion, studying the notes he had stolen from the dead man. Then one evening, he dropped in on Nick Thompson and his bodyguard, Rocky Brogan, in Thompson's office. Hello, Jerry. Sit down. Thanks. Nick. I've decided to take over the Crystal Club. In your little numbers racket? Yeah. Hey, what kind of a gag is it? It's no gag. You see, Nick, I happen to know you're wanted for murder in California. How'd you know that? I know. That's why you're turning the club and your organization over to me. Rocky. Yeah, boss? Get out your gun. We're taking care of this rat now. I hate to tell you this, boss, but I'm working for Jerry now. What? Yeah, you see, I know things about Rocky, too. He's decided it's smart to stick by me. That's right, boss. He knows too much about me. Well, in that case. All right, boss. Well, that took care of him. Yeah. Now I'm boss around here. Understand? Oh, yeah, yeah. Yeah, boss. And, Rocky, I'm on my way. In a year, I'll own this town. Doctor Weir, the first part of your story about Jerry Makes me wonder, do you know anything about reading minds? A little. A little. For instance, right now I can see you have something on your mind about hats. The atom hats, doctor. How did you guess? You know, I was just thinking that Jerry, or any man for that matter, would feel as if he owned the town, if he owned an atom. And it doesn't take mind reading to see why. One look at the flare and dash of atom hats will make any man glow with enthusiasm. A man who knows quality appreciates such Adam features as the fine tailoring, the lustrous all fur felt, the distinctive styles and the softly harmonized shades. And there's more to an atom than just meets the eye. Put one on and feel how comfortably it fits, as if it were made expressly for you. What's more, an atom keeps its fine shape. You'll always feel confident of your appearance when you wear an ATOM hat. Now, our mastermind, Dr. Weir. And now, to continue my story, the man who Knew Everything. It is a day or so later. And Jerry Fenton, confident now of his ability to accomplish anything he desires by being able to read minds, is closeted with Rocky Brogan. All right, now, Rocky, we're ready to get underway. What are you figuring on, boss? I want to get a bankroll together. A big bankroll. So I'm gonna start planning a few really big jobs to get quick money. If I can make a suggestion, boys, there's a job I've been kind of thinking about for a long time. All right, what is it? It's a payroll job. The S and J Company across the river. Now, every Friday, they send an armored truck to the bank here in town, pick up a hundred grand and cart it back. Now, if we was could pick off that truck some nice safe way. $100,000. Yeah, that'd be a swell beginning. Tomorrow's Friday. Tomorrow night, that payroll is going to be ours. The next morning, Fenton, on a pretext, interviewed the treasurer of the S and J Manufacturing Company. And as they talked of harmless matters, Fenton's keyed up senses plucked from the other's mind. Facts so astounding that Fenton was still laughing to himself when he returned to the Crystal Club. Well, Rocky, it's all set. We're gonna pick up that payroll this afternoon. That's fast works, boys. Will we not go off the armored car? We're not even gonna bother with that armored car. It's just a blank. The payroll is really delivered in an old truck marked Tropical Towel Supply Company. You're kidding. An hour after the armored car leaves the laundry Truck drives up at the rear of the bank. The driver carries in a bundle of clean towels and comes out with a bag of dirty ones. The payroll is hidden among the dirty towels. Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle. Follow that truck and pick it up when it reaches the warehouse district. Take it to our own garage, get the payroll, then get rid of the truck and a driver. After that, report back to me. It'll be like taking candy from a baby. Okay, boss. I'm on my way. That afternoon, as Fenton waited for Rocky Brogan's return, he let himself daydream a little. A hundred thousand dollars delivered in a bag of dirty towels. And I learned about it as easily as if that fool treasurer had told me in so many words, I will own this town in a year. Why not? There's no one to stop. Yeah, who is it? Hey, boss. Rocky. Come in, Rocky. Boss, it's the driver of the towel supply truck, Grant. What you bring him here for? I tell you, you're making a mistake. A bad mistake. We took the laundry truck smooth as ice cream, boys. We got it in our garage. But we can't find the payroll. They can't? Why not? Because there isn't any payroll, that's why. You know, the boys are wondering maybe if you didn't make a mistake, Boys. I haven't made a mistake. Rocky. Step outside. I'll find out where that payroll is. Okay, boys. Call me when you made him talk. I don't know what your game is, but you're making a terrible mistake, mister. Really, I can't be wrong. I know it. Pardon me, I need a cough drop. There we are. Now we'll get the truth. But I told you the truth already. Be quiet. So the bag with a payroll in it is hidden in a secret compartment under the truck body. No, you can't know that. Nobody in the world knows that but me. But I do know it now. No, you won't get away with it. I'll stop you. I'll stop you with this. A gun? Yeah. And you're gonna let me go or I'll shoot. I'll shoot to kill. Then shoot, why don't you? I'll tell you why you don't shoot. Because the gun's empty and you know it. It's not true. Stay away from me. I'll pull a trigger. I will. Go ahead and pull it. You see, the bluff is no good. I know the gun is empty just as well as you do. In fact, I know it's empty because you do. Now give it to me. No. Damn wreck. I'll shoot. I'll shoot. Why, you shot me. The gun wasn't empty. But I. I thought. You thought that. He's dead. I killed him. The gun was loaded. I thought it was empty. I was just bluffing. Far along, I thought it was empty. So that was what Ramdor the mystic meant when he said men's thoughts couldn't be trusted. When a man doesn't even know his own gun is loaded, what good is it going to do to read his mind? Poor Jerry. Perhaps his fate will be a lesson to you. Don't depend on anyone else to do your thinking for you. Because sometimes. Oh, you have to go. Perhaps. Perhaps you'll drop in again soon. Just look for the house on the other side of the cemetery. The House of Dr. Weird. [00:16:22] Speaker A: That was the man who knew everything from the strange doctor Weird here on the Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society podcast once again. I'm Eric. [00:16:30] Speaker D: I'm Tim. [00:16:31] Speaker C: I'm Joshua. [00:16:32] Speaker E: And I'm Shannon. [00:16:36] Speaker A: And it is our 10th anniversary show live at Crooners in Minneapolis. You can tell there's a very raucous crowd here. [00:16:48] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:16:50] Speaker A: And they are playing bingo. And. Meaning that things that frequently happen in the podcast, they get to fill out a square if that happens in this podcast. So out there. So they get ready. [00:17:01] Speaker C: There's a bunch. Keep explaining bingo. [00:17:03] Speaker A: No, what I'm doing is setting up. I'm setting up that a bunch of you are about to fill in a square. [00:17:10] Speaker C: