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Fourble

Information Please

Witty American quiz show with questions submitted by listeners
from archive.org

Information Please was an American radio quiz show, which ran from 1938 to 1951.

The regular moderator was Clifton Fadiman of the New Yorker magazine.
The three regular panelists were Franklin P. Adams (known as FPA) and John Kieran, who appeared every week, and Oscar Levant, who appeared biweekly for most of the run. The fourth chair was filled by a different panelist each week. There would occasionally be a fifth panelist, or a guest who would speak before the quiz or during one of the commercial slots.

The announcer was usually Milton Cross (sometimes assisted by Basil Ruysdael) until 2/5/43, then Ben Grauer until 1947.

Some episodes from 1944 on are rebroadcasts from the Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS), with commercials removed, and classical music added to fill the running time.

The 1950 episodes are shorter, with no commercials included (local stations would supply their own).

  1. 380517 Marcus Duffield, Harry Overstreet (10.4Mb)
  2. 380607 Marcus Duffield, John Erskine, Bernard Jaffe (6.9Mb)
  3. 380614 Marc Connelly, Marcus Duffield (6.7Mb)
  4. 380621 Howard Dietz, Bernard Jaffe - incomplete (5.8Mb)
  5. 380628 Marcus Duffield, Carmel Snow (10.3Mb)
  6. 380705 Marcus Duffield (9.8Mb)
  7. 380712 Bernard Jaffe, Quincy Howe, George S. Kaufman (9.8Mb)
  8. 380719 Marcus Duffield, Thomas Craven, Ben Hecht (10.4Mb)
  9. 380726 Bernard Jaffe, John Gunther (6.9Mb)
  10. 380802 Moss Hart, Quincy Howe, George S. Kaufman (6.5Mb)
  11. 380809 Alden Cook, Alice Duer Miller (6.6Mb)
  12. 380823 Marcus Duffield, Percy Waxman (6.7Mb)
  13. 380830 Ben Hecht (6.7Mb)
  14. 380906 Ben Bernie, Bernard Jaffe (10.2Mb)
  15. 380913 Marcus Duffield, Percy Waxman (6.6Mb)
  16. 380927 Basil Rathbone, Sigmund Spaeth (6.5Mb)
  17. 381004 William Bonnell, Dorothy Thompson (6.5Mb)
  18. 381011 Lillian Gish (6.8Mb)
  19. 381018 Marcus Duffield, Gene Tunney (9.9Mb)
  20. 381025 Bernard Jaffe, Harpo Marx (13.6Mb)
  21. 381101 Marcus Duffield, Oswald Jacoby (6.7Mb)
  22. 381115 John Gunther (6.5Mb)
  23. 381129 Kathleen Norris (6.5Mb)
  24. 381227 William Lyon Phelps (6.6Mb)
  25. 390103 Irwin Edman, Cornelia Otis Skinner (6.5Mb)
  26. 390110 Alexander Woollcott (7Mb)
  27. 390117 Ogden Nash, Hendrik Willem van Loon (7Mb)
  28. 390124 Hugh Johnson (7Mb)
  29. 390131 Elizabeth Hawes, Gilbert Seldes (6.7Mb)
  30. 390207 Myron (Mike) Wallace (6.7Mb)
  31. 390214 Russell Crouse, Frank Sullivan (6.7Mb)
  32. 390221 Moe Berg (6.9Mb)
  33. 390321 John Gunther (6.6Mb)
  34. 390328 Moss Hart, Rex Stout (6.7Mb)
  35. 390411 Marcus Duffield, Deems Taylor (6.5Mb)
  36. 390418 H. V. Kaltenborn (6.5Mb)
  37. 390425 Arthur Krock, Alice Roosevelt Longworth (6.4Mb)
  38. 390516 John P Marquand (6.6Mb)
  39. 390523 Bernard Jaffe, Clarence Budington Kelland (6.5Mb)
  40. 390530 Stanley Walker (6.5Mb)
  41. 390613 Helen Wills Moody (9.8Mb)
  42. 390620 Gracie Allen, John Gunther (6.4Mb)
  43. 390627 Wilbur Cross (6.5Mb)
  44. 390704 Marcus Duffield, Lillian Gish (6.7Mb)
  45. 390711 Elliott Roosevelt (6.6Mb)
