In honor of Dick Powell's November 14th birthday, we're saluting the singing star with some of his old time radio performances. First, he plays private investigator Richard Rogue in "Little Old Lady" from Rogue's Gallery (originally aired on Mutual on November 29, 1945). Then, he's radio's crooning crimefighter Richard Diamond, Private Detective in a pair of episodes: "The Tom Waxman Bombing" (originally aired on NBC on June 26, 1949) and "Death and the Letter" (originally aired on NBC on November 8, 1950).  Finally, he recreates one of his big screen roles, alongside co-star Lee J. Cobb, as The Lux Radio Theatre presents "Johnny O'Clock" (originally aired on CBS on May 12, 1947).

Not all radio detectives carried a badge or a private eye's license. Some were amateur sleuths who dabbled in deduction in addition to their day jobs, and we'll hear a collection of those crimesolvers and their adventures. Walter Hampden stars as Leonidas Witherall - professor, author, dead ringer for Shakespeare, and amateur detective - in "Murder at the State Fair" (originally aired on Mutual on September 24, 1944). Gale Gordon is San Francisco importer and detective Gregory Hood in "The Forgetful Murderer" (originally aired on Mutual on July 29, 1946). Alan Ladd is mystery writer Dan Holiday, who seeks adventures to fuel the plots of his stories, in "Killer at Large," a syndicated episode of Box 13. And finally, Joseph Curtin and Alice Frost are book publisher Jerry North and his wife Pam, and their idea of a date night involves stumbling over a dead body. We'll hear "The Premature Corpse," an Armed Forces Radio Service rebroadcast of Mr. and Mrs. North (originally aired on CBS on February 12, 1952).

As summer draws to a close with Labor Day weekend, enjoy this encore broadcast featuring Bob Bailey as Johnny Dollar in episodes where "the man with the action-packed expense account" tries to take some time off from insurance investigating...and finds mystery waiting for him wherever he goes. We'll hear him in "The Lamarr Matter," a five-part adventure (originally aired on CBS between March 26 and March 30, 1956) and "The Ideal Vacation Matter" (originally aired on CBS on September 22, 1957).

Happy Valentine's Day! No matter how - or if - you're celebrating this February 14th, hopefully you'll enjoy this quartet of Valentine's comedies from the golden age of radio. We'll hear Fibber McGee and Molly (originally aired on NBC on February 10, 1942), My Favorite Husband (originally aired on CBS on February 11, 1949), The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show (originally aired on NBC on February 13, 1949), and Our Miss Brooks (originally aired on CBS on February 19, 1950).

In this bonus episode, we're walking the Night Beat with reporter Randy Stone in my five favorite episodes of this fantastic radio drama series. Frank Lovejoy stars as Stone, always looking for stories for his newspaper column and always ready to help people in need. We'll hear the show's first episode ("Zero," originally aired on NBC on February 6, 1950), where he helps a woman track down a man before he takes his own life, and a meeting with an unusual man who claims to have a sinister super power ("I Wish You Were Dead," originally aired on May 22, 1950). Randy meets a faded college football star in trouble with the mob ("The Football Player and the Syndicate," originally aired on NBC on June 12, 1950), and he dials a random phone number to find a woman in danger ("The City at Your Fingertips," originally aired on NBC on July 31, 1950). Finally, Randy and the police hunt for a contaminated case of butter that could unleash typhoid on the Windy City ("A Case of Butter," originally aired on NBC on September 25, 1950).

Love is in the air, but in these old time radio mysteries romance leads to violence. First, Marlene Dietrich's boyfriend takes the rap for a murder she committed in "The Lady from the Sea" from The Philip Morris Playhouse (originally aired on CBS on March 11, 1949). Next, as Ranger Jayce Pearson, Joel McCrea hunts an armed robber who targets couples in Lover's Lane in "Nighthawk" (originally aired on NBC on March 30, 1952). Finally, we'll head back to England in 1684 for "John & Judith - Their Crime, and Why They Didn't Get to Enjoy It," a true story of love and murder from Crime Classics (originally aired on CBS on December 16, 1953).

