2009 bombards people with screens; whether you’re picking up your phone, checking your mail, watching the news, going to a movie, or reading this blog, you likely encounter upwards of three screens everyday. So it’s good to take a break from modern technology, even if that means visiting Internet Archive to do so. Yes, it’s a Web site, but it also holds a plethora of entertainment from bygone years, including a large collection of old time radio shows.
Choose a radio show, hit play, and gently close your laptop or spin away from your desktop. Imagine that you’re pre-television and pre-internet, grab some coffee or tea, and enjoy the lost art of the radio show.
There are plenty to search through, but here are a few standouts:
A Case For Dr. Morelle: 12 episodes of the BBC classic from the 1950s about a criminologist psychologist. CSI fans, listen up.
Red Skelton: A timeless comedian from the 1930s and ’40s, this broadcast includes interesting Rollies Cigarette ads claiming that “medical science offers you proof positive no other cigarette is safer to smoke.”
Charlie Chan: A radio show documenting detective Charlie Chan, a Chinese-American who has the “wisdom of the east, science of the west.”
The Voyage of the Scarlet Queen: Deemed the Star Trek of old time radio, this radio show logs the adventures of the master and first mate of a ship traveling around the South Pacific.
Paul Temple: A 1942 broadcast of the BBC favorite, following the stories of Paul Temple and his wife, Steve, as they solve crimes.
WKBW Halloween Show: A much more contemporary show from 1973. This broadcast is from Halloween night, celebrating the 8th annual radio show broadcasting horror stories. This show kicks off the horror marathon with War of the Worlds.
–Cara Binder
