| Genre | Radio drama |
|---|---|
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Language(s) | English, Spanish, Arabic, Russian, Romanian, Polish, Korean, Persian, Japanese, Albanian, Greek, Macedonian, Turkish and Portuguese |
| Announcer | Timothy Gregory |
| Directed by | Timothy Gregory |
| Recording studio | Chicago, Illinois |
| Original release | September 23, 1950 |
| Website | unshackled |
Unshackled! is a radio drama series produced by Pacific Garden Mission, in Chicago, Illinois, that first aired on September 23, 1950.[1] It is one of the longest-running radio dramas in history and one of a very few still in production in the United States. The show is aired over 6,500 times around the world each week on over 1,550 radio outlets, and is translated and re-dramatized into eight languages[2] on six continents.
As of January 2022, over 3,707[3] episodes have been produced, each 30 minutes in length. Unshackled! is produced in the same way as shows during the Golden Age of Radio: Actors record dialogue live before a studio audience, an organist plays live incidental music, and a sound-effects person plays sounds in real time as the show progresses. The show has retained a consistent and distinctive quality throughout its years of production, established by Jack Odell's 40-year tenure as its producer/director from 1950 to 1990.
In addition to the English broadcast, it is translated and re-dramatized in Spanish, Arabic, Russian, Romanian, Polish, Korean, Persian, Japanese, Albanian, Greek, Macedonian, Turkish and Portuguese.