Old time radio fans will recognize some of their favorite performers' voices popping up in classic Disney films, and today we'll hear three of those stars in radio mysteries. Before she was Cruella de Vil in One Hundred and One Dalmatians, Betty Lou Gerson was a faded movie star who plans to marry into money in "The Girl Next Door" from The Whistler (originally aired on CBS on August 20, 1947). And years before he menaced Peter Pan as Captain Hook, Hans Conried played Sam Spade's client - a butler whose employers have a house full of secrets - in "The Bouncing Betty Caper" (an AFRS rebroadcast from December 12, 1948). Finally, you can still hear Paul Frees as the "Ghost Host" of the Haunted Mansion, and we'll also enjoy his performance as an eccentric poet in "The Cloak of Kamehameha" from The Adventures of Philip Marlowe (originally aired on CBS on April 23, 1949).

Extra, extra! It's an above the fold bonus podcast where I share my favorite episodes of Casey, Crime Photographer. Casey chases crooks and a great picture for the front page of his paper in these five radio mysteries. First, it's a case of mistaken and identity and murder in "The Red Raincoat" (originally aired on CBS on August 29, 1946) and a killer on the loose in "Death in Lover's Lane" (originally aired on CBS on August 7, 1947). A criminal spares a woman's life and wins her heart in "The Chivalrous Gunman" (originally aired on CBS on August 14, 1947) and Casey meets an aspiring crime photographer in "The Camera Bug" (originally aired on CBS on October 16, 1947). Finally, Casey tries to clear a woman of fraud charges in "The Blonde's Lipstick" (originally aired on CBS on November 6, 1947).

Children (and mystery fans) of all ages - join us this week for a quartet of old time radio capers set at the circus. First, a lion tamer is caught in a lethal love triangle in "Serenade Macabre" from Crime Club (originally aired on Mutual on July 24, 1947). Next, Bob Bailey is hired to protect a trapeze artist who's receiving threats in "A Piece of Publicity" from Let George Do It (originally aired on Mutual on June 14, 1948). A trip to the circus leads Bulldog Drummond to "Death Under the Big Top" (originally aired on Mutual on July 7, 1948), and Orson Welles hunts a war criminal in "Harry Joins the Circus" from The Lives of Harry Lime.

These spiritulaists can't really communicate with the world beyond our own, but they do manage to inspire a trio of old time radio mysteries where our detective heroes must contend with some mediums who aren't well done. First, Jeff Regan is hired to protect a psychic consultant in "The Man Who Lived by the Sea," (originally aired on CBS on December 18, 1948). Then, IRchard Diamond must expose a phony mentalist who's bilking a family out of their fortune (originally aired on NBC on September 10, 1949). And finally, Paul Frees - a man of a thousand voices - stars as Mr. Aladdin - "the man who can do anything" who is hired by a woman who suspects her late husband is back in canine form in "The Miracle of the Four-Legged Husband" (originally aired on CBS on September 9, 1951).

To kick off 2024, we're hitting the road with three old time radio mysteries centered on cars. First, Boston Blackie investigates a ring of car thieves after his girlfriend's wheels are swiped in a syndicated mystery starring Richard Kollmar. Next, the cops hunt a hit-and-run killer in The Line-Up (originally aired on CBS on August 3, 1950). Finally, Jack Webb is on the trail of a gang that strips cars for their parts in "The Big Paint" from Dragnet (originally aired on NBC on October 20, 1953).

It's Christmas with The Whistler as Down These Mean Streets signs off for 2023! Radio's celebrated sinister storyteller - played by Bill Forman - narrates a quartet of mysteries set against a holiday backdrop. We'll hear "Christmas Bonus" (originally aired on CBS on December 25, 1944), "Letter from Cynthia" (originally aired on CBS on December 25, 1949), "Three Wise Guys" (originally aired on CBS on December 24, 1950), and "Christmas Gift" (originally aired on CBS on December 23, 1951).

We need a little Christmas - and some Christmas mysteries! To celebrate the season, I'm sharing more of my favorite holiday adventures of old time radio detectives. Dr. Watson dresses as Santa and Sherlock Holmes thwarts a robbery in "The Night Before Christmas," with Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce in The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (originally aired on Mutual on December 24, 1945). On Casey, Crime Photographer, our hero spies a pickpocket at a department store and discovers a case of kidnapping and murder in "Christmas Shopping" (originally aired on CBS on December 19, 1946). Boston Blackie tries to catch a jewel thief on Christmas Eve in a syndicated mystery, and Candy Matson is hired to find one of Santa's helpers who's gone missing in "Jack Frost" (originally aired on NBC on December 10, 1949). Finally, Charles Russell is "the man with the action-packed expense account" in "Small Time Swindles of Big Time Department Stores, or How I Played Santa Claus and Almost Got Left Holding the Sack" from Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar (originally aired on CBS on December 24, 1949).

