Jonny's Dead Air Podcast

Jonny Hartwell
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Jonny’s Dead Air dives deep into the seldom told, the eerie, and the forgotten corners of music history. Hosted by radio veteran Jonny Hartwell, each episode blends storytelling, mystery, and a touch of rock ’n’ roll grit to resurrect stories that deserve another listen. From bands that should’ve been legends to the backstage scandals, strange coincidences, and tragic twists the industry tried to bury, Jonny peels back the layers to reveal the raw, human truths behind the music. It’s part history lesson, part cautionary tale, and all killer—no filler.

  1. FEB 9

    Script #27 Death and The 27 Club

    TWENTY-SEVEN is not a myth. It’s not a list. And it’s not a club anyone ever chose to join. In this special episode of Jonny’s Dead Air, the narrator is Death himself—not as a villain, not as a spectacle, but as a quiet witness. From dim hotel rooms to silent apartments, from moments of relief to moments of shock, Death remembers the final hours of five artists whose lives ended at the same age—and under eerily similar conditions. This is not a story about fame. It’s a story about loneliness. Through calm, conversational reflection, Death revisits the rooms, the weather, the unfinished thoughts, and the silence that surrounded these final moments. There is no gore here. No romanticizing. Only truth—told gently, painfully, and with deep compassion. TWENTY-SEVEN asks the listener not to fear a number, but to recognize the conditions that build toward it… and to consider who might be slipping away quietly in rooms just like these. Some stories are meant to be remembered. This one is meant to be felt. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Written by Jonny Hartwell Voiced by Jonny Hartwell Music Credit: Reel World Audio. A iHeart Radio Production DISCLAIMER: This podcast contains discussions of sensitive topics...Listener discretion is strongly advised. While the stories you’ll hear are rooted in real events, not every detail is strictly historical—some moments are dramatized with creative license to bring the narrative to life. Please keep this in mind as you listen. Jonny’s Dead Air Podcast Written, hosted, and produced by Jonny Hartwell. A production of iHeartRadio Pittsburgh. Thanks for listening—and for keeping the light on.

    19 min

  2. FEB 2

    Script #26 The Return of the Man in Black

    There was a time when he was everywhere. On the radio. On television. In the culture. And then… the world moved on. This episode tells the story of an icon in his final act — a voice the industry had quietly set aside, rediscovered by an unlikely collaborator who didn’t want hits, trends, or nostalgia. Just the truth. What followed was not a comeback. It was a reckoning. Recorded in quiet rooms and living spaces, these late-life performances stripped away the myth and revealed something far more powerful: honesty, regret, faith, and resilience. This is a story about aging, about being forgotten, and about finding purpose when the spotlight fades. It’s also a story about resurrection. Because sometimes, the last chapter isn’t about how a life ends — it’s about how a legacy finally finds its voice. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Written by Jonny Hartwell Voiced by Jonny Hartwell Music Credit: Reel World Audio. A iHeart Radio Production DISCLAIMER: This podcast contains discussions of sensitive topics...Listener discretion is strongly advised. While the stories you’ll hear are rooted in real events, not every detail is strictly historical—some moments are dramatized with creative license to bring the narrative to life. Please keep this in mind as you listen. Jonny’s Dead Air Podcast Written, hosted, and produced by Jonny Hartwell. A production of iHeartRadio Pittsburgh. Thanks for listening—and for keeping the light on.

