He's arguably the greatest late night talk show host of all time. But everyone has roots and Johnny Carson's takes him back to his hometown of the University of Nebraska. The school has unearthed a rare 1949 recording of Carson as a 24-year-old student fresh out of the army reading his thesis in public. 

The topic? The Art Of Radio Comedy. It's not necessarily the most riveting recording and it suffers from age and tape noise. But just to hear him in those early days and realizing what awaited him is fascinating in itself. It's part of a podcast called "The Big Broadcast" and you can hear it here.