Oh. [00:17:12] Speaker A: What the hell just happened? He can read minds. [00:17:17] Speaker E: Yeah. [00:17:18] Speaker A: So why? [00:17:19] Speaker C: How? [00:17:19] Speaker B: Because he took a cough drop. [00:17:21] Speaker E: The cough drop. [00:17:23] Speaker A: So the cough drops. [00:17:24] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:17:26] Speaker A: Allow you to read minds. [00:17:27] Speaker C: Not any cough drop. I can't believe we're doing this. It has a narcotic in it. [00:17:33] Speaker E: Oh, it's a special cough drop. [00:17:35] Speaker A: I saw this. Gilligan's Island. All right, so. And then he. Oh, I didn't put a bullets in here. So he read his mind and he accidentally put bullets in there. That's great. [00:17:47] Speaker C: Not accidentally. He thought it was. [00:17:49] Speaker E: He thought it was empty. [00:17:51] Speaker C: It raises all kinds of epistemological questions. [00:17:54] Speaker E: It does. [00:17:56] Speaker B: What does a gun know? [00:17:59] Speaker C: This gap between belief and knowledge. Okay, there's a lot to dig into here. [00:18:05] Speaker B: Before we dive in, I do want to say I almost never get to watch my fellow podcasters listen to an episode. Almost being an operative word. Sometimes we're cutting it really close. But you might not know it. Maybe you do. Joshua and Eric also take meticulous notes when they listen. I take no notes. And this time, I Actually had to watch them work while I sat here and did not. [00:18:34] Speaker A: Let me clarify. He takes notes and then follows up on the notes and does research. I write smart ass comments. [00:18:44] Speaker C: He also drew a little castle. [00:18:46] Speaker D: I drew a castle [00:18:49] Speaker A: like this if they were spelled. Atom hats. See, that would be fun. Then they'd be like atom hats. They'd be like some kind of sci [00:18:59] Speaker B: fi thing or just very tiny hats. [00:19:03] Speaker D: Yeah, yeah. [00:19:04] Speaker E: Is this what it's like, the podcast? [00:19:07] Speaker C: Yes. [00:19:09] Speaker A: And then Joshua goes in and does a lot of editing. [00:19:15] Speaker C: Well, the reason I think this is an interesting series is because we have listened many times to the Mysterious Traveler, a couple times, the Sealed book. And Eric, as we know, likes a story to get to the castle. He likes to have some kind of action happen right away. So this is kind of like a bullion cube. [00:19:34] Speaker B: There was a lot of bingo excitement in the room just now. [00:19:37] Speaker E: Bingo excitement. [00:19:39] Speaker C: This is a concentrated mysterious traveler. It's just like exposition. Then stuff happens and it's over. Come back to the house in the weird cemetery again. [00:19:49] Speaker A: Yeah, I like that part of it. [00:19:51] Speaker C: I thought you would enjoy that. I did, but nothing else about it. [00:19:54] Speaker A: I didn't know it was deep though. Thought it was a guy and he shot a guy and then a bunch of stuff happened. [00:20:00] Speaker C: Well, I did think it's interesting how reading people's minds in most genre fiction, there are exceptions, but in most is treated somewhat comparable to being omniscient in some way. And all it does is allow you [00:20:16] Speaker B: to share their mistakes. [00:20:18] Speaker C: Share their mistakes. Exactly. I mean, you have an infinite fallible way of reading a highly fallible source. [00:20:27] Speaker E: Yeah. So it should be called the man who Thought He Knew Everything But Acted [00:20:31] Speaker D: Like He Knew Everything. [00:20:36] Speaker E: But that's not as good of a title. [00:20:37] Speaker A: No. [00:20:38] Speaker B: I do love the alternative to magical elixir. Magical Potion of Lozenge. [00:20:44] Speaker C: I know, that's awesome. And I love that every time you don't believe someone, it's, excuse me one second. Excuse me one second, you lying son of a. And then suck, suck, suck, suck furiously. I really don't know how immediate that dosage hits the system. [00:21:05] Speaker A: That's the worst onomatopoeia I've ever heard. [00:21:09] Speaker C: Spiff pow suck. It was on Classic Batman. [00:21:13] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:21:13] Speaker B: Do not read minds more than once per four hours. [00:21:17] Speaker E: Oh, my gosh. [00:21:22] Speaker B: You want me to share that? [00:21:24] Speaker A: Yes. [00:21:24] Speaker B: Thank God it wasn't a suppository. That's from our gentleman right here in our front. [00:21:29] Speaker E: Also known as peanut gallery. [00:21:34] Speaker C: So, Shannon, what did you think? [00:21:35] Speaker E: What did I think? [00:21:36] Speaker C: You're Never on the. [00:21:37] Speaker E: I'm never here. I'm not on the. Yeah, typically. I loved it. I thought it was really interesting how it felt like the version of, like, an After School Special. Do you know what I mean? Like, be careful. People don't know stuff. They're super anxious and they do dumb things. You know? Yeah. You're only as smart as the person next to you, which means you're done. [00:22:02] Speaker D: Not married. [00:22:02] Speaker E: Yeah, you're done. [00:22:03] Speaker A: If it was an After School Special, though, it would stop and say, now what would you do? [00:22:09] Speaker E: Exactly. Yeah. But I liked it. I thought it was really tightly done, and I enjoyed it. [00:22:17] Speaker C: What I like about these episodes that are so condensed is that people just have to say everything they're thinking. So there's ironically, no need to read anyone's mind. [00:22:28] Speaker E: Exactly. [00:22:28] Speaker C: Because the exposition is so thorough by everyone. They just say everything that's happening. Those are my secret documents. [00:22:36] Speaker E: Exactly. [00:22:36] Speaker C: That would be something to think to yourself. [00:22:40] Speaker E: And just the fallibility of being like. It's like taking candy from a baby. It's as smooth as ice cream. And then you know, you knew it was coming. [00:22:50] Speaker C: Never say it's as smooth as ice cream. For many reasons. [00:22:53] Speaker D: For many reasons. [00:22:54] Speaker C: But definitely means you're gonna get your comeuppance. [00:22:57] Speaker E: Yeah, you're in trouble. [00:22:58] Speaker B: Oh, I love comeuppance ice cream. Like your comparison to Mysterious Traveler. I thought it was both good and bad in that of. Compared to Mysterious Travelers, sometimes this lacks a little. This lacked the nuance and twists that I like in the Mysterious Traveler. On the other hand, it's efficient. It gets to it. [00:23:17] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:23:18] Speaker C: I think they missed a beat not naming this Death by Cushion. I think that would have been a great alternate title. [00:23:27] Speaker A: I was disappointed because. Isn't there a Fantastic 4 Villain called Dr. Weird? Yeah, I'm looking at you. [00:23:35] Speaker B: No, that was my nickname in fifth grade. Thank you so much for bringing that up. [00:23:44] Speaker A: That's gonna stick. I thought it was a different thing. Oh, Dr. Strange. [00:23:51] Speaker B: Is that what I'm thinking of? [00:23:52] Speaker C: Yeah, you're probably thinking of Dr. [00:23:53] Speaker B: Strange, not a Fantastic Four villain. Are they related by marriage? I