We leave the mean streets of the big cities behind and join four radio detectives in western-themed mysteries - stories of cowboys, horses, cattle, and the wide open spaces. Philip Marlowe hunts for a killer on a dude ranch in "The Dude from Manhattan" (originally aired on CBS on July 2, 1949), and Richard Diamond heads to Oklahoma to prove an accidental death was a well-staged murder in "The Hatpin Murder Case" (originally aired on NBC on September 27, 1950). The Saint tries to keep a visiting cattleman alive during a visit to the Big Apple in "Death of a Cowboy" (originally aired on NBC on July 1, 1951), and Rocky Fortune gets a job - and a murder rap - in "The Rodeo Murder" (originally aired on NBC on January 12, 1954).

It's a birthday month tribute to Oscar-nominated actor Sydney Greenstreet. He made his film debut as the heavy in The Maltese Falcon, and he'd go on to appear in Casablanca, Christmas in Connecticut, and many more. He also spent a year starring on radio as Rex Stout's "gargantuan gourmet," Nero Wolfe. We'll hear him as Wolfe in "The Case of the Disappearing Diamonds" (originally aired on NBC on March 9, 1951) and "A Slight Case of Perjury" (originally aired on NBC on April 6, 1951). Plus, Greenstreet reunites with Peter Lorre as they recreate their roles from The Mask of Dimitrios on The Lady Esther Screen Guild Theatre (originally aired on CBS on April 16, 1945).

To some, it's just a pocketful of change, but in these three old time radio mysteries, coins play central parts in the crimes. First, Philip Marlowe hunts for a coin worth a cool $37,000 in "The Collector's Item" (originally aired on CBS on August 25, 1950). Then, Orson Welles tells how a single shilling was tied to a murder in a syndicated Scotland Yard story from The Black Museum. Finally, Bob Bailey stars as Johnny Dollar in a case involving Civil War currency - "The Confederate Coinage Matter" (AFRS rebroadcast; originally aired on CBS on July 28, 1957).

Note: No intro today but hopefully back soon. Thanks for your patience!

Before the pre-holiday shopping weekend comes to a close, here's Jack Webb as Sgt. Joe Friday in three authentic police histories from Dragnet. First, Friday is on the trail of a kleptomaniac in "The Big Shoplift" (originally aired on NBC on October 11, 1951). Then, a safecracker eludes the police in "The Big Safe" (originally aired on NBC on May 1, 1952). Finally, a missing body complicates an armed robbery investigation in "The Big Gone" (originally aired on NBC on November 30, 1954).

Happy Thanksgiving! As you hit the road, catch a flight, or start prepping the bird, enjoy five old time radio Turkey Day mysteries. First, Casey, Crime Photographer works to clear an ex-con framed for robbery in "After Turkey, the Bill" (originally aired on CBS on November 27, 1947). Then, Jack Webb encounters a modern-day Miles Standish and a turkey shoot more dangerous for man than bird in "The Pilgrim's Progress" from Jeff Regan, Investigator (originally aired on CBS on November 13, 1948). We're back in Casey country for "Holiday" (originally aired on CBS on November 25, 1948) and Bob Bailey stars in "Cause for Thanksgiving" from Let George Do It (originally aired on Mutual on November 20, 1950). Finally, Steve Dunne stars as Sam Spade and helps save a Tom Turkey who walks on two legs in "The Terrified Turkey Caper" (originally aired on NBC on November 24, 1950). Plus - special musical appearances by Jack Benny and Stan Freberg!

Note: Tis the season. My voice is gone thanks to allergies so no intro this time around!

We're going bananas this week with three old time radio mysteries featuring chimps along with clues and crimes. First, Philip Marlowe looks for an English butler who walks on his knuckles in "The Monkey's Uncle" (originally aired on CBS on March 7, 1950). Then, Simon Templar is saddled with a simian sidekick in "The Chiseling Chimpanzee" from The Saint (originally aired on NBC on December 10, 1950). Finally, Frank Sinatra is asked to serve as bodyguard for a chimp TV star - and later has to find the little guy when he's kidnapped in "Companion to a Chimp" from Rocky Fortune (originally aired on December 15, 1953).

