The Porcupine Presents ...

The Porcupine
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The Porcupine Presents... is a curated audio cabinet of wonders: absurdist original comedy like The World’s Worst Docent series, classic golden-age radio dramas, and smart, salty commentary from your spiky host. Whether it’s a baffling museum tour or a suspenseful tale from 1947, each episode pokes at the strange edges of history, storytelling, and human folly—with affection and bite. Tune in for vintage weirdness, contemporary satire, and the occasional emotional sucker punch. You never quite know what you’ll get—but it’ll be lovingly crafted and unexpectedly sharp.

  1. 2D AGO

    A Corpse in the Luggage? | The Adventures of Sam Spade - “The Calcutta Trunk Caper” (1947)

    A corpse in the luggage… and Sam Spade knows it’s never just baggage. 🎧 The Adventures of Sam Spade — “The Calcutta Trunk Caper” (1947) In one of Sam Spade’s most chaotic and darkly funny cases, a simple errand turns into a whirlwind of international intrigue, double-crosses, and a mysterious trunk that seems to follow Sam everywhere — usually with a body inside. Howard Duff stars as the wisecracking, unflappable private eye who can spot a lie, dodge a punch, and deliver a deadpan aside before his hat even hits the floor. Featuring razor-sharp dialogue, twisty plotting, and that signature Spade attitude, “The Calcutta Trunk Caper” remains a fan favorite for good reason. Originally aired: 1947Approx. runtime: 30 minutes

    31 min

  2. 5D AGO

    Sealed Underground for a Century? | The Mysterious Traveller - “Behind the Locked Door” (1948)

    Sealed underground for a century… and better left alone. 🎧 The Mysterious Traveller — “Behind the Locked Door” (1948) In one of the most chilling episodes of the entire Golden Age of radio, two explorers break open a sealed mining tunnel deep in the American West — and uncover a secret that has been waiting in the darkness for over a hundred years. Blending frontier folklore, claustrophobic dread, and the eerie atmosphere that made The Mysterious Traveller a classic, this story explores what happens when curiosity leads where no one was ever meant to go. The final reveal remains one of radio’s most unsettling moments. Originally aired: 1948Approx. runtime: 34 minutes

    34 min

  3. JAN 1

    Snowbound Justice | Gunsmoke - “The Cabin” (1953)

    A storm, a prisoner, and a cabin in the dark — justice is about to turn deadly. Snowbound Justice | Gunsmoke: “The Cabin” (1953) A winter storm, a wounded prisoner, and a lonely cabin deep in hostile territory — this is Gunsmoke at its most gripping. Long before it became a television legend, Gunsmoke defined the “adult Western” on radio with stories of moral ambiguity, harsh terrain, and the difficult choices facing U.S. Marshal Matt Dillon. In “The Cabin,” first aired in 1953, Dillon finds himself trapped in the snow with a man he’s sworn to bring to justice. As the storm closes in and danger moves nearer, survival becomes a delicate balance of instinct, conscience, and trust. It’s a stark, atmospheric tale that highlights why Gunsmoke remains one of the finest dramatic series of the Golden Age of Radio. Originally aired: 1953Approx. runtime: ~32 minutes

    32 min

  4. 12/29/2025 · BONUS

    The Sunny Uplands Outside of History: Love, Choice, and the Anti-Utopia of Pluribus | A Essay

    What if humanity were offered peace, happiness, and universal love — at the cost of choice itself? “The Sunny Uplands Outside of History” | Love, Choice, and the Anti-Utopia of Pluribus This audio essay offers an interpretation of Pluribus as an anti-utopian story about love, morality, and the quiet end of history. Part I examines how Pluribus subverts the familiar science-fiction narrative of invasion and resistance. There is no enemy to fight and no visible violence. Instead, humanity is offered a “gift”: universal love, the end of suffering, and the removal of the capacity to kill — not only in war, but in any form necessary for survival. What disappears is not strength, but permission: the moral permission to choose survival when survival requires harm. Part II argues that Pluribus is not a dystopia, but something more unsettling — an anti-utopia. Rather than revealing cruelty beneath a false ideal, the story asks whether a world without conflict, sacrifice, loss, or guilt is one human beings can inhabit at all. History does not end in catastrophe, but in stasis — a “sunny uplands outside of history” where nothing meaningful can happen because nothing meaningful can be lost. Part III turns to the question of love itself. The essay argues that the universal, indiscriminate “love” offered in Pluribus is not love at all. Love is not equality; it is preference. It assigns unequal value, binds us to particular people, and gains its power precisely because it requires choice, exclusion, and sacrifice. A world where love costs nothing ultimately offers nothing worth choosing — or living for. This is a philosophical and cultural analysis of Pluribus, not a political manifesto — an argument about love, choice, and the human cost of a perfect peace. Release date: December 2025 Approx. Length: 12 minutes