    30 min

  3. JAN 26

    Script #25…The Last Ride On Hillcrest Ave

    Some stories end with applause. This one ends with silence. The Last Ride on Hillcrest Avenue is a cinematic Dead Air episode about freedom, restlessness, and the thin line between motion and loss. It begins in a small Southern town, where music drifts through open windows late at night and the road offers escape when stillness feels unbearable. At its center is a sound that changed everything — not through volume or speed, but through restraint, patience, and feeling. A sound born from family loss, brotherhood, and a relentless need to keep moving. This is not a story about fame. It’s a story about what happens when music and motion collide…and how a single afternoon can leave an absence that echoes for decades. Listen closely. Some notes don’t resolve. They just disappear. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Written by Jonny Hartwell Voiced by Jonny Hartwell Music Credit: Reel World Audio. A iHeart Radio Production DISCLAIMER: This podcast contains discussions of sensitive topics...Listener discretion is strongly advised. While the stories you’ll hear are rooted in real events, not every detail is strictly historical—some moments are dramatized with creative license to bring the narrative to life. Please keep this in mind as you listen. Jonny’s Dead Air Podcast Written, hosted, and produced by Jonny Hartwell. A production of iHeartRadio Pittsburgh. Thanks for listening—and for keeping the light on.

    25 min

  4. JAN 19

    Script #24 Remembering the Ones Who Didn’t Leave

    On December 3rd, 1979, thousands of fans gathered outside Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati for what was supposed to be the night of their lives. For some, it was. For others, it became a tragedy. In this episode of Jonny’s Dead Air Podcast, a grandson’s love of music unlocks a story his grandfather has carried in silence for decades — a story of friendship, anticipation, survival, and loss surrounding the night that would become known as The Cincinnati Concert Disaster. Eleven people died before the first note was ever heard. Dozens more were injured. And the band — The Who — never knew what was happening until after the show was over. This is not a story about blame. It’s a story about the scars left behind — on families, on fans, and on the music itself. A meditation on memory, survivor’s guilt, and how joy can turn in an instant, The Shirt That Still Breathes explores the darker side of music… and the silence that follows when a song never truly ends. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Written by Jonny Hartwell Voiced by Jonny Hartwell Music Credit: Reel World Audio. A iHeart Radio Production DISCLAIMER: This podcast contains discussions of sensitive topics...Listener discretion is strongly advised. While the stories you’ll hear are rooted in real events, not every detail is strictly historical—some moments are dramatized with creative license to bring the narrative to life. Please keep this in mind as you listen. Jonny’s Dead Air Podcast Written, hosted, and produced by Jonny Hartwell. A production of iHeartRadio Pittsburgh. Thanks for listening—and for keeping the light on.

    17 min

  5. JAN 12

    Script #23 The Sign of the Crab PART 2

    For nearly a decade, the murder of Mia Zapata haunted Seattle — a crime without a suspect, a voice silenced without answers. In Part Two of The Sign of the Crab, the waiting ends. As DNA science finally catches up to a frozen piece of evidence, a name emerges from the system — a stranger no one saw coming. This episode follows the match, the interrogation, the manhunt, and the trial that brought justice to the frontwoman of The Gits. Drawing from court records and investigative reporting featured on Forensic Files, Part Two is a reckoning — with violence, with time, and with the quiet power of truth finally spoken out loud. Justice took years. Science took seconds. And the story, at last, gets its ending. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Written by Jonny Hartwell Voiced by Jonny Hartwell Music Credit: Reel World Audio. A iHeart Radio Production DISCLAIMER: This podcast contains discussions of sensitive topics...Listener discretion is strongly advised. While the stories you’ll hear are rooted in real events, not every detail is strictly historical—some moments are dramatized with creative license to bring the narrative to life. Please keep this in mind as you listen. Jonny’s Dead Air Podcast Written, hosted, and produced by Jonny Hartwell. A production of iHeartRadio Pittsburgh. Thanks for listening—and for keeping the light on.

