Best Classictv Podcasts (2026)

1
The Big Friend 31:40

Play Pause

4h ago31:40

31:40

Original Release Date: October 4, 2008 Joe Friday and Ben Romero investigate the murder of a man’s wife, with the husband emerging as prime suspects. Original Air Date: April 5, 1951 Support the show monthly at patreon.greatdetectives.net Support the show on a one-time basis at http://support.greatdetectives.net.‘ Mail a donation to: Adam Graham, P…

1
Harry Shearer on the origins of Spinal Tap 10:39

2h ago10:39

10:39

We're taking a few days off for the holidays, but we'll be back with brand new editions of TV Confidential in the new year. In the meantime, please enjoy this Blast from the Past clip from November 2021 in which Ed and guest co-host Chuck Harter ask comedian and voice artist extraordinaire Harry Shearer about the back story of This is Spinal Tap, i…

1
The Big Ben 29:53

7h ago29:53

29:53

Original Release Date: September 27, 2008 Joe Friday and Ben Romero search for an armed and dangerous carjacker. Original Air Date: March 15, 1951 Support the show monthly at patreon.greatdetectives.net Support the show on a one-time basis at http://support.greatdetectives.net.‘ Mail a donation to: Adam Graham, PO Box 15913, Boise, Idaho 83715 Take…

1
The Playful Side of Pete Duel 8:25

3h ago8:25

8:25

We're taking a few days off for the holidays, but we'll be back with brand new editions of TV Confidential in the new year. In the meantime, please enjoy this Blast from the Past clip from December 2015 in which author Paul Green helps Ed revisit the life and career of Pete Duel, the star of Alias Smith and Jones who took his life on Dec. 30, 1971,…

1
The Big New Years 35:49

1d ago35:49

35:49

Original Release Date: September 20, 2008 Joe Friday and Ben Romero search hunt for an an escaped robber. Original Air Date: March 8, 1951 Support the show monthly at patreon.greatdetectives.net Support the show on a one-time basis at http://support.greatdetectives.net.‘ Mail a donation to: Adam Graham, PO Box 15913, Boise, Idaho 83715 Take the lis…

1
Why The Brotherhood of The Bell still packs a wallop 19:11

2h ago19:11

19:11

TVC 719.2: Part 2 of a conversation that began a few weeks ago with author, essayist, novelist, and TV historian Mitchell Hadley (The Electronic Mirror, ItsAboutTV.com). Mitchell's latest book, Darkness in Primetime: How Classic-Era TV Foresaw Modern Society's Descent into Hell, is a series of essays that shows how certain episodes of such classic …

1
Why not every TV series needs a final episode 11:40

6h ago11:40

11:40

TVC 719.3: Mitchell Hadley talks to Ed about "The Running Men," an essay that Mitchell recently wrote for ItsAboutTV.com that makes the case for why it's not necessary for every television series to have a final episode that resolves the premise and ties up any other loose ends. Ed agrees with Mitchell, but adds that the influence of social media o…

1
David Janssen, Pamela Tiffin, and "The Girl from Little Egypt" 10:50

10d ago10:50

10:50

We're taking a few days off for the holidays, but we'll be back with brand new editions of TV Confidential in the new year. In the meantime, please enjoy this Blast from the Past clip from March 2016 featuring sixties film historian Tom Lisanti. Tom's books include Pamela Tiffin: Hollywood to Rome, 1961-1974, a comprehensive look at Tiffin's work i…

1
Tom Sturges on why the music industry is a great big playground 24:28

2d ago24:28

24:28

TVC 719.4: Ed welcomes Tom Sturges, son of Academy Award-winning writer/director Preston Sturges, one of the top executives in the music industry, and the author of such books as Every Idea is a Good Idea, A Good Divorce Begins Here, and Preston Sturges: The Last Years of Hollywood's First Writer-Director. Tom's latest book, Men Explained... Finall…

1
The Big Partner 31:55

2d ago31:55

31:55

Original Release Date: September 13, 2008 Joe Friday and Ben Romero search hunt for an an escaped robber. Original Air Date: March 1, 1951 Support the show monthly at patreon.greatdetectives.net Support the show on a one-time basis at http://support.greatdetectives.net.‘ Mail a donation to: Adam Graham, PO Box 15913, Boise, Idaho 83715 Take the lis…

