Join Potato Plus

Old-time radio suspense · a new episode every day

The Whistler

No sign-up · one tap. It plays right here, around the clock.

Standalone channel One series, every episode in the order it first aired. Part of The Midnight Exchange, where all the series play mixed.

Illustrated cover for The Whistler: a lonely rain-slicked city street at night, the long shadow of a figure in a fedora thrown across a brick wall under a streetlamp
The Whistler: a new episode every day, in the order they first aired
ON AIRPlaying now on the live stream

Tuning in…

Every episode

15 episodes, in the order they first aired. Each plays on to the next. Subscribe in any podcast app with the feed.

481 more episodes are waiting: Potato Plus members play them all now

    Mostly mystery, crime and murder stories, by our guides to 494 episodes. The Whistler: 496 episodes of the old-time radio mystery and suspense series, 1942-1955. Free, live around the clock and as a podcast (a new episode every day), every episode in the order it first aired.

    About The Whistler

    The Whistler is the CBS old time radio mystery series that ran from 1942 to 1955, and you can listen to it free online here or as a podcast. It was heard mostly on the West Coast and was long sponsored by Signal Oil. Each episode opens with footsteps and a haunting whistled theme, then a voice: I am the Whistler, and I know many things, for I walk by night. The Whistler knows the secrets hidden in the hearts of men and women, and tonight he will tell you one.

    The Whistler is not a detective. He is the narrator who watches a crime from the criminal's side, often speaking to the guilty character directly as the plan unfolds: a perfect murder, a clever fraud, a clean getaway. Then fate steps in, usually through one small, ironic mistake. J. Donald Wilson created the show, and the Whistler was voiced over the years by Gale Gordon, Joseph Kearns, Bill Forman and others. Columbia Pictures turned it into a series of films starring Richard Dix in the 1940s.

    The Whistler is among the most addictive mystery radio shows: short, sharp and always ending with a twist. The episodes play right on this page in the order they first aired, a new one reaches the podcast every day, and The Whistler is also part of The Midnight Exchange, Stupid Potato's live 24/7 channel of suspense, mystery and the macabre from old time radio.

    What you’ll hear

    Where to start

    Where the recordings come from

    The The Whistler recordings here come from the Old Time Radio Researchers' Whistler Singles set (496 episodes), hosted by the Internet Archive. Our thanks to the Old Time Radio Researchers, the volunteers who found, dated and assembled the set, and to the Archive and the collectors whose uploads it rests on. The sound is our remaster of those files (rumble, hiss and hum cleaned out, levelled to steady broadcast loudness); the recordings themselves are theirs. About our sources.

    Every The Whistler episode: the full list, with air dates and stories

    More to listen to

    Spotted a wrong date, title or name? Report a mistake · Missing a series? Request a show · Suggest a note

    Questions

    How does The Whistler radio show begin?

    With footsteps, a whistled theme and the line: I am the Whistler, and I know many things, for I walk by night.

    Who was the voice of The Whistler?

    Several actors played the Whistler, including Gale Gordon, Joseph Kearns and Bill Forman, who was the voice for many of the later years.

    When was The Whistler on the radio?

    On CBS from 1942 to 1955, mainly on the West Coast network.

    Were there Whistler movies?

    Yes. Columbia Pictures made a series of Whistler films in the 1940s, most of them starring Richard Dix.

    Is The Whistler free?

    Yes. The Whistler is free to listen to, live around the clock and as a podcast: no sign-up, no app and no subscription. Potato Plus is optional and never required.

    Do I need an account or an app for The Whistler?

    No. It is an internet radio channel, live 24 hours a day: press Listen live, no sign-up and no app needed.

    Are there ads on The Whistler?

    No modern ads, and we promise none until Valentine's Day 2027 (February 14). Nothing breaks into the show to sell you something you never asked for. Any commercials you hear are the original sponsor spots that aired with the broadcast.

    How do I listen to The Whistler?

    Press Listen live on https://stupidpotato.com/the-whistler/ , or open the stream address https://stupidpotato.com/the-whistler/live in any audio player (VLC, a smart speaker app, a car's web player). New episodes come out as a podcast: https://stupidpotato.com/the-whistler/feed.xml in any podcast app.

    Who makes The Whistler?

    The Whistler is a Stupid Potato channel (https://stupidpotato.com/), made by Stupid Potato Studios and powered by MonsterCast. The other channels and the Stupid Potato cartoons are at https://stupidpotato.com/.