FORGOTTEN NEWS PODCAST · Forgotten News Podcast

2025 CHRISTMAS SPECIAL !

·1 hr 18 min·5 clips

Scrooge coldly dismisses charity collectors, insisting the poor should go to prisons or workhouses instead.

This Christmas special episode of the Forgotten News Podcast features hosts Jim and Kit Karen presenting the 1939 Campbell Playhouse radio adaptation of Charles Dickens' *A Christmas Carol*. The episode centers on this historic audio drama, produced by Orson Welles and starring Lionel Barrymore as Ebenezer Scrooge. The hosts provide historical context, noting the Campbell Playhouse was a CBS radio series that evolved from Orson Welles's Mercury Theatre of the Air after its famous 1938 "War of the Worlds" broadcast. They explain the Campbell Soup Company began sponsoring the show in 1938, leading to its name change. The 1939 *A Christmas Carol* broadcast, aired on December 24th, became an annual radio tradition for decades. Lionel Barrymore, who listeners might know as Mr. Potter from *It's a Wonderful Life*, performed as Scrooge on radio 17 times and considered it his best role. Charles Dickens wrote the original novella in under a month in 1843, and it became an instant classic. The presented audio drama begins with an introduction by Orson Welles, who calls Barrymore "the best-loved actor of our time." A commercial message from Campbell's Soup presenter Ernest Chappell frames the drama as the company's Christmas gift to listeners. The dramatization follows Scrooge's journey, starting with his refusal to donate to charity and his harsh treatment of clerk Bob Cratchit. The Ghost of Christmas Past shows Scrooge visions of his lonely childhood and his break with his fiancée, Belle. The Ghost of Christmas Present reveals the Cratchit family's humble but joyful Christmas dinner, highlighting the fragile health of Tiny Tim. A surprising insight is Scrooge's genuine distress upon learning Tiny Tim might die, marking a turning point in his character. The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come shows a future where Scrooge dies unmourned and the Cratchits mourn Tiny Tim. The episode ends with Scrooge's joyous redemption on Christmas morning, vowing to honor Christmas all year. The tone is warmly nostalgic and educational, blending historical podcasting with classic audio drama. The style is conversational between the hosts, then shifts to a fully produced, vintage radio play format. Listeners who love classic radio, holiday traditions, and media history would deeply enjoy this episode. Those seeking original analysis or modern Christmas commentary might prefer to skip it.

As heard by us

A live holiday special that moves from parody to Dickens and ends on a sincere Christmas moral.

Forgotten News Podcast turns its Christmas special into a holiday pageant, built around a staged reading of A Christmas Carol and framed by mock promos and live audience bustle. That shift works.

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Why you'd press play

Christmas Eve gets a live, Dickens-by-way-of-chaos sendoff.

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