Bold Venture: Bogart & Bacall

In the third episode for 2026 we use Casablanca as an example to explore how and why hit movies transferred rapidly to radio..
 
Friday Number 5 
EPISODE 22 | JULY 31 | SERIES 2026
 
CAST
Cecil B deMille, Owen Kelly, Alan Ladd, Hedy Lamarr
 
COMMENTARY
On months that have a fifth Friday we break from our normal schedule. This year, as we did in 2022, we delve into the history of radio to bring back some examples that let us hear unfiltered aspects of the world as it seemed to our grandparents. 
Today go back to January 24, 1944 to listen to the Lux Radio Theater version of Casablanca. This constituted the second radio adaptation.
The first one lasted thirty minutes and starred the original cast: Bogart, Bergman, et al. This version lasted an hour and, because the studio said that Bogart was not available, the parts were all recast and the leads were played by Hedy Lamarr and Alan Ladd.
Owen Kelly introduces the episode and explains how and why this happened.
 
References
Old World Radio, a source of historic broadcasts https://www.oldradioworld.com
Old Time Radio notes on Casablanca https://oldtime.radio/episode/lux_radio_theatre-casablanca
Screen Guild Theatre version with original movie cast: https://oldtime.radio/episode/screen_guild_theater-casablanca
World Radio History: downloadable publications https://www.worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/Bookshelf_History.htm
 
 
 

In the second episode of Friday Number Five for 2026 we embark on another journey through the golden age of radio, this time with William Conrad starring as Marshall Matt Dillon in a 1956 episode of Gunsmoke.
Friday Number 5 
EPISODE 21 | MAY 29, 2026
 
HOST
Owen Kelly
 
COMMENTARY
On months that have a fifth Friday we break from our normal schedule and produce something tangentially related to ideas of cultural democracy. This year, as we did in 2022, we delve into the history of radio to bring back some historical examples of comedies, documentaries, and serials that let us hear unfiltered aspects of the world as it seemed to our grandparents. 
Today go back to June 3, 1956 to listen to an episode of the western series Gunsmoke. An actor, Irving Henry, arrives in Dodge City. You may recognise this as a none-too-subtle play on the name Henry Irving, a famous British actor of the nineteenth century who, in partnership with Ellen Terry, made the Lyceum "the most important theatre in London". In his last years he continued to tour the provinces playing characters from Shakespeare, and died suddenly after a performance in Bradford in October 1905.
This all has relevance for the episode you will hear in a minute, which is simply called Shakespeare.
Gunsmoke takes place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, in the post-Civil War era and centers on United States Marshall Matt Dillon as he attempts to enforce law and order in the city. 
The series was broadcast on CBS radio and later became a long-running and very successful tv show. Dillon was intended as a "Philip Marlowe of the Old West", and Gunsmoke as a western series for adults. The writers emphasised the brutal nature of the so-called Old West. Charles Meston, the head writer felt disgusted by the archetypal Western hero and set out "to destroy [that type of] character he loathed". In Meston's view, "Dillon was almost as scarred as the homicidal psychopaths who drifted into Dodge from all directions."
The series began on April 26, 1952 and ended after 9 series on June 18, 1961. This then was adult entertainment from the time when families sat around the radio to listen together. To listen to it today is to time travel to a past with different assumptions, different values, and different expectations about people, culture, ethics and society.
 
REFERENCES
Gunsmoke: Shakespeare https://www.oldradioworld.com/media/Gunsmoke%201952-08-23%20Shakespeare.mp3
Old World Radio, a source of historic broadcasts https://www.oldradioworld.com
A list of Gunsmoke episodes on Old World Radio https://www.oldradioworld.com/shows/Gunsmoke.php
Gunsmoke on Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunsmoke
About Matt Dillon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunsmoke#Matt_Dillon
 
 

In the first episode of the year we embark on another journey through the golden age of radio, beginning with Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce in The Reluctant Tobacconist. 
 
Friday Number Five
Episode 20 | January 30 | 2026
 
HOST Owen Kelly
COMMENTARY
On months that have a fifth Friday we break from our normal schedule and produce something else related tangentially to questions of cultural democracy. In 2026 we dive once more into the golden age of radio to bring back some historical examples of serials and comedies that let us hear unfiltered aspects of the world as it seemed to our grandparents.
We begin with a fine example of the ways in which motion pictures and radio worked together. Many movies became radio series, either as adaptations or as sequels or extensions. Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce had made a series of succesful movies as Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson, and they turned this into an equally successful radio series: The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. 
Here we listen to The Reluctant Tobacconist, first broadcast on April 30, 1945.  
 
