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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 29, 2024

In this bonus episode, we're going back to the beginning with the audition recordings for five old time radio detective shows - some that became regular series, some that didn't, and some that changed stars along the way. We'll hear Victor Jory as a Scotland Yard inspector in the tryout for The Hunters (recorded in...


Jan 7, 2024

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...


Oct 15, 2023

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....


Jan 9, 2022

The cops of the radio era are on the beat in three old time radio procedural dramas. First, Dan Duryea is the intense, two-fisted Lt. Lou Dana in "The Donald Shelberger Case" from The Man from Homicide (originally aired on ABC on July 9, 1951). Then, we'll hear an Armed Forces Radio Service rebroadcast of The Line-Up...


Oct 17, 2021

Lt. Ben Guthrie led a squad of dedicated detectives on The Line-Up, one of radio's best police procedurals. We'll hear three episodes from the series, beginning with the show's audition program (recorded on May 27, 1950). We'll follow it with "The Check Killer Case" (originally aired on CBS on March 6, 1951) and The...