If You Please, Himan Brown’s Radio Mystery Theater

Radio producer Himan Brown created over 10,000 programs in his lifetime, with a vigor and intensity that kept him going for a century. His life and prodigious output are celebrated in the podcast series Audio Maverick. Now, we offer rebroadcasts of a select group of Brown’s programs in a new series called If You Please, Himan Brown’s Radio Mystery Theater.

14 episodes

10d ago latest

weekly cadence

English language

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Episodes 14

If You Please Himan Brown's Radio Mystery Theater SEASON 2 TRAILER
2d ago · 1:22
IF YOU PLEASE… HIMAN BROWN’S RADIO MYSTERY THEATER, RETURNS FOR SEASON 2 Radio Drama pioneer Himan Brown’s shows from his CBS Radio Mystery Theater series, which ran from 1974 to 1982, are remastered from his personal vault of 1400 shows. With over 10,000 programs in a career spanning over 85 years, Brown left an extraordinary legacy of socially impactful shows that were as entertaining as they were illuminating. Brown was especially proud of his inventive reimagining of radio drama for contemporary times. Each episode of this new thirteen-week series will feature an engrossing story, commissi
S1E1: The Old Ones Are Hard to Kill
2mo ago · 50:42
Welcome to If You Please, Himan Brown’s Radio Mystery Theater. On this series we are offering rebroadcasts of a select group of programs created by this legendary producer for CBS between 1974 and 1982. Brown reimagined radio drama for contemporary times. Our new series offers some of these exciting works again, and includes comments by John Slavney about each episode. This week: The Old Ones Are Hard to Kill Ada Canby is 77 years old, sharp as a tack, and nobody's fool. So when her boarder, Mr. Paulson, confesses on his deathbed that he killed a man for money a decade ago, she’s determined to
S1E2: The Return of the Moresbys
2mo ago · 50:05
Richard Moresby faces a dilemma when his wealthy wife, Una, falls under the spell of Dr. Sing, a mystic who claims human spirits return as animals. When Una vows to leave her fortune to Sing’s temple, Richard stages her death as a suicide, securing his inheritance. But his confidence falters as animals begin appearing around his home — a barking dog, a persistent raccoon, intrusive birds. Is it guilt, paranoia, or did Una truly mean it when she swore she’d be back?
S1E3: The Bullet
2mo ago · 49:58
In an ordinary American city, salesman Jerry Price is stunned when his old Army buddy, Paul Gardner, walks into Paddy Noonan’s bar — especially since Paul died nine years ago in Vietnam. Worse, he brings unsettling news: According to the Divine Plan, Jerry was meant to perish that day, while Paul was destined to survive, marry Jerry’s wife, Marge, and father a world-changing child. But cosmic balance must be restored, and time is running out for Jerry to meet the fate he narrowly escaped.
S1E13: And Nothing but the Truth
3d ago · 51:12
Teenager David Williams, shaken after hitting a man while driving drunk on a rainy night, rushes home and confesses to his father, Grant, a college professor. Taking charge, Grant goes to the precinct and claims responsibility for the crime. Det. Rizzo questions the professor’s oddly composed demeanor, though his lieutenant dismisses the concern. Meanwhile, Grant’s wife, Marian, grows uneasy and urges David to tell the truth — just as news breaks of a murdered young coed with ties to the Williams family.
S1E12: A Very Old Man
10d ago · 50:36
In a small rural village, Stefan, an elderly farmer, possesses an inexplicable ability to diagnose and heal ailments — a talent that irritates and confounds his son-in-law, Manfred, a doctor. Yet after witnessing Stefan diagnose hidden conditions and cure people and animals with just the warmth from his hands, even Manfred becomes a reluctant believer. Stefan insists these powers flow through him from his infant daughter Amalie, who died shortly after she was born, decades ago, and with whose spirit he continues to commune.
S1E11: Dead for a Dollar
17d ago · 50:50