1
Tom Sturges, Preston Sturges, and Shaquille O'Neal 19:25

2d ago19:25

19:25

TVC 719.5: Tom Sturges talks to Ed about how his father, Preston Sturges, embodied some of the "man truths" that Tom writes about in his new book, Men Explained… Finally; how Tom came to work with NBA star Shaquille O'Neal when O'Neal became a rap artist; and what Tom looks for when determining whether a new song has what it takes to become a hit r…

1
The Big Couple 30:24

6d ago30:24

30:24

Original Release Date: September 6, 2008 Joe Friday and Ben Romero search for a husband and wife con artist team. Original Air Date: February 15, 1951 Support the show monthly at patreon.greatdetectives.net Support the show on a one-time basis at http://support.greatdetectives.net.‘ Mail a donation to: Adam Graham, PO Box 15913, Boise, Idaho 83715 …

1
55 Years of The Mary Tyler Moore Show 21:52

12d ago21:52

21:52

TVC 718.1: From November 2015: Tony, Donna, and Ed discuss the legacy of The Mary Tyler Moore Show (CBS, 1970-1977), including a look at its spinoff series Rhoda (CBS, 1974-1978), Phyllis (CBS, 1975-1977), and Lou Grant (CBS, 1977-1982).By Ed Robertson

1
Why "Rhoda's Wedding" is still a great episode 20:20

7d ago20:20

20:20

TVC 718.2: From November 2015: Tony, Donna, and Ed discuss "Rhoda's Wedding" (CBS, Oct. 28, 1974), the famous first-season episode of Rhoda in which Rhoda Morgenstein (Valerie Harper) marries Joe Gerard (David Groh), and why the episode remains a television classic more than fifty years later, even though the decision to marry the two characters ul…

1
Dorothy Kilgallen biographer Mark Shaw on the importance of primary sources 14:42

9d ago14:42

14:42

TVC 718.3: Part 2 of a conversation that began last week with Mark Shaw, author of Abuse of Power: Connecting Robert Kennedy's Assassinaton with the Murders of JFK and Dorothy Kilgallen and The Reporter Who Knew Too Much. Topics this segment include new findings that suggest that the autopsy performed on Kilgallen after her death in November 1965 m…

1
Stefanie Powers on why Love Letters appeals to actors and audiences alike 20:07

9d ago20:07

20:07

TVC 718.4: Ed welcomes back Stefanie Powers, the actress known around the world as Jennifer Hart on Hart to Hart (ABC, 1979-1984), and the founder and president of the William Holden Wildlife Foundation, the nonprofit organization that Stefanie established in 1982 in memory of her longtime life partner that continues and furthers the conservation w…

1
The Big Cast 30:57

9d ago30:57

30:57

Original Release Date: September 2, 2008 Friday and Romero question a man they suspect of being a serial killer. Original Air Date: February 8, 1951 Support the show monthly at patreon.greatdetectives.net Support the show on a one-time basis at http://support.greatdetectives.net.‘ Mail a donation to: Adam Graham, PO Box 15913, Boise, Idaho 83715 Ta…

1
Stefanie Powers, Ava Gardner, and James Garner 17:56

10d ago17:56

17:56

TVC 718.5: Stefanie Powers talks to Ed about why her experience as a contract player at Columbia Pictures at the start of her career was like "a finishing school for actors"; working with Ava Gardner on Maggie (CBS, 1986), a pilot for a series that marked Gardner's final screen appearance (the pilot, however, never aired); and why James Garner rank…

1
A posthumous honor for Dorothy Kilgallen 17:58

11d ago17:58

17:58

TVC 718.6: Mark Shaw, author of Abuse of Power: Connecting Robert Kennedy's Assassinaton with the Murders of JFK and Dorothy Kilgallen and The Reporter Who Knew Too Much, talks to Ed about how the City of New York honored Dorothy Kilgallen on Saturday, Nov. 8 by naming a street after her on the sixtieth anniversary of her death. Other topics this s…

51
The Big Children 39:45

19d ago39:45

39:45

Original Release Date: August 23, 2008 Joe Friday and Ben Romero investigate a case of neglected children in one of Los Angeles’ wealthiest neighborhoods. Original Air Date: February 1, 1951 Support the show monthly at patreon.greatdetectives.net Support the show on a one-time basis at http://support.greatdetectives.net.‘ Mail a donation to: Adam G…

