Radio Recap: The Tenth Man

The Tenth Man is very different from anything else I've covered in my Radio Recap series. This was a series with a purpose - a goal. The Tenth Man was created by the National Mental Health Foundation and dramatized situations in the lives of normal people who must confront some aspect of mental difficulties. It was a 15-minute show that aired on NBC from October 17, 1947 to January 9, 1948. Ralph Bellamy hosted every episode.

Although some of the science on the Tenth Man probably sounds a bit outdated, I think then - and now - there is a lot of stigma around admitting to mental difficulties and taking appropriate steps to deal with them. The problem could only have been greater in the 1940s, but it seems as though post-war Americans were ready to listen to the subject.

Some of the episodes dealt with big subjects like depression and learning impairments, but I found the Tenth Man was also very capable at handling everyday encounters with mental wellbeing. There's an episode about a woman who worries and frets about her aged father-in-law and thinks she's doing what's best for him by keeping him at home, but she winds up learning that for the sake of his good mental health he does need to be involved in activities and that there are activities appropriate for a man of his age. That might not sound like a novel concept to you, but by 1940s standards I found it very notable as well as a message that still resonates.

The Tenth Man holds up very well; it has a very gentle and informative manner of addressing mental health problems. You can hear the Tenth Man at the Internet Archive.