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Welcome to Down These Mean Streets, a weekly trip back to the Golden Age of Radio where we rub elbows with the era's greatest private eyes, cops, and crime-fighters. Since 2013, I've been podcasting everything from cozy mysteries to police procedurals, spotlighting characters ranging from hard boiled gumshoes to amateur sleuths. 

Be sure to tune in each Sunday for adventures of a radio detective and the behind-the-scenes stories of their shows. Join me as we spend time with Sam Spade, Johnny Dollar, Sgt. Joe Friday, and more!

Feb 12, 2023

With Valetine's Day right around the corner, we're celebrating with three crimesolving couples from the golden age of radio. First, in "A Crime to Fit the Punishment" from The Mollé Mystery Theatre, an amateur sleuth and his girlfriend investigate a strange case of blackmail (AFRS rebroadcast). Next, it's another...


Feb 5, 2023

This month, Philip Marlowe returns to the big screen with Liam Neeson starring as Raymond Chandler's Los Angeles gumshoe. To celebrate, I've picked three old time radio Marlowe mysteries with the great Gerald Mohr. We'll hear "The Restless Day" (originally aired on CBS on January 8, 1949), "The Headless Peacock"...


Jan 29, 2023

Not all radio detectives were cops or private eyes. There were several reporters who cracked cases while they filed stories and met deadlines, and today we'll hear some of their adventures. First, Casey, Crime Photographer comes to the aid of a man framed for murder in "The Laughing Killer" (originally aired on CBS on...


Jan 27, 2023

In this bonus episode, I'm sharing my five favorite detective stories from Suspense. Over its twenty year run, "radio's outstanding theater of thrills" presented many great mysteries, including these five tales adapted from stories by some of crime fiction's best writers and starring some of the genre's most interesting...


Jan 22, 2023

We're catching a cable car in San Francisco with three old time radio gumshoes who live and work in the city by the bay. First, Candy Matson solves a pair of murders on an army base in "The Fort Ord Story" (originally aired on NBC on September 23, 1949). Next, Sam Spade is hired to protect a man from a vengeful ex-con...