650 AM WSM made its mark on country music history on October 5, 1925. It was on that day that the station hit the airwaves, and continues to broadcast the best in classic country music to this day. 650 AM WSM has been the radio home for the Grand Ole Opry for over 82 years. You'll find some of their most popular programming available as podcast.
"Coffee, Country & Cody" features Country Music Disc Jockey Hall of Famer and affable television personality Bill Cody. The podcast does interviews with live studio guests from legends like Dolly Parton to The Doobie Brothers, Charlie Daniels to George Jones. The good thing is these interviews are free to download from their web site or from iTunes. The archives is approaching 300 shows available for download. What a collection.
Legendary folk singer and guitarist Doc Watson died on Tuesday, at the age of 89. Long considered one of America's greatest musicians, Watson was blind from the age of one, and taught himself to play music. NPR's Neal Conan remembers the life and career of Doc Watson with a song: "Tennessee Stud."
Doc Watson has been astonishing and delighting audiences for more than forty years, playing his flat top guitar with technical virtuosity and impeccable tone and timing. Watch Doc teach and play "Deep River Blues" from Smithsonian Folkways.
Explore Doc Watson's full NPR Archive artist page: interviews, features and/or performances from over the years. Quite a collection of content. Doc Watson's full NPR Archive
Chrome/Firefox: Non-US users know the pain of having services blocked from them pretty well, and YouTube is no exception. If you're tired of stumbling on videos you can't watch, ProxTube will fix the problem by unblocking all US-only videos for anyone to see. More »
Death Valley Days was an American radio and television anthology series featuring true stories of the old American West, particularly the Death Valley area. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program was broadcast on radio until 1945. It continued from 1952 to 1975 as a syndicated television series. The series was sponsored by the Pacific Coast Borax Company (20 Mule Team Borax, Boraxo).
California Gold Rush in Reverse is hosted by Will Rogers Jr. and features a minor part by a very young Doug McClure. The story revolves around the discovery of gold in the California territory. McClure, as a young Army officer, wants the Army to have the honor of delivering the news back to Washington of the California gold strike. Stanley Lachman, as a Navy officer, wants the Navy to get the word to the capitol. So the race is on!
Benedict Cumberbatch (left) plays Sherlock Holmes — of London's 221B Baker St. — opposite Martin Freeman's Dr. Watson.
TV writer and producer Steven Moffat specializes in injecting new life into old, familiar characters and stories. He first worked his magic on the revived edition of Doctor Who, leading to several BAFTA and Hugo Awards for the series.
More recently, he has turned his eye to the world's greatest detective, Sherlock Holmes. As the co-creator of the critically acclaimed BBC series Sherlock, Moffat is responsible for updating Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous fictional creation for a modern-day audience.
The series, which is set to start its second season on PBS Masterpiece on May 6, stars the charismatic British actor Benedict Cumberbatch in the title role. Cumberbatch's Sherlock is now a 21st century Londoner who uses GPS and text messaging to solve crimes alongside his partner Dr. Watson, played by Martin Freeman.
Martin and Cumberbatch work seamlessly together, though Moffat notes that finding the right actors for the roles was not the easiest task.(Read More on NPR)
Steven Moffat talks about his work writing for Doctor Who And Sherlockon NPR Fresh Air
Published in 1885, The Purple Land was the first novel of William Henry Hudson, author of Green Mansions. The Anglo-Argentine naturalist distinguished himself both as one of the finest craftsmen of prose in English literature and as a thinker on ecological matters far ahead of his time.
In Davies' hands this 'road novel' becomes a fast paced romp in the tradition of Tom Jones, with a dash of Don Quixote for good measure.
It is an exuberant, wryly comic account of a young Englishman's imprudent adventures, set against a background of political strife in nineteenth-century South America. Eloping with an Argentine girl, young Richard Lamb makes an implacable enemy of his teenage bride's father. Leaving her behind, he goes ignorantly forth into the interior of the country to seek his fortune.
Whilst doing so he learns to hunt, ride, herd, love - even kill. On his way to becoming a man.
Hemingway alluded to this book in his masterpiece "The Sun Also Rises", claiming that "The Purple Land" is 'dangerous reading if read too late in life'.
Hopefully - it doesn't make for dangerous listening!