  46. 390718 William Beebe, Clarence Budington Kelland (6.7Mb)
  47. 390725 Maury Maverick (6.6Mb)
  48. 390801 Russell Crouse, James Kieran (6.6Mb)
  49. 390822 H. Napier Moore (6.6Mb)
  50. 390829 Wilfred Funk, Rex Stout (6.5Mb)
  51. 390905 Raymond Gram Swing (6.5Mb)
  52. 390912 Bernard Jaffe, Alice Marble (6.5Mb)
  53. 390919 P. Hal Sims (9.8Mb)
  54. 390926 Rex Stout, Carl Van Doren (9.8Mb)
  55. 391003 C. Mildred Thompson (6.6Mb)
  56. 391010 John T. Flynn, Christopher Morley (6.6Mb)
  57. 391017 Moe Berg (9.8Mb)
  58. 391024 Deems Taylor, Louis Untermeyer (8.4Mb)
  59. 391031 Carl Sandburg (6.6Mb)
  60. 391107 Marquis James, Christopher Morley (6.8Mb)
  61. 391114 James Farley (6.5Mb)
  62. 391121 Moe Berg, J. P. McEvoy (6.5Mb)
  63. 391205 Henry Pringle, Deems Taylor (6.7Mb)
  64. 391212 Walter B. Pitkin (6.5Mb)
  65. 391219 Christopher Morley, Albert Spalding (9.5Mb)
  66. 391226 Sir Cedric Hardwicke (6.7Mb)
  67. 400102 Gloria Stuart, Carl Van Doren (6.4Mb)
  68. 400319 John Chamberlain (8.4Mb)
  69. 400326 Howard Lindsay, Russell Crouse (8.2Mb)
  70. 400402 Lewis Gannett (8.4Mb)
  71. 400423 George Fielding Eliot, Deems Taylor (8.3Mb)
  72. 400716 Deems Taylor, Monty Woolley (8.4Mb)
  73. 400730 John Gunther, Alva Johnston (8.5Mb)
  74. 400806 F. Van Wyck Mason (8.4Mb)
  75. 400813 Harold Ickes, Kenneth Simpson (8.5Mb)
  76. 400820 Walter Wanger (6.5Mb)
  77. 400827 Christopher Morley, James Roosevelt (6.3Mb)
  78. 400903 Henry Beetle Hough (9.9Mb)
  79. 400910 John Gunther, Jan Struther (6.6Mb)
  80. 400917 Otto Tolischus (6.6Mb)
  81. 400924 Marc Connelly, Alva Johnston (6.6Mb)
  82. 401001 Clare Boothe (6.6Mb)
  83. 401008 Louis Bromfield, Jan Struther (6.6Mb)
  84. 401015 Louis Hacker (6.5Mb)
  85. 401022 Herbert Bayard Swope, Deems Taylor (9.9Mb)
  86. 401029 John Mason Brown (9.9Mb)
  87. 401105 Christopher Morley (9.5Mb)
  88. 401115 Fred Allen (10.1Mb)
  89. 401122 Lewis Lawes, Deems Taylor (10.1Mb)
  90. 401129 Leon Henderson (10Mb)
  91. 401206 Elmer Rice, Jan Struther (6.6Mb)
  92. 401213 Earnest Albert Hooton (6.7Mb)
  93. 401220 Louis Bromfield, Herbert Marshall (6.7Mb)
  94. 401227 Walter D. Edmonds (9.9Mb)
  95. 410103 Vincent Sheehan, Deems Taylor (6.8Mb)
  96. 410110 Kenneth Simpson, James C. Wallace (6.5Mb)
  97. 410117 Owen Davis (6.7Mb)
  98. 410124 Boris Karloff, Lewis Lawes (6.6Mb)
  99. 410131 Alexander Woollcott, S. J. Perleman (6.7Mb)
  100. 410207 Sir Wilmot Lewis, Jan Struther (6.6Mb)
  101. 410214 Henry Noble McCracken, Deems Taylor (6.7Mb)
  102. 410221 Jo Davidson (6.8Mb)
  103. 410228 John O'Hara, Deems Taylor (6.3Mb)
  104. 410307 Elmer F. Layden, Christopher Morley (6.6Mb)
  105. 410314 Claude F. Wickard (6.8Mb)
  106. 410321 Deems Taylor, Roland_Young (6.7Mb)
  107. 410328 Elsa Lanchester (9Mb)
  108. 410404 Lymon Bryson, John Gunther (6.8Mb)
  109. 410411 Philip Merrivale (6.7Mb)
  110. 410418 Henry Curran, Rex Stout (6.7Mb)
  111. 410425 Paul Lukas (6.2Mb)
  112. 410502 Donald Ogden Stewart, Deems Taylor (6.8Mb)
  113. 410509 Gene Tunney (6.8Mb)
  114. 410516 Dick Maney, Frank Sullivan (6.7Mb)
  115. 410523 Deems Taylor hosts, Clifton Fadiman panelist (6.8Mb)
  116. 410530 Cornelia Otis Skinner, Jan Struther (6.6Mb)
