A 15-part full-cast abridged serial of the novel was adapted for radio by John Reeves[34] and broadcast in 1981[35] by National Public Radio. The serial was directed by Karl Schmidt and was produced by Schmidt with Marv Nonn. Carol Cowan narrated the production.[36][37]
In 1992, BBC Radio 4 broadcast a 90-minute dramatization of the first two parts, "Fiat Homo" and "Fiat Lux", with Andrew Price as Brother Francis and Michael McKenzie as Dom Paulo. The adaptation was by Donald Campbell and was directed by Hamish Wilson.[38]
A 2012 radio adaptation of "Fiat Homo, Part One of A Canticle For Leibowitz" read by Nigel Lindsay, abridged by Nick McCarty and produced by Philippa Geering for BBC Radio 4 Extra, was broadcast in five 30-minute parts.[39]
