Legendary radio collector John Tefteller presents the best of mystery, comedy, horror, and adventure stories, produced by the greatest writers, directors, composers, and stars.
Episodes
5 hours ago
5 hours ago
Today, John Tefteller sits down with Jerry Haendiges, one of the true pioneers of vintage radio collecting and preservation. Jerry takes you back to the very beginning, when he was literally rescuing transcription discs from radio stations in 1965, back when a lot of places were just tossing them out. He talks about the formation of SPERDVAC (one of the major groups dedicated to saving radio drama), and why digitizing rare recordings matters, especially if we want younger listeners to ever discover this stuff. Jerry also breaks down how he went from collector to key player in syndicating classic radio to stations all over the U.S. We also play full broadcasts of The Shadow and Blondie, two of Jerry’s favorite shows.
Visit our website: https://goodolddaysofradio.com/
Subscribe to our Facebook Group for news, discussions, and the latest podcast: https://www.facebook.com/groups/881779245938297
Our theme music is "Why Am I So Romantic?" from Animal Crackers: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KHJKAKS/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_MK8MVCY4DVBAM8ZK39WD
6 days ago
6 days ago
This week, we continue our look at the brilliant and often overlooked series Crime Classics. Host John Tefteller is joined again by experts Karl Schadow and Steven C. Smith to spotlight the August 1953 episode "Your Loving Son, Nero." They dig into the “quadruple threat” talent of Elliott Lewis and the unforgettable music of Bernard Herrmann, who made a small ensemble sound like a full orchestra. Then we hear the episode itself, a darkly fascinating (and sometimes surprisingly funny) take on Emperor Nero and his relentless attempts to get rid of his mother, Agrippina.
Visit our website: https://goodolddaysofradio.com/
Subscribe to our Facebook Group for news, discussions, and the latest podcast: https://www.facebook.com/groups/881779245938297
Our theme music is "Why Am I So Romantic?" from Animal Crackers: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KHJKAKS/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_MK8MVCY4DVBAM8ZK39WD
Tuesday Mar 17, 2026
Tuesday Mar 17, 2026
Ready for a little St. Patrick’s Day time travel? Today we are bringing you a 1949 broadcast made for St. Patrick’s Day, hosted by Ray Milland and starring Edmund Gwenn as the storyteller. The story is a whimsical fable called “The Leprechaun Who Didn’t Listen,” and it follows Johnny, a young leprechaun (played by Alan Young) who just will not take advice from his elders or teachers… and keeps paying the price for it.
Visit our website: https://goodolddaysofradio.com/
Subscribe to our Facebook Group for news, discussions, and the latest podcast: https://www.facebook.com/groups/881779245938297
Our theme music is "Why Am I So Romantic?" from Animal Crackers: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KHJKAKS/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_MK8MVCY4DVBAM8ZK39WD
Thursday Mar 12, 2026
Thursday Mar 12, 2026
We’re kicking off a brand-new ten-week series, this time diving into the 1953 program Crime Classics. Host John Tefteller is joined by two guests, researcher Karl Schadow and biographer Steven C. Smith, to explore how producer Elliott Lewis created one of radio's most unique historical crime dramas, and how composer Bernard Herrmann managed to make it sound epic using only a handful of musicians. This week’s featured episode takes us back to Ancient Rome, 44 B.C., for a stylized retelling of the assassination of Julius Caesar. The story blends real history with just a hint of satire.
Visit our website: https://goodolddaysofradio.com/
Subscribe to our Facebook Group for news, discussions, and the latest podcast: https://www.facebook.com/groups/881779245938297
Our theme music is "Why Am I So Romantic?" from Animal Crackers: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KHJKAKS/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_MK8MVCY4DVBAM8ZK39WD
Tuesday Mar 10, 2026
Tuesday Mar 10, 2026
It’s time for some classic deadpan radio comedy served extra dry. Today we're bringing you two original Bob and Ray Show recordings from August 1951, played straight off vintage AFRS transcription discs. And if you’ve never heard Bob Elliott and Ray Goulding in their early days, this is the perfect intro. You’ll hear sketches like an “ad” for a dual-purpose swimming pool table, plus a fake Adult School of the Air lesson that explores what happens when you’re just… brutally honest all the time. Familiar characters like Mary McGoon and Tex show up too, getting into surreal conversations, including one about a completely nonsensical plan for a musical swim across New York Harbor. It’s sharp, weird, and quietly hilarious.
