Last week, I blogged about podcasting and how popular those downloadable programs are for your iPod or PC. I thought I’d share one of my favorite types of podcasts. You likely won’t find vintage radio shows such as “The Shadow,” “Lux Radio Theatre” or “The War of the Worlds” on your local radio station, but you can find free podcasts of these classics.

Oh, sure you can pay for complete collections on a CD and have it shipped to your door (try OTRCat), but you can subscribe to “OTR” (Old Time Radio) podcasts at no charge, based on the genre you like (adventure, horror, sci-fi, comedy, western and so on) or by country (UK, U.S., South Africa, etc.). I’m a fan of these timeless predecessors to “books on tape” and subscribe to a dozen or so podcasts on iTunes (browse “OTR” under Podcasts). Some are added daily and others a few times a week. Some have commentary before or after, while others are just the episode.

It’s pretty amazing these OTR shows can be appreciated by a whole new generation of listeners. They’re particularly fun to listen to when you’re too tired to read and want to close your eyes and lose yourself in a great story -- one where your imagination fills in all the blanks. They’re even fun to listen to when driving to and from work or while surfing the Net.