EP 101: The 1938 War of the Worlds Radio Broadcast
06/14/22 • 46 min
1 Listener
Welcome back for Season Eleven!
This week on Hashtag History, we are discussing War of the Worlds. And not necessarily the novel, The War of the Worlds, written by H.G. Wells, which is about aliens from Mars invading the Earth. No, more specifically, we are discussing an incident that occurred the day before Halloween in 1938 when actor Orson Welles (no relation to author H.G. Wells) read aloud an adaptation of The War of the Worlds on live radio. Innocent enough, right? HOWEVER, Welles delivered this adaptation of the story in a “breaking-news”, news-reporting alert type method. So when he told of Martians landing on Earth, Americans took him seriously. When this radio program - in the style of a news broadcast - played audio from people who appeared to be live witnesses to aliens landing on the Earth and using a heat ray to burn up American citizens, listeners went nuts. Americans became so alarmed that the results of this broadcast led to traffic jams, an outrageous amount of calls to local law enforcement, and a significant fleeing from the site of the alleged invasion, New Jersey. Following the incident, when it was realized that this had all just been a fictional tale (that all of these witnesses had actually been paid actors), there was complete outrage directed at the radio program for what many perceived to be a deceptive delivery of the tale of the War of the Worlds.
It is worth noting though that more modern historians believe that this was not quite as large-scale as was originally reported. Many believe now that the mass hysteria resulting from this incident was actually grossly exaggerated by the media. But regardless, this whole thing - however big or small - was a hot mess.
Follow Hashtag History on Instagram @hashtaghistory_podcast for all of the pictures mentioned in this episode.
Citations for all sources can be located on our website at www.HashtagHistory-Pod.com.
You can also check out our website for super cute merch!
You can now sponsor a cocktail and get a shout-out on air! Just head to www.buymeacoffee.com/hashtaghistory or head to the Support tab on our website!
You can locate us on www.Patreon.com/hashtaghistory where you can donate $1 a month to our Books and Booze Supply. All of your support goes a long ways and we are endlessly grateful! To show our gratitude, all Patreon Supporters receive an automatic 15% OFF all merchandise in our merchandise store, bonus Hashtag Hangouts episodes, a shoutout on social media, and stickers!
Check out Macy’s delicious wine here → https://glnk.io/rpln/hashtaghistory-podcast #macyswineshop
THANKS FOR LISTENING!
Welcome back for Season Eleven!
This week on Hashtag History, we are discussing War of the Worlds. And not necessarily the novel, The War of the Worlds, written by H.G. Wells, which is about aliens from Mars invading the Earth. No, more specifically, we are discussing an incident that occurred the day before Halloween in 1938 when actor Orson Welles (no relation to author H.G. Wells) read aloud an adaptation of The War of the Worlds on live radio. Innocent enough, right? HOWEVER, Welles delivered this adaptation of the story in a “breaking-news”, news-reporting alert type method. So when he told of Martians landing on Earth, Americans took him seriously. When this radio program - in the style of a news broadcast - played audio from people who appeared to be live witnesses to aliens landing on the Earth and using a heat ray to burn up American citizens, listeners went nuts. Americans became so alarmed that the results of this broadcast led to traffic jams, an outrageous amount of calls to local law enforcement, and a significant fleeing from the site of the alleged invasion, New Jersey. Following the incident, when it was realized that this had all just been a fictional tale (that all of these witnesses had actually been paid actors), there was complete outrage directed at the radio program for what many perceived to be a deceptive delivery of the tale of the War of the Worlds.
It is worth noting though that more modern historians believe that this was not quite as large-scale as was originally reported. Many believe now that the mass hysteria resulting from this incident was actually grossly exaggerated by the media. But regardless, this whole thing - however big or small - was a hot mess.
Follow Hashtag History on Instagram @hashtaghistory_podcast for all of the pictures mentioned in this episode.
Citations for all sources can be located on our website at www.HashtagHistory-Pod.com.
You can also check out our website for super cute merch!
You can now sponsor a cocktail and get a shout-out on air! Just head to www.buymeacoffee.com/hashtaghistory or head to the Support tab on our website!
