Friday - The Dragnet Podcast
by OTRPODS
Friday - The Dragnet Podcast is your ultimate destination for reliving the thrilling world of the classic Dragnet radio show. Step back into the gritty streets of Los Angeles with Sergeant Joe Friday as he brings justice to life through captivating, true-to-form storytelling. This unparalleled collection features beautifully remastered audio, accurate transcriptions, and detailed episode descriptions to give listeners the most authentic Dragnet experience. Whether you're a longtime fan or a newcomer to old-time radio dramas, this podcast delivers the definitive version of Dragnet, preserving its iconic legacy for generations to come. Experience crime-solving at its finest with meticulous attention to detail, including cast insights for every episode.
Episodes
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The Big Rod
Originally Aired: March 16, 1954 Dragnet #239, "The Big Rod," Sergeant Joe Friday and Officer Frank Smith investigate a vicious hit-and-run that leaves a young woman, Helen Chapman, clinging to life with critical injuries including compound fractures, a punctured lung, and brain concussion. Their...
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The Big Cup
Originally Aired: March 9, 1954 Dragnet #238, "The Big Cup," Sergeant Joe Friday and Officer Frank Smith investigate the brutal murder of an elderly woman, Ethel Lawrence, who has been beaten to death in her home on Green Oak Drive. A neighbor, Earl Brody, discovers the body after the victim's…
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The Big Tv
Originally Aired: March 2, 1954 Dragnet #237, "The Big Tv," Sergeant Joe Friday and Officer Frank Smith investigate the mysterious disappearance of a young mother named Harriet Shipley and her nine-month-old baby. Their inquiry begins at Harriet's apartment building, where they interview the...
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The Big Pipe
Originally Aired: February 23, 1954 Dragnet #236, "The Big Pipe," Sergeant Joe Friday and Officer Frank Smith investigate the brutal murder of an accountant found beaten to death in a downtown Los Angeles office building. The victim, Mrs. Fitzgerald, is discovered by building cleaning woman Miss...
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The Big Sucker
Originally Aired: February 16, 1954 Dragnet #235, "The Big Sucker," Sergeant Joe Friday and Officer Frank Smith investigate a sophisticated diamond swindle operating in Los Angeles. When Harold Filson arrives at the Bunco Fugitive Detail office, he claims he's reporting the crime on behalf of an...
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The Big Broad
Originally Aired: February 9, 1954 Dragnet #234, "The Big Broad," Sergeant Joe Friday and his temporary partner, Sergeant Slats Henry, are hunting a dangerous pair of robbery suspects terrorizing Los Angeles liquor stores. When another holdup occurs at Charles Osborn's neighborhood shop on...
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The Big Filth
Originally Aired: February 2, 1954 Dragnet #233, "The Big Filth," Sergeant Joe Friday and policewoman Irene Gardner investigate a disturbing call from a concerned neighbor, Mrs. Eggers, about four children living in apparent neglect. Mrs. Eggers reports that she hasn't seen the mother, Rowena...
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The Big Bid
Originally Aired: January 26, 1954 Dragnet #232, "The Big Bid," finds Sergeant Joe Friday and Officer Frank Smith investigating a puzzling burglary at a men's clothing store on Vine Street in Hollywood. Store manager Leonard Dodds reports that approximately $12,000 worth of merchandise has…
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The Big Bill
Originally Aired: January 19, 1954 Dragnet #231, "The Big Bill," Sergeant Joe Friday and Officer Frank Smith investigate the mysterious disappearance of Bertha Gillespie, an elderly woman who runs a popular tea shop called the Tea Cozy. Her best friend, Miss Crocker, is convinced something…
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The Big Switch
Originally Aired: January 12, 1954 Dragnet #230, "The Big Switch," Sergeants Joe Friday and Frank Smith investigate what initially appears to be a young woman's suicide attempt at a cheap hotel on Grand Avenue. When a desk clerk discovers Mona Fenton unconscious in a gas-filled room, stuffed…
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The Big Listen
Originally Aired: January 5, 1954 Dragnet #229, "The Big Listen," Sergeant Joe Friday and Officer Frank Smith respond to a tip from Del, the manager of a Turkish bath. Del reports that a drunk customer named Vernon Carmichael bragged about a mysterious deal involving someone called "Bud" and...