REFERENCES
Wikipedia: the New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Archive.org
Old Radio World

In this episode we explore Faircamp again, trying to find something to celebrate halloween. Then we take a peep at what we can find at Tribe of Noise.  OCTOBER 31 | SERIES 2025
STREAM Friday Number Five | EPISODE 19 
HOST
Owen Kelly
COMMENTARY
Today (or tonight, depending on where you are) we have the final Friday Number Five of 2025. At the end of January we started another irregular series of Radio Miaaw: podcasts of music issued under Creative Commons licences; a theme we last explored four years ago. This month have another dive into the contents you can find while exploring the Faircamp web ring. This covers a wide range of music so if one piece doesn’t grab you then rest assured: something different will be along in a minute or so.
Since today is Halloween we also try to find some suitable music, fail, and see what we can find at Tribe of Noise instead. 
REFERENCES
The Faircamp website
The Faircamp webring FAQ
Johann Bourquenez: Diminished Epicness & more
Blix Byrd, including Skinning a Tiger
Voodoo Economics, the EP
Nightmother: The Beach Boys In My Room
A Companion of Owls: Sketches for Aural Ataraxia
Ruby Louise Rose: projects, downloads, works in progress
Helen Bell at Faircamp
Helen Bell at Bandcamp
Helen Bell: Molecule
Olive: Halloween Party v2.0 at Tribe of Noise
Rob Dell Music: I do believe in Christmas at Tribe of Noise

Oh look its the fifth Friday of August. That must mean its time for another episode of Friday Number 5!At the end of January we started another irregular series of Radio Miaaw: podcasts of music issued under Creative Commons licences; a theme we last explored four years ago.This month we have another unexpected surprise. We have found Faircamp, which aims to achieve something similar to Bandcamp, without any corporate shennanigans. If you want to distribute your music online then you can download as a free open-source software. It allows you to create your own website in fifteen or so minutes, with no previous experience.More interestingly, the website has a web ring built into it, so you join a community as soon as you put your site online.In this episode we explain what a webring is, and then dive into some of the music available on the Faircamp webring. In the time available we barely touch the surface.

This month we have the second Friday Number Five of 2025. At the end of January we started another irregular series of Radio Miaaw: podcasts of music issued under Creative Commons licences; a theme we last explored four years ago.This month we have a special and unexpected surprise. Moby and Little Walnut Productions have re-launched mobygratis with, their words “phenomenally expanded functionality and resources, making it the most robust iteration yet”.They go on to say that “With the addition of 300 previously unreleased tracks, mobygratis provides creators with a revolutionary platform for accessing restriction-free music. This collection is part of an anarchist experiment in creative freedom, allowing unprecedented access to high-quality compositions.Previously available only as stereo masters, mobygratis now offers hundreds of multitrack audio files. These high-resolution tracks invite collaboration by enabling creators to remix, customize, and fully adapt the music to their unique projects, fostering a spirit of shared creativity and innovation. Formats include stereo MP3, stereo WAV, and multitrack WAV - all completely free”.In this episode we dig deeper into #mobygratis, take a look at the contract you receive when you register and download one or more tracks, and listen to a not-quite-random selection from the tracks available. You can find full episode notes with links to all the music at miaaw.net.

Most months have four Fridays, and we know what to do with them. We put out a podcast: a different but related one for each Friday in the month.
Sometimes, however, a month has five Fridays, and then we do something different - usually celebrating sound in one way or another.
This month we have the first Friday Number Five of 2025 and we start another irregular series of Radio Miaaw: podcasts of music issued under Creative Commons licences which we last did four years ago.
We will pick a theme for each edition. In this episode we showcase a range of music available on Tribe of Noise, based in Amsterdam and one of the longest running independent platforms for Creative Commons licensed musics.
References
Sal Randolph on Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sal_Randolph
Tim Kulig: Campaign Intro 1
Tim Kulig’s website, with lots of free-to-use music https://timkulig.com
Tribe of Noise: current featured artists
Michelle Chandler: Can’t Go Home
Mullerette: We Don’t Say
Jenny Dee: Bandit of Love
Morrisa Jeanine: Out The Game
Psalters: Home for Refugees
Michelle Chandler: Ballad of the Roses
Morrisa Jeanine: In The Zone
Psalters: US vs Us
Tim Kulig: Campaign Outro 1

Some months have five Fridays, and when this happens add an extra podcast to our normal schedule. In 2021 we played music licensed under creative commons licences; in 2022 we excavated four old radio shows; and in 2023 we looked back at four early classics from Meanwhile in an Abandoned Warehouse.
This year we have found another podcast that we think might interest you: one published under a Creative Commons licence that somehow connects to things here at Miaaw.
This month we go to the heart of enshittification, and listen to episode 438 of Cory Doctorow’s own podcast. He takes Tiktok as an example and lays out his theory of enshittification, using that as an example.
His podcast varies between reading extracts from his novels, reading extracts from his books, and pulling together his thoughts on current cultural and political issues. Many other episodes will prove worth your time, and he has them all stored at archive.org.