Favorite Story

Doctor Heidegger's Experiment

English · Dramatic Readings, Gothic Fiction, Short Stories

Favorite Story is a dramatic anthology in which host Ronald Colman introduces adaptations of literary works chosen as personal favorites by notable figures. Each broadcast brings a different story to radio, with actors, dialogue, and sound creating a compact theatrical experience.

This episode presents Nathaniel Hawthorne's “Dr. Heidegger's Experiment,” a tale of four elderly friends who drink from a mysterious fountain said to restore youth. As they revisit the passions and mistakes of their younger selves, the story turns toward questions of memory, temptation, and whether people truly change.

The program pairs literary storytelling with the intimacy of radio drama: a host's introduction leads into an acted performance shaped by voices and atmosphere. Hawthorne's blend of the uncanny and the reflective gives this story a quietly unsettling tone, with its supernatural premise serving a thoughtful meditation on human nature.

This recording is part of the Old Time Radio collection.