Some old radio programs survive because everyone remembers them. Others survive almost by accident—and then, decades later, find an audience all over again.
Ask Me No Questions, from Lux Radio Theatre South Africa, is one of those remarkable survivors. It has also become one of the most popular Lux productions in the Chesterton Radio collection.
Why?
In this edition of Listen with Gilbert, we return to the complete drama and look beneath the surface: the story and its carefully unfolding mystery, the characters and choices that drive it, and the distinctly radio techniques—voices, pacing, silence, music and sound—that allow an unseen world to take shape in the imagination.
We also travel back to Springbok Radio, the legendary South African commercial service that carried Lux Radio Theatre for decades. Much of that broadcasting world has disappeared, making surviving recordings such as Ask Me No Questions particularly fascinating.
And there is still some mystery surrounding the recording itself. The surviving sources don’t give us all the answers about its original broadcast and production history. Rather than fill in the blanks, we’ll explore what we know, what we don’t—and what the recording itself can still tell us.
There will be spoilers along the way, so you may want to hear the original drama first.
Then join us as we ask a question that seems especially appropriate for this particular play:
Why, after all these years, are listeners still asking for more?
🎧 Hear the complete Ask Me No Questions on Chesterton Radio.
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