Hello and Welcome to the home of Nostalgia Digest, the entertaining, educational quarterly magazine devoted to the “Golden Age” of radio, movies, music and television!

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WHAT'S NEW...?

FIFTY YEARS OF NOSTALGIA DIGEST!
Believe it or not, Nostalgia Digest has been celebrating the Golden Age of Entertainment since December of 1974... and we're celebrating our Golden Anniversary with our new Autumn issue, which is packed with articles and memories (selected in part by Digest founder Chuck Schaden) from our first five decades of publishing!

"From the beginning, Nostalgia Digest has been devoted to chronicling and celebrating entertainment's history," says editor and publisher Steve Darnall, "and for this issue, we're devoting some time to chronicling and celebrating our own history. There's no way we could include everything or everyone we might want to, but it's our hope that what we have included will give everyone a feel for the depth and breadth of nostalgia we've been able to include over the years."

The new Autumn 50th anniversary issue of Nostalgia Digest includes conversations from past issues with the great Carol Burnett, sportscasting legend Jack Brickhouse and Golden Age radio veteran Jackson Beck, in addition to articles about Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, the music of the Coon-Sanders Nighthawks, a puckish piece about Jack Benny and the Golden Age of radio premiums... as well as memories from long-time contributors Ken Alexander and Karl Pearson! And of course, as in every issue of Nostalgia Digest, you'll find the complete three-month schedule for our two weekly radio shows, Those Were the Days and Radio's Golden Age, listing the shows we play each week and the order in which we play them! Best of all, the Nostalgia Digest is available in both print and digital editions, so you can take the Nostalgia anywhere you go! Any time of year, a subscription to Nostalgia Digest makes a great gift for a friend, a loved one... or for you... and you can order your subscription by clicking here!

By the way, we're pleased to announce that Nostalgia Digest is now in more than 400 stores in North America, including select Barnes and Noble and Books-a-Million stores.

We're also planning a special 50th birthday party for the Digest, which is scheduled to happen on Sunday, November 17 at the Framemakers (10 N. Cass Avenue in Westmont), beginning at 1:00 pm. We're expecting founder Chuck Schaden to join us and hope you can too. Keep tuned to Those Were the Days for details!

ONE YEAR (AND COUNTING) OF RADIO'S GOLDEN AGE!
In the Summer of 2023, Those Were the Days host Steve Darnall was invited to host an old-time radio show for KXEL-AM, a 50,000-watt station in Waterloo, IA. Steve agreed and on Labor Day weekend, Radio's Golden Age made its debut. Now in its second year on the air, Radio's Golden Age is heard Sundays from 6-9 pm Central time at KXEL.

"I first hosted a show called Radio's Golden Age at the 10-watt radio station of Lyons Township High School," Steve recalls. "I used the title again when I hosted an internet show back in the 'teens.' When KXEL contacted me about hosting a new show for them, I contemplated using another name, but then I figured maybe the third time really would be the charm. In any case, I'm looking forward spending my Sunday evenings with these great performers from the past -- and of course, I'll still be hosting Those Were the Days every Saturday afternoon on WDCB."

KEN ALEXANDER: 1929-2022
We are saddened to announce that our good friend and longtime Those Were the Days announcer Ken Alexander passed away on November 2, 2022, at the age of 93. Ken was a part of our radio family for some 35 years, as an announcer, a "permanent guest host," a reader of vintage newspapers and a man of many voices during TWTD's annual Hallowe'en shows. The November 5 Those Were the Days program featured host Steve Darnall and former host Chuck Schaden paying tribute to Ken Alexander, with memories and sound clips from his time on TWTD; the complete four-hour broadcast is available as a four-CD "audio transcript" by clicking here; in addition, the Spring 2023 issue of Nostalgia Digest has an article about Ken's remarkable career; copies are available by clicking here.

Some years ago, Ken wrote about his radio career for this website; you can read his recollections here. RIP.

THE NOSTALGIA SHOP GOES DIGITAL!
For many years, the Nostalgia Shop has made hundreds of hours of classic old-time radio available on compact disc — and now, select collections are also available as digital downloads! Now you can take the sounds of radio's past with you wherever you go and play them on the device of your choice! Click here to see what's available and start listening!

A LIMITED-EDITION PRINT FROM NOSTALGIA DIGEST
In 2020, Nostalgia Digest celebrated the 100th anniversary of commercial radio in the United States with a special cover story--and a special cover, drawn by Chicago-area artist Mark Braun. The issue sold out quickly and several people asked if there were plans to make Mark's artwork available as a stand-alone piece. We're pleased to announce that Mark has graciously allowed us to make his cover art available as a limited-edition 18" x 24" print, which is available while supplies last. It's a great gift designed to brighten the walls of the radio fan in your life — and you can get a copy by clicking here.

