The Tesla City Stories Podcast

The Tesla City Stories have been presenting an evening of live “radio” theater derived from the recently uncovered archives of the ultra-obscure Tesla Broadcasting Company (1943-1945). In addition to the live performances, we now bring you the shows recorded in the studio with all this new fangled and fancy technology! The shows of the TBC run the gamut from sitcom to thriller, from mystery to romantic-comedy, with forays into westerns, sci-fi and horror to boot. But all of these shows, regardless of genre, are tied to the fictional locale of Tesla City. That’s part of what makes the output of the TBC so unique and sought-after by historians and collectors. It’s “pop archaeology” as performance art, or, more simply, fun episodes of vintage radio straight outta 1944 brought to life again.

Ep. 17: You Are Now Entering Tesla City with Daniel Rhovan

Join consummate character actor and Tesla City stalwart Daniel Rhovan for a loopy ramble through his autobiography that almost never gets serious - until it does. www.TeslaCityStories.com ©2025 All rights reserved.

09-30
54:46

Ep. 16: The Wraith: “Rossini’s Luck”

“Rossini’s Luck”: Tesla City’s grim avenger faces the challenge of “Lucky Sal” Rossini, a local crime boss with supernaturally good fortune! www.TeslaCityStories.com ©2025 All rights reserved.

09-23
25:49

Ep. 15: Tesla City Limits: A Brendan’s Story pt. 2

In “The World Wide Wuh? Or ‘Right turn, Clyde’,” Brendan picks up the tale of how he - thanks to the early internet and one ridiculous coincidence - became the inheritor of the TBC’s legacy. www.TeslaCityStories. ©2025 All rights reserved.

09-16
10:16

Ep. 14: The Off-Key Life of Viola Harper: “Sing, Hummingbird, Sing!”

Ep. 14: The Off-Key Life of Viola Harper: “Sing, Hummingbird, Sing!” - Viola gets a brand new gig as a promotional model at a big department store – if only she can keep her mouth shut! www.TeslaCityStories.com ©2025 All rights reserved.

09-09
27:40

Ep. 13: You Are Now Entering Tesla City with Mishelle Apalategui

The visionary multi-hyphenate Mishelle Apalategui is here to usher in our second season with a fun and occasionally heady chat about her wide-ranging life and her creative process with Tesla City Stories director Brendan Jones and producer Jerry Chrisman. www.TeslaCityStories.com ©2025 All rights reserved.

09-03
53:02

Season 2 Begins: Noise to Signal a.k.a. We’re Back!

Can it be? Yes it can! Season 2 of the Tesla City Stories podcast is finally here! In this brief intro Brendan Jones and Jerry Chrisman answer the burning question of “why long time no Tesla?” and pose an altogether new question: “should we script these? www.TeslaCityStories.com ©2025 All rights reserved.

09-03
02:02

Ep. 18: Blevins to Betsy: “Live from the 13th Floor”

Live from the 13th Floor”: Radio station P.A. turned actress Betsy Harper is getting closer to famous co-star Blevins DeBell – which is inevitable when trapped together in a tiny elevator! www.TeslaCityStories.com ©2025 All rights reserved.

10-08
22:10

Ep. 12: Shepherd’s Trail: “Eastward Ho! part 2” Season Finale!

Season 1 Finale! Ep. 12 - Shepherd’s Trail: “Eastward Ho part 2" - Shepherd is called upon to escort a doctor and his family out of the West and out of danger, delivering them to a most surprising destination! www.TeslaCityStories.com ©2023 All rights reserved.

03-15
26:11

Please Stand By

Well Tesla Nation, it's show week! If you're in the Portland, Oregon area Friday, March 10th, 2023 at 7:30pm, come check us out! Please see www.TeslaTix.com for full information and to purchase tickets. Meanwhile, hear Brendan's sincere and deeply heartfelt apology on the whereabouts of Ep. 12 - Shepherd’s Trail: “Eastward Ho” part 2! www.TeslaCityStories.com ©2023 All rights reserved.

03-07
01:50

Ep. 11: Tesla City Limits: The Corporal

Brendan introduces the enigmatic millionaire who founded the Tesla Broadcasting Company: Corporal Edgerton “Buck” Spivey - an unlikely radio maverick and pathological liar who left behind a knotty life story and the rare thing that was the TBC. www.TeslaCityStories.com ©2023 All rights reserved.