In a local bar, two angry men plot to kill Jason Grant, the ruthless tycoon who destroyed their lives. Wynn Thomas wants revenge for his brother's death in Korea, while Harry Tolan seeks payback for his stolen wife and business. They devise an elaborate murder scheme, which quickly goes awry, leaving Grant alive but suspicious. That same night, Grant tells his son, Tony, about plans to divorce Tony's mother and marry his secretary, Kay. By morning, Grant is dead. Lieutenant Metcalf investigates, eventually coaxing a confession from the killer.
S1E10: The Girl Who Found Things
24d ago · 49:28
When his half-sister, Geraldine, goes missing, David Wheeler returns to his family's estate in Medvale with his new wife. His eccentric Aunt Faith enlists Iris Lloyd, a sixteen-year-old clairvoyant from the local girls’ home, hoping that her gift for “finding things” will reveal what happened. David, who secretly arranged Geraldine’s murder, initially dismisses Iris’s abilities, but he becomes unnerved after the teenage psychic attempts to seduce him and then begins producing uncanny insights about the fate of of his missing sister.
S1E9: Ring a Ring of Roses
1mo ago · 50:11
Laurie Thornton and her fiancé, George, set out to visit her former college roommate, Helena, at her family's remote estate, but their journey is interrupted by an eerie roadside vision of a violent clash between a father and daughter. They soon discover the haunting is tied to a cursed family heirloom: a ring with a rose-colored stone, rumored to prevent its female bearers from marrying. Later, Helena’s mother insists Laurie accept the ring as an engagement gift — which she does, but soon regrets.
S1E8: You Can Die Again | If You Please
1mo ago · 50:38
In 1950s America, businessman Spencer Chadwick stands over the body of his wife, Margaret, confessing murder to his friend, Inspector Faraday. His troubles began three months earlier when, at breakfast, he suddenly couldn’t recognize Margaret. Soon, he becomes obsessed with Peggy, a vibrant young woman, and meticulously recreates a downtown apartment filled with relics from two decades past. Within this carefully built world, Spencer’s long-abandoned youthful ambitions collide with reality.
S1E7: Accounts Receivable
1mo ago · 49:46
Phil Kohlman, an honest gas station owner, faces ruin unless he can raise $15,000 to buy out his disagreeable partner. Meanwhile, his estranged father, Rick — a newly paroled bank robber who served ten years for a $106,000 heist — moves into his home, unsettling Phil’s wife and teenage son. With the deadline for the gas station deal looming, Phil’s desperation mounts, culminating in a midnight confrontation with his father on a lonely hilltop outside town.
S1E6: Cold Storage
1mo ago · 50:59
At Westerly estate in 19th-century Maryland, Buford Montgomery is shocked to find his supposedly dead mother alive in her coffin after a mistaken declaration of death. Seizing the chance to break free and claim his inheritance, he locks her beneath the house, forcing his servants into unwilling complicity tied to an old murder confession. But his relief is short-lived — Nancy Lee, his scheming lover, traps him in marriage by claiming she’s pregnant. Desperate, Buford makes a grim decision: his wife will join his mother below.
S1E5: Honeymoon With Death
1mo ago · 50:08
Young newlywed Jennifer Brady returns from her honeymoon to find her husband, Howard, murdered in their apartment — but when Officer Ed Helmut investigates, there’s no body, no evidence, and no crime. Her sister Maggie insists Jennifer suffers from a psychiatric condition and hallucinated everything, including Howard himself. Yet the sharp-eyed rookie cop spots inconsistencies, especially surrounding a distinctive red sports car parked outside. The stakes escalate when Howard reappears, alive and well, claiming to be Maggie’s fiancé rather than Jennifer’s husband.
S1E4: No Hiding Place
2mo ago · 49:59
Fate has something in store for Charles Powel, a rising corporate executive with a hidden past. When blackmailer Clint Livets recognizes Charles as Robert Hagan — an escaped convict once sentenced to life for murder — Charles' carefully constructed life begins to crumble: his engagement to Alison McCready, daughter of company president J.P., is suddenly threatened, as is his promotion to company president. As Livets bleeds him dry, Charles confides in Alison, hatching a dangerous plan involving cash, car crashes, and quicklime.