The Investigator (1954) was a radio play written by Reuben Ship and first broadcast by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) on May 30 of that year. The play lampooned the actions of the U.S. House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) and United States Senator Joseph McCarthy.
The play is memorable not only for its biting satiric tone, but also for its brilliant acting and production. The radio actor John Drainie provided an uncannily accurate imitation of Joe McCarthy. On more than one occasion, Drainie drove from his home in Toronto across the border to Buffalo to watch the hearings on television; he based his character on seeing the senator in action.
The play was denounced as communist propaganda by none other than Ed Sullivan, and the recording gained a certain status as an underground classic during one of the high points of the Great Red Scare of the McCarthy Era. .
The Investigator is top–notch drama from the golden age of radio and sounds as brilliant now as when it first aired.
Investigator - 01 - CBC (30-May-1954).mp3
Investigator - 02 - CBC (30-May-1954).mp3
Investigator - 03 - CBC (30-May-1954).mp3
Investigator - 04 - CBC (30-May-1954).mp3
Saturday Night Theatre was a long-running radio drama strand on BBC Radio 4 and its predecessor, the BBC Home Service. The strand showcased feature-length, middle-brow single plays on Saturday evenings for more than 50 years, having been launched in April 1943. The plays featured in the strand included stage plays, book adaptations and original dramatisations. For most of its history, programmes ran for 90 minutes and were largely entertainment-centred, such as thrillers, comedies and mysteries. 