03-01
09:54

Ep. 10: Shepherd’s Trail: “Eastward Ho! part 1”

Ep. 10: Shepherd’s Trail: “Eastward Ho! part 1” - a Western anthology following the travels of the titular hero. He’s a man with a mysterious past and an uncertain future, but he knows the trails of the frontier like the back of his hand. He’s got a lightning draw and an uncanny sense of truth and untruth. The honest, good folk of that rough time can always count on the man called Judas Shepherd to lead them home. www.TeslaCityStories.com ©2023 All rights reserved.

02-23
22:26

Ep. 8: The Wilde Card Mysteries: “Bet On The Pomeranian”

No. 1 - “Bet On The Pomeranian”: A missing dog case leads Jack and Dusty to the door of a mobster hitman! A detective show featuring affable, nearly always broke P.I. Jack Wilde. He’s a decent gumshoe with a silver tongue and an incurable itch for gambling; in fact it’s a toss-up which has caused more trouble for Jack – the cards or his mouth. But, no matter what hand he’s dealt, Jack gets the job done, often to the surprise of his old friend and sometime nemesis, TCPD captain “Dusty” Mankowitz. www.TeslaCityStories.com ©2023 All rights reserved.

02-08
22:34

Ep. 7: Tesla City Limits: A Brendan’s Story pt. 1

In “The Shadow Do,” Brendan walks us back to the origin of his association with old time radio in this first part of the unlikely tale of the resurrection of the TBC. It all starts with a cassette tape and some drug-free mind-clouding… www.TeslaCityStories.com ©2023 All rights reserved.

02-01
11:01

Ep. 6: Blevins to Betsy “The Unlikely Understudy”

“The Unlikely Understudy”: With mere minutes to air, P.A. Betsy Harper is called upon to co-star with debonaire (and conceited) radio icon Blevins DeBell! He’s Blevins DeBell, America’s favorite radio star. She’s Betsy Harper, small town girl and production assistant at the TBC. Their fortunes and hearts become entangled when Betsy steps into the figurative shoes of Blevins’s former co-star and wife, Joan DeBell. It’s a part neither of them expected to play, but the show must go on! www.TeslaCityStories.com ©2023 All rights reserved.

01-25
21:07

Ep. 5: You Are Now Entering Tesla City with Lauren McCune

Amazingly talented Tesla City Stories cast member/producer Lauren McCune joins hosts Brendan Jones and Jerry Chrisman for a lively chat about the development of the show, what it's like as an original cast member and most importantly, the abject importance of chips and queso. www.TeslaCityStories.com ©2023 All rights reserved.

01-18
32:55

Ep. 4: The Wraith: “Visitations”

“Visitations”: A deadly string of antiquities robberies claims its most recent victim – Lazarus St. George! The Wraith is a crime-thriller with a supernatural twist. After being murdered on an archeological dig in Egypt, Lazarus St. George is returned to the land of the living by Anubis, god of the Afterlife, to serve as his agent on Earth. With eerie occult powers at his command, and with the aid of his loyal Egyptian friend Bobek, St. George haunts the evildoers of Tesla City as the half-dead avenger, The Wraith. www.TeslaCityStories.com ©2023 All rights reserved.

01-11
24:34

Ep. 3: Tesla City Limits: The Mad Scientist

Chief Archivist Brendan Jones takes you to the Tesla City Limits where you’ll learn the fascinating origins of the Tesla City Stories. It’s the history of the TBC and its eccentric architects, as well as the odd tale of how one obsessed fan brought it to light. www.TeslaCityStories.com ©2023 All rights reserved.

01-04
10:00

Ep. 2: The Off-Key Life of Viola Harper: “Viola’s Pied Pipes”

“Viola’s Pied Pipes”: Viola thinks she’s landed her first star turn at a low-rent downtown theater with a bit of a pest problem! The Off-key Life of Viola Harper is a vintage sitcom detailing the travails of a hapless, would-be Broadway chanteuse. Viola’s a small town girl in the big city trying to make her show biz dreams come true. She’s got a lot of what it takes to make it – a positive attitude, a never-say-die spirit, a supportive sister, a good-hearted boyfriend and a dogged, if eccentric, manager. The only thing she hasn’t got? Talent! www.TeslaCityStories.com ©2023 All rights reserved.

12-28
21:20

Ep. 1: You Are Now Entering Tesla City

Director Brendan Jones and executive producer Jerry Chrisman provide an introduction to the podcast version of their popular live show The Tesla City Stories. They cover the history of the Tesla Broadcasting Company of the 1940s and the behind-the-scenes circumstances that led to the revival of the TBC shows that they are now sharing with today’s audiences. www.TeslaCityStories.com ©2023 All rights reserved.

12-16
30:10

Stay Tuned!

That’s a wrap on Season One of The Tesla City Stories. Brendan fills you in on what’s to come. TeslaCityStories.com

03-29
02:22

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