don't know. We've discussed in the past the meaning of the word weird has drifted over the course of the last century and a half. And this is mid. Evolution Weird. [00:24:11] Speaker A: What did it used to mean? Like pancakes. [00:24:15] Speaker C: Strange. Doctor Pancakes. The House of Weird. [00:24:19] Speaker D: Yes. [00:24:20] Speaker B: International House of weird. [00:24:21] Speaker C: Serves breakfast 24 hours a day. [00:24:24] Speaker E: $100,000 in 1945. [00:24:26] Speaker C: Over a million dollars. [00:24:28] Speaker E: I loved what he said. That's a good start. And I thought, whoa, dude, check your bingo cards. [00:24:33] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:24:34] Speaker C: $1,897,261.36. [00:24:40] Speaker E: Wow. And that's a good start. Yeah, I think that's greedy. I think you can be done, you know. [00:24:46] Speaker C: I think so. Smooth as ice cream. So we need to vote on this. We're doing a little micro round of our usual podcast. So. [00:24:57] Speaker A: Okay. [00:24:58] Speaker C: I'm not gonna say this is a classic. [00:25:00] Speaker D: What? [00:25:01] Speaker C: But I think it Stand the test of time. I think it is a fun little romp. And I do think it is something we should. Speaking of after school specials. Always keep in mind. We should keep that in mind. Yeah. That there's a big difference between what you believe and truth and what other people believe and truth. And that gap between there is often a big one. And I feel like that's what Dr. Weird was about to start saying when whoever was listening was like, oh, this sounds like it's getting political. I'm out of here. Oh, you're going. Okay. And really quick. There's no context to why anyone visits a house near a cemetery. That's what's weird. Because the mysterious traveler has context. You're on a train and you're just sort of stuck with this weird guy. [00:25:50] Speaker E: But here. [00:25:50] Speaker A: No, it's a B and B. Yeah, it's really cheap until you get there. [00:25:56] Speaker C: Oh, man. [00:25:57] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:25:57] Speaker C: The old Weirdin breakfast. [00:25:59] Speaker E: Yeah. [00:26:00] Speaker C: So I think it Stand the test of time. [00:26:02] Speaker A: I'll back you up. I think I liked how efficient it was. Of course. I think it was just fine, even though I had to ask a question at the end. Normally I would go back. [00:26:11] Speaker C: Or was it all the questions? Literally everything that happened in the story [00:26:15] Speaker A: and re listen and not have that much confusion. [00:26:18] Speaker C: I sent it to you ahead of time. That's okay. [00:26:21] Speaker E: I wanted to hear. [00:26:22] Speaker C: It's been 10 years. [00:26:23] Speaker A: I thought it'd be fun. Burn it all down. People watch me watch something. [00:26:28] Speaker E: I don't know. [00:26:29] Speaker A: So, yeah, I think it was great. I liked it. I would listen to more of these. I liked it. The 12 minutes. That's good. But production wise and everything wise, I didn't find myself thinking, oh, this is terrible in any way. So, yeah, good job. [00:26:48] Speaker C: Yeah. Dr. Weird damned with faint praise. [00:26:52] Speaker A: Yeah, [00:26:54] Speaker B: I'm gonna agree with similar, but a little more praise than damn. I think in this little tiny amount of time, they packed a lot of punch and a lot of story in there. And I thought that was great. I feel a little bad now that we're saying, hey, these really short radio [00:27:08] Speaker A: episodes this is the future. No more. [00:27:10] Speaker B: Or let's listen to long half hour shows here on. We're doing 20 minute podcasts. [00:27:17] Speaker E: Do I get to vote? Because I would say yes. [00:27:19] Speaker C: No, Women don't get the vote. [00:27:21] Speaker E: I thought so. That's so close to being true, it's not even funny. Yeah, I think it's great. And I would listen to. I mean, how many of these still exist? [00:27:33] Speaker C: 29. [00:27:34] Speaker E: You said that. 29. So that's. Do the math. That's a reasonable amount of time. [00:27:39] Speaker A: If I pick this one up, I might actually be able to stay awake doing it tonight episode or something. [00:27:49] Speaker C: And now Shannon will stay step in as MC for a short Q and A courtesy of our Patreon supporters, many of whom are in the audience tonight. If you're a Patreon supporter, let's hear from you. Look at that. Yeah. All right, what are some of the questions they sent our way? [00:28:06] Speaker E: All right, so I have these right in front of me from Ethan and David F. Okay, very quickly, what's your origin story? Whose idea was the podcast and how long did it take to convince Eric to do it? That's a lot and one question, but I think it's all connected. So origin story. And then whose idea was the podcast? [00:28:25] Speaker C: I will give you the condensed origin story. And that is. I always wanted to do an old time radio podcast. And mainly I wanted to do one because when I first started listening to podcasts, I searched for an old time radio podcast that had discussion and background information and couldn't find one. So I just decided, I'm gonna do the podcast that I want to hear. And so I approached Tim and then we thought, oh, it could be tedious with just the two of us. We should ask someone else. How about Eric? Yeah. And you were right in. You were in. You had no idea it would be a 10 year commitment. [00:29:04] Speaker A: My career before theater and all this was I was on radio as a talk show host and dj. I worked in radio. So when they asked me to do this, not only do I love old time radio, but it sounded like a chance to do like a radio show again in my basement. I didn't understand what a podcast was and I didn't really care. It was just a chance to talk with them about old time radio and do like a radio show. So the answer to that is immediately, yeah, hell, whatever, I'll do that. [00:29:35] Speaker E: Amazing. All right. That was pretty good. That was very succinct. [00:29:38] Speaker C: Yes, I'm impressed. We were inspired by the Strange Doctor Weird, I think. [00:29:42] Speaker E: So I Think we're. Stop thinking that, Tim. That's not true. [00:29:48] Speaker B: Cough. [00:29:48] Speaker D: Cough. [00:29:48] Speaker C: Suck. Suck. [00:29:49] Speaker E: All right, this question. This is a great question from Monica. What old time radio story would you never do live? [00:30:01] Speaker B: I'll give you some challenging ones. [00:30:03] Speaker E: Okay. [00:30:04] Speaker C: War of the Worlds. [00:30:06] Speaker A: Well, first of all, it costs too much money. [00:30:07] Speaker B: Right. It's not that we could never accomplish. They actually keep track of who does that. Right. [00:30:14] Speaker C: That is not an orphaned work. No. [00:30:18] Speaker B: And similarly, there's some amazing episodes out there that feature two women talking to each other quite a bit. I think in our history, we have done one show with two different actresses at the mic. [00:30:34] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:30:35] Speaker B: So I guess we will never do those shows. [00:30:39] Speaker C: That's great because there's only one female actor. Shannon, the platonic idol. [00:30:47] Speaker E: I didn't know there were radio