Old Time Radio Espionage: German Spies in Mexico!

It is extremely serious business when a nation employs spies in order to gather secrets. Even more important than gathering secrets from other nations is protecting the nation's own secrets. In many ways, counterintelligence is the business of spying on spies. As such, it is the most intriguing and dangerous part of the espionage world.

During the Second World War, the services each had their own intelligence service. The Office of Strategic Services was created to coordinate intelligence operations behind enemy lines. All of them went after spies working against the Allies in the various theaters of the war, while domestic counterintelligence came under the jurisdiction of the FBI.

While looking for a wartime counterpart to Gangbusters, writer/producer Phillips H. Lord took on the inky world of Counter Intelligence with David Harding, Counterspy. The United States Counterspies were a fictional agency of the Federal Government which combined the roles of the FBI and the OSS. The Counterspies were lead by the no nonsense David Harding, played by Donald McLaughlin.

The two Counterspy episodes we have for today's consideration have in common Mexico for a back drop. In the first, "Germans in Mexico", originally broadcast on Jul 27, 1942, the Counterspies know that enemy agents at entering the country over the border with Mexico. They determine that an important route involves airplanes leaving a hidden ranch in Mexico and following secret beacon at night toward a ranch in Texas. There the agents will hole up for a few days before proceeding on their missions in the US. As one Gestapo agent prepares to make the flight, a Mexican official shows up at the ranch. The German agent decides to invite the official on the flight so that he can be murdered and the body dumped on American soil, straining the relations between the US and Mexico. The Gestapo agent fails to realize that the Mexican is in fact a Counterspy in disguise. When the German reaches America he soon discovers that David Harding is one step ahead of him.

The "Mexican Rancho" episode, broadcast on Feb 22, 1949, is decidedly a Cold War radio story. A Counterspy Agent is tracking a trio of spies on a mountain trail in Mexico, when he sees the lady spy and her henchman murder the third member of their party. The spies are on the trial because it overlooks a Rancho that supposedly sits on a large uranium deposit. The Counterspy Agent reports to Harding. The Agent poses as the playboy owner of the uranium mine. The lady spy gets hired as his secretary so that she can get a look at the ranch/uranium mines papers. The agent announces that he is no longer interested in uranium mining, and will sell the rancho at auction. Obviously the only people who will show up at the auction are foreign agents interested in getting at the uranium practically under the nose of the US. It turns out that the auction is a trap. David Harding and the Counterspies haul off all of the spies, except for the two murderers, who they turn over to the Federales.

Old Time Radio: Spies and Espionage

Old time radio featured many spy-themed shows , which were popular during the Cold War era . These shows often depicted heroic spies and agents who worked to protect their countries from enemy spies and espionage, adding to the cultural fascination with the world of espionage and intrigue during this time. Spy shows were popular in the 1950s for several reasons. Firstly, the Cold War was in full swing , and the fear of Soviet espionage and infiltration was widespread. As a result, there was a heightened interest in stories and characters that dealt with the world of espionage and intrigue. Spy shows offered a way for listeners to vicariously experience the world of espionage and feel a sense of excitement and danger. Additionally, radio was one of the primary sources of entertainment during this time, and spy shows offered a way for audiences to escape the anxieties of everyday life and engage with exciting stories and characters. Many of these shows also featured strong, heroic prot...

Donating Old Time Radio Cassette Tapes

Many listeners may have accumulated or inherited large collections of Old Radio Shows on cassette with episodes of Suspense , Fibber McGee & Molly , Tarzan , Richard Diamond , Archie Andrews & and more . Old time radio on cassette became popular and replaced 8-tracks in the mid-1980s. The cassettes may have been enjoyed by previous generations or just enjoyed decades ago who loved collecting & listening to everything old time radio . Sadly, cassette tapes, open reel-to-reel tapes, 8-track tapes, DAT, and VHS can "go bad" (degrade) because they are magnetic tape mediums. Old Time Radio cassettes were slowly replaced by audio CDs , MP3 CD in the 1990's and 2000's. Today streamable/downloaded old time radio shows are the the most popular choice. Unsure what to do with your collection of cassette tapes? You could donate them to Goodwill or non-profit thrift store, but many listeners have found great satisfaction in donating ...

Dr John Brickley Medical Quack

John Brinkley was an American physician who practiced medicine in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He is often referred to as a " medical quack " because of his unorthodox medical practices and his claims to have found a cure for impotence, which Brinkley achieved by transplanting goat testicles into men . Brinkley established a large medical practice in Kansas, and his reputation as a "miracle doctor" grew as more and more people sought treatment from him. However, despite his claims of success, there is little scientific evidence to support the effectiveness of his treatments, and many of his patients experienced serious health problems as a result of his surgeries. Many of these patients were attracted to Brinkley's bold claims of success and his reputation as a "miracle doctor." However, many of them experienced serious health problems and complications as a result of his procedures, and some of them even died as a result of his treatments...

Old Time Radio Shows

Search This Blog