In our very first live hour, we take a deep dive into one of the most controversial moments in broadcasting history: Orson Welles’ 1938 radio play about Martians invading New Jersey. “The War of the Worlds” caused panic when it originally aired, and it’s continued to fool people since—from Santiago, Chile to Buffalo, New York to a particularly disastrous evening in Quito, Ecuador.
The broadcast came up in conversation today, reminding me of this Radiolab show about the history of HG Wells’ tale on radio. Of course since it’s Radiolab who knows how much of it actually happened. (burn).