shows with two women. [00:30:50] Speaker A: Oh, no. [00:30:51] Speaker D: Oh, my [00:30:55] Speaker E: face. Thank you, Monica. I will be checking that out. [00:31:00] Speaker C: Those are kind of practical concerns. But there are occasionally great old time radio episodes that I would never do live. Just for purely marketing reasons. They're too weird. I would never do a.22 rifle for Christmas from Dragnet. Depress the Living daylights. Yeah. So no. And I guess people have a lot of opinions about guns and parenting. [00:31:26] Speaker B: It's weird. [00:31:27] Speaker C: Kind of a hot button topic. [00:31:29] Speaker B: Oh, we've talked about only the good die young. [00:31:31] Speaker C: Yes. [00:31:32] Speaker B: Which is. Listen to this girl die. Agonize. Oh, it's. It's awful. It's a great story. [00:31:37] Speaker C: I pitched it, but I said we have to get an actual child actor. That way it would be funny. [00:31:46] Speaker E: Yeah. [00:31:46] Speaker A: If you don't know that episode, it's horrifying. You just listen to a little girl die for half an hour. [00:31:54] Speaker B: No story. [00:31:56] Speaker E: Yeah. Especially if there's dinner involved. See? [00:32:00] Speaker C: You're welcome. For the great choices we make. [00:32:05] Speaker E: There's that one Frank Sinatra show we'll never do. [00:32:08] Speaker A: Oh, the Day Sinatra got fat. Yes. [00:32:13] Speaker E: Frank comes up all the time. [00:32:14] Speaker B: Frank Sinatra is not in it. [00:32:15] Speaker A: Yeah, Frank Sinatra. [00:32:18] Speaker C: I am self destructive enough to do that episode, but these guys always stop me. [00:32:25] Speaker A: It is the story. [00:32:26] Speaker C: I will tell you briefly if you've never heard it. It is the story of some kind of alien green powder that comes to earth and makes everyone incredibly obese in order to be fed on by aliens. [00:32:40] Speaker A: And the actors for about 10 minutes talk like this. Cause they're so beautiful. [00:32:45] Speaker E: We're not doing that. [00:32:47] Speaker A: I just did it. [00:32:49] Speaker E: So which of you does the best Peter Lorre impression? Yeah, that's also from Monica. [00:32:56] Speaker B: And that's a softball pointing at Joshua. Yes. [00:33:00] Speaker A: I'll do It Peter Lorre impression. [00:33:04] Speaker C: I can't do a Peter Lorre impression. It would drag me to the brink of madness. To brink, I tell you, to brink. [00:33:17] Speaker E: Oh, beautiful. [00:33:19] Speaker C: It's our 10th anniversary. I have to indulge myself in that. [00:33:22] Speaker E: I want you. Could you leave me my voicemail message? Nobody ever calls me, but if they [00:33:29] Speaker C: did pick up the phone, I know you're there. [00:33:34] Speaker E: I want that. [00:33:35] Speaker C: I'm just gonna wait. [00:33:39] Speaker E: Just felt like Shannon's in a trunk. All right, so this is from Jill. You each have your own experiences listening to Old Time Radio prior to starting the podcast. Many of you, I mean, I'm just gonna pipe in, talk about getting those little cassettes at the grocery store with them. Yeah. Through the podcast, we as listeners were brought along as you explored, devised and revised your opinions of various shows and actors. And Jill's interested to hear from each of you what has been the biggest shift in your personal view of or relationship with Old Time Radio. [00:34:16] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:34:17] Speaker E: Have you grown? This is just. Have you grown in the last 10 years? [00:34:21] Speaker C: We have a character arc. Yes. [00:34:23] Speaker E: Share. I think I love this question. [00:34:26] Speaker A: For me, Old Time Radio was adventure, horror, mystery. We all know that. But, you know, escapism. I didn't know until we started this podcast what a deep art form it could possibly be. I didn't know what existed out there. I knew what I had listened to before. I knew what, here's a Lone Ranger or I love a mystery, whatever. When you start to get into things like Quiet please and some of these other shows, and you start to realize this is way beyond just entertainment people for half hour. These are really piece. They're pieces of art. And I didn't know how. How good it could be, how much effect it could have, how much these, these stories could transform you somewhere. Yeah, I've had a huge switch. For example, I grew up listening CBS Radio Mystery Theater. After 10 years of this podcast, that warm blanket of nostalgia, and you start to realize, oh, comparatively, from what I've learned now, that show's not great and it has its moments and it has its great episodes, but you're like, oh, no, this. It's like that moment where I like, I love the original series, Star Trek, and you get older, you go, the Kate just. No, get out of my head. No, it's good. [00:35:42] Speaker C: It's good. [00:35:42] Speaker A: No, okay. It really isn't. [00:35:45] Speaker C: But you know what I'm saying, We're going to get some tables overturned. But my point is, be careful in the parking lot. [00:35:53] Speaker A: I've had a huge jump in Understanding of the power of this art form and what it can do. [00:36:00] Speaker B: Akin to that getting the big picture of the history of old time radio and the evolution of the art. Before the podcast, I would just sort of listen to any episode and like, okay, that's fine, I enjoyed that. But to really appreciate early days, they were not working with these tools that later days podcast or sorry, oh God, radio episodes had the skill with the foley, the music, the direction, the storytelling, the writing, all these things that benefited from those early episodes. So judging it, critiquing it, I can really put it in perspective of this was from 1938. They were dealing with this sort of material. They were early days, setting the bar for what was to come. Cut them some slack. Versus like this is from 19, mid-50s. These are amazing craftspeople. I can appreciate not only all the things they're doing with that, but where they got that skill and artistry from. So I really enjoyed the big picture. I'm nowhere near any sort of radio scholar, but I'm appreciating that sort of that point of view. [00:37:09] Speaker C: Yeah, I would say my arc follows that fairly closely. But when I was young, I loved old time radio because it was that safely spooky thing. It had this almost ethereal quality. It felt like it was a doorway to another time and place. Like having your own little gateway to Narnia. A really violent, bloody, terrible Narnia. And then also as I got older, I and became more inclined toward irony and self awareness. I really appreciated the extravagant, weird, pulpy aspects of old time radio. The really over the top stuff. The shadow, lights out, inner sanctum. And that's kind of where I entered this podcast. But like Eric, I have become really terribly aware of just the depth and complexity that the form is capable of. It is on par with any other artistic art form in terms of its potential and its realization of just sophisticated storytelling. And it had a pretty, in America, small window of time to go from like a fledgling medium to really absolutely locked in. It took TV a lot longer to get good. Radio did it in about 20 years. [00:38:36] Speaker A: Wait, TV got good? [00:38:39] Speaker