The Columbia Workshop was an OTR dramatic series with a mission to experiment with different modes of narrative in order to discover, enhance, and evolve new forms of radio drama. Plots and cast varied with episodes and frequently included well known authors and actors. With each episode, production, not story, was primary and provided interesting experiments with sound effects and voices. The results are considered by many as the finest examples of radio drama ever produced. The years 1938-1939 were particularly productive under the direction of Irving Reis. The Columbia Workshop is significant because of its freedom to experiment with the radio medium, its focus on sound effects and voices, and its mission to evolve new forms of radio drama.
Total Episodes: 379
Surviving Episodes: 347
Episodes available at the Internet Archive
website
The Fall of the City
Episode 35, 11 April 1937
Written by Archibald MacLeish, about the collapse of a city under an unnamed dictator, this episode
provides a commentary on the growing fascism in Germany and Italy just before the start of World War
II. Featuring Orson Welles, this episosde is often cited as the best example of the artistic
potential of radio broadcasting in terms of both stylistic innovation and social power. LEARN more.
R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots)
Episode 36, 18 April 1937
Written by Czechoslovakian writer Karel Capek, this radio drama is the first appearance of the term
"robot." LEARN more.
The City Wears A Slouch Hat
Episode 254, 31 May 1942
A collaboration between John Cage and Kenneth Patchen. Positions sound as a central narrative
component, with very interesting results. LEARN more.
18 July 1936-26 April 1947
Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), 379 episodes
27 January 1956-22 September 1957
CBS, as CBS Radio Workshop, 86 episodes
The Columbia Workshop aired on the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) from 18 July 1936-25 January 1947 (324 episodes). Each episode experimented with the radio medium and sound, seeking to discover new forms of radio drama. Cancelled during World War II, the show was resurrected 2 February 1946, and cancelled again, in 1947.
The idea of an experimental radio drama series was revived again on 27 January 1956, as CBS Radio Workshop with more flair and imagination. The series (85 episodes, 27 January 1956-22 September 1957), "dedicated to man's imagination—the theatre of the mind," began with a two-part adaptation of Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. Huxley himself narrated both episodes. The popularity of television, however, drained radio listeners, and CBS Radio Workshop ended 22 September 1957, after only twenty-two months and eighty six episodes. It has since been called the greatest show on radio.
Episodes of The Columbia Workshop at the
Internet Archive website
Episodes at the Old Time Radio Researchers Group Library
website
The Columbia Workshop radio logs at
Jerry Haendiges Vintage Radio Logs website
CBS Radio Workshop radio logs at Jerry
Haendiges Vintage Radio Logs website
The Definitive
Columbia Workshop at The Digital Deli Too website
The Definitive:
CBS Radio Workshop at The Digital Deli Too website
Columbia Workshop scripts
at the Generic Radio website