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TuneInVintage Radio For Modern Listeners.
The Good Old Days of Radio Show is a podcast that presents the period of American radio commonly known as “The Golden Age”. During this time, audiences were thrilled by comedy, mystery, suspense, and horror, produced by the some of the greatest writers, directors, composers, and famous stars of the time.
In this show we present the best of these radio shows. Each show is carefully selected by record collector John Tefteller as an outstanding example of this classic art form.
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The Story Behind The Good Old Days of Radio Show.
In 1992, John Tefteller brought the first Good Old Days Of Radio Show to the airwaves on local Southern Oregon station, KOPE-FM. For three hours every Saturday and Sunday night, thousands of listeners of all ages tuned in to hear the show, earning it ‘the highest rated radio program’ in its time slot.
Latest Episode
Thursday October 8, 2026
Episode 533: Quiet Please: Not Enough Time
We’re back to Wyllis Cooper today and his dark fantasy series Quiet Please. This time we meet Walter McCoy, a mechanic who has spent four years secretly building a working time machine at a remote farmhouse. When Walter travels fifty years into the past, he finds himself in 1897, where a run-in with the local sheriff leads to an unexpected romance with a young woman. But when Walter is forced to make a hasty return to his own time, he leaves Carrie behind with a promise to come back. John also discusses the history of Quiet Please and the poor condition of the surviving transcription discs, making this another rare piece of vintage radio preserved by the seat of its pants.
Recent Episodes
Tuesday October 7, 2026
Episode 532: The Firebug Caper
It’s the first Tuesday of the month, and in keeping with our goal to bring you a long “lost” radio show, we have another Adventures of Sam Spade, starring Howard Duff as the hard-boiled San Francisco private detective. The episode is “The Firebug Caper” from February 6, 1949 and finds Spade investigating a series of suspicious building fires that point to a large insurance fraud scheme. The theme gives the writers plenty of fuel for over-the-top incendiary puns.
Thursday October 1, 2026
Episode 531: Quiet Please: Bring Me To Life
It’s October again, and John is back, bringing us an imaginative and tongue-in-cheek early episode of the classic supernatural radio series Quiet Please: “Bring Me to Life,” originally broadcast in 1947. It’s about a struggling writer who discovers that his typewriter can bring his characters to life. With this fun premise, and Cooper’s knack for quirky and realistic dialogue, “Bring Me to Life” is a perfect example of the fantastic, pre-Twilight Zone fare the series would become known for.
Tuesday September 29, 2026
Episode 530: Portrait of Death
Well, this week John is hurrying back from the East Coast through massive storms, and was not able to be here in time to record a podcast. But stepping up to the plate, and for the very first time on the podcast I might add, we are welcoming Zach Eastman, Vice President of SPERDVAC, who has very kindly agreed to pinch hit today as our emergency fill-in host. Zach brings us a rare 1945 episode of Inner Sanctum Mystery, “Portrait of Death,” about a mysterious painting that seems to bring death to everyone who owns it. Zach talks about SPERDVAC’s preservation of these classic radio recordings, and gives us a stunning sneak peak at the amazing restoration work being done right now to provide the clearest sound possible for modern listeners.
DISCLAIMER: We don’t think any actual harm came to Zach during the making of this episode. That’s about as thorough as this investigation is going to get.
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Meet Your Host
John Tefteller has been collecting vintage radio programs since 1971. He is one of the foremost collectors of records and original radio transcriptions in the world.
John grew up in Southern California, and for decades he scoured flea markers, thrift stores, estate sales, garage sales, and private collections for records. Over the past almost 50 years of hunting, John amassed one of the largest private archives of vintage records and radio recordings.