C: So, yeah, I mean that's where I'm at with it. And now it's a medium that I absolutely adore. [00:38:46] Speaker E: Oh, thank you, Jill, for that question. That was. I feel like I know you all better. [00:38:50] Speaker C: Yeah, Jill is here tonight. [00:38:53] Speaker E: Oh, there. [00:38:54] Speaker D: I thought so. [00:38:54] Speaker B: Okay. [00:38:55] Speaker E: I thought so. Okay, wonderful. So from Jody, Bob Bailey was the best. Johnny Dollar. That's the first sentence. So if you had to cast someone other than yourself, what modern Actor could be tough and wry enough to play that role. Eric's in trouble because he doesn't know modern actors. [00:39:14] Speaker A: No, but I don't know his name. But who's the dude that plays Deadpool? [00:39:19] Speaker B: Ryan Reynolds. [00:39:20] Speaker A: He'd be awesome. [00:39:24] Speaker C: Okay, if it were a purely audio performance today, I would definitely go with Bob Odenkirk, who can be funny and tough and sentimental and sweet. All the things I want out of Johnny Dollar. I think he's a little too old. If it were a visual medium. That's a great thing about radio. You can keep doing it when you're old. But I think if it were visual, I would go with something a little off the beaten path, like Aldous Hodge, if, you know, leverage, I think. [00:39:53] Speaker E: Oh, yeah. [00:39:54] Speaker C: He would be fantastic. Or no one's going to agree with me here, but I think he can do anything as Jesse Plemons. I would love to see his really weird, scary Johnny Dollar. [00:40:05] Speaker E: Amazing. [00:40:06] Speaker B: I just saw and have been totally in love with Widow's Bay. So I'd say Matthew Rhys. [00:40:10] Speaker E: Yeah, Matthew Rhys would be fantastic. Also, Sam Rockwell, I think would be [00:40:14] Speaker C: a great Johnny Dollar. [00:40:16] Speaker B: I'm convinced. [00:40:17] Speaker E: Did I win? [00:40:18] Speaker B: Yes, you did. [00:40:20] Speaker A: The guy that plays Jack McCoy on Law and Order. [00:40:26] Speaker E: Shannon as Johnny Dollar. [00:40:28] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:40:29] Speaker E: Yes, I'll say. [00:40:30] Speaker A: Jimmy Stewart. What? Who are these people you've mentioned? [00:40:34] Speaker B: Bob Olden. What? [00:40:36] Speaker E: We're going to. We're going to Google him when we get home. [00:40:39] Speaker C: Better call Saul. [00:40:40] Speaker A: Never seen him. [00:40:41] Speaker E: Oh. Oh, see, I know. [00:40:44] Speaker C: Boo. [00:40:45] Speaker A: 1960, earlier. [00:40:47] Speaker E: It all just. Although you watched Widow's Bay, you loved. [00:40:50] Speaker A: I did watch Widow's Bay. I thought it was great. I don't know their names. I don't care, honey. [00:40:55] Speaker C: I don't care who they are. [00:40:59] Speaker B: You know what you do for a living, right? [00:41:00] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:41:01] Speaker A: I don't want. I don't want anybody to know who I am. [00:41:05] Speaker B: Good job. [00:41:06] Speaker A: Did you get a check? Good for you. [00:41:09] Speaker E: Well, then maybe you know the answer to this question. This is from Ryan. What's the best classic board game? [00:41:15] Speaker C: Scrabble. Fight me Scrabble. [00:41:18] Speaker E: I think that's a pretty good one. [00:41:20] Speaker C: Oh, I heard that. [00:41:23] Speaker B: I'm gonna take control of this for right now. [00:41:26] Speaker A: Yes, please. [00:41:27] Speaker E: This is. Tim is in charge. [00:41:29] Speaker B: I did. I was formerly a board game creator, person, content developer. I worked for Fantasy Flight Games for quite some time. Many games. I worked on Battlestar Galactic, the board game. I worked on many expansions. I love that game. That is the first thing that comes to mind when I hear best game of some kind. I love it. Before, like the modern air quotes, modern board game activities. I played dominoes with my mom and dad for our lives. I mean, for Fives Muggins, it's sometimes called. Domino's is my favorite. None, like IP board game, but Battlestar Galactic. And then I would just list off a thousand board games for you here. Gloomhaven. I love Gloomhaven. I like board games. [00:42:19] Speaker E: Yeah. [00:42:20] Speaker C: I think Tim just launched a spin off podcast. [00:42:22] Speaker E: I think he did. That would be amazing. [00:42:25] Speaker A: I don't like board games. [00:42:26] Speaker C: Oh, of course it's true. [00:42:28] Speaker E: He doesn't. He plays cards. You play cards? [00:42:31] Speaker A: I do play cards. [00:42:31] Speaker E: I sound insane over here. Honey, you watch tv. I'm not loving what's happening. [00:42:38] Speaker B: You got the Columbo board game at home. [00:42:40] Speaker E: We do have the. [00:42:41] Speaker A: I do have the Colombo board game, [00:42:43] Speaker E: but I don't think it's sanctioned by the Colombo people. No. [00:42:46] Speaker A: Cause have you seen it? It's his. [00:42:48] Speaker E: It's like a. [00:42:49] Speaker A: It's a guy wearing a coat, but his back is too. [00:42:52] Speaker E: So obviously not Colombo. [00:42:54] Speaker C: It's not even his back. He just has his head turned. [00:42:56] Speaker A: His head turned. Yeah. [00:42:57] Speaker E: We do have this Bing Crosby one called you're lucky. [00:43:00] Speaker A: Mr. Lucky. [00:43:01] Speaker E: Oh, Mr. Lucky. [00:43:02] Speaker A: Yeah, we got. [00:43:03] Speaker E: We haven't played it yet. [00:43:04] Speaker C: I like the vaguely threatening you're Lucky. [00:43:06] Speaker A: And I have three versions of Mr. Re. Does anybody know that board game R e e? [00:43:12] Speaker E: Yeah. [00:43:12] Speaker A: Mr. Re. It's like Clue. [00:43:14] Speaker E: It's Clue. [00:43:14] Speaker C: It's the first, but it's from the [00:43:16] Speaker A: 40s and I have a bunch of those. They're cool. [00:43:18] Speaker E: Yeah, Mr. E. Get it, Mr. E. Yeah. See? Yeah, A perfect title for radio. Yes. So what is your favorite bit of Foley in all of old time radio? And why is it Inner sanctums? Crickets? This is also from Ryan, but. Yeah. What is. [00:43:36] Speaker A: I mean, favorite bit of Foley? [00:43:38] Speaker E: Yeah. Your favorite. [00:43:40] Speaker A: Any train sound. [00:43:42] Speaker E: I know. I want all shows to be on a train. [00:43:45] Speaker C: I think the quintessential old time radio sound to me is the creaking door from inner Sanction. Just because it accomplishes so much. It is a literal physical object in need of some serious lubrication. It tells you what it is. [00:44:03] Speaker D: Totally. [00:44:04] Speaker C: But it's also emotive. It feels like it is that door to your imagination. [00:44:08] Speaker E: And it's hard to create on stage. I didn't mean to talk over you. I'm sorry, but it's so hard. [00:44:14] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:44:14] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:44:15] Speaker C: That is a masterful sound effect. Yeah. You have more respect for the sound effects when you have to try to figure out how to make them yourself. [00:44:21] Speaker E: Right. [00:44:22] Speaker B: My favorite is it's not even properly Foley. It's vocalized. But it is the sound from Northern Lights. [00:44:29] Speaker D: From. [00:44:29] Speaker B: Quiet, please. Those little