Cast: Richard ..... David Tennant Paquita ..... Denise Gough Marcos/Major Domo ..... Danny Webb Toribia/Grandmother ..... Carol Macready Isidora ..... Lizzie McInnerney Herdsman/Allday ..... Nigel Cooke Paquita's father/Winchcombe ..... Richard Durden Monica/Donna Mercedes ..... Jacey Salles Cloud/Blanco Major ..... Nicholas Murchie Epifanio/Chillingwoth .....Chuk Iwuji Juez/Bartender/Blass ..... Trevor Martin Cleta/Mother ..... Jane Slavin Herdsman's Daughter/Margerita ...... Beth Cooke Anita ...... Grace Horbury Herdsman's Boy ..... Danny Concha
Music Composed and performed by Ross Hughes Esben Tjalve Trumpet - Daniel Weitz
"Steve DeWinter's thriller brings his own retelling of the ultimate American legend, that of the lone ranger. Recorded with a full cast, musical score and sound effects, this re-imagining of America's favorite hero proves that one man can fight against insurmountable odds to keep the Wild West from falling into the hands of a ruthless tyrant."
Dusty Knight is finally reunited with his brother only to have his past catch up with him at the same time. Dusty agrees to return to San Francisco to visit his dying father, only the road home is not without peril.
Dusty enters San Francisco only to discover there is more to his past then he even knew. Dusty talks with his father and is quickly introduced to the problems plaguing the family after his departure fifteen years ago.
The criminal element makes a move against the California Rangers and Dusty is forced to make a choice. With the California Rangers dead and the town overrun with bandits, the merchants demand protection, but Dusty can't do that without risking everything - and everyone.
Dusty gathers the merchants together to scare off the bandits, but not everyone is working towards the same goal and while Dusty continues to thwart the bandit's plans, they get closer to finding his true identity.
Frank Morrison Spillane (March 9, 1918 – July 17, 2006), better known as Mickey Spillane, was an American author of crime novels. He was known for the series of novels featuring his signature detective character, Mike Hammer, among other works. More than 225 million copies of his books have sold around the globe. Many of the Mike Hammer novels were made into movies, including the classic film noir Kiss Me Deadly (1955) and The Girl Hunters (1963), in which Spillane himself starred. In Kiss Me Deadly, Mike Hammer is driving south to New York city when he found a woman standing in the road. He picked her up, and learned she escaped from a sanatorium. Soon a dark sedan cut them off, the men attacked Mike and knocked him out. The now dead woman and Mike are placed in his car, then it is pushed over the cliff. What happens next? Read by Stacy Keach. (from boxcars711)
Mickey Spillane - Kiss Me Deadly Part 1
Mickey Spillane - Kiss Me Deadly Part 2
Mickey Spillane - Kiss Me Deadly Part 3
Mickey Spillane - Kiss Me Deadly Part 4
The Film
A 1955 film noir drama produced and directed by Robert Aldrich starring Ralph Meeker. The screenplay was written by A.I. Bezzerides, based on the Mickey Spillane Mike Hammer mystery novel Kiss Me, Deadly. Kiss Me Deadly is often considered a classic of the noir genre. The film grossed $726,000 in the United States and a total of $226,000 overseas. It also withstood scrutiny from the Kefauver Commission as being a film said to be designed to ruin young viewers, leading director Aldrich to write against the Commission's conclusions.
Kiss Me Deadly marked the film debuts of both actresses Cloris Leachman and Maxine Cooper.
Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer, with Darren McGavin in the title role, is the first syndicated television series based on Mike Hammer, the hard-boiled private detective created by novelist Mickey Spillane. The series (produced from 1957 through '59) had a run of 78 episodes over two seasons. Episodes were filmed in black and white and filled a half-hour time slot. The show followed the adventures of New York-based gumshoe Mike Hammer as he regularly played judge, jury and executioner to an assortment of bad guys.
The New Mike Hammer was an American television series based on the exploits of the fictitious New York-based private detective Mike Hammer. The show starred Stacy Keach and was essentially a continuation of Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer, an earlier television program featuring an identical core cast. In fact, similarities between The New Mike Hammer and Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer are so close that many often group the two shows together under the same "Mike Hammer" umbrella.
There is an episode on YouTube "The New Mike Hammer - Satan, Cyanide, and Murder (1984)" here
Death Valley Days was a series of stories, all based in fact, revolving around the legends of Death Valley, California where borax was mined. Mostly human interest stories about the life in Death Valley and the surrounding area in the late 1800's.
"The Last Letter" was written by Ruth Woodman & directed by Stuart E. McGowan, with William Pullen, Clint Eastwood, Forrest Stanley, George Pembroke, Russ Todd, Joseph Sargent, Gregg Barton, Robert Sherman. Host: Stanley Andrews. Original air date: 8 December 1956.
Death Valley Days was an American radio and television anthology series featuring true stories of the old American West, particularly the Death Valley area. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program was broadcast on radio until 1945. It continued from 1952 to 1975 as a syndicated television series. The series was sponsored by the Pacific Coast Borax Company (20 Mule Team Borax, Boraxo).
