RAS #756 – Where Space Can Lead Us

This week on Ron’s Amazing Stories, we’re heading into space with two very different science fiction stories.

We begin with “Universe,” based on the classic story by Robert A. Heinlein. Imagine a gigantic spaceship traveling between the stars, where generations of people have lived and died aboard the ship. There’s just one problem: they’ve forgotten they’re on a spaceship at all.

Then on “As Read By”, Phil Chenevert reads “Project Hush” by William Tenn. It follows a top-secret Army mission to establish a military base on the Moon. But when the team arrives, they discover someone may have gotten there first.

Also this week, Q/A with Ron returns. Ron answers five listener emails covering X Minus One, listener-submitted stories, the return of author interviews, my interview with a former NBA All-Star, and where I find and restore the old-time radio programs heard on the podcast.

Featured Stories:

“Universe”
X Minus One
Original Air Date: May 15, 1955
Based on the story by Robert A. Heinlein
Radio Adaptation: George Lefferts

“Project Hush”
Written by William Tenn
Originally published in Galaxy Science Fiction, February 1954
Read by Phil Chenevert

Ron’s Amazing Stories Is Sponsored by: Audible – You can get a free audiobook and a 30 day free trial at audibletrial.com/ronsamazingstories.

Your Stories: Do you have a story that you would like to share on the podcast or the blog? Head to the main website, click on Story Submission, leave your story, give it a title, and please tell me where you’re from. I will read it if I can. Links are below.

Music Used In This Podcast: Most of the music you hear on Ron’s Amazing Stories has been composed by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0. Other pieces are in the public domain. You can find great free music at FreePd.com which is a site owned by Kevin.

Program Info: Ron’s Amazing Stories is published each Thursday. You can download it from Apple Podcasts, stream it on YouTube or on the mobile version of Spotify. Do you prefer the radio? We are heard every Thursday at 10:00 pm and Sunday Night at 11:00 PM (EST) on AMFM247.COM. Check your local listing or find the station closest to you at this link.

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RAS #755 – Just Three Things Ron Likes

This week on Ron’s Amazing Stories, there really isn’t a theme. Instead, Ron has three things he likes and wants to share with you.

First up is The RAS Signal. This time we take a look at the remarkable career of character actor John Dehner. From radio to television and the movies, Dehner became one of those familiar voices and faces who seemed capable of playing just about anyone.

Then we hear Dehner as English newspaper correspondent J. B. Kendall in the complete audition episode of Frontier Gentleman. The story is “The Remittance Man,” recorded on January 29, 1958. Kendall arrives in the western town of South Sunday, meets a sheriff claiming to be Frank Clanton, and before long Billy the Kid becomes part of the story.

Finally, As Read By returns with “Untechnological Employment” by E. M. Clinton, originally published in the November 1962 issue of Analog Science Fact · Science Fiction. Told through a series of TWX communications, the story takes us into the problems of launching rockets when even modern technology can’t do much about the weather. It is read for us by Tysto, a regular contributor to LibriVox.org.

Also, stick around after Ron says goodbye for a special montage of original old-time radio commercials.

Featured on the show:

The RAS Signal — John Dehner
Frontier Gentleman — “The Remittance Man” — January 29, 1958
As Read By — “Untechnological Employment” by E. M. Clinton — Read by Tysto

Ron’s Amazing Stories Is Sponsored by: Audible – You can get a free audiobook and a 30 day free trial at audibletrial.com/ronsamazingstories.

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RAS #754 — From Radio to Television

On Ron’s Amazing Stories this week, we’re bringing back an old-fashioned RAS Double Feature.

When television began finding its way into American homes, radio had to change. But what happened to all those actors whose faces had existed only in the imaginations of radio listeners? Many of them made the jump to television—and some became even bigger stars.

Our two stories feature four familiar radio voices who did exactly that: Jack Webb, Raymond Burr, John Dehner, and William Conrad.

In This Episode

Geranium Plant — Jack Webb stars as wisecracking waterfront detective Pat Novak, with Raymond Burr as Inspector Hellman. What begins as a simple job delivering a geranium plant quickly turns into murder.

