Classic Radio Shows Trivia

Before there was a screen in every living room, families gathered around a radio cabinet for their nightly entertainment. This quiz revisits the golden age of radio drama and comedy, from panicked news bulletins to the birth of the sitcom format.

When Radio Caused a Panic

Orson Welles's 1938 broadcast of The War of the Worlds, staged as a series of fake news bulletins, is the most famous radio moment of all — some listeners reportedly believed an actual invasion was underway. It's a reminder of just how much trust audiences placed in the voice coming out of that speaker.

• The Shadow, The Lone Ranger, and Dragnet all built loyal weekly audiences on mystery and crime.
• Comedians like Jack Benny and Fred Allen brought running gags and rival "feuds" to the airwaves.
• Edgar Bergen made a ventriloquist act work on radio purely through voice and timing.

The Slow Fade to Television

By the 1950s, television began pulling both advertisers and audiences away from radio drama. Many shows didn't disappear so much as migrate to the new screen — Dragnet made the jump along with several other favorites — closing out radio's golden age even as its storytelling habits lived on.