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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!

Oct 9, 2024

I may not know art, but I know what I like - and I like these four radio mysteries involving masterpieces, the artists who make them, and the crooks who try to steal them. First, Boston Blackie is forced to participate in an art heist to save his friend (syndicated episode known as "The Abbott Painting"), and a...


Sep 29, 2024

Several great actors gave voice to The Shadow, but today we're shining a spotlight on those stars and their roles outside of the cloak of radio's invisible avenger. We'll hear Frank Readick as a crook in "The Case of the Cincinnati Narcotics Ring" from Gang Busters (originally aired on ABC on September 25, 1948). Then,...


Sep 22, 2024

Over the long run of the Dragnet radio series, Sgt. Joe Friday (Jack Webb) was paired with four different partners. Each of these cops brought a different energy to the show and had a similar but different dynamic with Friday. We'll hear all four of them in this week's episode. First, Barton Yarborough is Sgt. Ben...


Sep 15, 2024

Tap gloves and tune in for a quartet of radio mysteries set in and around the boxing ring. First, a crooked gambler is killed when he tries to a fix a fight in "Death is a Knockout" from Crime Club (originally aired on Mutual on June 12, 1947). Next, Dick Powell gives a heel turn as a boxer out to ruin a rival in "Slow...


Sep 8, 2024

Catch a plane and begin a daring mission with these four radio super spies and sleuths. As Steve Mitchell, Brian Donlevy heads to London to keep enemy agents guessing in Dangerous Assignment (originally aired on NBC on March 3, 1951) and The Man Called X is off to Monte Carlo to find out why a fellow agent was killed...