In this bonus show, I'm sharing my five favorite episodes of Frank Sinatra trading crooning for crimesolving in Rocky Fortune. Ol' Blue Eyes starred in this short-lived series as a "footloose and fancy-free young gentleman" bouncing from job to job and finding mystery and murder wherever he landed. We'll hear Mr. Fortune as a cruise ship steward in "The Shipboard Jewel Robbery" (originally aired on NBC on October 20, 1953) and as the minder for a drunk theatre critic in "Murder on the Aisle" (originally aired on NBC on November 24, 1953). He tries not to get lassoed for a crime he didn't commit in "The Rodeo Murder" (originally aired on NBC on January 12, 1954) and he finds a fresh body in a sarcophagus in "The Museum Murder" (originally aired on NBC on January 19, 1954). Finally, Rocky is behind the wheel of a truck hauling nitro in "Hollywood or Boom" (originally aired on NBC on January 26, 1954).

The heat is on with three old time radio cases of arson. First, Boston Blackie investigates a convoluted case of a love triangle, a torched building, and murder. Then, it's "The Case of the Arrogant Arsonist," an adventure from Counterspy (originally aired on ABC on September 16, 1949) that finds government agent David Harding hunting an ex-Nazi working as a firebug in the US of A. Finally, John Lund stars as "the man with the action-packed expense account" in "The Lester Matson Matter" from Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar (AFRS rebroadcast; originally aired on September 8, 1953).

Danger comes in pairs in this week's quartet old time radio mysteries involving identical twins and dopplegangers. First, a gangster uses a lookalike drifter to create an "Alibi for Murder" on The Mollé Mystery Theatre (originally aired on NBC on March 22, 1946). Next, a pair of twin foals leads to a plot to fix races in "The Big Gamble" from The Whistler (originally aired on CBS on October 3, 1948). Finally, we'll hear Bob Bailey in two shows. First, he's George Valentine in Hawaii investigating a case of twin sister trouble in "Journey Into Hate" from Let George Do It (originally aired on Mutual on February 21, 1949), and then he's Johnny Dollar looking for a missing heir in "The Twisted Twin Matter" (originally aired on CBS on August 21, 1960).

With Halloween only a few days away, the sleuthing turns spooky with old time radio mysteries involving mummies. First, The Green Hornet discovers a murder in a museum, a missing ruby, and a sarcophagus crime scene in "Revenge for Melakim" (originally aired on ABC on June 15, 1944). Next, a fresh body is found in the place of a mummy in "Murder Makes a Mummy" from Crime Club (originally aired on ABC on May 29, 1947), and then William Gargan gets a mummy delivered to his office - along with a visit from an Egyptian princess - in "Never Murder a Mummy" from Barrie Craig, Confidential Investigator (originally aired on NBC on March 30, 1955).

The moon is full, there's a chill in the air, and everything smells like pumpkin spice. It's time for the annual Down These Mean Streets spooktacular special! We're trick-or-treating through the golden age of radio with eight shows that will get you in the Halloween spirit. First, Orson Welles goes for a drive in "The Hitch-hiker" from Suspense (originally aired on CBS on September 2, 1942), and Jack Benny and Harold Peary as The Great Gildersleeve each attend Halloween parties (originally aired on NBC on October 29, 1939 and October 31, 1943). We'll learn about real-life psychic phenomena in "Report on E.S.P" from The CBS Radio Workshop (originally aired on CBS on March 9, 1956) and we'll witness a small town's dark tradition in Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" from NBC Presents Short Story (originally aired on NBC on March 14, 1951). Abbott and Costello pay a visit to Peter Lorre's sanitarium (originally aired on NBC on January 13, 1944) and a recently departed soul learns the ropes in "Good Ghost," a darkly comedic tale from Quiet Please (originally aired on ABC on October 28, 1948). Finally, the world's greatest detective hunts for a supernatural suspect in "The Sussex Vampire" from The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (originally aired on Mutual on December 14, 1947).

