About this episode

This episode explores the connection between radio shows and diners from 1937 to 1965.

This episode was originally released on 9/1/2021. While new episodes of Breaking Walls are on hiatus I'll be going back and posting the older episodes. ____________ In Breaking Walls episode 119 we continue our Americana mini-series by bringing our appetites to the diner. We’ll hear stories from some of radio’s best and center ourselves around shows taking place in establishments. —————————— Highlights: • What Exactly is a Diner? • Lux Presents Hollywood • Suspense At the End of World War II • The Diner After World War II • Bill Conrad, Burt Lancaster, and The Killers • ABC Takes Friday Nights With This Is Your FBI • Frank Sinatra and His Rocky Fortune • Going Back to Gunsmoke • James Earl Jones and Theater Five —————————— The WallBreakers: thewallbreakers.com Subscribe to Breaking Walls everywhere you get your podcasts. To support the show: patreon.com/TheWallBreakers —————————— The reading material used in today’s episode was: • On the Air - By John Dunning • Network Radio Ratings — By Jim Ramsburg As well as: • From Hash House to Family Restaurant: The Transformation of the Diner and Post-World War II Consumer Culture — By Andrew Hurley from The March 1997 Journal of American…

More episodes of Breaking Walls

• BW - EP122: December With The Six Shooter (1953 - 1954) [Rewind] · May 6, 2026 · 2h 50m
• BW - EP120: Radio and The Harvest (1936 - 1954) [Rewind] · April 8, 2026 · 3h 6m
• BW - EP118: Radio and The Gas Station (1939 - 1982) [Rewind] · March 16, 2026 · 3h 42m
• BW - EP117: The Outer Limit with X-Minus-One (1955 - 1958) [Rewind] · March 5, 2026 · 2h 36m
• BW - EP116: The Launch of NBC’s Monitor (1955) [Rewind] · February 26, 2026 · 3h 27m
• BW - EP115: The CBS Radio Workshop (1956 - 1957) [Rewind] · February 18, 2026 · 3h 29m

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Breaking Walls podcast page.