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The Big Steal
Originally Aired: December 29, 1953 Dragnet #228, "The Big Steal," Sergeant Joe Friday and Officer Frank Smith investigate a series of sophisticated burglaries plaguing Los Angeles. An organized gang of thieves has been systematically targeting homes, stealing valuable jewelry, cash, and…
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The Big Little Jesus
Originally Aired: December 22, 1953 Dragnet #227, "The Big Little Jesus," Sergeants Joe Friday and Frank Smith are called away from their Christmas preparations when a priceless religious statue is stolen from the Old Mission Plaza Church, the oldest church in Los Angeles. Father Xavier Rojas...
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The Big Brink
Originally Aired: December 15, 1953 Dragnet #226, "The Big Brink," Detective Sergeant Joe Friday and his partner Frank Smith are working the night watch out of robbery detail when they receive a promising break in a major case. Ten days earlier, three armed men hijacked a bank truck on Wilshire...
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The Big Pick
Originally Aired: December 8, 1953 Dragnet #225, "The Big Pick," Sergeant Joe Friday and Officer Frank Smith of the Bunco Fugitive Division tackle an organized gang of pickpockets plaguing Los Angeles. The case becomes personal when elderly Lewis Bonning visits their office in desperation. The...
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The Big Odd
Originally Aired: December 1, 1953 Dragnet #224, "The Big Odd," Sergeant Joe Friday and Officer Frank Smith investigate a brutal truck hijacking that leaves driver Russell Gilmore beaten and hospitalized. The case is part of a larger pattern—14 loaded trucks have been stolen by an organized gang...
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The Big Present
Originally Aired: November 24, 1953 Dragnet #223, "The Big Present," finds Sergeant Joe Friday and Officer Frank Smith working burglary detail on a puzzling string of market break-ins that has plagued Los Angeles for two months. With eighteen stores hit and no solid leads, the detectives consult...
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The Big Flight
Originally Aired: November 17, 1953 Dragnet #222, "The Big Flight," begins when Sergeants Joe Friday and Frank Smith respond to a brutal robbery at a corner market on Lockwood and Barton Avenues. The victim, Cliff Hall, and his partner Andy were working when three armed men entered the store...
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The Big Kid
Originally Aired: November 10, 1953 Dragnet #221, "The Big Kid," Sergeant Joe Friday and Officer Frank Smith are working the juvenile detail when rumors surface of an impending gang war in Los Angeles. They interview seventeen-year-old Angelo "Angie" Markal, a repeat offender arrested for…
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The Big Rain
Originally Aired: November 3, 1953 Dragnet #220, "The Big Rain," Sergeants Joe Friday and Frank Smith are working the night watch in homicide when they catch a brutal assault case during a torrential Los Angeles rainstorm. A woman in her early forties is found sprawling across a sidewalk with her...
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The Big Fraud
Originally Aired: October 27, 1953 Dragnet #219, "The Big Fraud," Sergeant Joe Friday and Frank Smith find themselves juggling two disturbing complaints that may be connected. The first victim, an irate Keith Jefferson Mather, storms into the Bunco division demanding arrests after being charged...
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The Big Paint
Originally Aired: October 20, 1953 Dragnet #218, "The Big Paint," finds Sergeant Joe Friday and his partner Frank Smith facing a sophisticated organized crime operation. An organized gang of thieves has been systematically stripping cars across Los Angeles, stealing radios and wheels with...
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The Big Plea
Originally Aired: October 13, 1953 Dragnet #217, "The Big Plea," Sergeant Joe Friday and his partner Frank Smith are tracking down two holdup men operating in Los Angeles. Their investigation leads them to the Universal Hobby Shop in Van Nuys, where they question Stanley McGowan, an ex-convict...
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The Big Little Mother
Originally Aired: October 6, 1953 Dragnet #216, "The Big Little Mother," Detectives Joe Friday and Frank Smith are called to the Beckworth department store to investigate a forger who has been systematically hitting the establishment for six years. The credit manager, Mr. Donaldson, explains that...
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The Big Try
Originally Aired: September 29, 1953 Dragnet #215, "The Big Try," Friday and Smith's quiet morning at homicide is interrupted when reporter Sid Hughes calls with an urgent case. A man named Jan Patachek has phoned the newspaper saying he's going to kill himself and has barricaded himself in his...
