The best podcasts for People Who Want to Listen to Old Time Radio Podcasts

Alas, this one hasn't been updated in years as the host has moved on to focus on different interests. Jim Widner has a wealth of old-time radio and film knowledge which he applies to all sorts of detective programs. While I go through every episode of a series in circulation, Jim Widner gives a thorough overview of each program and offers really interesting tidbits and research on each detective series as well as discussing several one-off noir episodes of anthology programs like Suspense. This is a great podcast if you want to really get into the breadth of detective fiction.

In the interest of disclosure, Andrew Rhynes edits sound for the Great Detectives of Old Time Radio. That said, listening to this podcast is a SOUND decision if you love old radio Westerns. Andrew has all the classics: Gunsmoke, the Lone Ranger, and the Cisco Kid among others. Through his podcast, I've encountered such great programs as Have Gun, Will Travel, and Fort Laramie. I really enjoyed them and I'm not even a Westerns fan. Andrew works hard to get the best sound he can and wants to keep old Westerns alive.

If you need laughter to cure what ails you, Ron Ecklebarger can fill your prescription. Ron hosts a thrice-weekly podcast featuring different old time radio comedy programs, currently featuring Henry (Henry!!!!!) Aldrich, Bob "Pepsodent" Hope, and the Life of Riley (What a revolting development!) Now if you didn't get any of those references then you don't get the inside jokes that those who have sampled from the world of Old Time Radio classic comedy. In an age of doom-scrolling and nastiness, Ron serves up the sort of humor that kept folks laughing in the midst of economic Depression and War.

We live in skeptical times. So when someone likes Virtual Vinny says he loves Old Time Radio, someone's bound to say, "How much do you love Old Time Radio? Do you really love Old Time Radio?" However, a fair-minded skeptic would look at Vinny's output of more than 1300 podcast episodes and conclude they have misjudged him and hang their head in shame. As well they should! Vinny's format is different than the first three. While most of us are hooked on a single Genre, for Vinny, variety is the spice of life and because he loves old time radio. He features five episodes from different genres. He's got a Detective Show, Suspense, an old school Superhero (who actually is a very indirect inspiration for an upcoming movie), a sitcom, as well as Abbott and Costello (yes, The "Who's on First" and "7x13=28" Abbott and Costello that YouTube reactors have been discovering en masse.) Listen to tone of his programs or listen to them all, Vinny will be your guide through a wide variety of old time radio programs and before you know it, you'll love old time radio too!

Do you want to get scared? I mean really scared out of your mind? All you have to do is watch Cable news, follow the most sensationalists accounts on Twitter, and doomscroll obsessively, and checking the National Debt Clock twice a day. Oh wait, you wanted to get scared in a Cathartic way that would allow you to relax and forget your trouble? In that case, check out Dakoda Black's Old Time Radio Mystery, Suspense, and Horror podcast which focuses on a wide variety of suspenseful and terrifying shows. Dakoda regularly posts new episodes and works to edit them to the highest quality possible.