Did Orson Welles’s 1938 ‘War of the Worlds’ Broadcast Really Cause a Mass Panic?

History Unplugged Podcast

History Unplugged

Society & Culture, History

4.2 • 3.7K Ratings

🗓️ 7 January 2025

⏱️ 54 minutes

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Summary

On a warm Halloween Eve, October 30, 1938, during a broadcast of H G. Wells' War of the Worlds, Orson Welles held his hands up for radio silence in the CBS studio in New York City while millions of people ran out into the night screaming, grabbed shotguns, drove off in cars, and hid in basements, attics, or anywhere they could find to get away from Martians intent on exterminating the human race. As Welles held up his hands to his fellow actors, musicians, and sound technicians, he turned six seconds of radio silence—dead air—into absolute horror, changing the way the world would view media forever, and making himself one of the most famous men in America.

The revisionism lately of Orson Welles War of the Worlds 1938 broadcast is that it did not affect many beyond l the East Coast and most people did not believe Martians had invaded and were exterminating the human race with heat ray guns and poisonous gas. William Hazelgrove’s new book “Dead Air The Night Orson Welles Terrified America,” points to a different America thrown into mass panic from the broadcast produced and directed by the twenty-three-year-old Welles.

Did people really believe that Martians were exterminating the human race and did mass panic engulf the country? Willliam Hazelgrove makes a convincing case people did believe the broadcast and the ensuing terror and panic was a real time example of what would happen if aliens ever did land on earth.

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Transcript

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0:11.3	Noble gold investments.com.
0:19.3	Scott here with another episode of the History on Plug podcast.
0:22.6	On a warm Halloween Eve, October 30th, 1938, during a broadcast of H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds,
0:28.7	one of the first fictional depictions of an alien invasion, Orson Wells held his hands up for radio silence in the CBS studio in New York,
0:36.0	while millions of people ran out into the night's
0:37.7	screaming, grabbing shotguns, driving off in cars, hiding in basements, addicts, or anywhere they
0:42.4	could get away from the Martians intent on exterminating the human race. As well as held up his
0:46.8	hands to his fellow actors, musicians, and sound technicians, he turned six seconds of radio
0:51.0	silence into absolute horror, changing the way the World Review Media Forever, making himself one of the most famous men in America. The people really believe
0:58.3	that Martians were exterminating the human race and did mass panic engulf the country? The
1:03.0	revisionist account of Wells' War of the World's broadcast is that it didn't affect many
1:07.2	beyond the East Coast, and most people didn't believe Martians had invaded, were
1:10.5	exterminating the human race with heat gun rays and poisonous gas. But today's guest, William Hazel Grove,
1:15.7	argues that people did believe this was happening, and the ensuing terror and panic was a real-time
1:19.9	example of what would happen if aliens did land on Earth. Hazel Grove is the author of the new book
1:24.6	Dead Air, The Night Orson Welles terrified America.
1:35.4	We look at the event, how much panic did ensue, and we get into questions of when skepticism is healthy and how public trust can be used and abused.
1:37.1	Hope you enjoyed this discussion.
1:44.3	And one more thing before we get started with this episode, a quick break for a word from our sponsors.
1:50.3	History tells us that there have been only two fiat currencies over the last 200 years, the dollar and the pound.
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