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The Big Slip
Originally Aired: September 22, 1953 In Dragnet #214, "The Big Slip," Sergeant Joe Friday and Officer Frank Smith are working the day watch on the Auto Theft detail when they receive a call from Jesse McGowan, owner of a used car lot on Washington Boulevard. McGowan believes he may have purchased…
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The Big Cab
Originally Aired: September 15, 1953 Dragnet #213, "The Big Cab," Sergeant Joe Friday and Officer Frank Smith are called to the hospital in the early morning hours of February 18th to interview Raymond Bailey, a 62-year-old grocery store owner who has just regained consciousness after two days in…
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The Big Lift
Originally Aired: September 8, 1953 Dragnet #212, "The Big Lift," Sergeant Joe Friday and Officer Frank Smith find themselves frustrated by an elusive burglar who has been plaguing Los Angeles for five weeks. Seventeen homes have been stripped of valuables by a thief with a consistent method of...
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The Big Bop
Originally Aired: September 1, 1953 Dragnet #211, "The Big Bop," Sergeant Joe Friday and Officer Frank Smith investigate a series of holdups that have plagued Los Angeles for three weeks. A lone gunman has been systematically robbing check cashing agencies and small stores at gunpoint, taking…
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The Big Ham
Originally Aired: June 28, 1953 Dragnet #210, "The Big Ham," Sergeant Joe Friday and Frank Smith are called to investigate what appears to be a suicide in the Westlake Park district. A young woman has been found dead in an apartment rented to a man named Ross Mitchell, who is nowhere to be found....
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The Big Revolt
Originally Aired: June 21, 1953 Dragnet #209, "The Big Revolt," Sergeant Joe Friday and Officer Frank Smith of the Missing Persons Detail investigate the disappearance of Henry Borg, a 51-year-old contractor who failed to return home from work. When his worried wife reports him missing after...
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The Big Lilly
Originally Aired: June 14, 1953 Dragnet #208, "The Big Lilly," finds Sergeant Joe Friday and Officer Frank Smith responding to a cryptic phone call about a woman who has been badly beaten. The anonymous caller hangs up before providing crucial details, leaving the detectives with only an address…
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The Big Will
Originally Aired: June 7, 1953 Dragnet #207, "The Big Will," Sergeant Joe Friday and Officer Frank Smith respond to a shooting call on a rainy Sunday night in Los Angeles. When they arrive at 1981 East Borendo, they find Charles Stahl, a 55-year-old bachelor, lying unconscious on his kitchen…
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The Big Gun Part 2
Originally Aired: May 31, 1953 Dragnet #206, "The Big Gun Part 2," Sergeant Joe Friday and Officer Frank Smith continue their investigation of an organized car theft ring, interrogating suspect Sloan in the interview room at the main jail. After his partner Summers has already broken and…
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The Big Gun Part 1
Originally Aired: May 24, 1953 Dragnet #205, "The Big Gun Part 1," Sergeant Joe Friday and Officer Frank Smith catch a case involving a missing rental truck. After Frank recounts his disastrous fishing trip that ended with him spending his day off catching nothing but sunburn on a pier, the...
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The Big False Move
Originally Aired: May 17, 1953 Dragnet #204, "The Big False Move," opens with Sergeant Joe Friday arriving at the Robbery division office suffering from debilitating headaches and ringing in his ears. His partner Frank Smith insists the problem is a salt deficiency and plies Friday with salt...
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The Big Joke
Originally Aired: May 10, 1953 Dragnet #203, "The Big Joke," Friday and Smith receive an unusual early morning call from Johnny Bronson, a bartender they know from 6th Street. Johnny tells them about a mysterious phone call he received the night before, in which an unidentified man offered him...
