Preview Mode Links will not work in preview mode

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!

  1. All Episodes
  2. Talking Turkey

Talking Turkey

Nov 26, 2020

Happy Thanksgiving! In honor of Turkey Day – and to keep you company while you’re in the kitchen or waiting to eat – here are five old time radio mysteries starring some of your favorite sleuths as they mix in solving crimes with their stuffing and cranberry sauce.

Casey, Crime Photographer

All Casey (Staats Cotsworth) wants is to enjoy his Thanksgiving dinner, but before he can eat he’ll have to clear a young ex-con framed for a robbery in “After Turkey, the Bill” (originally aired on CBS on November 27, 1947).

Jeff Regan, Investigator

A turkey shoot turns deadly when a man catches the bullet instead of the bird. Now it’s up to Jeff Regan (Jack Webb) to solve the crime as he contends with some modern-day Mayflower passengers in “The Pilgrim’s Progress” (originally aired on CBS on November 13, 1948).

Casey, Crime Photographer

Casey and Ann Williams (Jan Miner) put another Thanksgiving dinner on hold to help a paroled safecracker whose old gang is trying to thwart his attempts to go straight in “Holiday” (originally aired on CBS on November 25, 1948).

Let George Do It

It’s not a happy Thanksgiving for a ten year-old boy who refuses to speak. George Valentine (Bob Bailey) tries to uncover the mystery – and to see if he can coax some words from the boy – in “Cause for Thanksgiving” (originally aired on Mutual on November 20, 1950).

The Adventures of Sam Spade

Normally, the death of a turkey wouldn’t make news on Thanksgiving but Sam Spade’s new client is a human Turkey – Tom Turkey, to be precise. He hires Spade (Steve Dunne) to find out who wants to rub him out in “The Terrified Turkey Caper” (originally aired on NBC on November 24, 1950).