  117. 410606 Sally Benson (6.6Mb)
  118. 410613 Bill Tilden (6.6Mb)
  119. 410620 Alfred E. Smith, James Wallace (6.6Mb)
  120. 410627 Alfred Hitchcock (9.9Mb)
  121. 410704 Walter Duranty, John Gunther (9.9Mb)
  122. 410711 Mary Boland (10.1Mb)
  123. 410801 Lyman Bryson, Henry Noble McCracken (10.3Mb)
  124. 410808 Larry McPhail (9.7Mb)
  125. 410815 Russell Crouse, Deems Taylor (10Mb)
  126. 410905 Deems Taylor (9.1Mb)
  127. 410912 Louis Bromfield, Margaret Leech (9.8Mb)
  128. 410919 Stephen Vincent Benet (9.7Mb)
  129. 410926 Sir Thomas Beecham, Jan Struther (9.4Mb)
  130. 411003 Lefty Gomez - incomplete (9.5Mb)
  131. 411010 Fiorello La Guardia, Deems Taylor - incomplete (7.4Mb)
  132. 411017 Fred Allen (11.9Mb)
  133. 411024 Russell Crouse, C. S. Forester (15.6Mb)
  134. 411031 Groucho Marx, Deems Taylor (10.2Mb)
  135. 411107 Douglas Miller (16Mb)
  136. 411121 Cornelia Otis Skinner (15.6Mb)
  137. 411128 Robert Allen, Drew Pearson (15.9Mb)
  138. 411205 Edna Ferber, Deems Taylor (15.7Mb)
  139. 411212 George N. Shuster (15.7Mb)
  140. 411219 Joseph E. Davies, Jan Struther (16.1Mb)
  141. 411226 John Gunther (15.7Mb)
  142. 420116 Russell Crouse, Paul Gallico (15.6Mb)
  143. 420123 Deems Taylor, Alexander_Woollcott (16.1Mb)
  144. 420206 Ruth Hussey, Christopher Morley (16.2Mb)
  145. 420220 John Carradine, Boris Karloff (15.9Mb)
  146. 420227 Emil Ludwig (6.7Mb)
  147. 420306 Julian Huxley, Jan Struther (16.3Mb)
  148. 420320 Sir Thomas Beecham, John Carradine (6.6Mb)
  149. 420327 Wallace R. Deuel (16.4Mb)
  150. 420417 Grantland Rice (16.6Mb)
  151. 420508 Richard Maney, Margaret Webster (16.2Mb)
  152. 420522 Deems Taylor, Roland Young (6.9Mb)
  153. 420529 Wallace R. Deuel (16.3Mb)
  154. 420619 Christopher Morley, Cornelia Otis Skinner (6.6Mb)
  155. 420710 H. I. Phillips, Deems Taylor (16.2Mb)
  156. 420717 Henry Cabot Lodge Jr (16.6Mb)
  157. 420724 Paul Gallico, Arthur Garfield Hayes (6.7Mb)
  158. 420807 Russell Crouse, Ned Sparks (9.9Mb)
  159. 420814 Mildred H. McAfee (9.9Mb)
  160. 420821 Raymond Clapper, Leon Henderson (9.6Mb)
  161. 420828 Quincy Howe (9.8Mb)
  162. 420904 C. S. Forester, Jan Struther (10Mb)
  163. 420911 Alva Johnston (10Mb)
  164. 420918 Christopher Morley, Orson Welles (9.9Mb)
  165. 420925 Leon Henderson (9.8Mb)
  166. 421002 Robert St John, Deems Taylor (9.4Mb)
  167. 421009 Gregory Ratoff (9.9Mb)
  168. 421030 Christopher Morley, Carl Sandburg (9.7Mb)
  169. 421106 Hanson W Baldwin (9.7Mb)
  170. 421120 Louis Bromfield (9.8Mb)
  171. 421127 Leon Henderson, Wilma Lord Perkins - incomplete (2.3Mb)
  172. 421204 Henry Cabot Lodge Jr (9.7Mb)
  173. 421211 Christopher Morley, William L Shirer (9.4Mb)
  174. 421218 Ilka Chase (9.7Mb)
  175. 421225 Leon Henderson, James Wallace (10Mb)
  176. 430101 Gregory Ratoff (10Mb)
  177. 430108 Will Rogers Jr (10.1Mb)
  178. 430115 Charles Coburn, Deems Taylor (9.7Mb)
  179. 430122 Alfred Hitchcock (12.9Mb)
  180. 430129 Emily Kimbrough, Cornelia Otis Skinner (9.5Mb)
  181. 430205 Jan Struther (6.4Mb)
  182. 430215 Fred Allen (10.1Mb)
  183. 430301 Will Rogers Jr (10.3Mb)
  184. 430308 Gregory Ratoff (10Mb)
  185. 430315 Jan Struther (10.3Mb)
  186. 430329 Carlos P Romulo (10.4Mb)