1
Mark Shaw on the journey that led him to write Abuse of Power 22:35

17d ago22:35

22:35

TVC 717.1: Ed welcomes back Mark Shaw, investigative journalist, former criminal defense attorney, onetime legal analyst for CNN, ESPN, and USA Today, and the author of nearly thirty books, including The Reporter Who Knew Too Much: The Mysterious Death of What's My Line TV Star and Media Icon Dorothy Kilgallen. Mark's latest book, Abuse of Power, i…

1
Mark Shaw, author of Abuse of Power 19:46

16d ago19:46

19:46

TVC 717.2: Mark Shaw, author of Abuse of Power: Connecting Robert Kennedy's Assassinaton with the Murders of JFK and Dorothy Kilgallen, talks to Ed about a recently released YouTube video about John Shear (pictured above, left), a longtime paddock captain at Santa Anita Racetrack in Southern California who hired Sirhan Sirhan (pictured above, cente…

1
Happy 100th Birthday, Dick Van Dyke 13:39

17d ago13:39

13:39

TVC 717.3: From December 2011: Tony, Donna, and Ed send birthday wishes to film and television legend Dick Van Dyke (The Dick Van Dyke Show, Mary Poppins, Diagnosis Murder) as part of This Week in TV History. Dick Van Dyke turns 100 on Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025.By Ed Robertson

51
The Big Tomato 31:17

16d ago31:17

31:17

Original Release Date: August 17, 2008 A high schooler in a car accident sends Joe Friday and Ben Romero up the narcotics foodchain in search of an elusive Drug Kingpin known only by his odd nickname. Original Air Date: January 25, 1951 Support the show monthly at patreon.greatdetectives.net Support the show on a one-time basis at http://support.gr…

1
Ellen Geer on Theatricum Botanicum's Holiday Family Faire 23:08

16d ago23:08

23:08

TVC 717.4: Ed welcomes back Ellen Geer, daughter of Will Geer and the artistic director of Theatricum Botanicum, the outdoor amphitheatre in Topanga Canyon, California that Will Geer founded in 1973. Theatricum's fifth annual Holiday Family Faire will take place on Saturday, Dec. 13 from 11am to 5pm, followed by a special live production of It's a …

1
Alison Arngrim on the epic Little House cast reunion in Simi Valley 16:54

18d ago16:54

16:54

TVC 717.5: Ed welcomes back actress and author Alison Arngrim (Little House on the Prairie, Confessions of a Prairie Bitch). Alison has news about several events coming up over the next few weeks that will celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the premiere of Little House on the Prairie (NBC, 1974-1983), including the recent Live Before a Studio Au…

51
The Big Dance 31:49

20d ago31:49

31:49

Original Release Date: August 9, 2008 Joe Friday and Ben Romero hunt for 2 young hold up men. Original Air Date: January 18, 1951 Support the show monthly at patreon.greatdetectives.net Support the show on a one-time basis at http://support.greatdetectives.net.‘ Mail a donation to: Adam Graham, PO Box 15913, Boise, Idaho 83715 Take the listener sur…

1
Ralph Senensky on the "Grandma Comes Home" episode of The Waltons 19:43

23d ago19:43

19:43

TVC 716.5: From February 2014: Prolific television director Ralph Senensky takes listeners behind the scenes of "Grandma Comes Home," the episode of The Waltons from March 1978 that marked Ellen Geer's return to the series after she had suffered a stroke the year before. Other topics this segment include how Corby and Will Geer were "the salt and p…

1
Ralph Senensky, The Partridge Family, and The Pasadena Playhouse 17:21

25d ago17:21

17:21

TVC 716.6: From February 2014: Prolific television director Ralph Senensky talks to Ed about directing Shirley Jones, Ray Bolger, and Rosemary DeCamp in the "Forty-Year Itch" episode of The Partridge Family (ABC, 1970-1974), as well as how he first worked with actress Jennifer Raine at the Pasadena Playhouse. Raine is the mother of Brian Forster, t…

51
The Big Jump 31:49

23d ago31:49

31:49

Original Release Date: August 2, 2008 Friday and Romero try to talk a suicidal man off a ledge. Original Air Date: January 11, 1951 Support the show monthly at patreon.greatdetectives.net Support the show on a one-time basis at http://support.greatdetectives.net.‘ Mail a donation to: Adam Graham, PO Box 15913, Boise, Idaho 83715 Take the listener s…

