The Phony Phone Matter (Network): Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar (December 17, 1961)

“The Phony Phone Matter (Network)” is an episode of Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar, the old-time radio show, first broadcast December 17, 1961. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

Insurance investigator Johnny Dollar takes on a case involving Harvey L. Hallett, a man Bert Helfer suspects of filing phony insurance claims for burglaries he stages himself. When Johnny calls Hallett to investigate, a mysterious explosion erupts at a building connected to Hallett's operations, and Johnny must determine whether Hallett is genuinely victimized or orchestrating crimes for insurance payouts.

Manhattan insurance office and surrounding New York City locations, close to Christmas

Characters: Johnny Dollar, Bert Helfer, Harvey L. Hallett, Mary Hallett

Listen for: The discussion of the classic criminal cover-up trick where a guilty party reports his own crimes to deflect suspicion, and the sudden explosion that complicates Johnny's investigation.

Written from the episode itself; it never gives away the ending. Every recording is remastered for the stream: cleaned of rumble, hiss and mains hum (and the old TV whine where we found it), then levelled in two passes to steady broadcast loudness, so one show is never quieter than the next.