You can locate us on www.Patreon.com/hashtaghistory where you can donate $1 a month to our Books and Booze Supply. All of your support goes a long ways and we are endlessly grateful! To show our gratitude, all Patreon Supporters receive an automatic 15% OFF all merchandise in our merchandise store, bonus Hashtag Hangouts episodes, a shoutout on social media, and stickers!
Check out Macy’s delicious wine here → https://glnk.io/rpln/hashtaghistory-podcast #macyswineshop
THANKS FOR LISTENING!
Previous Episode
EP 100: Chappaquiddick (Part Two) | RE-RECORDING
This week on Hashtag History, we are continuing to revisit our coverage of the Chappaquiddick incident. If you have been with us for some time now, you will recall that we covered Chappaquiddick in our first ever podcast episode in July of 2019. With us now reaching Episode 100, we wanted to bring it back to where it all began. If you have listened to our original coverage of this incident, don't go anywhere! This time around will be a completely different experience!
On July 18, 1969, Senator Ted Kennedy drove his car off of a bridge into a pond off Chappaquiddick Island in Massachusetts. Kennedy escaped from the car but left his passenger behind to die. This week, we are closing out coverage of this incident by discussing the graphic details found at the scene, the ramifications the incident had on the Kennedy family and the nation as whole, and an audio recording from Mr. Kennedy himself.
Follow Hashtag History on Instagram @hashtaghistory_podcast for all of the pictures mentioned in this episode.
Citations for all sources can be located on our website at www.HashtagHistory-Pod.com.
You can also check out our website for super cute merch!
You can now sponsor a cocktail and get a shout-out on air! Just head to www.buymeacoffee.com/hashtaghistory or head to the Support tab on our website!
You can locate us on www.Patreon.com/hashtaghistory where you can donate $1 a month to our Books and Booze Supply. All of your support goes a long ways and we are endlessly grateful! To show our gratitude, all Patreon Supporters receive an automatic 15% OFF all merchandise in our merchandise store, bonus Hashtag Hangouts episodes, a shoutout on social media, and stickers!
Check out Macy’s delicious wine here → https://glnk.io/rpln/hashtaghistory-podcast #macyswineshop
THANKS FOR LISTENING!
Next Episode
EP 102: Enron
1 RecommendationsThis week on Hashtag History, we are discussing the Enron Scandal, a major accounting fraud that took place in late-2001 when Enron Corporation - who, only the year prior, was considered to be one of the most successful companies in the world - announced that it was posting a $638 billion dollar loss in the third quarter...and then followed up that up shortly thereafter by filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. In only a few months, the company’s stock price - which, at its height, was $90 per share - fell to less than $0.26 per share. Along with the demise of the company also came the demise of nearly $2.1 billion dollars in pension plans for its thousands of employees. In fact, as higher-ups in the company were selling off their stock - aware that things were going to tank soon - they were simultaneously telling lower-level employees to invest in more company stock. The Securities and Exchange Commission investigated what happened at Enron and found that they had been conducting shady accounting practices, such as writing future gains (that had not yet been received) into current income statements and transferring their bad assets into special purpose entities in order to keep them off the books. Essentially, Enron was lying about their profits, defrauding investors, their employees, and Americans as a whole.
Follow Hashtag History on Instagram @hashtaghistory_podcast for all of the pictures mentioned in this episode.
Citations for all sources can be located on our website at www.HashtagHistory-Pod.com. You can also check out our website for super cute merch!
You can now sponsor a cocktail and get a shout-out on air! Just head to www.buymeacoffee.com/hashtaghistory or head to the Support tab on our website!
You can locate us on www.Patreon.com/hashtaghistory where you can donate $1 a month to our Books and Booze Supply. All of your support goes a long ways and we are endlessly grateful! To show our gratitude, all Patreon Supporters receive an automatic 15% OFF all merchandise in our merchandise store, bonus Hashtag Hangouts episodes, a shoutout on social media, and stickers!
Check out Macy’s delicious wine here → https://glnk.io/rpln/hashtaghistory-podcast #macyswineshop
THANKS FOR LISTENING!
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