Everyone knows the story of perhaps the best-known, best-loved Christmas film ever made. What would life have been like in Bedford Falls, New York if George Bailey had never been born.

Will Clarence the Apprentice Angel get his wings for stopping Bailey’s suicide? Will greedy old Mr. Potter get his hands on the Savings & Loan?  After his father’s death, his responsibilities at the S&L, and family life, will George Bailey ever get to see the world?  Will it matter?

You know, but it’s a great show anyway. Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed star in Frank Capra’s classic It’s A Wonderful Life.  We even learn what happens if someone gets the moon.  Enjoy it with our best wishes for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

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August 6th

On this day in 1945, at about 8:15 a.m., “Little Boy”, the first atomic bomb detonated in aggression, was dropped on Hiroshima.

The 393d Bombardment Squadron’s Enola Gay and two other planes escorting it flew over the city unmolested as the Japanese military had decided to intercept only large squadrons in an attempt to conserve precious fuel and airplanes. (Read on …)

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Mr. Moto. Mr. I.A. Moto.

Sound familiar? John Phillips Marquand beat Ian Fleming to it by a few years. Like James Bond, Mr. Moto is recognized by his adversaries and fights Communism, but there the similarities end. Moto, although San Francisco-born, speaks with an indeterminate “Oriental” accent, has a high, almost effeminate voice, and prefers vaguely mystical utterances to wry asides. He’s also an agent of the American government, or possibly a former agent of the US government - his exact profession and position are unclear.

Despite the stereotypes, Mr. Moto was one of the earliest, most successful Japanese characters in Anglophone radio drama and the show’s story lines defy the racial stereotypes of the time (except for Mr. Moto being exceedingly sharp and mystical.)　We think it’s interesting to hear a portrayal of a Japanese man as hero so shortly after World War II. We hope you will, too.

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Lee Masters is in Genji Misako’s debt. Nara, as Misako says, is home to priceless art treasures of all types and they are being stolen by the American-born naturalized “Jap citizen” Nathan Sharp, the youngest colonel ever in the US Air Force. Art treasures aren’t the only thing being stolen, though. Japan is also involved in developing lasers for industrial and possibly military use and plans are being leaked to “Red China.” Who’s behind it all?

As Masters and Johnny try to sort it all out, listeners get to hear one of the most tortured uses of honor and face as plot devices of all time. At the same time, though, there are myriad opportunities to read too much into the story, which is always good fun. (Read on …)

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“Our Christmas present to you is the new Christmas classic of our time, Miracle on 34th Street.

“It’s wrapped in a gay covering of laughter, tied with a bright ribbon of good humor, and decorated with the three sparkling stars of the 20th Century Fox picture: Maureen O’Hara, John Payne, and Edmund Gwenn.”

Last year, TPR brought you the story that created our image of the Christmas spirit. This year, we’ll bring you the poem that created our modern image of Santa Claus. And now, TPR gives you the modern classic story that put those two things together - Santa Claus as Kris Kringle the man, who tells us that Christmas is not a day, but a spirit we carry with us everywhere, everyday. These days, it seems hackneyed, but it was less so when the Lux Radio Theater broadcast it’s version of Miracle on 34th Street in 1948.

Starring Maureen O’Hara, John Payne, and Edmund Gwenn, in an Oscar-winning turn as Kris Kringle. Seriously. The real one.

And just because we here at TPR wish you all a Merry Christmas, we’re bringing you not one, but two different old time radio versions of Miracle on 34th Street starring Edmund Gwenn. The other, the Screen Director’s Playhouse version of 1949, is available here.

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After winning an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of a Macy’s Santa Claus named Kris Kringle in the 1947 film Miracle on 34th Street, Edmund Gwenn reprised the role on the Lux Radio Theater in 1948 (also available from TPR), then again in the 1949 Screen Director’s Playhouse presentation TPR brings you here.

Fans of this classic Christmas story will notice that both the Lux version and this one differ not only from each other, but from the original film itself.

Merry Christmas.

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This is the last part of a five-part series. If you have not yet listened to Rod Serling’s Zero Hour: “Heir Hunters,” part 1, part 2, part 3, & part 4, do so now. The story is a serial, the conclusion makes little sense if you haven’t heard parts 1 to 4.

Rest your eyes. Exercise your imagination.

(Originally aired on Friday, October 19, 1973.)

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This is part 4 of a five-part series. If you have not yet listened to Rod Serling’s Zero Hour: “Heir Hunters,” part 1, part 2, & part 3, do so now. The story is a serial, part 4 makes little sense if you haven’t heard parts 1, 2, & 3.

Rest your eyes. Exercise your imagination.

(Originally aired on Thursday, October 18, 1973.)

Proceed to the final episode.

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August 15, 2007

At noon on this day in 1945, people throughout war-weary Japan, from balmy Sapporo, in fear of Soviet invasion, to sweltering Nagasaki, which had felt the brunt of American industrial might, gathered around radios to hear something few had ever heard before - their Emperor’s voice.

The following is one of two quasi-official translations of Showa-tenno’s “Jewel Voice Broadcast.” This one attempts to capture the spirit and formality of the Emperor’s original speech, however, as the Emperor spoke in a formal, archaic Court Japanese (kind of like having his own dialect), a translation both intelligible and capturing the spirit of his words is impossible.

(Read on …)

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This is part 3 of a five-part series. If you have not yet listened to Rod Serling’s Zero Hour: “Heir Hunters,” part 1 & part 2, do so now. The story is a serial, part 3 makes little sense if you haven’t heard parts 1 & 2.

Rest your eyes. Exercise your imagination.

(Originally aired on Wednesday, October 17, 1973.)

Proceed to Part 4.

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 Heir Hunters Part 3: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download