Old Time Radio Online: Classic Radio Shows, Streaming Free

Updated 24 September 2026

You can listen to old time radio online in any browser, with no download and no account: open 72FM, search for "old time radio", and press play. Several stations stream nothing but the dramas, comedies, westerns, mysteries and science fiction of radio's golden age, around the clock — the way these shows were meant to be heard, one after another, without choosing.

What "old time radio" means

Old time radio — often shortened to OTR — is the recorded programming of radio's golden age, when drama, comedy and variety filled the airwaves before television took over. In the United States that era ran from the 1920s into the 1950s, and it is usually said to have ended on 30 September 1962, when CBS broadcast the last episodes of Suspense and Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar on the same night. The history of radio tells the wider story.

Stations that play it

• WALM Old Time Radio — the most-voted old time radio station in the directory, with a steady mix of genres.
• Old Time Radio USA — classic shows at 128kbps.
• SciFi Old Time Radio — science fiction from the golden age.
• Horror Theatre — the creepier end of the dial. In October, Halloween radio has more.
• Comedy Old Time Radio — comedy shows only.
• Conyers Old Time Radio and Hank's Old Time Radio — long-running mixed streams.
• ROKiT Radio — classic old time radio, science fiction and British comedy channels from the UK.
• BritCom — British radio comedy on several channels.

Search 72FM for "old time radio" to see them all; save the one you like as a favourite.

The kinds of show you will hear

Mystery and suspense. Anthology series such as Suspense told a complete story each week; detective shows followed one hero.

Westerns. Gunsmoke began on radio in 1952, years before its television run, and westerns were a staple of the evening schedule.

Science fiction. Series such as X Minus One adapted stories by the leading science-fiction writers of the 1950s.

Comedy. Sitcoms and variety shows built around a star were among the most popular programmes on the air.

Drama. The most famous broadcast of all — Orson Welles's The War of the Worlds in 1938 — came from a drama anthology.

British comedy. In the UK, BBC radio comedy had its own golden age, and the BritCom and ROKiT channels carry that tradition.

Why it still works

Radio drama was written for the ear alone, so the stories carry everything in dialogue, music and sound effects — which makes them good company in the car, on a walk, while cooking or at bedtime. Many people use old time radio to fall asleep; 72FM's sleep timer will stop the stream for you, and radio to fall asleep to explains how.

Sound quality

These recordings come from discs and tapes made seventy years ago or more, and most streams run at 24–64kbps, which is plenty for voices recorded in mono. A higher bitrate will not add detail the original recording never had.

A note on downloads

72FM streams stations live; it does not offer downloads. Rights in old recordings vary from show to show, so if you want to keep episodes, look for collections that explain where their recordings come from.

A route in

1. WALM Old Time Radio, for a bit of everything.
2. SciFi Old Time Radio, for 1950s science fiction.
3. Horror Theatre, for a late-night scare.
4. BritCom, for British radio comedy.

For more spoken radio, talk radio online covers today's news and talk stations, and AM radio online covers the band where much of this was first heard.