singing. [00:44:30] Speaker A: Oh, the singing. Weird thing. [00:44:32] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:44:33] Speaker A: A I O L. Yeah. [00:44:37] Speaker C: That's not it at all. [00:44:39] Speaker B: Eric. [00:44:39] Speaker C: We're. [00:44:40] Speaker A: Yeah, that was it. [00:44:41] Speaker C: We're not doing that live. [00:44:44] Speaker B: But I love that. [00:44:44] Speaker C: To the shows we're not doing live. [00:44:46] Speaker A: I thought we did that one. [00:44:47] Speaker C: We did. [00:44:48] Speaker B: Yes, you did. [00:44:49] Speaker C: But you weren't cast as those voices. [00:44:53] Speaker A: That was my best Peter Lore got make me angry. And this is Shannon's phone. Leave a message. I'm Peter Lorre. [00:45:07] Speaker C: You're doing great. [00:45:08] Speaker E: So I should ask all of you. It seems like an appropriate question. Do you have another 10 years in you? That feels. [00:45:18] Speaker C: Yes, but my doctor says it should be removed. [00:45:21] Speaker B: Hey. [00:45:21] Speaker E: Oh, it feels vaguely threatening. [00:45:23] Speaker C: I know. [00:45:24] Speaker B: I will do this show long after anyone wants me to. [00:45:28] Speaker E: Perfect. Perfect. [00:45:30] Speaker C: Yeah, it is, right? This is gonna be the Brains in Jars podcast. [00:45:36] Speaker A: Yeah. I can't believe this happened. I will do this until you don't want me to. [00:45:47] Speaker C: And now it is time to announce our votes for the best and worst of 10 years of morals. Okay, so we're going to start with the worst. And when we asked our Patreon supporters, they volunteered the following productions. Milwaukee Deep from Sears Radio Theater. [00:46:10] Speaker A: I brought that. [00:46:11] Speaker E: Sears Radio Theater. [00:46:13] Speaker C: That's real. It's a show from Sears, so, you know, it's. [00:46:15] Speaker E: It smells like tires. [00:46:21] Speaker C: Dracula in White from Spine Chillers. It sounds so much better than what it turned out to be. And the Signal man from a more contemporary audio drama, Seeing Eye Theater. So those are some that were listed. The great thing about our Patreon supporters, they. They don't, like, focus on the negative. So we. They just threw out a couple. We didn't really put a full on, like, poll, but those are a few to get kind of wet. Our whistle. So, gents, what do you think is your leave favorite of 10 years of this podcast? [00:46:54] Speaker A: Get ready to mark your bingo cards. [00:46:57] Speaker C: Okay. [00:46:59] Speaker A: God, I hate Frontier Gentlemen. [00:47:03] Speaker E: Is that one of them? [00:47:05] Speaker A: But that is not the worst, because Frontier Gentlemen actually had an episode that was outstanding. However, Gunsmoke should sue them for that episode because they stole everything from them. [00:47:18] Speaker D: But. [00:47:19] Speaker A: But because Frontier Gentleman finally had a really good episode, I gave him some slack. The worst episode we've ever done was. [00:47:30] Speaker E: Here we go. [00:47:31] Speaker A: I don't even know the name of it. [00:47:33] Speaker B: Dr. Tim Detective. [00:47:34] Speaker D: Yes. [00:47:36] Speaker A: Dr. Tim Detective. I'm so. I'm still mad at you. That was terrible. [00:47:44] Speaker B: I'm proud of myself, [00:47:48] Speaker E: Dr. Tim. Detective. [00:47:49] Speaker A: Oh, my God. [00:47:50] Speaker D: It was. [00:47:51] Speaker B: He's a doctor and a detective and his name's Tim. [00:47:54] Speaker A: So I stopped listening there and brought that. [00:47:57] Speaker D: Aw, [00:48:00] Speaker A: right. No. Oh, [00:48:05] Speaker B: well, one. I love Dracula in White. I brought it and I stand by it. Single man from Seeing Eye Theater. Not good. But, like, it's like we're comparing it to suspense. It's really unfair. So fair enough to good on you. Seeing Eye Theater. Thinking that maybe made me realize other Signalman episodes I did not like. There's the Late Days suspense, Signalman, which is like, I really enjoyed Signalman, and this hurts me. And in that category, what clearly rose to me is like, this is the one that not only is bad, but it hurts me personally. Which. Which is Devilstone from Suspense. It is the last episode of Suspense, and it really indicates, like, the suspense fell hard. [00:48:53] Speaker A: Right? [00:48:54] Speaker B: So it's both not good. And also this is the end of suspense. And I feel really bad listening to this, so that's what I would go with. [00:49:00] Speaker A: Yeah, that was terrible. [00:49:02] Speaker C: I agree with Tim. Devilstone is a bad episode and a forgettable episode, but the fact that it suspenses last episode just makes it sad. This is how suspense ends. Did you guys listen with a bang, but with a whimper. [00:49:17] Speaker A: Did you guys listen to Dr. Tim? [00:49:21] Speaker B: I love Dr. Tim. There's a dog episode. [00:49:25] Speaker C: It was a wrong. [00:49:25] Speaker A: Oh, I know. You made me listen to him. [00:49:29] Speaker C: Do you. Do you have a least favorite. [00:49:32] Speaker E: Shannon? Well, I want to ask this first. I mean, this might not be an answerable question. So perfect. Is it the writing? Is it ever the acting? You know, because I find myself sometimes the story might not necessarily be that involved or complicated or whatever, but I am so enraptured with the voices that I don't care. [00:49:53] Speaker C: There's no criteria when you say worst. It's wildly subjective. [00:49:56] Speaker E: Okay? Perfect. [00:49:57] Speaker C: Based on nothing but our moods and whims. In a moment. [00:50:00] Speaker B: If you can compare it to something else, specifically those Sigma episodes of, like, we've heard some great, great episodes of the Single man. And when you hear somebody else do it, like, that's not as good. [00:50:11] Speaker E: Yeah, right. Yeah. [00:50:12] Speaker A: And suspense was up against itself after all the great stuff they put out. That was terrible, man. [00:50:22] Speaker B: It's. It's tough being part of a series that gets on in years. Oh, no. [00:50:32] Speaker D: Right. [00:50:37] Speaker C: Hey. All right, all right. From there, we're going to go into the best, a little more positive here. The best episode of Oldtime Radio that we have featured on the podcast so far. And when we polled our Patreon supporters There was a clear winner, but the runners up are worth a mention as well. Well, in third place, we have a tie. Ghost Hunt from Suspense and Four Went Home from Escape. Yeah. In second place, Northern Lights from Quiet Please. A, E, I, O, U. That one. And at the top spot, you can probably guess this if you're an old time radio nerd. According to our Patreon supporters, it is the thing on the Forble board from Quiet Please. Okay, so now it is up to the four of us. Are we going to expand that list or fall in line behind the people who give us money? [00:51:40] Speaker A: There are so many episodes that I love, but I think the one that impacted me the most and stuck with me for a very long time was Four Went Home from Escape. It was just powerful. Really well acted, incredibly well directed, production value was intense, and the. The story is phenomenal. So I would like to list a bunch that I really love, but running out of time. No. 4 went home would. That's a good