51
The Big Hold-Up 32:59

27d ago32:59

32:59

Original Release Date: July 26, 2008 Joe Friday and Ben Romero capture a dangerous armed robber who tries to prove no jail can hold him. Original Air Date: January 4, 1951 Support the show monthly at patreon.greatdetectives.net Support the show on a one-time basis at http://support.greatdetectives.net.‘ Mail a donation to: Adam Graham, PO Box 15913…

1
Mitchell Hadley, author of Darkness in Primetime 21:22

1M ago21:22

21:22

TVC 715.1: Ed welcomes back author, essayist, novelist, and TV historian Mitchell Hadley (The Electronic Mirror, ItsAboutTV.com). Mitchell's latest book, Darkness in Primetime: How Classic-Era TV Foresaw Modern Society's Descent into Hell, is a series of essays that shows how certain episodes of such classic series as The Twilight Zone, The Outer L…

1
The Prisoner, The General, and One 20:02

1M ago20:02

20:02

TVC 715.2: Mitchell Hadley, author of The Electronic Mirror and Darkness in Primetime, talks to Ed about how "The General," Episode 6 of The Prisoner (ITC, 1967-1968), the classic allegorical series created by Patrick McGoohan, discusses the dangers of rapidly accumulating a vast amount of knowledge—without any understanding of what that knowledge …

1
Arnie Holland on the re-release of Diane Keaton's Heaven 14:20

1M ago14:20

14:20

TVC 715.3: Ed welcomes Arnie Holland, president and CEO of Lightyear Entertainment, and executive producer of Heaven, the acclaimed feature-length documentary from 1987 that also marked the directorial debut of Academy Award-winning actress Diane Keaton. Recently re-released and digitally remastered, Heaven is a free-wheeling, offbeat pastiche of o…

1
Les Lannom and Mister Five and Dime 21:42

1M ago21:42

21:42

TVC 715.4: Part 2 of a conversation that began last week with Les Lannom, the actor known around the world as Lester Hodges on Harry O (ABC, 1974-1976). Topics this segment include a few behind-the-scenes anecdotes about filming "Mister Five and Dime," Les' favorite episode of Harry O, including a funny story about an ad-lib in a scene near the end…

1
Les Lannom on why playing the bagpipes requires a strong stomach 27:51

1M ago27:51

27:51

TVC 714.5: Actor and musician Les Lannom talks to Ed about learning how to play the bagpipes when he was age forty; why one needs strong stomach muscles and a strong neck to play the bagpipes; the upcoming audiobook project about explorers Lincoln Ellsworth and Raold Amundsen in which Les will provide the voices; and the events leading up to Les' g…

101
The Big Break 34:27

1M ago34:27

34:27

Original Release Date: July 19, 2008 Joe Friday and Ben Romero capture a dangerous armed robber who tries to prove no jail can hold him. Original Air Date: December 14, 1950 Support the show monthly at patreon.greatdetectives.net Support the show on a one-time basis at http://support.greatdetectives.net.‘ Mail a donation to: Adam Graham, PO Box 159…

1
Les Lannom, Henry Fonda, and James Garner 25:56

1M ago25:56

25:56

TVC 714.6: Actor and musician Les Lannom shares a few memories about working with Peter Falk in Columbo Goes to College (ABC, 1990), with James Garner in the miniseries Space (CBS, 1985), with Henry Fonda in the acclaimed made-for-TV movie Gideon's Trumpet (CBS, 1980), and with Dennis Weaver in the epic miniseries Centennial (NBC, 1978-1979).…

101
The Big Picture 33:41

1M ago33:41

33:41

Original Release Date: July 13, 2008 Joe Friday and Ben Romero track down two phony talent scouts who are victimizing teenage girls with Hollywood dreams. Original Air Date: December 7, 1950 Support the show monthly at patreon.greatdetectives.net Support the show on a one-time basis at http://support.greatdetectives.net.‘ Mail a donation to: Adam G…

1
Ralph Senensky on his early career in television 21:46

1M ago21:46

21:46

TVC 714.1: TV Confidential remembers Ralph Senensky, longtime member of the Directors Guild of America and one of the most prolific directors in TV history (particularly when it comes to episodic television) with an encore presentation of a conversation that originally aired in February 2014. Ralph Senensky passed away on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025 at …

