Theater of the Mind

Words at War

85 episodes · 1943–1945 · NBC · Historical

Illustration: a transcription disc label made for Radio Days, not an original disc

Each week NBC dramatized a new book about the war, from 1943 to 1945: combat stories, reporters' memoirs, biographies and arguments about the peace to come.

Sources: RadioGOLDINdex

Episodes

Tap a year to see its episodes, then a title to play it on Radio Days.

194325 episodes

Combined Operations June 24, 1943 · NBC · 30 min
The first show: the official story of the British Commandos.
They Call It Pacific July 10, 1943 · NBC · 29 min
Scenes from the first blows the Japanese struck against America and the Philippines.
The Last Days of Sevastopol (July 1943) July 17, 1943 · NBC · 31 min
The Nazi siege of Sevastopol and the city's defenders.
The Ship July 24, 1943 · 30 min
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date.
From the Land of Silent People July 31, 1943 · 30 min
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date.
Prisoner of the Japs August 7, 1943 · NBC · 29 min
An American woman reporter is in Hong Kong the day the Japanese attack and becomes their prisoner. The author speaks afterward.
Love at First Flight August 14, 1943 · NBC · 31 min
A funny, musical look at how a naval aviator is made.
The Last Days of Sevastopol (August 1943) August 19, 1943 · NBC · 30 min
A repeat of the dramatization of the Nazi siege of Sevastopol.
Malta Spitfire August 21, 1943 · NBC · 30 min
A young pilot who lives only to fly fights for his chance against the Luftwaffe over Malta.
Dynamite Cargo September 2, 1943 · NBC · 31 min
Life aboard a merchant ship on the deadly run to Murmansk.
Since You Went Away September 16, 1943 · NBC · 31 min
The women left at home when the men go to war, from the book later filmed with Claudette Colbert.
They Shall Not Have Me September 23, 1943 · NBC · 31 min
Frenchmen in a Nazi prison camp, and how one of them got out.
The Battle Hymn of China September 30, 1943 · NBC · 31 min
A woman's life among the Chinese guerrillas fighting Japan.
Eighty-Three Days (1943) October 5, 1943 · NBC · 31 min
A sailor survives nearly three months adrift on a raft.
Paris Underground October 12, 1943 · NBC · 31 min
Women in occupied France help men escape to join the Free French. The author appears.
Shortcut to Tokyo October 19, 1943 · NBC · 30 min
Life and death among airmen in the Aleutian Islands.
Who Dare to Live October 26, 1943 · NBC · 31 min
An aging Merchant Marine captain goes back to sea.
Here Is Your War November 2, 1943 · NBC · 30 min
Ernie Pyle's portraits of ordinary soldiers in North Africa.
To All Hands November 9, 1943 · NBC · 29 min
A voice on a flagship's bridge describes the invasion of Sicily to the men below decks.
Escape from the Balkans November 23, 1943 · NBC · 29 min
A correspondent jailed by the Nazis in Bulgaria and how he finally escaped.
25Ave Duce November 30, 1943 · 30 min
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists this date as “Hail Caesar (El Duce).”
A Book of War Letters December 7, 1943 · NBC · 30 min
Letters home from G.I.s overseas, brought to life.
Mother America December 14, 1943 · NBC · 30 min
America's years in the Philippines, as the book tells it.
Log Book December 21, 1943 · NBC · 30 min
An ordinary British sailor before and during the war, with sea chanteys sung by Tom Glazer.
The Ninth Commandment December 28, 1943 · NBC · 30 min
A starving German boy is taken in by a Dutch family and grows up to betray them.