THE NOSTALGIA DIGEST PODCAST!

Back in 2012, we launched the Nostalgia Digest Podcast and began a run that lasted for eight years and 100 episodes! Devoted to people, performers, topics and shows that have been featured in the pages of Nostalgia Digest magazine, the Nostalgia Digest podcast lets you take the fun and memories of the Digest anywhere you go!

At the end of 2020, we made the decision to put the Nostalgia Digest Podcast on hiatus however, we're pleased to announce that in response to our listeners, we're making all 100 podcasts available for download, in addition to offering a year's worth of Podcasts on CD! Hear our conversations with Bob and Ray's Bob Elliott, actresses Marsha Hunt and Patty McCormack, Rich "Svengoolie" Koz, comedian Robert Klein, comic book artist Alex Ross, Jack Benny's daughter and Harpo Marx's son and many more... and our podcasts devoted to everyone from Eve Arden to Benny Goodman to Eddie "Rochester" Anderson! Click here to learn more about the Nostalgia Digest Podcast!!

LIBRARY BOOK-INGS

Over the last decade, thousands of old-time radio fans have turned out to hear Nostalgia Digest publisher and Those Were the Days host Steve Darnall talk about the Golden Age of Radio, sharing some stories and sound clips from some of the era's most memorable stars and shows! These days, we're offering a combination of in-person and "virtual" programs (all libraries in Illinois unless otherwise noted; all times Central):

Wednesday, November 6, 7:00 pm: Radio Goes to War, Glenview Public Library, 1930 Glenview Road, Glenview
Monday, November 18, 1:00 pm: Mystery Dates, Helen Plum Library, 411 S. Main Street, Lombard
Monday, November 18, 6:00 pm: Heroes on the Air, Somerset County Library of New Jersey, 1 Vogt Drive, Hillsborough, NJ [A VIRTUAL PRESENTATION]
Sunday, December 1, 2:00 pm: 'Tis the Season: Holiday Traditions from the Golden Age of Radio, Oak Brook Public Library, 600 Oak Brook Road, Oak Brook
Monday, December 2, 1:00 pm: 'Tis the Season, LaGrange Public Library, 10 W. Cossitt Avenue, LaGrange
Tuesday, December 3, 7:00 pm: 'Tis the Season, Fountaindale Public Library, 300 W. Briarcliff Road, Bolingbrook [A VIRTUAL PRESENTATION]
Wednesday, December 4, 1:30 pm: 'Tis the Season, Geneva Public Library, 227 S. Seventh Street, Geneva
Thursday, December 5, 2:00 pm: Radio and the Windy City, Indian Trails Public Library, 355 Schoenbeck Road, Wheeling
Monday, December 9, 7:00 pm: 'Tis the Season, Lake Villa Public Library, 140 N. Munn Road, Lindenhurst
Sunday, December 15, 2:00 pm: 'Tis the Season, Wauconda Public Library, 801 N. Main Street, Wauconda
Tuesday, December 17, 7:00 pm: 'Tis the Season, Prairie Trails Public Library, 8449 Moody Avenue, Burbank
Wednesday, December 18, 2:00 pm: 'Tis the Season, Elmhurst Public Library, 125 S. Prospect Avenue, Elmhurst
Wednesday, December 18, 7:00 pm: 'Tis the Season, Fremont Public Library, 1170 N. Midlothian Rd., Mundelein


Hopefully we'll be in your neck of the woods before too long!

To learn more about each of Steve's eight presentations, click here--and if you'd like to book Steve Darnall to give a presentation (virtual or otherwise) to your group, click here.)

ALL THIS AND WORLD WAR II
Some of you know that Those Were the Days program recently commemorated the 75th anniversary of World War II by featuring news and entertainment broadcasts that were heard originally seventy-five years ago — and just as we were pleased for the chance to share this unique chapter in American history and radio history, we're also pleased to announce that we've joined forces with the good folks at accuradio.com to create an online radio channel devoted to the music of World War II! We've gone through our music library to give listeners as complete as possible a look at the music America was listening to during the War years, from hit songs to love songs, from novelty numbers to patriotic tunes — and given our radio roots, we've also included some wartime messages from the Golden Age of Radio, featuring Jack Benny, Bing Crosby, Edward R. Murrow and others! Click here to listen!