As summer winds down and students head back to school, we'll join some radio detectives as they tackle cases on college campuses. Michael Shayne looks for a peeping Tom turned murderer in "The Return to Huxley College" (originally aired on Mutual on November 5, 1946), and mystery writer and amateur sleuth Dan Holiday tries to help an old friend figure out how a colleague died in "The Professor and the Puzzle" from Box 13. A murderer is supposedly dead, but someone's spotted him on campus and it's up to Richard Diamond, Private Detective to find him in "The Martin White Case" (originally aired on NBC on January 22, 1950). And The Saint returns to his alma mater to find the author of some poison pen letters before his works turn deadly in "Simon Carries the Ivy" (originally aired on NBC on April 1, 1951).

Hold on to your wallets when you're around the smooth-talking con artists and swindlers in this week's show. Fortunately, some dogged radio detectives are also on hand to stop these scammers in their tracks. We'll hear "The Case of the Bookworm" from Bunco Squad (originally aired on CBS on April 20, 1952). Then, Sgt. Joe Friday tracks down a phony investment guru in "The Big Bunco" from Dragnet (originally aired on NBC on April 17, 1952), and on The Line-Up, Lt. Ben Guthrie pursues a crook preying on families of deceased soldiers in "The Buggered Bunco Boys" (originally aired on CBS on November 12, 1952).

It's time to match your powers of deduction against those of Ellery Queen and see if you can solve three baffling radio mysteries before he reveals the solutions. We'll hear the brilliant sleuth in "The Adventure of the Circus Train" (originally aired on NBC on March 28, 1943); "The Adventure of the Mischief Maker" (originally aired on NBC on January 15, 1944); and "The Three Frogs" (originally aired on ABC on April 29, 1948). Plus, some sixty-second Ellery Queen radio mysteries with quick puzzles for your sleuthing pleasure!

Ante up for three radio mysteries involving gamblers and the sometimes deadly bets they make. First, a pet shop owner is killed when he refuses to offer his store as a front for a gambling ring in Boston Blackie. Then, a real-life Chicago reporter cracks the case of a poker game that ends in murder on The Big Story (originally aired on NBC on April 4, 1951). And finally, Sgt. Joe Friday hunts for floating games in the City of Angels in "The Big Gamble" from Dragnet (originally aired on NBC on May 8, 1952).

It's a concert of crime in this week's episode, as two radio detectives tackle cases in the music world. First, Simon Templar investigates when a pianist is shot and killed at the keys. Vincent Price stars in "A Sonata for Slayers" from The Saint (originally aired on NBC on June 18, 1950). Then, Bob Bailey stars as Johnny Dollar in "The Ricardo Amerigo Matter," where "America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator" hunts for a missing violinist and his violin (originally aired on CBS between January 16 and January 20, 1956).

Hercule Poirot - Agatha Christie's brilliant Belgian sleuth - is back on the big screen in A Haunting in Venice. To celebrate his return, we'll hear three old time radio adventures of Poirot starring Harold Huber as the detective. We'll hear "Death in the Golden Gate" (originally aired on Mutual on May 17, 1945), "The Adventure of the Money Mad Ghoul" (originally aired on Mutual on September 13, 1945) and the series' audition episode "The Case of the Roving Corpse."

Actor Alan Ladd was born 110 years ago this month, and we're celebrating his life and career with four of his old time radio appearances. He plays mystery writer and amateur gumshoe Dan Holiday in "Diamond in the Sky" and "The Professor and the Puzzle," a pair of syndicated adventures from Box 13. Plus, he recreates his big screen role (and reunites with Veronica Lake) in The Blue Dahlia from The Screen Guild Theatre (originally aired on NBC on April 21, 1949) and he steps into the shoes of Walter Neff in Double Indemnity from Hollywood Star Time (originally aired on CBS on June 22, 1946).

It's time to sharpen those pencils and hit the books with four radio mysteries set in and around the classroom. First, a chemistry professor tries a blackmail experiment in "Hasty Conclusion" from The Whistler (originally aired on CBS on May 19, 1947) and Philip Marlowe's latest client is a Nebraska schoolteacher caught up in mystery and murder in "The Rustin Hickory" (originally aired on CBS on September 10, 1949). Then, Dana Andrews tries to thwart a Commie plot to infiltrate a college campus in "Little Red Schoolhouse" from I Was a Communist for the FBI and Joe Friday goes back to school to find an assailant targeting students in "The Big Knife" from Dragnet (originally aired on NBC on May 11, 1950).