1
Ralph Senensky and The Waltons 22:18

1M ago22:18

22:18

TVC 714.2: From February 2014: Prolific television director Ralph Senensky talks to Ed about working with Ralph Waite, Will Geer, Ellen Corby, and Michael Learned on The Waltons, and with Richard Thomas on "Game of Terror," an episode of The FBI that aired in 1971, one year before the premiere of The Waltons. Ralph not only helmed twelve episodes o…

1
Les Lannom, Prime Cut, and the smell of a good pipe 16:36

1M ago16:36

16:36

TVC 714.3: Ed welcomes Les Lannom, the actor known around the world as Lester Hodges on Harry O (ABC, 1974-1976), and a man who has worked with such movie and TV legends as Lee Marvin, Gene Hackman, Henry Fonda, Robert Mitchum, Joe Don Baker, Sissy Spacek, Dennis Weaver, Pat Hingle, James Garner, David Carradine, and David Janssen in the course of …

1
Louise Sorel, Herb Edelman, and Dame Judith Anderson 21:59

1M ago21:59

21:59

TVC 714.4: Part 2 of a conversation that began last week with Louise Sorel (Days of Our Lives, Santa Barbara). Louise's new book, If There Were No Dogs: Musings and Mutterings, is a collection of prose pieces and poems drawn from her life, childhood, and career that reveals how Louise navigated a sometimes difficult childhood with emotionally dista…

101
The Big Car 33:06

1M ago33:06

33:06

Original Release Date: July 5, 2008 Joe Friday and Ben Romero search for an Armed robber with an exotic taste in cars. Original Air Date: November 30, 1950 Support the show monthly at patreon.greatdetectives.net Support the show on a one-time basis at http://support.greatdetectives.net.‘ Mail a donation to: Adam Graham, PO Box 15913, Boise, Idaho 8…

1
Les Lannom, Kung Fu, and Harry O 27:51

1M ago27:51

27:51

TVC 714.5: Les Lannom talks to Ed about how his penchant for performing cold readings stems from his longtime passion for reading out loud; how his youthful appearances has sometimes worked in his favor (and sometimes not); and how a guest appearance on Kung Fu in 1972 not only put him on the radar of producers Jerry Thorpe, Alex Beaton, and Robert…

1
Les Lannom on working with David Janssen 17:23

1M ago17:23

17:23

TVC 714.5: Les Lannom talks to Ed about how he and David Janssen bonded almost immediately when they worked together on Harry O, partly because they shared an ability to laugh at themselves and not take themselves too seriously. Les not only wrote the foreword for The Harry O Viewing Companion by Steve Aldous and Gary Gillies, but contributed many …

1
The Big Betty 39:29

2M ago39:29

39:29

Original Release Date: June 28, 2008 Joe Friday and Ben Romero go after a gang of conmen who are victimizing the families of recently deceased people. Original Air Date: November 23, 1950 Support the show monthly at patreon.greatdetectives.net Support the show on a one-time basis at http://support.greatdetectives.net.‘ Mail a donation to: Adam Grah…

1
June Lockhart's passion for space travel 22:10

1M ago22:10

22:10

TVC 713.1: TV Confidential remembers June Lockhart (Lassie, Petticoat Junction, Lost in Space) with an encore presentation of our conversation from June 2014 with the beloved actress. June Lockhart passed away on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025 at the age of 100. At the time we spoke to June in June 2014, she had just been honored by NASA with its Exceptio…

1
June Lockhart, Jim Lange, and H.V. Kaltenborn 13:54

1M ago13:54

13:54

TVC 713.2: From June 2014: June Lockhart talks to Ed about some of the many TV game shows on which she appeared throughout her career, including Who Said That? (NBC, 1948-1955), a show that also began June's long association with the White House press corps, and Take My Word For It (Synd., 1982-1983), a show hosted by Jim Lange that was filmed at t…

1
F Troop Turns 60 with a Bang and a Boom 17:33

2M ago17:33

17:33

TVC 713.2a: From November 2015: Tony, Donna, and Ed remember the premiere of F Troop (ABC, 1965-1967) in September 1965. Topics this segment include how the influence of Buster Keaton can be seen in many of the pratfalls that Ken Berry performed when he played Captain Parmenter on F Troop; the on-screen chemistry between Forrest Tucker and Larry St…