Radio: Atomic Blast

Arthur Godfrey has confessed to a growing interest in “atomic energy and fission, nuclear fission, and all those things.” Fortnight ago he invited Physicist Dr. Wendell C. Peacock to give a brief atomic run-through on Arthur Godfrey and His Friends (Wed. 8 p.m., CBS-TV). The interview stalled when jittery bobby-soxers in the studio audience began to rustle impatiently for the program’s handsome, 21-year-old Crooner Bill Lawrence. Scolded Godfrey: “I’m not very happy about the reception you folks give to a serious discussion when you come in here … I’d like to ask that the folks who came … to hear the singers wait a few minutes, or there will be no more audience at this show.”

Last week, on the same program, Godfrey was inclined to forgive the swoon-happy teen-agers because he had spotted the real villain. He announced that “an over-zealous publicity man was the guy who . . . got 30 or 40 of them right down in the front row and told them that they should agitate and squeal and holler . . .” Then, presenting Bill Lawrence (“the boy you love so much”), Godfrey made one final plea: “He loves your appreciation, but you don’t have to squeal. Just applaud him when he gets through.”