answer. [00:52:12] Speaker C: It's such a you episode, but it's actually good this time. [00:52:18] Speaker A: Okay, fine. A Man Called X. That's the best episode ever. [00:52:25] Speaker C: Stick with For Windholm. [00:52:28] Speaker A: You're welcome, Amy. [00:52:29] Speaker B: Thank you. [00:52:32] Speaker C: I think I am going to fall back on the question from Jill about my ARC over these 10 years and what I appreciate most in this moment because this is a highly subjective choice here, and that is a recent episode of Quiet Please. We listened to the Hat, the Bed, and John Jay Catherine. It is an incredibly layered, intricate, weird. It just should fail on every level and doesn't, in my opinion. You can listen to it over and over again and find new things to like about it and new meaning in it. I love it. [00:53:18] Speaker A: That episode is what is happening. And then it has one sentence at the end and it all comes together and you're left with that, you know, this look on your face like, oh, that was all so random. [00:53:30] Speaker C: And it wasn't. [00:53:31] Speaker A: That was on my list too. I changed mine. You have convinced me to change mine. That's just for bingo players. You got bingo? [00:53:42] Speaker C: We got bingo. [00:53:43] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:53:46] Speaker C: All right. So for bingo, you have earned this morals bond, like a war bond. In 10 years, it will be worth 100 morals dollars. [00:54:02] Speaker A: Congratulations. [00:54:04] Speaker E: Yeah, that's pretty great. [00:54:06] Speaker C: So you hold on to that. [00:54:11] Speaker A: Josh will check the inflation thing on his phone. [00:54:15] Speaker C: It'll be worth far less at the rate we're going. [00:54:19] Speaker B: I really struggled with this. I had a whole, like, list, like, here's my top five, and I'm gonna talk about them forever and then finally make A mad dash for an answer at the very end. But I'll skip to the end because I think what my proper answer is is three Skeleton Key from Escape. [00:54:33] Speaker E: Yeah. [00:54:36] Speaker B: One of the things I love about it, which was sent into my episodes as well, is the big payoff is when there is supposed to be a sound and there isn't, when the bugle stops playing. I love an episode that can pack such an emotional punch with silence. And I love Vincent Price. I love it. I love it. I love the action. I love the adaptation. I love the choices they made with it. That's the one I love. [00:54:59] Speaker E: Well, I would say I love Sorry, Wrong Number so much. Yeah. But I would have to say that there's one. And this is because I, you know, know this old time radio thing now because of all of you guys, but the one that came to my mind was Agnes Moorehead again doing the Yellow Wallpaper. [00:55:20] Speaker A: Right. [00:55:20] Speaker E: It's just. It's so haunting. And the way her. Just her pace and how she portrays that woman slowly unraveling is really spooky and gorgeous and. Yeah, so that would be mine. Just a woman falling apart. [00:55:40] Speaker A: And we did that one live. [00:55:42] Speaker E: We did. I didn't. I mean, there's no way. It's so perfect the way she did it. [00:55:47] Speaker B: I also want to share that I've been involved in, like, horror themed theater for 20 years. And one of the things that really inspired me to, like, I want to pursue this because I saw an example of it done really well was in our local Minnesota Fringe Festival. I saw a production of the Yellow Wallpaper, which I just like. It's one of those things where I saw it and it changed what I thought was possible. [00:56:08] Speaker C: I want to make a living off the suffering of women. That's what he thought. [00:56:14] Speaker A: You're a lucky woman, Wendy. [00:56:18] Speaker B: I love you, sweetie. [00:56:20] Speaker E: Amazing. [00:56:21] Speaker C: All right, well, before we go, guys, do you have any final thoughts or reflections on 10 years? I don't mean final as in, oh, man, we're gonna be euthanized after this or anything like that. Ten years, It's a really long time. If that was a kid, we could leave them at home without a babysitter. That's a big deal. [00:56:40] Speaker E: I mean. Yeah, I was just gonna say we were just talking amongst ourselves. This decade's been a whopper, too. A lot has happened. So let's pray for just the most boring 10 years coming up. Let us not live an interest. [00:56:58] Speaker B: We'll do what we can with our podcast to make the next 10 years very boring. [00:57:03] Speaker A: Yeah, I regret that on day one, we didn't say, let's do a podcast once a month. [00:57:16] Speaker E: Hilarious. [00:57:18] Speaker C: I do want to say it has really been a joy working with all of you. Working with you guys, working with Shannon in the live shows and as a guest at this point, I have done a lot of work with a lot of different actors and collaborators, and it is just effortless with you guys. We barely have to plan anything. As you can tell, we divide everything up almost instinctually. Everyone does what they're the best at, and it all comes together. Yes. We've been together for 10 years, so occasionally it's like, are we married? We bicker over the dumbest things imaginable. Eric and I had a small tiff over whether the poster should be presented, unfolded, or folded, and I was like, are we gonna have to kiss and make up? It's gonna be really awkward. But that is what's so great. It's just all natural, all of it. And I love y'. [00:58:19] Speaker D: All. [00:58:19] Speaker B: Thank you for none of you saying they should have been unfolded. [00:58:25] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:58:25] Speaker A: So if you don't like your posters rolled. Yeah, you know what? And you know what's so funny about that? Like, no, don't roll those, because I [00:58:36] Speaker C: didn't want to do it, and I knew you didn't. See, we're married. [00:58:40] Speaker E: See, they're married. [00:58:42] Speaker A: I just didn't want to do it. They can roll their own damn flowsters. [00:58:51] Speaker C: That's the great thing about radio. [00:58:54] Speaker D: There we go. [00:58:55] Speaker A: Is that how you kiss? [00:58:56] Speaker C: It's how I kiss. I'm so. [00:58:57] Speaker A: Suck, suck, suck, suck. [00:58:58] Speaker E: I need a lozenge. [00:59:01] Speaker C: Oh, now I can read your mind. [00:59:03] Speaker E: Oh, no. [00:59:04] Speaker C: Oh, [00:59:07] Speaker A: Tim, tell him stuff. [00:59:09] Speaker B: Please go visit ghoulishdelights.com home of this podcast. You'll find other episodes there. We've got like 400 plus of these right now, and it's only gonna be more. Oh, my God. You'll also find links to our swag store. [00:59:21] Speaker D: You. [00:59:21] Speaker B: You can buy some stuff with our logo on it, because who doesn't like our logo? That was a little bit of a pause there, guys. [00:59:30] Speaker C: Yeah, it was touch and go for a second. Like, is it a rolled up logo or is it flat? [00:59:36] Speaker B: And you also find a link to our Patreon page. [00:59:39] Speaker C: Yes. [00:59:40] Speaker D: Yay. [00:59:41] Speaker C: You know, thank you. I think it was Virginia Woolf who said, podcasting is a lot like sex. First you do it for love, then for your friends, then for money. So go to patreon.com themorals and give us money support this podcast. 