The Adversary — John Dehner plays Captain “Honest” Weatherby in this adventure from Escape, with William Conrad narrating. There’s a sunken ship, a fortune in pearls, a questionable crew, and some very serious questions about how that ship ended up on the bottom.

From Radio to Television — Along the way, we look at how Webb, Burr, Dehner, and Conrad carried their talents from the microphones of old-time radio to the television screen.

Ron’s Amazing Stories Is Sponsored by: Audible – You can get a free audiobook and a 30 day free trial at audibletrial.com/ronsamazingstories.

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RAS #753 — You Asked For It

On Ron’s Amazing Stories this week, you asked for it… and that’s exactly what you’re going to get.

This episode is built around listener emails and questions. We bring back an old RAS favorite, Johnny Is It True, with four stories from the history of the podcast. Elena wants to know if creepy listener stories are coming back. Caleb asks if Ron is real, how he researches the show, and whether he actually has a radio background.

And Gideon has a request. After hearing a clip during our recent episode about sound effects, he wanted to hear the entire Gunsmoke story about the white buffalo. So we’re making that happen.

In This Episode

Johnny Is It True Returns — Four stories from the history of Ron’s Amazing Stories. Some involve listeners, some involve Ron doing questionable things behind a microphone… and at least one isn’t quite what it seems.
Are Listener Stories Coming Back? — Elena from Savannah, Georgia asks about the old creepy listener stories and whether These Are Your Stories might someday return.
Q&A With Ron… Sort Of — Caleb from Boise, Idaho asks if Ron is an AI voice, how he researches the podcast, and what kind of radio background he actually has.
Around The Bend — A familiar RAS song makes an appearance before we say goodbye.

Featured Story

Gunsmoke — “The Buffalo Killers” (June 7, 1952)

Gideon from Burlington, Vermont heard part of this early Gunsmoke episode during our recent look at old-time radio sound effects and asked to hear the whole thing. William Conrad stars as Marshal Matt Dillon in a story involving two murdered buffalo hunters and one very unusual clue — a white buffalo pelt. It’s an action-packed early episode of Gunsmoke, but listen closely to the sound effects. The horses, doors, footsteps, background sounds and, yes, plenty of gunfire help create a Dodge City you don’t simply hear… you can almost see.

Ron’s Amazing Stories Is Sponsored by: Audible – You can get a free audiobook and a 30 day free trial at audibletrial.com/ronsamazingstories.

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RAS #752 — The Stories That History Tells Us

On Ron’s Amazing Stories this week, we’re taking a trip through history — although perhaps not the kind you remember from school.

We’ll begin with the return of an old RAS segment, Not So Important Times in History. This time, we look at an international crisis that happened practically in my own backyard that nearly started a war between the United States and Great Britain.

Then Suspense puts its own fictional spin on history with A Friend to Alexander, a strange tale involving dreams, Aaron Burr, Alexander Hamilton, and a famous duel.

Finally, we climb aboard the old-time-radio time machine with You Are There. CBS reporters take us back to July 11th, 1804, to cover the Burr-Hamilton duel as though it were happening live.

And somewhere along the way, we may even find out what happened to a pig.

In This Episode

• Not So Important Times in History: The Pig War — The strange 1859 incident that brought American and British forces face-to-face over the shooting of a pig.

• Suspense: A Friend to Alexander — A man’s dreams about Aaron Burr begin taking on some disturbingly familiar faces. Originally broadcast August 3rd, 1943.

• You Are There: The Burr-Hamilton Duel — CBS turns one of America’s most famous historical events into a live radio news report. Originally broadcast January 11th, 1948. Our surviving recording is incomplete.

Featured Stories

A Friend to Alexander from Suspense — August 3, 1943

History provides the inspiration for this unusual Suspense story about a man whose dreams carry him into the world of Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton. But when the people in those dreams begin resembling people from his own life, history and reality start getting a little too close for comfort.

The Burr-Hamilton Duel from You Are There — January 11, 1948

You Are There had a wonderful idea: take CBS radio reporters and send them into the past to cover history as breaking news. This time the microphones are waiting in Weehawken, New Jersey, as Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr prepare for their famous duel.

Ron’s Amazing Stories Is Sponsored by: Audible – You can get a free audiobook and a 30 day free trial at audibletrial.com/ronsamazingstories.