  187. 430405 Cornelia Otis Skinner, Jan Struther (10.2Mb)
  188. 430412 Wendell Willkie (10.4Mb)
  189. 430419 Ford Frick, Grantland Rice (10.1Mb)
  190. 430426 Leon Henderson incomplete (9.5Mb)
  191. 430510 George Denny Jr (10.2Mb)
  192. 430517 Boris Karloff, Jan Struther (10.2Mb)
  193. 430524 Ethel Barrymore, Richard Maney (10.5Mb)
  194. 430531 Sir Thomas Beecham (5.9Mb)
  195. 430607 Marcia Davenport, Deems Taylor (6.7Mb)
  196. 430614 Hilary St. George Saunders (6.4Mb)
  197. 430621 Christopher Morley, C. Mildred Thompson (6.6Mb)
  198. 430628 Walter Yust (6.7Mb)
  199. 430712 Jan Struther (6.6Mb)
  200. 430913 Marcia Davenport, Deems Taylor (6.5Mb)
  201. 430920 Clare Boothe Luce (6.6Mb)
  202. 430927 James Fulbright, Henry Wallace (6.4Mb)
  203. 431004 Red Barber, Bill Stern (6.2Mb)
  204. 431011 Donald Culross Peattie, William Beebe (55.3Mb)
  205. 431018 Marcia Davenport (51.3Mb)
  206. 431025 John Mason Brown, Richard Lockridge (6.4Mb)
  207. 431101 Betty Smith (6.5Mb)
  208. 431108 Joseph H. Ball, Lister Hill (6.4Mb)
  209. 431115 Gregory Ratoff (6.5Mb)
  210. 431122 Russell Crouse, Moss Hart (6.5Mb)
  211. 431129 Arthur Rubinstein (6.4Mb)
  212. 431206 Lewis Browne, Sinclair Lewis (6.4Mb)
  213. 431213 Quincy Howe, T. F. Tsiang (6.4Mb)
  214. 431220 Jesse Stuart (6.4Mb)
  215. 431227 Leon Henderson, Jan Struther (6.5Mb)
  216. 440103 Louis Bromfield (6.3Mb)
  217. 440110 John Coffee, Christopher Morley (6.3Mb)
  218. 440117 John P Marquand (6.7Mb)
  219. 440124 Elizabeth Janeway, Deems Taylor (6.8Mb)
  220. 440228 Franchot Tone (6.7Mb)
  221. 440313 Quentin Reynolds (27Mb)
  222. 440320 Alben Barkley, Theodore Green (6.6Mb)
  223. 440403 Russell Crouse, Marion Hargrove (34.4Mb)
  224. 440424 Irene Dunne, Deems Taylor (27.1Mb)
  225. 440501 Lester Pearson (27.7Mb)
  226. 440508 Elizabeth Janeway, Jan Struther (7Mb)
  227. 440612 Russell Crouse, Emory Land (6.5Mb)
  228. 440911 Alexander Knox, Jan Struther (6.6Mb)
  229. 441002 Christopher Morley, Esme of Paris (27.2Mb)
  230. 441023 Arthur Rubinstein, Lewis Browne (6.6Mb)
  231. 441105 Will Durant, Christopher Morley (6.6Mb)
  232. 441127 Leonard Bernstein, Gregory Ratoff (7Mb)
  233. 441204 Deems Taylor, Clifton Webb (6.8Mb)
  234. 441218 John Mason Brown, Robert Cushman Murphy (7.2Mb)
  235. 441225 Fred Allen, James Wallace (6.4Mb)
  236. 450129 Russell Crouse, Jan Struther (6.4Mb)
  237. 450205 Moss Hart, Clifton Webb (6.5Mb)
  238. 450212 Fred Allen, Faith Baldwin (6.5Mb)
  239. 450219 John Gunther, Gregory Ratoff (6Mb)
  240. 450226 Edward Egan, Christopher Morley (7.1Mb)
  241. 451015 Alec Templeton, William Primrose (13.5Mb)
  242. 451224 Boris Karloff, John Mason Brown (13.9Mb)
  243. 460612 Jimmy Durante, Deems Taylor (27.5Mb)
  244. 480130 Lauritz Melchior, Helen Traubel (27.2Mb)
  245. 500723 Fred Allen, Howard Lindsay (6.4Mb)
  246. 501105 Russell Crouse, Joshua Logan (28.1Mb)
  247. 501210 Fred Allen, Doc Rockwell (11.9Mb)
  248. 501231 William Corum, Jimmy Gleason (28.8Mb)
  249. Fred Allen 400501 Information Tease (10.7Mb)
  250. Jack Benny 430117 Oscar Levant - Information Please (24.6Mb)
  251. Millions for Defense 410702 (38.7Mb)

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