Visit our website: https://goodolddaysofradio.com/
Subscribe to our Facebook Group for news, discussions, and the latest podcast: https://www.facebook.com/groups/881779245938297
Our theme music is "Why Am I So Romantic?" from Animal Crackers: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KHJKAKS/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_MK8MVCY4DVBAM8ZK39WD
Thursday Mar 05, 2026
Thursday Mar 05, 2026
This is the final episode of Carlton E. Morse's Adventures By Morse syndicated radio serial, The Cobra King Strikes Back. And after 10 weeks of scary adventures in the Cambodia jungles, ancient temples, and gorillas and werewolves, it feels like a hard-earned rescue… but in this type of pulse-pounding, high-octane story, the relief never lasts long.
Visit our website: https://goodolddaysofradio.com/
Subscribe to our Facebook Group for news, discussions, and the latest podcast: https://www.facebook.com/groups/881779245938297
Our theme music is "Why Am I So Romantic?" from Animal Crackers: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KHJKAKS/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_MK8MVCY4DVBAM8ZK39WD
Tuesday Mar 03, 2026
Tuesday Mar 03, 2026
Today, host John Tefteller and radio historian Dr. Joe Webb uncover another rare find; a long-lost episode of the hit 1940s crime drama “Mr. District Attorney.” This one’s been missing for decades until recently discovered in a private collector’s stash. John and Dr. Webb go into the history behind the series and how it became one of the most popular crime shows of its time. They also talk about why so many East Coast programs from that era vanished.
Visit our website: https://goodolddaysofradio.com/
Subscribe to our Facebook Group for news, discussions, and the latest podcast: https://www.facebook.com/groups/881779245938297
Our theme music is "Why Am I So Romantic?" from Animal Crackers: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KHJKAKS/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_MK8MVCY4DVBAM8ZK39WD
Thursday Feb 26, 2026
Thursday Feb 26, 2026
We're nearing the end of our 10-part adventure Carlton E. Morse 1944 serial in the jungles of Cambodia today. In this chapter, Captain Friday and the crew make a desperate break for it, trying to escape an ancient temple that’s been taken over by a twisted priesthood of men who’ve become something far more savage than human. Their guide, Taquan, a man caught between Western learning and his own fading traditions, leads them through a hollow mountain using swaying suspension ladders, with the so-called “human wolves” closing in behind them.
Visit our website: https://goodolddaysofradio.com/
Subscribe to our Facebook Group for news, discussions, and the latest podcast: https://www.facebook.com/groups/881779245938297
Our theme music is "Why Am I So Romantic?" from Animal Crackers: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KHJKAKS/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_MK8MVCY4DVBAM8ZK39WD
Tuesday Feb 24, 2026
Tuesday Feb 24, 2026
It’s time to hang out with one of radio’s original troublemakers. In this episode, we’re spinning The Henry Morgan Show from May 16, 1950, hosted by the “bad boy of radio” himself, Henry Morgan. He’s sharp, irreverent, and famous for taking shots at pretty much everything… including his own sponsors (when he actually had them). Morgan’s joined by Art Carney and Arnold Stang, and the show's packed with sketches such as a send-up of personality tests, a bit about a Mother’s Day telegram, and a parody of over-the-top jungle adventure movies.
Visit our website: https://goodolddaysofradio.com/
Subscribe to our Facebook Group for news, discussions, and the latest podcast: https://www.facebook.com/groups/881779245938297
Our theme music is "Why Am I So Romantic?" from Animal Crackers: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KHJKAKS/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_MK8MVCY4DVBAM8ZK39WD
Thursday Feb 19, 2026
Thursday Feb 19, 2026
We've made it to chapter 8 of Carlton E. Morse's Adventures By Morse serial. Things get a lot darker as Captain Friday and the rest of the expedition are holed up inside a remote Cambodian temple, cut off from the outside world. As night falls, the conversation turns to local legends—stories of werewolves, human beasts, and ancient curses—made all the more unsettling by strange howls echoing through the jungle. Another pure pulp cliffhanger that leaves you hanging in the dark.
Visit our website: https://goodolddaysofradio.com/
Subscribe to our Facebook Group for news, discussions, and the latest podcast: https://www.facebook.com/groups/881779245938297
Our theme music is "Why Am I So Romantic?" from Animal Crackers: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KHJKAKS/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_MK8MVCY4DVBAM8ZK39WD