The Shiver Show

First Contact — Dimension X (1951)

Before Star Trek imagined the Prime Directive, Murray Leinster dreamed up a story about the most dangerous meeting in the universe — the first contact between two intelligent species. His 1945 novelette, later honored with a Retro Hugo in 1996, introduced the idea of a universal translator — decades before science fiction made it standard issue.

In this Dimension X adaptation by Howard Rodman, two s...

This week on The Shiver Show, we take you to the world of insurance fraud, shady dealings, and one very slippery string of pearls with The Kranesburg Matter, a classic tale from Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar. First broadcast in 1949, this episode features the inimitable Bob Bailey in his signature role as “the man with the action-packed expense account.”

Johnny Dollar, hardboiled but never humorless, is sent to investigate a stolen pea...

This week on The Shiver Show, we bring you the second part and the finale of The Kranesburg Matter, from the series Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar (1949).  

Johnny Dollar, is still on the case of the stolen pink pearl necklace with a hefty insurance claim. With dubious characters, double-crosses and maybe even triple- crosses, The Kranesburg Matter is a satisfying noir crime thriller. 

Join us and find out "who done it" and why...

This week The Shiver Show brings you The Killers, a 1949 episode from NBC Theatre / Screen Directors’ Playhouse.

Based on a short story by Ernest Hemingway, and directed for radio by Robert Siodmak, this production features Burt Lancaster reprising his film role, Shelley Winters as femme fatale, Kitty, and William Conrad as crime boss, Jim Colefax. 

Tense and raw with moral ambiguity, The Killers tells the story of two hit men sent t...

This week on The Shiver Show, we tune to Drive-In, a standout 1946 episode from the Suspense series.

In this taut drama, the legendary Judy Garland steps away from her familiar world of musicals and light romcoms to deliver a rare and powerful dramatic performance. She plays a young waitress closing up a Southern California drive-in restaurant for the night—just one more customer to serve before she can head home. But when that fina...

Lend us your ears and listen to this Old Time Radio horror classic, Death Robbery. Originally broadcast on July 16, 1947, this unforgettable tale comes to the Shiver Show from the Lights Out radio series.

Written and directed by Arch Oboler, and adapted for the airwaves with his signature flair for the macabre, Death Robbery explores the dangerous intersection of love, grief, and scientific ambition. When a scientist dares to tamper...

Long before Silicon Valley, TikTok, or the age of algorithms, a pulp sci-fi writer named Murray Leinster imagined a world where machines got a little too smart. In 1947 he wrote A Logic Named Joe—a story so ahead of its time it feels uncanny even now. Just a few years later, the tale came crackling to life on the radio anthology Dimension X in 1950.

In this episode of The Shiver Show, Mary and Greg dive into this eerie slice of old-...

This week, the Shiver Show goes deep into the strange and twisted mind of H.P. Lovecraft with The Dunwich Horror.  This episode first aired on the terrific old time radio series, Suspense, in 1945. 

H.P Lovecraft is know as one of the masters of creepy tales and The Dunwich Horror does not disappoint.  Some might say the story is intriguing; others say that it's perplexing. You be the judge!

Ronald Coleman and Brett Morrison giv...

This week, The Shiver Show crackles to life with telekinetic intensity in this 1950 sci-fi episode from the Suspense series, Report on the Barnhouse Effect.  This episode is a daring dive into the paranormal from the first published short story by Kurt Vonnegut  Jr.

Before Slaughterhouse-Five, before Cat’s Cradle, Kurt Vonnegut Jr. exploded onto the world stage with this mind-bending tale of mental might and military madness. Imagin...

Step into Cold War Vienna with this 1951 radio drama, The Third Man. Brought to us by the Lux Radio Theatre, this episode features Joseph Cotton as Holly Martin and Evelyn Keyes as Anna Schmidt.  Based on an adaptation of Graeme Greene's novella of the same name, the Third Man is treat for old time radio fans, as well as fans of noir film.  

We have remastered the audio file and have taken out the rather lengthy Lux soap advert...

Put on your snap-brim fedora, cinch up a trench coat, and get ready to immerse yourself in a noir-drenched mystery with our Old Time Radio classic, The Lady in the Lake. Originally airing in 1949 on the Lux Radio Theatre, this thrilling adaptation brings Raymond Chandler’s hard-boiled detective, Philip Marlowe, to life in a gripping drama that you won’t want to miss.

Based on Chandler’s celebrated 1943 novel, The Lady in the Lake, t...

Put on your head lamp and get ready to go deep in this old time radio adventure, Journey to the Centre of the Earth. This is an adaptation of Jules Verne's 1864 science fiction adventure, which blended geology and fantasy, and remains a classic of 19th-century literature. 

This radio drama first aired in 1977 on the General Mills Adventure Radio Show, and features Tom Bosley as the unflappable narrator, Ian Martin as Professor ...

This week on The Shiver Show, we bring you romance and wartime intrigue with this 1946 Lux Radio Theater adaptation of To Have and Have Not, starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. This old time radio classic reimagines Ernest Hemingway’s hard-edged novella with crackling dialogue, a new setting, and a romance between two strangers with nothing to lose.

This production features Humphrey Bogart reprising his iconic role as Harry ...

🌊 New Episode Alert: The Shiver Show Dives into a Jules Verne Classic!

Set your imagination free with this week’s episode of The Shiver Show, as we plunge headfirst into the 1977 old time radio production of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea—a gripping adaptation of Jules Verne’s 1869 classic novel.

Travel beneath the waves aboard the  Nautilus, captained by the enigmatic Captain Nemo, as he leads his crew and captors on a journ...

This week on The Shiver Show, Mary and Greg dive into a shadowy world of suspense and betrayal with a chilling feature episode: The Big Clock. Adapted from the classic thriller novel by Kenneth Fearing, this noir gem delivers a tightly wound tale of murder, manipulation—and a man hunting himself.

Ray Milland stars as George Stroud, a crime reporter caught in a Kafkaesque nightmare when he’s ordered to solve a murder that might just ...

New Episode of The Shiver Show Podcast: 1950 Sci-Fi Radio Drama The Lost Race – A Space Mystery

We're going deep into the cosmos with an old time radio science fiction goodie, The Lost Race (1950), from the terrific Dimension X series.  This is a gripping tale about a crew of space explorers who become marooned on a mysterious planet, their ship disabled by unknown forces. As they search for a way home, they stumble upon the ru...

Venture into Deep Space with North of Polaris, a Sci-Fi Radio Classic Starring William Conrad

Step into the shadowy stillness of deep space with North of Polaris, a gripping and thought-provoking science fiction drama from the golden age of Old Time Radio. Originally aired in 1956 as part of the innovative CBS Radio Workshop series, this haunting episode stars the legendary William Conrad, whose rich, commanding voice brings weight ...

This week on The Shiver Show, we plunge into one of the most haunting tales of duality ever written: Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Join hosts Mary Labrie and Greg Flynn as they guide you through the chilling 1974 CBS Radio Mystery Theater adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic novella—a radio drama that explores the terrifying conflict between good and evil in each human soul.

This gripping episode was penned for radio by Geor...

This week on The Shiver Show, get lost in a swirling nightmare with the 1953 radio drama classic, The Night the Fog Came. Atmospheric, suspenseful, and apocalyptic, this old-time radio horror gem tells the story of a small group of people who discover that the creeping fog enveloping their town isn’t just a “bit of weather”—it’s an agent of doom.

As the mist rolls in and the town falls into eerie silence, our heroes slowly piece tog...