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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!

Mar 31, 2021

Over a long radio career, Paula Winslowe effortlessly moved between dramas, thrillers, mysteries, and comedies. But her signature role came in one of the era's best domestic sitcoms as Peg opposite William Bendix in The Life of Riley. As the Riley family's level-headed matriarch, Winslowe gave radio one of its best...


And the Oscar goes to...

Mar 30, 2021

Academy Award, one of the more prestigious Hollywood radio programs, premiered on CBS on March 30, 1946. The series presented recreations of films that had been nominated for or won - you guessed it - the Academy Award. The Oscar distinction set it apart from other Hollywood anthologies like The Lux Radio Theatre and...


Mar 28, 2021

For much of its history, the US Treasury Department was extensively involved in law enforcement. The Coast Guard, the Bureau of Prohibition, the Secret Service - all were under the umbrella of the Treasury at one point. The exploits of its agents - men and women who battled counterfeiters and other crooks - inspired...


Mar 24, 2021

We mark the first anniversary of our bonus comedy episodes with the shows that kicked off the series. First, Jack Benny and his gang try and solve a murder with an all-star cast of suspects (including Gene Kelly, Rosalind Russell, and Frank Sinatra) in The Jack Benny Program (originally aired on CBS on January 8, 1950)....


Mar 21, 2021

Before his big screen turns in The Hitchhiker and In a Lonely Place, Frank Lovejoy made a name for himself on radio. His best known role was reporter and amateur sleuth Randy Stone in Night Beat, but before that he could be heard on everything from The Shadow to Suspense in supporting and starring roles. We'll hear him...