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The Big Carney
Originally Aired: May 3, 1953 Dragnet #202, "The Big Carney," Sergeant Joe Friday and Officer Frank Smith investigate a brazen theft at the Armstrong Schneider Jewelry Company, one of the coast's most prestigious fine jewelry stores. When an expensive $8,000 necklace vanishes during business…
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The Big Scrapbook
Originally Aired: April 26, 1953 Dragnet #201, "The Big Scrapbook," finds Sergeant Joe Friday and his partner Frank Smith responding to an urgent call from the San Diego Police Department. Three armed and dangerous holdup men have struck the Carlton Surf Hotel, making off with a staggering…
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The Big Rip
Originally Aired: April 19, 1953 Dragnet #200, "The Big Rip," Sergeant Joe Friday and his partner Frank Smith face one of their toughest cases yet: a sophisticated gang has pulled off 35 safe burglaries in just two months, netting nearly $36,000. The thieves are professionals who leave virtually…
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The Big Compulsion
Originally Aired: April 12, 1953 Dragnet #199, "The Big Compulsion," Sergeant Joe Friday and Officer Frank Smith investigate a dangerous pattern of false emergency calls that have been plaguing both the police and fire departments for three weeks. The phony reports tie up critical resources and...
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The Big Chet
Originally Aired: April 5, 1953 Dragnet #198, "The Big Chet," finds Sergeant Joe Friday and Officer Frank Smith struggling with a frustrating three-month case involving a pair of holdup men who have hit eleven jewelry stores and supermarkets with flawless precision. Despite having detailed...
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The Big Dream
Originally Aired: March 29, 1953 Dragnet #197, "The Big Dream," Sergeant Joe Friday and Officer Frank Smith respond to an early morning robbery at a large liquor and grocery store on San Marino Avenue. The manager, Henry Alden, reports that an elderly man—appearing to be around 70 years old,...
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The Big Informant
Originally Aired: March 22, 1953 Dragnet #196, "The Big Informant," Sergeant Joe Friday and his partner Frank Smith are under pressure to crack a string of safe burglaries that have plagued Los Angeles for two months. With a dozen jobs completed and no solid leads, the detectives are feeling the...
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The Big Impossible
Originally Aired: March 15, 1953 Dragnet #195, "The Big Impossible," Sergeant Joe Friday and Officer Frank Smith investigate a bold daylight robbery at Lamont Brothers Market. Market manager Larry Haskins is shaken but cooperative as he describes how two armed men burst into his office while he…
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The Big Laugh
Originally Aired: March 8, 1953 Dragnet #194, "The Big Laugh," Sergeant Joe Friday and Officer Frank Smith are working bunco detail, tracking a confidence man who has been preying on lonely women for the past year. When they meet with Miss Harris, a victim who works at the Armstrong Thomas...
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The Big Want
Originally Aired: March 1, 1953 Dragnet #193, "The Big Want," finds Sergeant Joe Friday and Officer Frank Smith working the day watch out of Bunco-Fugitive Detail when they receive a call to pick up a burglary suspect named George Richmond, who's been using an alias and living at the Carlton…
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The Big Smoke
Originally Aired: February 22, 1953 Dragnet #192, "The Big Smoke," Sergeant Joe Friday and Officer Frank Smith respond to a brutal home invasion at 8469 North Brighton Avenue. A 72-year-old man has been murdered, and his invalid wife, Patricia Stone, has been severely beaten. Mrs. Stone, confined...
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The Big Tooth
Originally Aired: February 15, 1953 Dragnet #191, "The Big Tooth," Sergeant Joe Friday and Officer Frank Smith are called to investigate the mysterious disappearance of an elderly woman. Ella Randall contacts the detectives with disturbing concerns about her mother, who has vanished without a...
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The Big Press
Originally Aired: February 8, 1953 Dragnet #190, "The Big Press," Sergeant Joe Friday and Officer Frank Smith take over a frustrating forgery case that has been plaguing Los Angeles for over a year. Two men have been passing phony payroll checks throughout the southern part of the state, scoring…
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About this show
Friday - The Dragnet Podcast is your ultimate destination for reliving the thrilling world of the classic Dragnet radio show. Step back into the gritty streets of Los Angeles with Sergeant Joe Friday as he brings justice to life through captivating, true-to-form storytelling. This unparalleled collection features beautifully remastered audio, accurate transcriptions, and detailed episode descriptions to give listeners the most authentic Dragnet experience.
Whether you're a longtime fan or a newcomer to old-time radio dramas, this podcast delivers the definitive version of Dragnet, preserving its iconic legacy for generations to come. Experience crime-solving at its finest with meticulous attention to detail, including cast insights for every episode.
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OTRPODS
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