10 Years is a long time. And we appreciate in all seriousness everyone who does support this podcast. The. The wonderful people who came from outside of the state to visit us here. Very excited. And if you aren't a member of Patreon, I think the biggest perk is just this community. So I really think you guys are all wonderful. It's fun to hang out with you. It is never a burden, and it is surprisingly unweird. So thank you. [01:00:35] Speaker B: The strange Dr. Unweird. [01:00:42] Speaker A: Is Virginia Woolf, the one that wrote that letter to Santa Claus. [01:00:48] Speaker E: We'll Google it, sweetie. [01:00:50] Speaker B: Okay, first you get presents for love. [01:00:53] Speaker A: The Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society is also a theater company. We perform live on stage recreations of classic old time radio shows and a lot of our own original work. In fact, we'll be doing that in about an hour. For all of you people right here at Crooners, if you would like to see us performing live, just go to ghoulishdelights.com and there you will see a list of where we're performing, what we're performing, and how to get tickets. We're performing somewhere almost all the time. And as of whatever this is, September of 2026, just. It's a nice time to announce this, but just yesterday we are signed through next year here at Crooners as very exciting. [01:01:34] Speaker E: Thank you, Crooners. [01:01:36] Speaker A: We're staying here. All right, what's coming up next? [01:01:40] Speaker C: Next is a recommendation from our Patreon pal, Jill again, who is here tonight. It comes from a series that, shockingly, we have never listened to or discussed in 10 years of doing this podcast. I can't believe it. It is dope versus the war effort from the Green Hornet. [01:02:00] Speaker D: Yeah. [01:02:02] Speaker C: Until then, Thank you everybody. [01:02:09] Speaker A: Thank you so much. [01:02:14] Speaker C: Welcome to Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society. [01:02:18] Speaker A: First broadcast October 1, 1939. [01:02:22] Speaker B: It's late at night. I bit my tongue. [01:02:27] Speaker A: I just said ubiquitous and I don't know what it means. [01:02:30] Speaker C: Good job. [01:02:32] Speaker A: So it's not a classic, but I like the idea and I like how it was. [01:02:42] Speaker B: Ubiquitous. [01:02:48] Speaker A: It's late at night and a chill has set in. You're alone but the only light you see is coming from an antique radio. Listen to the music coming from your voices that's not right. [01:03:04] Speaker C: Listen to the sound coming out your face hole. [01:03:09] Speaker B: Candy Matson, Yukon 28209. I got that right surprise myself there. [01:03:19] Speaker C: You want metal, you got one. [01:03:24] Speaker B: Candy Matson, Yukon 28209. I keep assuming I got it wrong. Candymats in Yukon 28209 premiered June 30th, 1949 on NBC West Coda. [01:03:37] Speaker E: Phil. [01:03:40] Speaker C: That was the easy part. Wonder Woman. They were those things you watched and you didn't really enjoy them, but you [01:03:46] Speaker A: only had four choices. [01:03:47] Speaker D: Yeah. [01:03:48] Speaker A: So you watched them. [01:03:49] Speaker B: Yeah. This sucks. [01:03:50] Speaker C: But it's better than Love Boat. [01:03:51] Speaker A: Right? [01:03:52] Speaker C: We just had to take what they served up and like it. There's also just like Linda Carter and you're like, something's happening to me. What is it? [01:04:03] Speaker A: Summer nights. The, you know, the, you know, the memories that create a literally physical visceral. [01:04:10] Speaker D: Yeah. [01:04:11] Speaker C: Linda. [01:04:14] Speaker A: Coming in from a Sunday in the summer and it's dusk or starting to get dusk and you've been playing all day and now it's time to sit down and watch television. And it was the first thing I did on Sunday nights was sit down at 7 o' clock. And they started the Wide World of Disney. And it worked like this okay. Thing. And she flies around the castle. What is it? Not Kirk Tipples. [01:04:45] Speaker B: Redfern Grow. [01:04:46] Speaker C: Oh, it was Redfern Grow. Never cartoons. I didn't. [01:04:50] Speaker A: From Witch Mountain. Yeah, but if it was cartoons. Thank you. Just all just play cartoons. [01:04:57] Speaker D: You. [01:05:02] Speaker B: Another T shirt for you. [01:05:04] Speaker C: You imagine 10 year old Eric smoking a cigarette, throwing a beer can at the tv. Play some cartoons. [01:05:11] Speaker E: You [01:05:14] Speaker D: boy. [01:05:15] Speaker A: Welcome back. Cotter. Do yourself a favor. Start a stopwatch. Pick any episode. See how far you can get before you. I can't do this anymore. It's about four minutes. And you're like, what is this? It is so lazy. It is so terrible. Like, like I get so mad at it. [01:05:37] Speaker C: Like, oh, ooh, ooh. [01:05:38] Speaker E: Yeah. [01:05:38] Speaker A: Right. [01:05:39] Speaker C: Over and over. [01:05:41] Speaker B: Like the Hollywood just hi there culture of cocaine addiction. [01:05:45] Speaker E: Right? [01:05:45] Speaker B: That is. What do I need to do to get more drugs? [01:05:48] Speaker A: What are we doing now? [01:05:49] Speaker C: Yeah, I need more drugs. We have four minutes of that recorded sound. [01:05:53] Speaker A: Nice. [01:05:54] Speaker C: Probably end up on some outtakes. [01:05:56] Speaker A: What is next? [01:05:58] Speaker C: Hold on, I gotta look up our requests. [01:06:00] Speaker B: Lawrence of Arabia from Herwitz Cage. [01:06:05] Speaker A: Tarzan. It's late at night and a chill has set in. Are we re recording? Okay. [01:06:15] Speaker C: Keep going. [01:06:17] Speaker A: And the only light you see is coming from your antique radio. [01:06:23] Speaker D: Oh, oh, oh, oh. [01:06:26] Speaker C: I now can't keep a straight face. Many actors portrayed Johnny Dollar over the program's 12 year run. The very first Dick Powell. I like this as a single [01:06:38] Speaker A: Dick Pow. [01:06:41] Speaker B: Welcome to Watery Old Massage Listening Society. [01:06:47] Speaker A: This is a classic. [01:06:48] Speaker B: When I strangle myself and pass out, that same sort of thing happens. [01:06:52] Speaker A: Things Michael Hutchins might say. Is that too soon? [01:06:57] Speaker C: I really like Michael Hutchins. [01:07:02] Speaker A: Gonna edit that or put that on the end. [01:07:05] Speaker C: Oh, it's gonna be sad no matter where it lands. [01:07:09] Speaker A: What about the kung fu guy? What was his name? He did the same thing. David Carradine. [01:07:14] Speaker C: David Carrading? [01:07:15] Speaker A: Yeah. Oh, this is so edited. [01:07:18] Speaker C: This is so good. Like the whole erotic fixation tangent. How is this not making it into the podcast? [01:07:28] Speaker B: It's late at night, you can't find your wallet. This guy at the bar won't stop talking to you. Do I know this guy? [01:07:35] Speaker A: You're at Perkins. What's coming up next? It's the Whistler. It isn't. [01:07:45] Speaker D: No. [01:07:45] Speaker A: Or the Mysterious Traveler. Same show. [01:07:49] Speaker C: Wow. [01:07:52] Speaker A: Give me some Petri wine. It's a song I wrote for you, Tim. [01:08:02] Speaker B: It's beautiful. Thank you. [01:08:02] Speaker A: Zip, zip.