In "The Oldest Law", Jim Davis stars as a rancher called Colonel who single handed takes on a violent, corrupt town after his son is murdered.
Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame singer and guitarist Roger McGuinn, best known as the front man for The Byrds, is considered a pioneer of folk rock. The band blended traditional folk songs with a rock beat and scored major hits in the 1960's including "Turn, Turn, Turn" and "Mr. Tambourine Man."
The Byrds disbanded in 1973, and McGuinn pursued a solo career, performing acoustically and returning to his folk roots.
In 1995, he created the Folk Den Project, an online series to store traditional folk songs that he records once a month. NPR's Neal Conan talks with McGuinn about The Byrds and his solo career, and about his work preserving folk music. (NPR)
Story of Australian Army Nursing Sisters who were in Malaya with the 8th Division A.I.F in 1941-1942. It is a true story taken from the diaries kept by Sister Agnes Betty Jeffrey, (14 May 1908 – 13 September 2000), who was taken captive by the Japanese Imperial Army and interned during her 31/2 years as prisoner of war. The first episode of this radio series aired on August 10, 1955.
This is a radio series that will leave an impression on you. You may cry, you may laugh, but being from a true story it is remarkable.
There was also a movie made in 1997 called "Paradise Road" which tells the story of a group of English, American, Dutch and Australian women who are imprisoned in Sumatra during World War II. It was directed by Bruce Beresford and stars Glenn Close as beatific Adrienne Pargiter, Frances McDormand as the brash Dr. Verstak, Pauline Collins as missionary Margaret Drummond (based on missionary Margaret Dryburgh), Julianna Margulies as American socialite Topsy Merritt, Jennifer Ehle as British doyenne and model Rosemary Leighton Jones, Cate Blanchett as Australian nurse Susan McCarthy and Elizabeth Spriggs as dowager Imogene Roberts.
Just for Laughs: Gags (JFL Gags) is a Canadian silent comedy/hidden camera reality television show that is under the Just for Laughs brand. On December 26, 2002, JFL Gags began airing on CBC and The Comedy Network in Canada. Just for Laughs: Gags currently airs Weekdays at 6 pm, Just for Laughs: Gags does not air on CBC anymore. The show also airs on Telemundo in the United States, Multishow Channel in Brazil and occupies a Summer prime time slot on SIC in Portugal.
This series' format is the typical hidden camera comedy show, playing silly pranks on unsuspecting subjects while hidden cameras capture the people's response (similar to UK hidden camera comedy shows). This show plays music in the background, but does not contain any sound and dialogue (except for brief sound effects and laughter) but you can occasionally hear the actors and victims talking. It is filmed in Downtown Montreal and rural Quebec although some segments are filmed in the UK or Mexico. Sound effects, music and a laugh track are added in post-production.
A 1954 dramatization of Paul Brickhill's best-selling novel about World War II. The documentary series focused on the 617 Dambusting Squadron and is full of air force adventure. There were 26 half-hour episodes, and the cast also featured Charles "Bud" Tingwell Operation Chastise was an attack on German dams carried out on 16 &17 May 1943 by Royal Air Force No. 617 Squadron, subsequently known as the "Dambusters", using a specially developed "bouncing bomb" invented and developed by Barnes Wallis. The Mohne and Eder Dams were breached, causing catastrophic flooding of the Ruhr valley and of villages in the Eder valley, while the Sorpe dam sustained only minor damage. All 26 episodes in excellent condition
Background
During the height of World War II it was the target of British Bomber Command to damage and destroy as much of Germany's industry as possible. After all, it is industry that is at the heart of any war effort. After in depth studies and many attacks of the industrial areas in Germany, the British soon realised that after an attack, the factories were soon rebuilt and more importantly dispersed over a wider area which made them more difficult to attack again.
It quickly became apparent though that there were limitations to where industry could be located. All industry requires power and therefore it must be located within a reasonable distance from a power source. This changed the way in which Bomber Command thought about attacking Germany's industry. Instead of attacking the factories, attacking their power sources was a much better strategy. The main advantage of attacking power sources is that many more than one factory uses the same power source. Destroying one power source would therefore lead to disruption in many factories and industries.
Bomber Command's attention then turned to which power sources to attack to give maximum damaging impact on the industry in Germany. Three sources of energy were identified; coal mines, the Rumanian oil fields and the hydroelectric dams. Two of these were quickly discounted. Coal mines were relatively easily repaired or rebuilt and the RAF possessed no aircraft with a suitable range to attack the oil fields located in far east Germany.
