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Radiolab / May 28, 2004

Radiolab

Friday, May 28, 2004
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  • War of the Worlds

    Look out...Martians!

    Radio Lab investigates why millions were so terrified by a single hour of radio. The Mercury Theatre of the Air's "War of the Worlds" caused listeners to run out into the streets, half-dressed, women to miscarry, and it forever changed how we listen to the radio...not to mention that the original 1938 broadcast spawned a series of remakes that CONTINUE to fool people.

The Annotated Guide

Orson Wells on mic On Halloween Night, 1938, 12 million Americans sitting around "the wireless" froze. The regular Sunday night music programming had been interrupted by a news bulletin: strange alien spacecrafts had landed in Grover's Mill, New Jersey. A trip back in time to 1938, into the ears and mind of a frightened radio audience...

» Read the original script
» Review the news coverage of the 1938 broadcast

Are People Fooled...Over and Over Again?

New York Times article Listeners panicked. Many fled their homes. Women miscarried. Why did some people respond so strongly?

In this segment, we hear re-enactments of listener accounts from 1938, performed by on-air and behind-the-scenes WNYC staff, descriptions of subsequent Martian panics in Chile (1944), Ecuador (1949, and northern New York (1968). Plus: War of the Worlds set to disco, and an interview with professional storyteller Doug Lipman about the power of a well-told narrative.

» Listen to the WBKW Version
 » Can't get enough of Jeff Wayne's 1978 rock opera version

It's the End of the World As We Know It

David Anzuelo Mark Hammer David Harnett
David Anzuelo Mark Hammer David Harnett
The Labyrinth Theater Company performs an updated version of the final scene, where a confused Professor Pierson wanders through a post-apocalyptic dream world in search of answers. Directed by David Anzuelo, with Mark Hammer as "The Professor" and David Harnett as "The Stranger". Sound design by Jocelyn Gonzales.

» Visit the Labyrith Theater Company

Additional links

» Welles' Life On Stage At BAM by Sarah Montague
» Jad Abumrad discusses War of the Worlds on The Brian Lehrer Show

Credits

This program was produced by Neda Pourang & Ellen Horne, with sincere thanks to Don Moore, Andy Lanset, the WNYC readers (Robin Bilinkoff, Alissa Desmarais, Rex Doane, Brenna Farrel, Joanna Fee, Tony Field, Susan Gerardi, Brooke Gladstone, Richard Hake, Margaret Juntwait, Allison Lichter, Ilya Maritz, Brendan McDonald, Arun Rath, Cheryl Rodgers, Jennie Schneier).