The Radio Planet

The canon of the air

The Canon

Ranked volumes, argued in writing, played from the archive

Every list is placed in order by hand, every entry carries a verdict, and every entry has a surviving transfer attached. Cast your own ballots and the listeners’ order answers back.

1928–1962 · 50 entries

The Fifty

The greatest broadcasts of the Golden Age, ranked

Fifty programmes, placed in order by hand and argued for in writing. No entry is here on reputation alone, and every one of them has a surviving recording attached, so you can settle the argument yourself.

At No. 1: Suspense

S
Suspense cover
E
Escape cover
G
Gunsmoke cover
JBP
The Jack Benny Program cover

1925–1962 · 50 entries

Fifty Broadcasts That Changed History

The transmissions that altered what happened next

Not the best broadcasts — the consequential ones. Programmes that invented a form, moved an argument, built an audience, or told a country something it could not un-hear.

At No. 1: The Mercury Theatre on the Air

MTA
The Mercury Theatre on the Air cover
FC
1YR
1941: The Year in Radio News cover
WCB
Winston Churchill: The BBC Broadcasts cover

1931–1962 · 50 entries

Fifty Greatest Mysteries

Detectives, killers and the creaking door, ranked

The crime and horror canon: hard-boiled investigators, fair-play puzzles, police procedure and the anthologies that frightened a continent on a shoestring.

At No. 1: Suspense

S
Suspense cover
YTJ
Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar cover
W
The Whistler cover
S
The Shadow cover