194440 episodes

They Shall Inherit the Earth January 4, 1944 · NBC · 30 min
What the war is doing to children in America and Europe.
Eighty-Three Days (1944) January 11, 1944 · NBC · 29 min
A repeat of the story of a seaman who survived nearly three months adrift after his freighter was torpedoed.
War Tide January 18, 1944 · NBC · 28 min
The spirit uniting China against Japan. The author is interviewed before the drama.
Condition Red January 25, 1944 · NBC · 29 min
Action in the Pacific aboard a destroyer.
The White Brigade February 1, 1944 · NBC · 29 min
The resistance movement in Nazi-occupied Belgium.
George Washington Carver February 8, 1944 · NBC · 30 min
Lincoln's birthday week: the life of George Washington Carver, born into slavery, who became a world-famous scientist.
The New Sun February 15, 1944 · NBC · 30 min
A survivor's story of the Bataan Death March and prison camp.
Assignment U.S.A. February 22, 1944 · NBC · 30 min
A wartime trip across America looking at prejudice, poverty and delinquency, outspoken for network radio in 1944.
The Weeping Wood March 7, 1944 · NBC · 29 min
The story of rubber and why it matters in the war. The closing credits are missing.
Science at War March 14, 1944 · NBC · 28 min
How science is changing the way war is fought and defended against. The closing credits are missing.
Der Fuehrer March 21, 1944 · NBC · 29 min
The history of a notorious anti-Semitic forgery and the hatred it fed.
A Bell for Adano March 28, 1944 · NBC · 30 min
John Hersey's story of an American officer put in charge of a liberated Italian village.
Wild River April 11, 1944 · NBC · 29 min
A dramatization of the book Wild River.
The Silence of the Sea April 18, 1944 · NBC · 29 min
A story written in secret in Nazi-occupied France.
47Curtain Rises May 2, 1944 · 30 min
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date.
Gunners Get Glory May 9, 1944 · NBC · 29 min
A Navy gun crew aboard a merchant ship torpedoed twice.
Lifeline May 16, 1944 · NBC · 29 min
The merchant sailors who keep the supply line open to the fighting men.
The Story of Lend Lease May 23, 1944 · NBC · 29 min
The history of Lend-Lease, with Edward Stettinius speaking from Washington.
The Navy Hunts the CGR 3070 May 30, 1944 · NBC · 30 min
A small yawl on Navy submarine patrol is blown out to sea in a storm.
53Fair Stood the Wind for France June 28, 1944 · 30 min
War Criminals and Punishment July 4, 1944 · NBC · 31 min
An open letter to Hitler: what should happen to Nazi war criminals once they're caught?
Captain Retread July 11, 1944 · NBC · 31 min
A veteran of the first war signs up for the second and finds things have changed.
War Below Zero July 18, 1944 · NBC · 30 min
Men stranded on the Greenland icecap get a chance to rescue a downed bomber crew.
Lost Island July 25, 1944 · NBC · 30 min
A troopship arrives at a sleepy Pacific island and changes it forever.
Headquarters Budapest August 1, 1944 · NBC · 27 min
The tangled politics of the prewar Balkans.
The Nazis Go Underground August 8, 1944 · NBC · 28 min
A plan by Nazi industrialists to go underground after the Allies win.
Simone August 29, 1944 · NBC · 30 min
In occupied France, a young girl burns her uncle's garage rather than let the Nazis have it.
The Veteran Comes Back September 5, 1944 · NBC · 30 min
How does a returning G.I. find his place again at home?
One-Man Air Force September 12, 1944 · NBC · 30 min
The story of Don Gentile, one of America's top fighter aces. His mother speaks afterward.
Journey Through Chaos September 26, 1944 · NBC · 30 min
A dramatization of the book Journey Through Chaos.
Pacific Victory 1945 October 3, 1944 · NBC · 30 min
A dramatization of the book Pacific Victory 1945.
70Still Time to Die October 23, 1944 · 29 min
Still Time to Die October 24, 1944 · NBC · 29 min
Japanese atrocities in China, and the story behind the siege of Malta.
One Damn Thing After Another November 14, 1944 · NBC · 29 min
A war correspondent's comic misadventures on the world's battlefields, ending with a roll call of reporters who died covering the war.
Barriers Down November 21, 1944 · NBC · 30 min
The head of the Associated Press argues against the old news monopolies.
Camp Follower November 28, 1944 · NBC · 29 min
An Army wife determined to stay near her husband's small-town base.
The Guys on the Ground December 5, 1944 · NBC · 30 min
How a ground crew keeps a jinxed B-26 flying.
Your Schools, Your Children December 12, 1944 · NBC · 29 min
Prejudice among young Americans. The closing is missing.
The Cross and the Arrow December 19, 1944 · NBC · 30 min
A small fire in a haystack: Nazi sabotage, or something else?
Scapegoats in History December 26, 1944 · NBC · 30 min
A Christmas program on bigotry through the ages.

194520 episodes

It's Always Tomorrow January 2, 1945 · NBC · 29 min
The people of bomb-battered England.
Borrowed Night January 9, 1945 · NBC · 29 min
How the Nazis catch soldiers faking illness.
Verdict on India January 16, 1945 · NBC · 29 min
An attack on British rule in India.
Story of a Secret State January 23, 1945 · NBC · 30 min
An eyewitness account of the Polish underground.
What to Do with Germany February 13, 1945 · NBC · 30 min
Broadcast as the Yalta Conference opened: a look back from 1985 at how Germany won World War III.
Battle Report February 20, 1945 · NBC · 30 min
The submarine tender Canopus and her crew in the fight for Bataan and Corregidor.
The Bid Was Four Hearts February 27, 1945 · NBC · 29 min
The four chaplains who gave their lives when the Dorchester went down.
The Rainbow March 6, 1945 · NBC · 29 min
The Nazi occupation of a Ukrainian village.
Can Do March 13, 1945 · NBC · 30 min
The story of the Seabees.
Tomorrow We'll Sing March 20, 1945 · NBC · 30 min
An Italian-American soldier tries to show Italian farmers what democracy means.
Banshee Harvest March 27, 1945 · NBC · 27 min
Rural Ireland during the war, still fighting old battles.
Full Employment in a Free Society April 3, 1945 · NBC · 27 min
William Beveridge's plan for full employment after the war.
Apartment in Athens April 10, 1945 · NBC · 28 min
A Greek businessman takes a Nazi officer into his apartment.
They Left the Back Door Open April 17, 1945 · NBC · 30 min
A British soldier who deserted to fight Franco in Spain.
Brave Men April 24, 1945 · NBC · 29 min
Days after Ernie Pyle was killed: portraits of the American G.I. from his last book.
The Hide-Out May 1, 1945 · NBC · 29 min
A Czech inventor hides from the Nazis in a basement.
The Road to Serfdom May 15, 1945 · NBC · 30 min
Friedrich Hayek's argument against postwar government planning.
Wartime Racketeers May 22, 1945 · NBC · 30 min
Black marketeers and other home-front crooks.
Soldier to Civilian May 29, 1945 · NBC · 29 min
What a soldier faces in going back to civilian life.
My Country June 5, 1945 · NBC · 30 min
The last show of the series: a patriotic poem of America, performed entirely in verse.