    12 min

  5. 12/29/2025

    Gracie’s New Year’s Chaos! | The Burns & Allen Show – “New Year’s Eve Party” (1948)

    A classic comedy from the golden age of radio — plus bonus commentary and trivia after the show. The Burns and Allen Show – “New Year’s Eve Party” (1948) Ring in 1949 with George Burns and Gracie Allen in this laugh-filled New Year’s Eve celebration from radio’s most beloved comedy duo. In this 1948 episode, Gracie decides to throw a last-minute party — and chaos, confusion, and perfectly timed one-liners follow. After the broadcast, stay tuned for bonus commentary and behind-the-scenes trivia — including how The Burns and Allen Show evolved from vaudeville to radio legend, why Gracie’s scatterbrained persona hid a brilliant comedic mind, and how this New Year’s episode captured the warmth and wit that made America fall in love with them. Originally aired: December 30, 1948Approx. runtime: 34 minutes

    34 min

  6. 12/25/2025

    Revenge, Restraint, and Revelation | Sherlock Holmes: The Last Analysis, Episode 4 - “Fracture”

    Anger contained. Justice corrupted. Sherlock Holmes crosses a line he swore he wouldn’t. 🎧 Sherlock Holmes: The Last Analysis – Episode 3: “Fracture” A modern audio drama inspired by the BBC Sherlock universe — where the world’s greatest detective faces his most personal case: the unraveling of his own restraint. In Episode 4, featuring Chapters 7 & 8, Holmes moves from deduction to direct action. With Molly Hooper’s violators identified, Sherlock begins confronting the men who received her stolen photographs — not with icy logic, but with a volatile mix of fury, precision, and barely controlled emotion.No therapy sessions. No consulting room. Just the detective at war with his own breaking point. Originally aired: December 2025Approx. runtime: 27 minutes

    27 min

  7. 12/24/2025 · BONUS

    Bah Humbug on the Airwaves! | Campbell Playhouse: “A Christmas Carol” (1939)

    A golden-age Christmas classic — with bonus commentary and festive trivia after the show. The Campbell Playhouse – “A Christmas Carol” (1939) Step back into the golden age of radio with The Campbell Playhouse, hosted by Orson Welles. In this 1939 holiday broadcast, Lionel Barrymore delivers his definitive performance as Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol — a timeless story of redemption, compassion, and the ghosts that haunt us toward grace. After the broadcast, stay tuned for Porcupine’s bonus commentary — including:• The history behind Barrymore’s legendary annual Scrooge performance• How Orson Welles turned Dickens into pure radio cinema• And why this 1939 version remains the crown jewel of classic Christmas radio Originally aired: December 24, 1939 Approx. runtime: 62 minutes Music Credit: "We Wish you a Merry Christmas" - Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

    1h 3m

  8. 12/22/2025

    Christmas Noir | Broadway Is My Beat: “Nick Norman and Santa Claus” (1949)

    A classic crime drama from the golden age of radio — plus bonus commentary and trivia after the show. Broadway Is My Beat – “Nick Norman and Santa Claus” (1950) Step back into the golden age of radio with Broadway Is My Beat, the lyrical noir series where Detective Danny Clover patrols “the gaudy, the bright, the tawdry Broadway.” In this 1950 Christmas story, “Nick Norman and Santa Claus,” Clover’s holiday beat takes a bittersweet turn — revealing that even amid tinsel and neon, there are small mercies waiting to be found. After the broadcast, stay tuned for bonus commentary and behind-the-scenes trivia — including how the writers used Christmas to explore human fragility, why Broadway Is My Beat stood apart from other radio noir dramas, and what makes Danny Clover one of the most poetic detectives in audio history. Originally aired: December 1949Approx. runtime: 32 minutes

    32 min
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About

The Porcupine Presents... is a curated audio cabinet of wonders: absurdist original comedy like The World’s Worst Docent series, classic golden-age radio dramas, and smart, salty commentary from your spiky host. Whether it’s a baffling museum tour or a suspenseful tale from 1947, each episode pokes at the strange edges of history, storytelling, and human folly—with affection and bite. Tune in for vintage weirdness, contemporary satire, and the occasional emotional sucker punch. You never quite know what you’ll get—but it’ll be lovingly crafted and unexpectedly sharp.

Information

  • Creator
    The Porcupine
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    51
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © The Porcupine
  • Show Website
    The Porcupine Presents ...