Despite the problems with the other two targets, the hydroelectric dams of Germany's Ruhr Valley were probably the best targets. These dams supplied water and power to the industry of the Ruhr Valley which was the heart of Hitler's war machine, as well as controlling the water levels in canals that transported materials to and from the factories. Huge resources of coal and iron ore saw the Ruhr Valley grow into the heartland of the country's industry during the early 20th century. Along with many large cities in the surrounding area, the dams were built during the growth period to cope with the inevitable power and water requirements. It was estimated that one quarter of Germany's water was consumed by this industrial area.
Of the 20 massive dams constructed in the Ruhr Valley, six dams were selected as targets with three of these being the primary targets. The Mohne, the Eder and the Sorpe dams were the three primary targets. Between the Mohne and Sorpe, they held back 76% of the total water available to the industrial valley, one of the main reasons they were two of the primary targets. If breached these dams would bring the whole industrial valley to a stand still, causing massive damage to the steel industry devastating production of tanks, aircraft, guns and locomotives which were all vital to Germany's war effort.
Mohne Dam
Ironically, attacking the dams in Ruhr Valley was not a new idea. In anticipation of war, Britain began looking at industrial targets in the Ruhr as early as 1937. The dams were high on the target then, but these plans were shelved because of one major problem which eluded Bomber Command. How do you hit and breach a dam? - A problem which was far more complex than it appeared, especially over 60 years ago. Read More Here
The Sound of War is an 18 episode collection. Jay Hickerson's "The Ultimate Guide to all Circulating Shows" states that this is how many were produced.
The series used the tagline "The Actual Sound Record of World War II. A drama preserved for all time through the medium of radio. An era not to be forgotten." The Sound of War contains many sound clips, some rare from such notable figures as Adolf Hitler, Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Benito Mussolini, Neville Chamberlin, General Douglas McArthur, Charles DeGaulle, Hermann Goering, and many more.
It's not clear when the show was broadcast but they appear to be from the late 1950s or early 1960s. There are three episodes that are all labeled "The Fall of France" but they are indeed unique to each other. The producers seemed to place an emphasis on this period for some unknown reason.
The shows were produced by Bud Greenspan and narrated by his brother David Greenspan, also known as David Perry. The two went on to produce many film sports documentaries largely about the Olympics.
Wireless Theatre Company is an award winning audio theatre company producing original radio drama, comedy, stories, poems, sketches and live radio recordings. Most of the content can be downloaded free from the web site directly to your iPod or MP3 player by simply signing up free.
They have won TWO awards at the fantastic Radio Academy's Production Awards 2011. Best Entertainment Producer and Best Online/Multi Platform Creator.
It Happens Every Spring is a 1949 comedy film starring Ray Milland and directed by Lloyd Bacon.
A college professor is working on a long-term scientific experiment when a baseball comes through the window, destroying all of his glassware and spilling the fluids that the flasks and test tubes contained. The pooled fluids combine to form the (fictitious) chemical "methylethylpropylbutyl," which then covers a large portion of the baseball. The professor soon discovers that the fluid, along with any object with which it makes contact, is repelled by wood (cf. Alexander Fleming's serendipitous discovery of penicillin).
Suddenly, he realizes the possibilities and takes a leave of absence to go to St. Louis to pitch in the big leagues, where he becomes a star and propels his team to the World Series.
"The Call of Cthulhu" is one of H. P. Lovecraft's best-known short stories. Written in the summer of 1926, it was first published in Weird Tales, February 1928. It is the only story written by Lovecraft in which the extraterrestrial entity Cthulhu himself makes a major appearance.
It is written in a documentary style, with three independent narratives linked together by the device of a narrator discovering notes left by a deceased relative.
The narrator pieces together the whole truth and disturbing significance of the information he possesses, illustrating the story's first line: "The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity; and it was not meant that we should voyage far."
"Of such great powers or beings there may be conceivably a survival... a survival of a hugely remote period when... consciousness was manifested, perhaps, in shapes and forms long since withdrawn before the tide of advancing humanity... forms of which poetry and legend alone have caught a flying memory and called them gods, monsters, mythical beings of all sorts and kinds..."
A WWII historical drama regarding an informal trial of a German U-boat officer in a POW camp.
Cast
Lt-Cmdr Hans Rahmlow David Ryall Lt Bernhardt Berndt Nigel Lambert Lt Wolfgang Stein Michael Deacon Chief Engineer Michael Shannon Lt-Cmdr Otto Kruger Paul Gaymon Major Conrad Shulke Stephen Thorne Lt Paul Faulk Alan Dudley Cmdr Willi Leymann Trader Faulkner Home Guard Captain Jack Carr Corporal Sion Probert Harmonica Harry Pitch
Saturday Night Theatre Radio Play Running Time 88 Minutes. 1st Broadcast 22nd February 1975 2nd Broadcast 24th February 1975