In this bonus show, I'm opening the mail and picking out my five favorite episodes of Box 13. Alan Ladd stars as mystery writer and amateur detective Dan Holiday who finds his clients - and his story ideas - through a clever classified ad offering his services as an adventurer for hire. First, Holiday is hired to pose as a fiance in "Look Pleasant, Please" and he's pressed into a citywide scavenger hunt alongside a killer in "The Better Man." He works to save an innocent man from execution in "Hunt and Peck" and expose a cadre of crooked gamblers in "Much Too Lucky." Finally, a weekend getaway lands Holiday in the middle of a bitter family reunion and a series of dangerous practical jokes in "Death is No Joke."

Crime takes a dive in this week's episode of old time radio mysteries involving submarines, salvage divers, and the mysterious ocean floor. First, a love triangle leads to death at sea in "Dark Voyage" from The Whistler (originally aired on CBS on April 9, 1950). Then, Herbert Marshall hunts for a submarine targeting ships off India as The Man Called X (originally aired on NBC on February 3, 1951). And finally, G-men are on the job when a Nazi submarine drops off enemy agents in "The Saboteurs" (originally aired on ABC on March 30, 1951).

Danger flies high today with three old time radio mysteres involving airplanes. First, Frank Race is hired to deliver the plans for a million-dollar aircraft in the syndicated story "The Airborne Adventure." Next, Philip Marlowe's latest case leads to a team of daredevil skydivers and a deadly accident in "The Birds on the Wing" (originally aired on CBS on November 26, 1949). And finally, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. stars as a government agent hunting for the person who stowed a time bomb aboard a plane in "The Big Kill" from The Silent Men (originally aired on NBC on February 3, 1952).

We're riding along with some of old time radio's hardest working cops as we kick off Season 13 of Down These Mean Streets! Sgt. Joe Friday hunts for a hold-up man who resorted to murder in "The Big Smart Guy" from Dragnet (originally aired on NBC on June 8, 1950). In Broadway is My Beat, Det. Danny Clover investigates when a piano player is killed at the keys in an episode known as "The Harry Brett Murder Case" (originally aired on CBS on July 31, 1950). Joel McCrea saddles up to find a murderer in "The Hatchet" from Tales of the Texas Rangers (originally aired on NBC on February 11, 1951). And Lt. Guthrie and Sgt. Grebb track a killer after an argument ends with a knifing in "The Jolted Justice Job Case" from The Line-Up (originally aired on CBS on November 1, 1951).

The world of art and artists provides the backdrop for our four old time radio mysteries. First, Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce are Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson hunt for a stolen painting in "The Girl with the Gazelle" from The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (originally aired on Mutual on March 25, 1946). Next, an artist's sketch leads to a new adventure for Rocky Jordan in "Portrait of Rocky" (originally aired on CBS on April 3, 1949). Edmond O'Brien is on the case of a $250,000 art gallery heist in "The Missing Masterpiece" from Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar (originally aired on CBS on March 28, 1950). And finally, a forged painting leads to a new case for Mr. and Mrs. North in "Collector's Item" (AFRS rebroadcast from February 9, 1954).

It's an explosive adventure for the Man of Steel as he tries to thwart a plot by foreign spies. This adventure originally aired between April 21 and May 9, 1941. 

That's the bell, and we're underway with four old time radio mysteries set in and around the world of boxing. First, a fight fixer winds up dead in "Death is a Knock-out" from Crime Club (originally aired on Mutual on June 12, 1947).  Frank Race investigates when a boxer dies in the ring in the syndicated mystery "The Adventure of the Fourth Round Knock-Out," and The Falcon solves "The Case of the Bellicose Boxer" (originally aired on NBC on January 28, 1951). Finally, Detective Danny Clover tries to find out who left a boxer for dead in the river in "The Harry Brian Case" from Broadway is My Beat (originally aired on CBS on July 11, 1953).

Magicians may be able to fool an audience, but they can't fool these old time radio detectives. We'll hear four mysteries involving illusions, prestidigitation, and sleight of hand along with murder. First, a real-life magician is the inspiration for Blackstone, The Magic Detective and the mystery of "The Icy Touch" (originally aired on Mutual on December 5, 1948). Then, mystery writer and amateur sleuth Barton Drake finds murder at a magic show in Mystery is My Hobby. Philo Vance hunts for the killer of a magician in "The Magic Murder Case" and a competition between magicians turns deadly in "The Case of the Magic Rope" on Nick Carter, Master Detective (originally aired on Mutual on March 21, 1948).

