Counterspy
Counterspy turns wartime and postwar espionage into a long-running procedural centered on David Harding, chief of a fictional American counterintelligence service. Don MacLaughlin’s Harding is less a lone adventurer than the head of an organization, giving the show an institutional tone that distinguishes it from globe-trotting spy heroes.
Where to Start
Researched entry points from recordings already in the Golden Radio Hour archive.
Washington Woman Spy aka Cherchez la Femme
This is an early surviving broadcast in the GRH holdings and gives a useful point of comparison within the surviving material.
Episode details →The Case of the Genuine Counterfeit
This is a middle-period broadcast in the GRH holdings and gives a useful point of comparison within the surviving material.
Episode details →The Case of the Diamond Thieves
This is a later surviving broadcast in the GRH holdings and gives a useful point of comparison within the surviving material.
Episode details →Program History
An espionage and counterintelligence series centered on agent David Harding and his fight against enemy spies, saboteurs, and organized threats to the United States.
Long-running espionage and national-security drama created by Phillips H. Lord.
The run breaks into several distinct periods: Blue Network era (May 18, 1942 to June 14, 1945) on Blue Network, ABC era (June 15, 1945 to August 31, 1950) on ABC Radio Network, NBC era (October 13, 1950 to September 24, 1953) on NBC Radio Network, and Mutual era (October 5, 1953 to November 29, 1957) on Mutual Broadcasting System.
Names that turn up again and again in the surviving run include Mandel Kramer (performer), Don MacLaughlin (performer), Phillips H. Lord (producer), Jesse Crawford (organ, organist, and music), Marx B. Loeb (director), Edward Adamson (writer and performer), and Leonard L. Bass (director).
Across its run, the surviving broadcasts are tied to ABC Radio Network, NBC Radio Network, and Blue Network.
The stories often return to espionage and counterintelligence, robbery, theft and stolen valuables, rackets and organized crime, sabotage, bombs and destructive subversion, smuggling, black markets and untaxed trade, and counterfeiting and financial fraud.
The show also sits in a wider radio history that includes World War II counterintelligence drama, Postwar and Cold War national-security shift, Broader crime and security cases, and Blue/ABC to NBC to Mutual migration.
If you are following the same actors and creative circles, related programs worth opening next include Gang Busters, The Chase, Words at War, CBS Radio Mystery Theater, and Crime and Peter Chambers.
All Episodes & Recordings
Search this program or browse in its validated catalog order.
Washington Woman Spy aka Cherchez la Femme
A woman enemy agent and her husband blackmail and murder prominent government officials until Harding closes in.
TCOT Border Invaders aka Nazis From Mexico
Harding discovers a Mexican ranch used to infiltrate Gestapo agents into America and exposes a staged death.
TCOT Loganberry Point Spy
Harding and local fishermen uncover a Gestapo operation stealing military secrets and help seize a German submarine.
TCOT Gasoline Barge (Counterfeit Gas Coupons)
A hidden Everglades fuel station is exposed as a supply point for enemy submarines.
TCOT Industrial Spy Ring
Harding infiltrates a German espionage operation inside a war-materials factory after murder reveals the network.
TCOT Confidential Messenger
The murder of a military courier and theft of secret plans lead Harding to an enemy agent.
TCOT Kidnapped War Worker (5 minute excerpt)
A hidden message found in a hotel guest's clothing points an agent toward an enemy location.
Washington Woman Spy aka Cherchez la Femme
A supposed suicide opens into an international espionage scheme that Harding must unravel.
Explosive Dog aka The Case Of The Dog Of Dynamite
A failed explosive scheme alerts Harding to planned sabotage against an important government laboratory.
Stolen Car Racket (Rehearsal)
A murder connected to stolen cars exposes a violent theft ring and an internal struggle for control.
Continental Chase (Rehearsal -Second Half Only – First of a 2 Part Story)
Harding extracts a vital lead and begins a cross-European pursuit of a mysterious target.
No Title Given (Rehearsal – Second Half Only)
A camera-based investigation of parking-lot vandalism uncovers a protection racket and its concealed boss.
The Housing Racket aka Bunko Builders
Shoddy homes and a mortgage revolt lead Harding to investigate a fraudulent housing operation.
Camera Happy Crook aka Photogenic Crook
Robbers disguise a bank theft as documentary filming, but their own vanity helps expose them.
The Recruited Nurse
Harding tracks an escaped bank robber attempting to disappear through a new identity and plastic surgery.
TCOT Mexican Rancho
Reports of uranium draw Harding to Mexico, where multiple agents are converging on the suspected deposit.
TCOT Poison Peddler
Harding investigates a hate racket whose criminal leader spreads racial hostility for profit and power.
TCOT Blackmailed Hijacker
A trucker with a hidden past is coerced into a hijacking ring after his partner is killed.
TCOT Murmured Millions
A racketeer profits from planted corporate rumors until Harding designs a sting to trap him.
Statue of Death
Stolen uranium hidden inside a statue becomes a deadly race against radiation exposure.
Desert Explosion
A bank robber's escape begins a fast-moving six-hour manhunt that pulls Harding across the city.
Bouncing Bank Robber
Fake uranium becomes bait in Harding's trap for an international broker and murderer in Mexico.
Murdering Messenger
An undercover agent enters a spy ring whose own leaders are methodically killing its members.
Cold Blooded Professor Part 1
A brilliant criminal scientist changes identities while robbing and murdering anyone who can expose him.
Cold Blooded Professor Part 2
Harding hunts the murderous professor as the fugitive prepares another major theft involving valuable art.
Arrogant Arsonist
An international criminal and perfectionist firebug confront Harding when a grand-jury inquiry threatens their enterprise.
Courageous Come-on
Harding targets a sham charity benefit exploiting disabled workers and moves against it during the premiere.
Flatbush Fagin
An undercover counter-spy enters a Brooklyn youth gang to expose the adult manipulating its members.
Hot Car Killer
A car thief and his girlfriend plan to betray her racketeer employer while Harding closes in.
Postal Pirates Part 1
A parcel-post robbery ring escalates into staged death, betrayal, and double murder.
Postal Pirates Part 2
Harding follows the postal theft conspiracy to the mastermind behind a manufactured murder-suicide.
Visiting Vultures
An illegal liquor investigation advances when a gangster's troublesome relative accidentally reveals the hidden distillery.
Vicious Visitor
An escaped convict takes a couple hostage on an isolated island, forcing Harding into a dangerous confrontation.
Sweepstakes Murder
A reporter's murder leads Harding to a fake sweepstakes operation centered on a notorious gambling ship.
The Case of the Genuine Counterfeit
An impostor posing as a foreign official tries to steal millions in bonds until Harding unmasks him.
Case of the Society Swindler
Harding investigates a ruthless charity fraud and constructs a trap for the person running it.
Case of the High Class Hijacker
Tracking technology and covert photography help Harding dismantle a sophisticated truck-hijacking organization.
The Case of the Photograph Furrier
A string of valuable fur robberies gives Harding an unexpected young ally in identifying the thieves.
The Case of the International Intrigue
Counter-spies race to stop the sale of an American atomic scientist and his secrets in Switzerland.
The Case Of The Counterfeit Traveler's Checks
Harry Peters infiltrates an international travelers-check counterfeiting organization led by Count Zaleski.
Cast, Crew & Contributors
Every relationship below is backed by the current Golden Radio Hour smart index. Open a profile, or use the broadcast count to see the exact recordings connecting that person to this program.
Mandel Kramer
Don MacLaughlin
Phillips H. Lord