    13 min

  6. JAN 5

    Script #23 The Sign of the Crab PART 1

    In early-’90s Seattle, a band was rising out of the rain-soaked clubs and basement stages — raw, fearless, and powered by a voice that could stop a room cold. That voice belonged to Mia Zapata, frontwoman of The Gits — a group on the brink of breaking through. Part One of The Sign of the Crab traces Mia’s life, the band’s ascent, and the city that shaped them — before following a single summer night that ends in unimaginable violence. As the investigation stalls, suspicion turns inward, years pass without answers, and one chilling detail emerges: a song Mia recorded just weeks before her death — a dark warning that now feels eerily prophetic. Based in part on investigative reporting featured on Forensic Files, Part One ends where hope nearly runs out… and where science quietly waits to catch up. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Written by Jonny Hartwell Voiced by Jonny Hartwell Music Credit: Reel World Audio. A iHeart Radio Production DISCLAIMER: This podcast contains discussions of sensitive topics...Listener discretion is strongly advised. While the stories you’ll hear are rooted in real events, not every detail is strictly historical—some moments are dramatized with creative license to bring the narrative to life. Please keep this in mind as you listen. Jonny’s Dead Air Podcast Written, hosted, and produced by Jonny Hartwell. A production of iHeartRadio Pittsburgh. Thanks for listening—and for keeping the light on.

    20 min

  7. 12/29/2025

    Script #22.5 The Band That Wouldn’t Break (Mini-Episode)

    They had everything—momentum, fame, the future—until fate started taking pieces away. A founding member gone. A drummer nearly killed. A bandmate lost to addiction. Another fighting cancer decades later. This Dead Air mini-episode tells the true story of how this band faced disaster after disaster at the height of their career—and refused to quit. It’s not a story about hits or hair metal. It’s about loyalty, survival, and the brutal moments when a band must decide whether to move on… or move forward together. Some bands break. This one wouldn’t. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Written by Jonny Hartwell Voiced by Jonny Hartwell Music Credit: Reel World Audio. A iHeart Radio Production DISCLAIMER: This podcast contains discussions of sensitive topics...Listener discretion is strongly advised. While the stories you’ll hear are rooted in real events, not every detail is strictly historical—some moments are dramatized with creative license to bring the narrative to life. Please keep this in mind as you listen. Jonny’s Dead Air Podcast Written, hosted, and produced by Jonny Hartwell. A production of iHeartRadio Pittsburgh. Thanks for listening—and for keeping the light on.

    8 min

  8. 12/22/2025

    Script #22 The Dark Side of Dancing in the Moonlight

    “Dancing in the Moonlight” is one of the most joyful, carefree songs ever recorded — a soundtrack to weddings, summer nights, and open windows. But its origin is anything but light. In this episode of Jonny’s Dead Air, we uncover the true, harrowing story behind the song — born not from celebration, but from survival. A violent night on a Caribbean island. A brutal attack. A love forever changed. And a songwriter who responded not with vengeance, but with imagination. This is the story of how unimaginable darkness gave rise to a song that has brought joy to millions — and why knowing the truth behind it changes the way you hear it forever. Listener discretion advised. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Written by Jonny Hartwell Voiced by Jonny Hartwell Music Credit: Reel World Audio. A iHeart Radio Production DISCLAIMER: This podcast contains discussions of sensitive topics...Listener discretion is strongly advised. While the stories you’ll hear are rooted in real events, not every detail is strictly historical—some moments are dramatized with creative license to bring the narrative to life. Please keep this in mind as you listen. Jonny’s Dead Air Podcast Written, hosted, and produced by Jonny Hartwell. A production of iHeartRadio Pittsburgh. Thanks for listening—and for keeping the light on.

    22 min
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About

Jonny’s Dead Air dives deep into the seldom told, the eerie, and the forgotten corners of music history. Hosted by radio veteran Jonny Hartwell, each episode blends storytelling, mystery, and a touch of rock ’n’ roll grit to resurrect stories that deserve another listen. From bands that should’ve been legends to the backstage scandals, strange coincidences, and tragic twists the industry tried to bury, Jonny peels back the layers to reveal the raw, human truths behind the music. It’s part history lesson, part cautionary tale, and all killer—no filler.

Information

  • Creator
    Jonny Hartwell
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    32
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Jonny Hartwell
  • Show Website
    Jonny's Dead Air Podcast