Clark Kent and Jimmy Olsen set sail on the final voyage of the "Last of the Clipper Ships" and Superman finds adventure at sea in this serialized adventure that originally aired between March 5 and April 18, 1941).

Superman and the rest of the Daily Planet gang are on the hunt for a set of jade dragon's teeth - a set that when combined could hold the secrets to immortality in this ten-part radio adventure of the Man of Steel (originally aired between February 10 and March 3, 1941).

Say cheese! Our heroes in this week's episode are solving mysteries involving photographers and the photos they've taken. First, Casey, Crime Photographer hunts for picture-perfect proof of a killer's identity in "Murder in Black and White" (originally aired on CBS on March 18, 1948). Then, a nightclub photographer is marked for death in Richard Diamond, Private Detective (originally aired on NBC on August 9, 1949). And finally, George Valentine is tricked into a blackmail scheme where the blackmailer ends up dead in "Picture with a Black Frame" from Let George Do It (originally aired on Mutual on May 8, 1950).

Is an Egyptian god out for revenge against the adventurer who violated his tomb? Superman faces off against a cult and tries to find the Black Pearl of Osiris in all eleven chapters of this radio serial (originally aired between January 15 and February 7, 1941).

The show has gone to the dogs! Bob Bailey stars as Johnny Dollar - "the man with the action-packed expense account" - solve a pair of crimes involving man's best friend. First, he has to guard a show dog whose previous bodyguards met with foul play in "The Laird Douglas-Douglas of Heatherscote Matter" (originally aired on CBS between April 9 and April 13, 1956). Then, Dollar is hired to recover a dognapped pooch in "The Alvin's Alfred Matter" (originally aired on CBS on February 21, 1960).

What mysterious force is causing accidents in an oil field? An old friend of Perry White's needs help and the editor sends Clark Kent and Jimmy Olsen to investigate in the fourteen-part adventure of "The Howling Coyote" (originally aired between December 13, 1940 and January 13, 1941).

It all comes down to this - the final fight between Superman and the Atom Man! The kryptonite-fueled Nazi agent threatens to wipe Metropolis off the map on his march toward world conquest. Can the Man of Steel defeat him and save the day? Find out in these episodes that originally aired on Mutual between November 19 and December 3, 1945.

Our heroes this week encounter elements of the old west in the strangest places. First up is "The Case of the Cowboy Killers" - a true crime tale from Gang Busters that pits police against a gang of robbers who are quick on the draw (originally aired on ABC on August 28, 1948). Next, real-life gunplay keeps Sam Spade from enjoying a western dime novel in "The Betrayal in Bumpass Hell," (AFRS rebroadcast from January 16, 1949). Then George Valentine is hired by a big screen cowboy star and winds up in a murder case in "Every Shot Counts" from Let George Do It (originally aired on Mutual on October 31, 1949). And finally, Joel McCrea uses old fashioned methods and modern policework in Tales of the Texas Rangers. We'll hear him as Ranger Jayce Pearson in "The Hatchet" (originally aired on NBC on February 11, 1951).

In this bonus show, Superman flies into action when a train carrying millions in gold vanishes from the tracks. We'll hear all eight exciting installments of "The Five Million Dollar Gold Heist" as they originally aired between November 25 and December 11, 1940.

Happy Fourth of July! We're celebrating America's birthday with some tales of murder and mystery pulled from the history books and dramatized on the outstanding anthology series Crime Classics. We'll hear "The Crime of Bathsheba Spooner" - the story of the first woman tried and executed in the United States (originally aired on CBS on June 15, 1953); the life and death of one of the west's most infamous outlaws in "Billy Bonney, Bloodletter: Also Known as 'The Kid'" (originally aired on CBS on October 21, 1953); and "The Bloody, Bloody Banks of Fall River," where Lizzie Borden took an axe (originally aired on CBS on September 30, 1953). Finally, the dastardly deeds of one of history's greatest rogues are presented in "His Own Reward" from The Whistler (originally aired on CBS on March 25, 1951).