I was reading about BBC Radio, thence to The Archers and then to the Wikipedia article about The Guiding Light, which through its 72 years of radio and television can claim to be “the longest-running scripted show in history.”
Imagine my delighted surprise to read about the show’s origins:
The series was created by Irna Phillips, who based it on personal experiences. After giving birth to a still-born baby at age 19, she found spiritual comfort listening to the on-air sermons of Preston Bradley, a very famous Chicago preacher and founder of the Peoples Church, a church which promoted the brotherhood of man. It was these sermons that formed the nucleus of the creation of The Guiding Light, which began as a radio show.
Preston Bradley?! One of the great Unitarian pulpiteers of the twentieth century. One one who knew how to make use of new media. Remember that when you watch your stories.